BY AGRICULTURE ACADEMY

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If you have any knowledge about

aquaponics, you have probably
heard about biofilters. But what
are these, why are they needed,
and how can you use them in your
aquaponics system? In this video
we take a deep dive into
aquaponic biofilters and answer
these questions. Let’s get started!

WHAT ARE BIOFILTERS?

Simply put, a biofilter is a living

organism that has the ability to
remove, or ‘filter’ pollutants or
contaminants from the water in a
system. In an aquaponics system
specifically, inorganic substrates –
like gravel for example – act as a
safe haven for beneficial
microorganisms, allowing them to
survive and multiply to the benefit of
the system as a whole. When used
correctly, biofilters will provide the
correct temperature, pH, light and
nutrient levels required by these
living organisms.

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You should aim to maximise the surface area of your biofilters, as this will
provide more room for the beneficial microbes. Remember that lots of smaller
pieces of inorganic substrate will have a larger surface area compared to
larger pieces of substrate.

In small media-based aquaponics systems, the surface area provided by the

media might be enough to sustain the needs of your system. However, if you
have a larger system you will need to include additional biofilters. Experts
recommend adding more filters if you have a stocking capacity of more than 5kg
of fish per cubic meter (aquaponicsdesigncourse.com).

WHY ARE BIOFILTERS IMPORTANT?

By growing plants and raising fish aquaponically, you can enjoy the best of both
hydroponics and aquaculture. In hydroponics, you are merely growing your
plants in water which can either be recycled through the system, or be
continually replaced. In aquaculture, toxic nutrient accumulation from the fish
waste, and added elements like fish food means the water also needs to be
constantly siphoned off and replaced with a clean supply. Aquaponics allows us
to solve this problem. The toxic fish waste is siphoned from the fish tank to the
grow bed. In the grow bed (or before depending on the system design), the
microorganisms growing on the biofilters convert the toxicities into plant-usable
nutrients, thereby cleaning the water and making it fish-friendly once more.
Here’s some more detail on how this works.
When pumped from the fish tanks into the
grow beds, the water is highly concentrated
with toxic ammonia (NH3). As you can see,
nitrogen forms a big chunk of the ammonia
complex. This is where the importance of the
nitrogen cycle comes in. In nature, the
nitrogen cycle is pivotal in converting
atmospheric nitrogen to plant usable forms.
This is especially important as nitrogen is the
most in demand nutrient by plants as it forms
the building blocks of amino acids and
proteins allowing plants to grow. Nitrogen is
therefore essential in almost every
physiological process in the plants.
Aquaponics allows us to exploit this nitrogen
cycle to convert toxic fish waste into non-
toxic recycled water.

As we mentioned, ammonia is highly

concentrated in the water pumped from the
fish tanks. Two classes of microorganisms,
known as Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter,
play pivotal roles in converting the ammonia
into plant-usable forms, thereby eliminating
the toxic nitrogen sources from the water.
This is how they do this:

Firstly, Nitrosomonas convert the ammonia

into nitrites (NO2-). Unfortunately, nitrites
are even more toxic to fish than the
ammonia. Luckily, the Nitrobacter are
hanging around. They convert the nitrites
into nitrates (NO3-). When in the nitrate
form, the nitrogen becomes available to
plants. So in the last step of the process, the
plants remove the nitrates from the water,
making it suitable for the fish once more.
Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter thrive on wet, dark surfaces. This is why biofilters are
so important! The more surface area there is for these microorganisms, the more
efficient the system will be at detoxifying the water.

HOW TO USE BIOFILTERS IN AQUAPONICS

Like we mentioned, if you have a media-based grow bed in your hydroponic system
you may not need additional filtering systems. However, if you are incorporating
traditional hydroponic systems like the nutrient film technique or deep water culture
into your aquaponics set up, you will need to think about adding biofilters. If you are
thinking of adding one to your system, you should install the biofilters between the
fish tank and the plant system so the ammonia can be converted to nitrates before it
reaches the plants.

You also need to consider factors such as aeration and prior filtration of solid
material. Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter are aerobic organisms, which means they
need oxygen to survive. You must therefore make sure your system is adequately
aerated. Venturi siphons or air rocks can be included in your set up to make sure the
water has sufficient levels of dissolved oxygen. This also relates to the filtration of
solid particles. Any debris from the fish tanks can be a potential cause of blockage,
resulting in anaerobic (or oxygen-deficient) conditions which spells doom for our
beneficial bacteria. So you should consider including mechanical filters for larger
particles before the water moves through the biofilters.
So you can see how important biofilters are in aquaponics. However, they
are not immediately effective at detoxifying the water. This is why cycling
your system is so important before any fish are added. Here is how you can
cycle your system:

1.Start off by placing some plants into your system. These plants can be
viewed as ‘sacrificial’, as they will be exposed to high levels of ammonia.

2.Add ammonia to your system. Liquid ammonia is probably the best

option, but urea, urine, and seaweed extract can also be used (these
options may require extra inputs or take a long time to convert). It is
recommended 1 tbs / 1000 litres be used (15ml/1000l).

3.Using a water test kit, continually test your water. First, monitor ammonia
levels. The sweet spot is 2 to 4 parts per million. If tests show the water is
below these leaves, keep adding ammonia. If it is above these levels, stop
adding ammonia and wait until the levels drop. At these levels, the
population of Nitrosomonas will start to increase.

4.After a few days, you can start testing for nitrites as Nitrosomonas start
converting the ammonia.

5.Lastly, you will start to test nitrate levels. You are aiming for nitrate levels
between 5-10 ppm. At this point, the ammonia and nitrite levels should be
zero. Once this point has been reached, you can add the fish to your
system.

(Cycling details sourced and altered from aquaponicsdesigncourse.com).

Biofilters are not

immediately effective
at detoxifying the
water. This is why
cycling your system is
so important before
any fish are added.