Capability of two plant growing systems in reducing bacteria in aquaponics system [manuscript]
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Date
2018
Authors
Kae M. Damian
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Abstract
Aquaponics systems provide the advantages of both reducing water usage and effluent. Fish aquaponic system offers an environmentally friendly, natural food-growing method that harnesses the best attributes of aquaculture and hydroponics without the need to discard any water or filtrate or add chemical fertilizers. A study was conducted to determine the capability of two plant growing systems in reducing bacteria in aquaponics system. Two treatments with three replicates were used in the study. Treatment 1 composed of lettuce with growing media (mixture of rice hull, sand and gravel) which Treatment 2 consisted of lettuce without growing media (floating). Water was sampled once a week for six (6) weeks. Two water samples were collected, first was before passing through the plants (influent) and secondly was after being filtered by the plants (effluent). Counting of viable bacteria was done by following the standard procedures of serial dilution and spread plate method. The highest number of viable bacteria was observed during the first week of the study, and during the following week the number of viable bacteria trended to reduce. Statistical analysis shows that there were no significant differences between Treatment 1 (lettuce with growing media) and Treatment 2 (lettuce without growing media). It is recommended that further study be conducted try to used bigger culture systems rather than barrel container and used other growing media on different aquaculture crops with higher economic value. It is also suggested to lengthen the culture period to get more conclusive results.