my first aquaponic system

well, well well.... and finally today I set up my first aquaponic system. Yes, it is small but .... is done. Few time ago I wrote about this technology and I was asking to me if this was or not a treatment wetland. Beh, today I can say yes, it is a treatment wetlands because really edible plants + medium clean up the wastewater originated by the five small fish.

Here below a simple scheme with from my project.

(PS: I'will not eat this fish, but in 28 days I'll put this good salad on my plate! start the countdown....)

Here a brief summary on what is aquaponic:

Aquaponics is a sustainable food production system that combines a traditional aquaculture farming with hydroponic in a symbiotic environment. 

In aquaculture, effluents accumulate in the water, increasing toxicity for the fish. 

This water is led to a hydroponic system where the "nutrients" from the aquaculture are filtered out by the plants for their life, after which the cleansed water is recirculated back to the animals.

Now I'm partner in a Leonardo project with University of Padova and Lubiana, the Swiss ZAHW and three high schools (in Italy, Slovenia and Swiss). The aim of the project is realize an aquaponic system in the two schools.

But my question is... is aquaponic a kind of treatment wetlands? I think yes!