Enhancing aquaponic cultivation in Indonesia: A comparative study of bioball biofilters with different additives

The development of aquaponic cultivation in Indonesia remains limited despite its potential to significantly boost farmers’ and communities’ income. In aquaponics, fish are regularly fed, while plants solely rely on nutrients derived from leftover feed and fish waste, without external supplementation. Biofilters play a crucial role in aquaponic systems, providing a growth medium for microorganisms that convert fish feces’ ammonia into nitrates, essential for plant nutrition. In general, biofilters use bioball material, so as to optimize the biofilter, this study compares the effectiveness of different materials, namely activated charcoal, shells, and coconut fiber, when incorporated into bioball biofilters within aquaponic systems. The research was conducted on an aquaponic installation featuring an NFT system utilizing PVC pipes. The experiment involved 45 tilapia fish, each measuring 7-11 cm and weighing 10-15 grams, alongside red lettuce plants planted in 10 holes per pipe, with 6 replications. After 45 days from planting, the plants were harvested, and observations were made on both plant and fish growth. The growth of red lettuce plants in the biofilter installation with shells addition (BS) showed the best results based on parameters such as plant height, leaf width, plant dry weight, and shoot:root ratio. The installation with coconut fiber addition (BS) showed the best results in terms of number of leaves. BA installation with activated carcoal addition (BA) showed the best results in terms of number of Leaf chlorophyll. The highest percentage of survival for Nile tilapia was observed in the BS and BA installation with a rate of 88.89%, followed by 78.57% in the BC installation, and 60.46% in the BB installation.