Growing fish and tomatoes in one greenhouse

Categorie(s): Agriculture, Food for Mankind, News, Sustainable projects

Economical and ecological attractive project

EcoFutura is a project of four Dutch companies (‘Groen Agro Control’, GreenQ, Aqua-Terra Nova and Priva). They studied the possibility of combining fishfarming in a closed system with greenhouse production of tomatoes. This is the most sustainable method of fishfarming because water and heat are being reused, and the two productions use the same space.

Clean water is added to the fish tanks. The water leaving the fish tanks with the fish faeces is used as organic fertilizer for the plants, so very little or no chemical fertilizer is needed. Other, solid,  waste in the water is being used for making biogas plus compost. 

Cradle to cradle

Heat is also circulated through the water and the air around the tomatoes. CO2 produced by the fishes is taken up by the plants so the system does not add to the greenhouse gas production.

Only one part is lacking: the waste water could be used to grow algae, which could feed the fishes. When this is added to the system the cycle would be completed. They hope to add this to the system later.

http://www.greenq.nl/