Abstract:

The implementation of aquaponics integrated systems has two main targets as follows: profit maximization, by producing crops as a second economic activity and technological water quality optimization, by using crops phytoremediation potential. Therefore, this research is addressed especially to present and potential investors in aquaculture economic activity, that want to optimize their economic performances by integrating aquaponics to their fish production systems. The aim of this present study is to compare the bioremediation and phytoremediation potential of various aquaponics integrated systems, where different combinations of fish to plants species and different feeding regimes were tested. Therefore, an exhaustive online search was conducted in various databases, in order to find the reviewed scientific articles, relevant for this area of research. Discussions about the advantages of applying different aquaponics techniques like deep water culture (DWC), nutrient film technique (NFT) or substrate technique were made, having the purpose of estimating the performance, limitations and challenges in terms of water treatment, for each one of those techniques. Thus, this scientific overview is meant to improve knowledge about aquaponics systems and their bioremediation and phytoremediation capacity. Substrate aquaponics technique registered, in most cases, the highest performances in terms of water treatment, followed by NFT and DWC, but certain technological conditions have also a determinant influence on present evaluation.