Remediation of aquaculture effluents is important
because, in many areas, water is a limited resource and
depending on the receiving water body, the total mass
loading of nutrients from effluents can contribute to significant
environmental degradation [8]. Aquaponics, also
known as the integration of aquaculture with hydroponics
is gaining increased attention as a bio-integrated food
production systems. The primary goal of aquaponics is to
reuse the nutrients released by fish to grow crop plants
[9]. Integrated culture systems promote nutrient recycling
and aquaculture-agriculture yields so they are more environmentally
sustainable than most traditional farming
practices, which have resulted in widespread soil erosion,
desertification and pollution in Asia [10]. The success of
such systems must however depend ultimately on their
profitibility. Most systems separate fish faeces as quickly
as possible to reduce the nutrient load in the recirculation
aquaculture system to enhance nitrification performance
and to reduce clogging of plant roots, which could lead
to loss of crop productivity [11].