Filip Toska runs an aquaponics farm called Hausnatura on the first floor of a former telephone exchange in the Bratislava district of Petrzalka, Slovakia, where he grows salads and herbs.
“Building a hydroponic farm is easy, but it’s very difficult to maintain the entire system so that the plants have everything they need and keep growing,” Toshka said. “There’s a whole science behind it.”
From fish to nutrient solution Toshka built his first aquaponic system over ten years ago in the basement of an apartment building in Petrzalka. One of his inspirations is Australian farmer Murray Hallam, who builds aquaponic farms that people can set up in their gardens or on their balconies.
Toshka’s system consists of an aquarium in which he raises fish, and in another part of the system he first grows tomatoes, strawberries, and cucumbers for his own consumption.
“This system has great potential because the measurement of temperature, humidity and other parameters can be automated very well,” explains Toshka, a graduate of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Shortly thereafter, with the help of a Slovak investor, he founded the Hausnatura farm. He stopped growing fish — he said aquaponics was causing problems with spikes or drops in demand for vegetables on the farm — and switched to hydroponics.
Post time: Mar-21-2023