Aquaponics is the combined cultivation of fish in aquaculture systems and plants in hydroponic systems (HPS). This study aimed to explore and evaluate new aquaponics system designs in Jakarta, Indonesia, in terms of water and nutrient efficiency, and/ or profitability. The systems are combination of recirculated aquaculture system, HPS, duckweed cultivation system, and anaerobic digester units. The latter converted settled material from RAS to biogas and waste sludge. In total, one brackish water (BW) system with barramundi-tomato and three freshwater (FW) systems with Nile tilapia-rice-duckweed, Nile tilapia-rice, and Nile tilapia-tomato were investigated using dynamic mathematical models using mass balance. State variables included are fish biomass, feed, plant biomass, phosphorus, NH4+, and NO3-. The results showed an increase of N, P, and water use efficiency by 10%, 18%, and 31%, respectively, in FW system of Nile tilapia-rice compare to Nile tilapia-tomato. Meanwhile, adding duckweed in the Nile tilapia-rice FW system only contribute a slight increase of nutrient and water the efficiency while worsened the already negative net present value (NPV) of the system due to the high land prices in Jakarta. The BW system had similar water and nutrient efficiency to FW system of Nile tilapia-tomato, but a lower NPV. Profit of the Barramundi-tomato and Nile tilapia-tomato becomes comparable if the hydroponic area in the former system can be expanded by 35%, or the selling price of tomato or fish can be increased by 20%. Given the expected growth of both the production of tomatoes and aquaculture in Indonesia, there is potential for further introduction of aquaponics systems in Indonesia.
Nurhayati Br Tarigan is a PhD candidate at Wageningen University and Research (WUR), the Netherlands. She finished her MSc in Biosystem Engineering, WUR and BSc in Bioengineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Indonesia. She is passionate to develop sustainable agriculture in Indonesia through knowledge transfer with local farmer. Her current PhD project is about nutrient and water quality management of pond aquaculture in Indonesia, with a goal to create smart farming avoid overfeeding. Before her study in the Netherlands, she was a research assistant in ITB, conducted researches to valorize agricultural waste in West Java, Indonesia and converted it to high protein biomass
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