The Impact of Water Quality on the Production of Lettuce (Lactuca sativaL.) Using Polyculture Effluent in ASTAF−Pro Aquaponic System

Aquaponics farming provides an alternative farming method in land-limited areas by combining aquatic and hydroponic systems in a symbiotic environment. This study aims to evaluate the effects of the water used and the quality provided by the cultured fish and crayfish on the growth, productivity, and biomass of lettuce in an aquaponic system. The waters derived from (1) Nile tilapia monoculture, (2) crayfish monoculture, and (3 and 4) Nile tilapia and crayfish with and without physical separation polycultures were used in the cultivation of lettuce for 60 days. In the current study, the water temperature ranged from 18.1 to 24.5 °C, the dissolved oxygen ranged from 4.0 to 5.2 mg L⁻¹, the pH ranged from 7.0 to 7.8, and the nitrite content ranged from 0.04 to 0.5 mg L⁻¹. Thus, the water quality was maintained within appropriate ranges for both fish and plant production. In this study, the polyculture water increased plant production, indicating a considerable promise for using aquatic polyculture in aquaponics to support sustainable agricultural production in adverse climate conditions.