By Lara Fominoff - Lethbridge News Now

Lethbridge College senior research scientist hopes to revolutionize greenhouse and farming practices

Mar 12, 2017 | 2:04 PM

LETHBRIDGE — The first thing you notice when you walk into the Lethbridge College Aquaponics building is the humid, warm air. It feels more like you’re in a tropical garden, than in the middle of the snowy, cold prairies.

There are thousands of Tilapia being raised here in a variety of tanks, and their waste is being turned into a completely non-toxic, clear, concentrated fertilizer to grow a variety of plants.

And it doesn’t smell at all.

This is a world-class facility being run by Senior Research Scientist Nick Savidov, who has dedicated his life to changing the way we think about gardening and farming.

In fact, in 2015 Savidov received $2.1 million from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the largest grant ever received by the college, to commercialize and further develop his system.

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What is aquaponics? Very simply put, fish generate waste. The waste is then filtered and processed by micro -organisms into plant nutrients. Those nutrients are in turn used by plants grown hydroponically– or– in water, without soil, and the re-generated water then goes back to the fish.

“In order to achieve this result, you need to be aware of all advances in three areas: hydroponics, fish culture, and water and waste treatment,” says Savidov, “The three technologies together combine and make a zero waste system possible.”

Savidov is developing and testing what he calls a “closed loop” system he believes will revolutionize greenhouse crop production and farming practices in a number of ways. 

His system uses a limited amount of water, that he says in theory, never has to be changed. Market quality, healthy fish can be raised, along with a consistent supply of vegetables all year long.

“The fact is, in order to feed the planet, we can not go back to the ways we used to do it, centuries ago. We need to end up with more efficient systems. In the case of aquaponics, it’s not just organic… it’s also more productive.”

This is the 4th generation of aquaponics systems he has developed, and after much trial and error, there is no solid waste being produced.

The fish fry come from Klass and Justin Den Toom who run “Current Prairie Fisherman” in Nobleford, just outside of Lethbridge. It’s one of the most popular species of farmed fish in the world, and the company also supplies about 10,000 pounds of live fish to markets in Vancouver and Calgary every week.

As the fish grow, Savidov says they are extraordinarily healthy, “the key to having a healthy fish population and low mortality is the quality of the water. And that’s what the purpose of this integrated system is. How to improve the water quality so the fish will be healthy.”

The waste generated by the fish is specially filtered dozens of times, until a nearly dry, dirt- like solid is produced. That in turn, is deposited into a specially designed tank that keeps the solid suspended, oxygenated, and agitated– not unlike a washing machine. It gives an opportunity for micro- organisms to break it down, and “eat up” the bad chemicals. The PH levels, and temperature are also controlled.

After a certain period of time, and more filtration, the end result is a clear, non-toxic, completely odourless, concentrated fertilizer that has all of the nutrients plants need to grow.

Savidov says the whole process can be adapted for cattle, pig and chicken waste as well.

Another benefit of this system, is that organic fertilizer is often a source of cross contamination and pathogens. Even if farmers do a good job composting, it’s difficult to ensure the absence of pathogenic organisms 100%.

“All of the pathogens either die during the fermentation process, or they are killed during the process of creating the final product using pasteurization or ionization.”

He says it could save farmers, food producers and the government billions of dollars.

Working with industry partners, Savidov believes this is the future of food production systems and he is currently negotiating with the Organics Council of Canada, to recognize aquaponics as organic.

“Many people don’t believe that organic and natural can be (accomplished) without soil. That is wrong…. the wetlands. They aren’t artificial. It takes time to overcome this stereotype.”

“Look around, look at how much water we are wasting. If we don’t use the water efficiently, it could be bad news for the future of the country.”