Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
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The
Aquaponics Guidebook
VOLUME 1
Volume 1
Editors:
Nick Thompson
David Cline, Auburn University Aquaculture
LEGAL NOTICE
You may download, view and print the content of this PDF book, subject to the
following:
(a) the Content may be used solely for personal, informational purposes;
(b) the Content may not be modified or altered in any way; and
Dedication
Aquaponics Gallery
Introducing Aquaponics 1
Aquaponics Models 5
Nitrogen Cycle 6
A Basic Drip System 7
The Ebb & Flow System 8
The Hydroponic Raft System 9
The UVI System 10
Equipment / Media 11
Container Gallery 12
Pump 13
DO = Aeration 14 Personal Agribusiness 32
Heater 15 Plant Farming 33
Plumbing 16 Thinking Production 34
Lights 17 Planning, Education, Finance 35
Water, Testing for Quality 18 Grow Sell Eat Local 36
Roots, Grow Media 19
Bacteria Rule 20 Scaling Up 37
Sheltering the System 38
Growing Fish 21 Outside the Box 39
An Affinity for Fish 22 Technology, Community 40
Choosing Tilapia 24
Other Species 25 Resources 41
Tilapia Wellness 26 Interactive, North America 42
Food, Growth 27 Interactive, Australia, Africa 43
Research Links 44
A Home-built System 28
Getting Started 29 The Last Page 45
System Start-up 30
System Balance 31 Picture Credits 46
Dedication
This book is dedicated to the many pioneers, innovators and engineers
Mary Suits
About This Book
This book is intended to present the concept of
aquaponics and to encourage you to try it out on
a small scale. It will introduce you to a worldwide
network of people who have discovered
aquaponics and found it to be a technology
that could influence the world in a positive and
necessary way.
to try Aquaponics
n In traditional gardening you feed the soil. In aquaponics you feed the plants.
n Your plant harvest will be organic because you can’t use chemicals -- they’d harm your fish.
n Vegetables grow much faster that those grown in a conventional garden.
n It will make you popular.
n You learn a valuable set of skills in science, math, engineering, biology, agriculture and economics.
Sustainable Design Group, Atlanta Nelson & Pade, Montello, WI Murray Hallam, Queensland, Australia
Introducing Aquaponics
The Aquaponics Guidebook
R
Contents
eplace an aquarium filter with a pot of gravel. Put a plant in the pot. Let it
drain back into the aquarium. That’s aquaponics, boiled down to its simplest
form.
Now, consider it on a bigger scale: An above-ground swimming pool with 3000
gallons of water. 4-foot wide grow bed trenches and lined with rubber, stretching
100 feet. Out of this system a staggering amount of vegetables and fish protein can
be produced, to be consumed, traded or sold. Inputs are fish food, electricity and a
modest amount of maintenance.
Or how about this: Water from a fish pond is pumped up hill and filtered down
through gravel grow beds. The clean water trickles back into the pond. Nothing is
wasted. The excess nutrients provide a valuable crop.
Aquaponics is simple and it works.
It’s also curious that it hasn’t caught on in a bigger way, for all the clear and imme-
diate benefits it provides.
• Greens such as basil and lettuce will grow from seedlings to harvest in
about 6 weeks. In a southern, 6 month growing season, that’s about 4 easy
harvests. Basil wholesales for about $10 per pound.
•
If you add a greenhouse or other indoor growing environment with
supplemental grow lights, you can grow year-round.
1
The system does require close monitoring, routine maintentance and daily feeding
(which can be automated). Yet there is no weeding, no back-breaking work with The Aquaponics Guidebook
gas-guzzling machines. Pumps can be solar powered. Tanks can be heated with
Contents
alternatives such as compost, solar or geothermal. Use this guide to get an idea of
how it works and what’s possible.
Natural Model
Growing food builds
Aquaponics can be seen in your nearest pond where food and waste are continu-
ously recycled. This is a sustainable ecosystem. When the system is in balance, the
community and pro-
water stays clean, plants and animals stay healthy. At the pond edges are marshy
wetlands. This is the womb of nature, the deep silt supporting an explosion of life vides jobs for people
at the surface.
At the base of this chain of life are bacteria. Organic waste matter is their food. who need them.
They convert waste matter to nutrients for plants, which then convert CO2 to
oxygen and provide further nutrition and shelter for animals. So the real stars of
aquaponics are the bacteria.
Fish produce 50 - 100 mg of ammonia per kilogram of bodyweight per day. In a
well-stocked tank, that’s pretty intense. They would soon be poisoned by their own
waste if it weren’t for the nitrification process. Bacteria consume and oxidize this
ammonia, converting it to nitrates, which plants need.
Nitrification Process
These ammonia-oxidizing bacteria come mainly from two families: Nitrosomonas
and Nitrobacter. The actual chemistry is complex but suffice it to say that nitrifica-
2
tion is a two-step process:
The Aquaponics Guidebook
1. Certain bacterial specialists convert ammonia to nitrite via oxidiza-
tion. Contents
Large systems are mostly academic research operations, the best known being the Contents
University of the Virgin Islands, headed by Dr. James Rakocy. There are nonprofits
as well, such as Growing Power in Milwaukee and many individuals forging their
own path with help from the internet.
Most large operations have been in development for many years. But Australian
Murray Hallam only learned of aquaponics in 2006 and is now successful at mak-
ing aquaponics widely accepted there through the systems he builds and his media
productions.
Australians and other island nations have been drawn to aquaponics out of neces-
sity. The lack of water there is severe. As the climate changes, other regions, includ-
ing developed nations, are beginning to see the benefits.
One of the most intriguing of new ventures to use aquaponics is Sky Vegetables,
integrating urban rooftops across America with vegetable gardens.
For more on the history of aquaponics, have a look at this document from AT-
TRA, the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.
Apart from these larger entities is a strong global network of individual pioneers
growing fish and vegetables together, which you will find by searching on the
internet.
A word of caution: As you compare the different approaches to aquaponics posted
online, you’ll notice a lot of variation in technical details, often presented as hard
fact. There are contradicatory statements. There is hard science at the base of it, but
PhD’s and amateurs have different points of view. The dynamics of a patio-sized
system are different than a large scale commercial one. So find what works best
for you and don’t let all the details and discussions prevent you from getting your
hands wet. It’s hard to screw up a small system.
4
Aquaponics Models
Contents
Nitrogen Cycle The Aquaponics Guidebook
Contents
What makes aquaponics so unique is that it contains bacteria and uses nitrifica-
tion in the system. This is the field of Bioprocess Engineering.
NItrate Consumption
Plants thrive on nitrates.
Nitrification
A range of bacteria species
Ammonia consumes ammonia, converting
Fish secrete ammonia from their it first to nitrites (NO2) and then
gills and in their waste. to nitrates (NO3).
• Medium Water, Gravel (for plants & bacteria) You could add Heat and Light as
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS and
• Organism People, Plants, Fish, Bacteria Electricity as POWER SOURCE.
ORGANISM
Bacteria
NUTRIENT
Fish Food
CONTAINER
Grow tray
MEDIUM
Gravel
PUMP
CONNECTOR
Valve & Bulkhead
MEDIUM
Water
NUTRIENT
Air
7
The Ebb & Flow System
The Aquaponics Guidebook
The ebb and flow system (also called flood and drain) uses a timer to
turn on the pump to run for half of each hour. Many experts rate this as Contents
the best model to use. These diagrams are to
illustrate the concept
The advantage of ebb and flow is increased oxygenation for the roots. It and are not construction
is also fascinating to watch the regular rising and falling of the water, like drawings.
a tidal flow.
OPTION: TIMER
OPTION: AUTOSIPHON
The water level in
the grow bed rises and
falls about once per hour.
8
The Hydroponic Raft System
The Aquaponics Guidebook
This is an advanced system, best suited for larger operations. You can
still borrow parts of it to make your own system, however.
BIOMEDIA
BIOFILTER
Styrofoam raft
pot with
GROW MEDIA
In-Line
Pump
DIFFUSER
Aerator
Solid
Waste
Manifold Air Line Settling
Contents
Aquaponics has been succesful because island nations have needed it as a
sustainable food supply. The University of the Virgin Islands has one of the
largest and most productive aquaponics systems. Its Director, Dr. James
Rakocy, is a leading expert.
On a large scale like this, there is a lot of extra equipment and processing
that you don’t see on a backyard scale. Managing more fish waste requires
more equipment, letting the solids settle out as it converts it to usable
nitrogen in the filter and degassing tanks. Extra nutrients, P (potash) and K
(potassium) are added.
The stakes are higher in a large system. If something goes wrong, failure of a
piece of equipment for example, thousands of pounds of fish could die in a
short time. This is why it’s important to work your way up over time.
Contents
Container Gallery
The Aquaponics Guidebook
Aquaponics is a series of connected containers. You have a lot of freedom choos-
ing them, as long as they are food-safe and durable. You can make containers from Contents
planks and rubber pond liner. (When making a fish tank with pond liner, be aware that
algae can grow in the folds. Tilapia will eat the algae and can wear a hole the liner.)
You mainly need to contain fish and plants. Eventually you can add containers for
biofiltering, solid waste settling, sump, degassing, etc. It’s still the same continuous
loop.
Avoid galvanized.
This stock watering tank is ideal becuase it is light, Plastic storage boxes are fun, Troughs come in a range of sizes and depths
durable and inexpensive. It has a built-in drain hole. inexpensive and versatile at hydroponics stores and are ideal for grow
but can crack and leak. beds, such as this Botanicare model.
A container can be a liner for a hole in the ground. Backyard swimming pools give you the most water
( www.aquaponics.com ). for the money. A 2500 gallon inflatable pool costs
A pond is a fish container. under $200 ( www.tilapiafarmingathome.com ).
12
Pump The Aquaponics Guidebook
The Heart of Your System
Contents
Aquaponics relies on a pump. If the pump fails, the fish could die quickly, so plan
to have a battery-powered backup aerator at all times (shown on page 14). The
aerator will help to oxidize the ammonia until the power returns. The need for
this increases as your system grows.
You need to move a certain amount of water through your tank each hour.
Pumps are measured according to their GPH (Gallons per Hour) or GPM (Gallons
per Minute). The pressure they produce at certain height above the pump is the
“head”. The higher the water is pumped, the lower the pressure. Head pressure is A submersible pump sits on the
measured in PSI (Pounds per Square Inch). bottom of your tank. The screen
prevents small fish from getting
Pump types include submersible, (at the bottom of the tank), or in-line which stuck to the inlet and dying.
sits outside the tank, the water line coming in and going out.
12’
8’
TOTAL HEAD
7’
6’
5’
1’
Think of aeration as the lungs of your aquaponic organism. Fish, plants and
bacteria need plenty of air. It keeps the system cleaner, with minimal algae
growth. In nature, water plants and splashing water oxygenate the water, but in a Aeration Components
tank you need to add it using an aearator and a diffuser.
DO Test Kit
When you measure the DO, remember that each fish (tilapia) needs at least 5.0 Air Diffusers
ppm (parts per million). If it’s below that, get a bigger pump. Use a DO test kit
and check the levels every so often. In a small system if you aerate well and
everything looks healthy, checking the levels once per week is probably fine.
Every detail affects your oxygen levels: temperature, biomass (total fish weight),
water depth, species of fish, etc. If you split your air flow into multiple tanks,
using a manifold, you need to count for that.
A rule of thumb for air is that 1 cfm supports 27 pounds of fish in a tank 4’ deep.
Backup Air Pump
DO Test Kit
Manifold
(splits air flow into several tubes)
14
Heater 90°
The Aquaponics Guidebook
If you live in the South, or keep your fish indoors, Tilapia
you can get by without a heater. Cold water fish such 85°
Contents
as bass, bluegill, perch, trout or catfish also minimize
the need. Otherwise you need to heat the water, 80°
especially for tilapia, which need their water to stay Bass, Bluegill,
between 75° and 90°. Perch
75°
The chart below shows how to plan water tempera- Koi, Goldfish, Carp
ture to match tank size. 70°
The problem is that they must be crafted and installed perfectly. It is chal-
lenging to do so, as any air leak, blockage or improper ratio of tube size /
water pressure / air pressure will prevent it from working. There is much
less headache in using a pump with timer that cycles on and off every A great way to learn about
thirty minutes. Yet the magic of it is compelling and worth trying out. fluid dynamics, autosiphons are
Click here to inquire about plans and instructions for making your own simple to make, though difficult
autosiphon. to master.
16
Lights
More light = more vegetables, faster. The Aquaponics Guidebook
Contents
Adequate light levels are critical to your success in growing vegetables with aqua-
ponics. You can get by with only natural light if you have a greenhouse or you intend
to grow only in the summer for your own consumption. If you want to seriously
grow for production, year-round, or indoors, you’ll need a lighting system, especially
where fruiting vegetables are desired.
Coverage - How many lights do you need for your grow space?
250 watt light covers about 3x3 feet (9 square feet)
400 watt light covers about 4x4 feet (16 square feet)
600 watt light covers about 6x6 feet (36 square feet)
1000 watt light will cover about 7 x7 feet (49 square feet)
Overall, your crop yields will vastly improve with a good lighting set-up. T5 Fluorescent Lighting is a recent
innovation. Traditionally, fluorescent
lighting was used for seedlings,
cuttings and plants with low light-
level requirements and HID was used
for established plants and plants with
higher light-level requirements. T5’s,
Traditional Fluorescent Lighting
however, have changed that. With T5’s
you get:
The regular shop light does not
provide enough of what your • High-luminance.
plants need, which is why these
other products exist. It’s better than • Low heat / energy consumption
nothing, but don’t expect the best
performance from your plants. • Broad color spectrum.
17
Water, Testing for Quality
The Aquaponics Guidebook
If you’re more of an intuitive per-
son in the way you grow things, Water Quality Parameters Contents
here’s a chance to try something
Tilapia, 75° - 90° F
new. An engineered growing sys-
tem is managed by numbers. You Un-Ionized
DO pH Alkalinity CO2 Nitrite Hardness Chloride Salinity
need to control the technology mg/l units mg/l mg/l
Ammonia
mg/l mg/l mg/l
mg/l
and keep things in balance and a
test kit is how you do it. 3 - 10 6 - 9 50 - 250 0 - 30 0 - .04 0 - .8 50 - 350 0 - 5000 0 - 15
1. Temperature
2. Ammonia 4 - 10 6 - 8 50 - 250 0 - 25 0 - .08 0 - .6 50 - 350 0 - 2000 0 - 4
3. pH
Bass & Bluegill, 70° - 85° F
4. Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
Un-Ionized
DO pH Alkalinity CO2 Nitrite Hardness Chloride Salinity
Ammonia
mg/l units mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l
mg/l
pH Too High
High pH levels, above 8.5, means the water is too alkaline. It is often a
symptom of imbalanced conditions, especially related to carbon dioxide
(CO2). CO2 is a function of fish respiration and photosynthesis of water
plants. There are quick-fix water additives like alum. This is less of an issue
More pricey are
electronic devices
for smaller tanks than for larger fish ponds.
that give you a
number, without Dissolved Oxygen Level Too Low
having to compare This is easy to fix by adding more air stones. You can’t have a DO level
colors. that is too high. When the water is saturated, extra air disperses into the
atmosphere.
18
Roots Grow Media
The Aquaponics Guidebook
A good mix of grow media allows nitrification to take place, where
the ammonia from fish waste is converted by bacteria into useful Contents
nitrogen.
Permatil by Stalite is
expanded slate. It is used as a
soil additive for gardens but
is an excellent grow medium
for aquaponics because of its
light weight, high surface area
and relatively low cost. Mix
it 50/50 with low-cost pea
gravel.
Expanded clay, such as Hydroton,
Actual Size
Viastone and other brands, are used
in soilless systems for their ability to
hold roots and provide a good home
for bacteria. The pebbles are porous
and light. They allow plenty of Actual Size
water, air and nutrients to reach the
roots. A large bag costs about $35,
so it is most cost-effective when
mixed with less expensive gravel.
Actual Size
A Partial List of
Nitrogen Cycle Microbes
(in order of importance)
Nitrosomonas
Nitrosomonas
Nitrobacter
Pseudomonas
Bacillus Bacillus
Escerichia Coli*
Azotobacter
Clostridium
Clostridium
Nitrobacter Pseduomonas
20
Growing Fish
Contents
An Affinity for Fish
The Aquaponics Guidebook
O ne hundred years ago, growing food was part of our culture. Now you can
help bring it back with an aquaponics system. The fish of choice is tilapia.
There is both art and science to raising fish. The art is in the intuitive nurtur-
ing that we know as gardeners, pet owners and parents. There is a lot of creative
freedom in putting your system together and making it fit your space, conducting
experiments out of curiosity. The fish are beautiful to watch. Seeing plants grow
so quickly is encouraging. Hearing the splash of flowing water is relaxing. This is
technology that feels right, a model of an ecosystem.
The science is in observing, measuring and controlling the many variables that keep
your system in balance. The good news is that in starting small, the critical numbers
are fewer and easier to manage. Once you have the feel and experience of a working
system, scaling up becomes more feasible.
Before long your system will be in balance and thriving. Young fish need several
feedings per day, so you many need an automated fish feeder.
As the fish grow, you will want to divide the fish tank or add extra tanks for differ-
ent sized fish to separate the larger ones, giving the smaller stock a chance to grow.
Your fish will start to grow quickly and you’ll be planning what to do with them
and looking ahead to starting a new batch, learning to stagger their production.
Your success will give you confidence.
After you grow succesfully with aquaponics, you may feel like an expert, but it’s
22
the failures that create experts. Some fish may die, equipment may fail, plumbing
may leak. Be prepared for at least a few bumps in the road, it’s part of the process of The Aquaponics Guidebook
learning, getting to your first decent-sized harvest. Then you’ll have earned a stripe
Contents
or two.
Educational Value
Hundreds of schools are using aquaculture and aquaponics in their cur-
riculum. There is so much to learn from it. Children of all ages can enjoy
keeping track of the variables, how to measure and control them. This What Aquaponics
type of interactive learning opportunity is extremely rare, especially as
it’s not merely “academic” but actually produces food quickly, ideal for Teaches
helping with short attention spans.
Even though aquaponics is new to our culture in the US, there is a great
support community online. Before long your efforts will help create a Chemistry
local community of growers, perhaps the best benefit of all.
Botany
Horticulture
Agriculture
Math
Learning aquaponics is
23
Choosing Tilapia
The Aquaponics Guidebook
Contents
230
Another option is to keep natives such as bass,
bluegill and catfish, easy to find from local pond
stocking firms, or you can catch them yourself.
Days
If you just want to look at the fish and use them
as waste producers, that’s just as valid and easier
because you don’t have to kill them. In that
case, koi are ideal.
550 grams,
over 1 pound
24
Other Species
The Aquaponics Guidebook
One problem with tilapia is that you have to buy them in quantity
Contents
from breeders. The cost is under $200 for 1,000 fingerlings, including
shipping. That’s a lot of fish for someone starting out and you’ll need at
least 2000 gallons of heated water by harvest time (2 gallons per one
pound of fish).
Another issue is that tilpia are a potentially invasive species and DNR
offices want to prevent them from getting into local waterways,
especially in the southern US. As long as they are never dumped into
any open waterway, it should be okay, but check with your local DNR
office.
Wild fish are available from your local streams and lakes by hook or by
net for the price of a fishing license. You can get a free supply of fish, and
at the same time interact with your local ecosystem. Game fish such
as bass and sunfish can be caught with hook and line only. Nuisance
species and bait fish such as carp and shad can be netted. Check with
Carp and koi family.
your local DNR office to find out what the rules are in your area.
Contents
An all-male tilapia crop is preferable because males grow more quickly than
females. A mixed-gender batch can breed, overpopulation can occur and the
system will deteriorate. Here is where things get controviersial. Fisheries avoid
this problem by adding methyltestosterone that converts young tilapia females Sites About INAD
to males. The reason for this, of course, is profitability due to faster growth.
These hormones have no government standard of safety, but the US government
and
does allow their use, as long as records are sent to the Fish and Wildlife Service. Aquaculture.
This program is called INAD, for Investigational New Drug Exemption. To the
right are more links that provide a more in-depth look at INAD and other 2009 INAD Sign Up
aquaculture industry topics.
Another topic is genetics. There are over 100 tilapia species, with a very few pure
breeds determined to be the best. Each breeder has a specialty and a reputation
to uphold, not so different from a vintner. There are pure line species like nilotica Aquaculture Drug
and mossambicus. Specialized hybrids are also available, such as the pennyfish, Approval Process
with decades of detailed records to back up claims of superior quality.
There is a lot to absorb when it comes to managing the health and well being of
tilapia and other fish. Starting small will allow you to get comfortable running a
balanced aquaponic system with low risk of disease. Tilapia Health Diagnosis
and Treatment Advice
Aquanet Aquaculture
Community
26
Food Growth
The Aquaponics Guidebook
SGR, Specific
Growth Rate:
How fast the Percentage of Growth rate for Feed Conver-
fish are growing. body weight all fish com- sion Ratio:
gained. bined (biomass). Amount of
Amount of food
added per fish / food used /
Growth of the fish per day. Total weight
from a fraction of an gain.
It’s better to underfeed than ounce to 19.75 ounc-
overfeed. Partculates of es, over 1 pound.
uneaten / undigested food Tilapia Feeding Chart
will stress your biofilter. Daily
Feeding Cumulative Daily
Age Weight Weight Gain SGR Feeding Feed/fish
Period FCR Feedings
Rate
Aquaculture Feeding Chart Day Days Gram G/Day %/Day %/Biomass G/Fish/Day x/Day
them yourself organically. 130 130 - 140 172.8 2.57 1.39 2.6 4.5 1.41 6 -8
Contents
Getting Started
The Aquaponics Guidebook
A Simple System
Contents
Below is a modular aquaponics unit that you can build.
It’s economical, sturdy and the parts should be easy to
find. If you want to add to it later, it’s easy to replicate.
Before long you will be adding thousand-gallon
swimming pools and a long line of grow beds.
29
System Start-up
The Aquaponics Guidebook
Culturing the System Contents
The beneficial bacteria in your grow beds take time to become established. Here
is one process to get your system for getting your system up and running in two
weeks.
• After two weeks the system should be ready. You can then replace the
goldfish with your crop fish.
The bacterial culturing process will continue to maturity for a few more
weeks.
Adding Tap Water
The chlorine in tap water can burn the fishes gills, and is harmful to bacteria so
keep an open barrel (with a scren top) full of water that’s been sitting at least a
couple of days. Aerating it will speed up the degassing. You can use a product
such as Ammo Lock, which instantly removes both chlorines and chloramines.
You can also invest in a reverse osmosis (RO) filter which delivers pure H20.
These cost a few hundred dollars but are worth it to minimize any guesswork
about the content of the water.
Adding Fish
Make sure the water temperature is right for the fish.
If the fish are in a water-filled bag, float it on the surface of the tank water for an
hour or so. Then you can release them into the water and start feeding them.
Keep a close watch on the fish. It’s normal to lose a few in the transport process,
5% is acceptable. If you prepared the tank carefully, there should be no problem.
Congratulations! You are now the parent of an ecosystem. The real learning will
now begin.
30
System Balance
The Aquaponics Guidebook
Understanding Key Ratios Helps You to Troubleshoot
Contents
BALANCE
A Balanced System
Here you have many fish producing a good amount of
ammonia. The biomedia in filter and grow bed is adequate to
convert it to nitrates. There are enough plants to absorb all
the nitrates. Water returns clean to the fish tank.
Enough biomedia
Enough fish
Enough plants
LESS MEDIA /
Not Enough Biomedia / Grow Media MANY FISH
Here is the same amount of fish with a small amount of
biomedia to convert ammonia to nitrates. The water is
mostly unfiltered, so too much ammonia returns to the tank.
FEW PLANTS /
MANY FISH
Not Enough Plants
The same amount of fish with adequte biomedia but too few
plants to take up the nitrates. Too much nitrate returns to the
fish tank. Not dangerous but unhealthy.
Solution: Add more plants to soak up the extra nitrates. Too few plants
Per volume of fish...
Too much nitrate returns
to fish
FEW FISH /
MANY PLANTS
Not Enough Fish or Too Much Water
A small amount of fish, or too much water, with enough
biomedia and enough plants. There is not enough ammonia
being produced for the plants to grow well.
Solution: Add more fish or grow fewer plants. Not enough ammonia
to nourish plants
31
Personal Agribusiness
Contents
Plant Farming
The Aquaponics Guidebook
Plants Are #1
Contents
In aquaponics, plants are the primary crop, fish are secondary.
When you discover that there is a steady market for your Fruiting Plants for Aquaponics
vegetable crop, this will make sense. You can have several
plant harvests over the 8 months it takes for tilapia to mature. Tomatoes
Corn
You have great freedom to choose what vegetables to grow, Peppers
with a couple of caveats:
Cucumbers
Squash
• Greens grow fastest and best, six weeks from seedling to
harvest is common. Melons
Peas
• Fruiting plants do well but require full nutrient levels from Beans
the fish tanks. Some say it’s necessary to add phosphorous and Strawberries
potassium to the grow media. Others report great results with
no additives. Experiment both ways and find out the truth.
In the spreadsheet below you can see that a 10’ x 10’ basil bed has the potential
to generate up to $1500 per month, at $10 per pound and ideal growing
conditions.
Pro Forma Basil Revenue
Of course if everyone is growing basil the price starts to drop and you have to
find another crop, which is simple agricultural economics. Hobby gardeners
tend to forget this because we are conditioned to think of a single five-month
growing period, a harvest in September, with dozens of tomatoes and squash
eaten, given away or left to rot. With aquaponics you gain so much efficiency Local Harvest Network
over traditional gardening that someone with even a modest amount of growing
space can become a reliable supplier to wholesalers, restaurants, groceries and
co-ops. There may also be emerging crop markets for (legal) medicinal herbs for
Asian communities and other groups. There are likely other valuable markets
remaining to be discovered or even created. Who will get there first and cash in?
How to Do It
You don’t need an MBA to become an aquaponics business person. Just find
out who wants what, how much they want and what they are willing to pay.
You can do it like a CSA (Consumer Supported Agriculture), recruiting families
to subscribe. Or you can talk to owners of high-end restaurants and restaurant
chains, grocery stores and wholesale distributors. Make some calls, promote
yourself. Being the first one in is very important.
USDA Organic 1
The Word on Organic
Initially the FCS made loans solely through cooperatives, using land and
improvements as collateral. It gave farmers a new alternative to the high interest
rates and short terms offered by banks.
During the Great Depression, the FCS and Congress continuously struggled with
restructuring the way agriculture was financed. That era saw the creation of new
legislation to help manage the crisis. The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929, the Beginnning Farmers
Emergency Farm Mortgage Act and the Farm Credit Act of 1933 were legislated.
The new Farm Credit Administration (FCA) was created by President Roosevelt
to regulate the whole system. This is how today’s Farm Credit System was
established.
Beginning in the 1950’s, the culture of the family farm began to fade as corporate
interests became stronger. In order to increase production, farmers had to Beginnning Farmers 2
finance more equipment, machinery and land, so reliance on credit increased.
Eventually the recession of the 1980’s proved fatal to scores of family farms. This
heartbreaking event was a major cultural shift in our society, giving over theh
bulk of food production to corporate agribusiness.
The financial model of aquaponics is much different than that of our current
model of farming. There is much more control over such variables as weather, CSREES
soil quality and acreage. If you use a greenhouse the season not an issue.
Machinery such as combines are not needed, nor are pesticides and fertilizers. It
is an intensive growing system with a more predictable rate of return, measured
by the square foot instead of by the acre. With harvests of greens every 4 - 6
weeks, the payback process can be predictable and manageable. If there is a crop
failure for whatever reason, it’s on a much more contained scale, so the risk is
lowered. The entire sytem lends itself well to the needs of small growers. Gov’t Loan Programs
Today’s financial system is much more competitive than ever. Rates and
payback terms for small equipment loans can be found at all kinds of financial
institutions.
With aquaponics we have the opportunity for the next phase of personal
agribusiness. The creation of regional growing cooperatives would follow.
The US government has always supported farming in small and large ways.
Within the USDA is a vast store of valuable information which exists for the
purpose of making it easy for even novices to grow for production, even if your
nearest farm field is an hour away. On the right are links to these sites.
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Grow Sell Eat Local
The Aquaponics Guidebook
The Whole Foods Influence
Contents
Even though the family farm as we once knew it is mostly gone, a new small and
local agriculture has been emerging, supported by the likes of Whole Foods. The
growers in their network include some of the remaining family farms who have
been able to make a living, thanks to stores’ customers who are willing to pay Produce Buyers
more for a high-quality product that supports a sustainable, environmentally-
friendly model.
The problem is that many of these farms should be more “local” than they are.
Although it beats bringing in peppers from Chile, four hours from the store is
a long way. This represents a great opportunity for aquaponics in urban areas,
where the growing, selling, buying and consuming can all take place within a Whole Foods Local
twenty-mile loop of beltline highway.
Fruiting vegetables like tomatoes, red and green peppers and eggplant are in the
highest demand in the off-season, less so in late summer. Distributors are happy
to tell you what they’d like to buy over a year’s time.
Recent years has seen problems with food safety, especially e. coli on spinach
and salmonella with peanuts. This is an ongoing concern that requires growers
to have at least $1 million in insurance coverage. Fortunately this costs only a few
hundred dollars per year and could decrease with a growing network of small,
local growers working in a co-op.
Remember that vegetables are the number one moneymaker in aquaponics. The
fish’s real function is to provide ammonia. A half-ton of tilapia may yield a few
thousand dollars, but a promotional fish fry may have higher value as a way to
thank customers and neighbors.
Aquaponics Cooperatives
Fish form in schools to gain a group advantage. It’s the same with growers who
pool their resources.
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Scaling Up
Contents
Sheltering the System
Planning for Year Round Growing The Aquaponics Guidebook
Your basic aquaponics system can go just about anywhere it’s warm, as long
as you have enough light for your plants and power for pumps, aerators
and tank heaters. With grow lights, you can put it in your house or garage. A
basement can work if there is access to water and a drain. A healthy system
is relatively odor-free – it’s basically the same as a large aquarium. You can
separate the fish tank and grow beds, keeping fish in the garage, plants a few
feet away outdoors, perhaps contained in a lean-to hoop house.
The best shelter is a greenhouse. You can find them as kits or make hoop
houses, a good low-cost alternative to a greenhouse. There are a wide range
of kits and ideas available. Or you can replace your garage roof with double Garage becomes greenhouse with
double-wall polycarbonate roof.
wall polycarbonate.
Security
Security and safety is an issue, to keep the fish safe from vandals, thieves or
curious children. A water tank of any depth requires keeping young children
out.The biggest threat of theft outdoors comes from herons and racoons
who will eat all of your fish. People with koi ponds deal with this issue all
the time. So an exposed fish tank needs some type of cover, either netting
or a hinged frame with screen.
Region
Aquaponics will function much differently in Florida than it will in Hoop houses are easy to build,
Minnesota, obviously. For northern climates one should factor in some type effective and inexpensive.
of greenhouse structure to extend the season. Tilapia can be replaced with
cold water fish like bluegill or catfish.
Abandoned Buildings
Public Aquariums
The large public aquarium also deals with waste, but on a
massive scale. The primary goal is to make sure the water is
perfect for fish. However, there may be a big opportunity to
capture a wasted resource and use it for growing.
Koi Ponds
Koi are excellent producers of ammonia, so every koi pond
is a starting point for aquaponics. Koi ponds are designed to
make beautiful landscapes however, so it’s not likely you’ll
see rows of industrial grow beds next to them. But grow
beds can be dug into the ground and they don’t have to be
straight. Take a look at Japanese gardens with dry gravel
stream beds and you’ll get some ideas about how to make it
look natural. Simply dig trenches in serpentine shapes uphill
from the pond and pump the water through the gravel to
return to the pond. Biofilters and other equipment can be
hidden. Any plant you grow, edible or not, will grow very
well.
Farm Ponds
Then there is the farm pond. The problem to solve is how
to concentrate enough fish waste so that grow beds can
achieve the volume of nutrients that they need. One option
is to contain a volume of fish in small fenced area at an end
of the pond. An inline pump will draw water through the
fenced area to increase the ammonia. This will require some
experimentation to get consistent results. As the need for
more grow space increases, simply expand the size of the
penned area.
Swimming Pools
Finally there is the abandond, below-ground swimming
pool, waiting for a new lease on life. One pool could hold
enough fish water for a whole neighborhood of grow beds.
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Technology Community
The Aquaponics Guidebook
Contents
New Community
Contents
Interactive Tour Page
North America
The Aquaponics Guidebook
Contents
Floating Gardens
Crop Diversification
Nelson & Pade
Vancouver Island U
Growing Power
Flying Fish
Freshwater Institute
Acuaponia
Auburn ALEARN
Friendly Aquaponics
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Interactive Tour Page
Australia + UK + South Africa
Contents
Urban Aquaponics
Aquaponics Shop
Practical Aquaponics
Red Heeler
AquaponicsUK Scotland
England
South
Africa
Synaptoman
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Research Links
The Aquaponics Guidebook
Contents
USDA Defines Sustainable Agriculture
Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education
Alternative Farming Systems Information Center
Cooperative State Research, Education & Extension Service
Western Sustainable Agriculture
Sustainable Urban Gardens
Denver Urban Gardens
Milwaukee Urban Gardens
Philadelphia Urban Gardens
Urban Habitat Chicago
Urban Gardens Los Angeles
Seattle Tilth
Atlanta’s Farmer D
Just Food in New York City
Urban Gardens DC
Growing Edge Magazine
Farmer John’s CSA, Angelic Organics
Urban Garden Magazine
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The Last Page
The Aquaponics Guidebook
Contents
For the price of a used Harley you can grow enough food
for a family, and then some.
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Picture Credits
used with permission The Aquaponics Guidebook
Contents
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The Aquaponics Guidebook
Contents
http://www.accesstoaquaponics.com
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