Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Theres a movenent going on in my city where ou vacant proprties are now being used as greenhouses. Ive been looking into aquaponics for a while and now im at the point where I am ready to try test setup for a larger scale commercial setup. Right now setup cost for thier conventional greenhouses is around 90,000 us dollars. It would bw great if i could meet or get my cost below that price. They have to import dirt to use in the greenhouse because the ground have various impurities so aquaponics would eliminate the need for outsourced dirt which saves that cost...The organization markets mostly greens;a rough idea of my vision is an inground fishtank lined with pond liner around 2,500 gallons, dwc beds and media beds made from recycled pallets(free), and maybe a nft system. I would keep a breeding group of tilapia indoors, and raise fingerlings indoors untill warm weather. Switch to trout in the fall and raise fingerling trout indoors during the summer? What do yall think?

What kind of arrangement will you have for the lot you'll be using? Is there a lease? Where you planning on doing this as a full time job? If others are doing it and the idea is popular the price of your greens may drop below a reasonable profit unless you can find a product others haven't discovered yet or something that has value in your area and is ideally suited for an AP system.

I love the idea. Setting up a large scale AP system is no small matter nor is the upkeep. Will you be seeking finance via investors or a business loan? How much risk are you exposing yourself to?

To be honest, it sounds like a bit of a scam. And I can see a lot of people buying into it and loosing money.

How big are the blocks they are talking about? How many holes in the DWC can you build? How many tonnes of fish can you produce? Does it come with a set up distribution network, or will you be relying on farmers markets? Set prices for produce? Do you have any experience with commercial AP, AQ or hydro?

Yeah I've got someone trying to convince me it is a good idea to do in Melbourne but I'm not convinced. Mind you she is keen and if she can get financing...

My biggest concerns are scale and the relocation costs every few years. Having a small scale grid independent power system would help

yes it may work , but will it make money ? you better crunch the numbers first , ROI may kill your plans ... good luck

you've been "looking into aquaponics for a while now" what does that mean exactly?


is that your way of saying you have never run an aquaponics system? what about a recirculating aquaculture system? Do you have any experience growing fish or vegetables for food.

I think you are crazy.


good luck,

Yeah, is this some middle man company? A company that has talked to the local city, pushed some green ideals, now tries to get people in with "set up one of our greenhouses and we'll sell your product, all you have to do is grow it?"

So pretty much all they do is marketing? Marketing to find growers, marketing to the city for locations, then marketing to consumers?

Marketing is important.

I can build as big a greenhouse as I want and grow tonnes and tonnes of food and without marketting it could all fall over. The greenhouse manager and the marketing manager would have at least equal footing because both their jobs would be crucial to the ongoing success of the business.

This subject really fascinates me, as I think it's a great concept.

In the hospitality industry, unfortunately a lot of pioneers go broke, so I'd hate to see someone have a crack and it struggle because it's new (in terms of market penetration anyways). From my more end user point of view with an interest in the subject, I think "buddying up" with an established hydro operation could be an option???

To answer most of yall inquires..
First thanks for all the replies and input that's why my initial post was very broad..
I do have gardening experience but not on a commercial level, same goes for fish. I wont go into detail about the company but its called Big City farms, a quick search on facebook and you can see their operation. They have honed in on the niche local organic foods market and charge retail prices. They sell their product at local farmers markets, restaurants, and ship out of state. the demand is more than they can supply at the moment. they aren't ready to expand with a business plan for other farmers yet so my idea to incorporate aquaponics IS a stretch. But a goal with farmers with their own greenhouses is for them to supply them with the greens and they sell them. I haven't done my own aquaponics system but with the help of some people at "he Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable FutureAquaponics Project at the Cylburn Arboretum" I hope to jump from newbie status fast. they already have a setup I just hope to make mine more economically feasible. I would setup my smaller system of about 1,000 gallons as blueprint for a larger setup and run it for a year or so then present my business plan. I an source funds but the risk must assure me of a return. hey have about an acre and half the mayor let them lease for 100dollars a year. Fish would not be my focus for profit the greens would be. I was just going to invest in a conventional greenhouse but with aquaponics I see I could possibly use a smaller parcel of land(vacant) and buy it and produce close to what they have on an acre. While I gain experience in aquaponics I wa planning on working under them as a full time urban farmer to gain more experience as a commercial farmer.

Steven,

I don't think you will find the responses that you want to hear on this forum. With little to no experience with aquaponics, you are most likely destined to fail when jumping straight into a commercial application. Even if fish are not going to be your focus (they usually aren't in a commercial AP setup), you still need to understand the fundamentals of recirculating aquaculture AND the risks!! Soil gardening is much different than hydroponics, so you will be far behind in the 2 most fundamental principles of this science before even launching your business. I suggest you take some time and do a little bit of reading. Two of the best texts are "Recirculating Aquaculture" by Timmons and "Hydroponic Food Production" by Howard Resh.

If you really plan on diving head first into this kind of venture I'm sure the John Hopkins crew will help you, but they will not solve your everyday problems that will eventually lead to many frustrations and eventually your own downfall. Every experienced member on this forum will tell you the difficulty of such a setup and they have been at it for many years. This forum is a great starting point to recognize other peoples failures and successes. I suggest you start there. Best of luck.

Yes i agree, though note that i did mention i was going to create my own personal 1,000gallon setup that i am running for a min of a year before I even consider starting my business plan write up. I want everyone to understand that i crawl before i walk with projects thats worth upwards 50,000 dollars

This statement just makes me cringe. I don't want to rain on your parade but I do want to save you heart ache.

I've been at this for years and I am currently negotiating with a bunch of people to build a 1ha system. However, since I have had offers and even contracts previously I've decided that either way I am going to be getting a commercial system going this year because while I may get an offer and a contract from any one of these inquiries they may all disappear as well (even after a contract has been signed).

That means I may have to start small. If I have to I have to but you really need to educate yourself as to how difficult this is. First there is all the expertise and skills that you will need but for the moment lets just talk money.

For example...

For the 1ha (10,000m2) system I mentioned above I need a pump that can move 600L/s. That pump will cost $32,000

For a 1/4ac system (1,000m2) I need a pump that can move 60L/s. That pump will cost $17,000.

So you can get tens times the output for less than double the cost. The pumps for ten modules of 1000m2 would be $170,000 just for the pumps then you have the extra cost of having to wire each one up individually. Plus their supporting structures.

For every part and component and material you always will get smacked in the head by scale.

Now if I have to start small because I can't find a commercial partner that will back me then I'll just have to do it but at least I know what I'm heading into.

More power to you but you need a serious and extensive education before you go ahead. I'd also recommend forming a team because as much as I know about fish, AP, engineering, plants, etc. its not enough. My plant knowledge is ok but I really need/want someone on the team who can take on that role and specialise.

My recent post on my fish death shows my lack of knowledge on fish disease. On the one hand that is a good thing because petty much the only fish I have lost have been to mechanical means (pump or power failure) or suicide (jumping out of the tank). For a commercial operation it is actually a bad thing because if at some point in the future there is a disease it will take longer for me to recognise it and take preemptive action. Which is why on all the investment proposals I've always included in the budget funds for an experienced aquaculture professional.

Starting a big system is hard, starting a small system is exponentially harder.

Woah those figures are staggering..Now I guess its time to clarify, the purpose of this thread is to get an idea of how i should build my first system that will mirror the bigger commerical version. And yes i plan on getting a couple experinced and knowlegable people with me and in my area its not to hard to find. Ive seen one on this forum thats in the same state.. so far on the plant end ive learned some people have struggled with temperatures in a greenhouse mid summer groeing greens. Given my lack of emphasis on fish i had go with whatever species is the most hardy whether they are edible or not. Ibreally need advice system setup for a commercial venture..Maximize production, space, less likely for failure. I
´M number crunching my smaller scale system now. It will be in my backyard and i have plenty of space for a nice size system. I figure a 1,000gallon fishtank with atleast 2dwc will give me a nice cushion for error with water parameters. I may be able to get grants to help cost but i have to document and show that this venture is viable. I dont expect this to be a cakewalk especially with the plants and possible fish ailments. Regardless im ready to dive into aquaponics for personal benefit.

A 1 year trial seems like a prudent start.

At the end of the year you will emerge as some sort of aquaponics savant or you will have a good idea of what you still need to work on and improve to be successful. You will at least know enough to create a more reasonable plan than your original post.

Now that you have clarified what the purpose of this thread is [allegedly].What type of information are you looking for exactly?

You say 1k gallon fish tank and two dwc beds. What are your plans for solids filtration and nitrification?