Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Michael, go nuts on your commercial ideas here.

I wish to utilise an area no more than 120 m2 for the purpose of setting up a small owner/operator style aquaponic business. This would be of a size that someone with a little wee bit of land could make a go of it. A model.

Some commandments I've made for myself in this.

Plan, plan, plan!.
Don't plant anything until I have a market for it.
Don't build a system till I know what I'll grow in it.
Plant several crops so if one fails I can survive off the others.

I'm lucky in that I have my greenhouse for R&D.

My first experiment is with planting. Beds will have corn complemented by beans growing up, with all sorts at bed top level (1 metre) and tomatoes and cucumbers growing down. I hope to organise the explosive chaos I see in Joels beds. I will try to successively plant a line of beds so as some corn and beans finish more is growing halfway in the next bed type thing.

The runoff water will service a floating raft channel of herbs and some DWC buckets of chillies, to see if the second hand water is strong enough to support either...

I definately want to learn how to do Aqua nft strawberries as well. Every man and his dog grows lettuce so not really interested in them the price for fancy is no longer fancy. For maximising profit I need a vertical system that doesn't cost an arm and a leg or require rocket science. NFT seems cost efficient stacked up against large diameter pipes and the stacking systems you can buy. But removing solids is particularly important in NFT so I've much to experiment with as I go.

I believe beds planted as above then nft may work, but have yet to prove it.

Awesome to see AA!! I love the idea of an aquaponics business. My marketing plan for that aquaponics cafe is due next week so it should be done in a few days time and I'll post it up then

Cheers,
Duncan.

Ooooh exciting stuff, both of you!

I've always wanted to do some kind of propagation/animal husbandry & make money off it. (Great to see others with more motivation than myself! )

Looking forward to hearing & seeing more!

It will be hard to remain unmotivated around here.

I think these are great ideas, and opportunities, for 'Homesteaders'.

A point to keep in mind if you are going to show any of your ventures off to the public: Wheelchair access. (I think in some situations it may also be a legal requirement.)

Shin

Duncan, cafe is a cool idea, would you put it in Wynnum/Manly area? I reckon Newfarm would be funky enough to 'cope'...

An aquaponcis café is a great idea – I have been to a few aquaculture resteraunts around the world. One in central Java (Yogyakarta) where the pond had small islands dotted around and bamboo rooms. Each room had a bridge to the mainland and you sat with a 270 degree view of their fish pond. This restaurant was famous and the locals told me I had to visit.

I think the fish we were served was from the surrounding ponds. But it was very cool. Oh and they served carp – Koi or common carp – and were fed on grass (no fish meal around Indonesia) What now interests me is that they preferred carp from Tilapia (Another fish found farmed on Java Island).

I have been to a few garden cafes – one of which is near the Royal Botanical Gardens here in Melbourne – they try to grow many of the vegetables used in their restaurant. Also many of the trout farms have been doing it hard and have tired to open cafes and a bit of a tourist attraction (catching fish in their ponds) – This has worked with varying success.

Good luck and keep us posted how you go with setting it up.

looking for employees ?

I think Newfarm would be good too but a bit pricey. If it was an exclusive Aqua restaurant in Brissy I think you could have it over the other side of the bridge easily and not be short of custom. Depends if you want the Aquaponics and the restaurant/cafe on the same property. Just thinking of the initial capitalisation and ongoing rent/rates. Alternately you could seperate operations and have tanks of some of your fish in the restaurant to be picked and served. Thing is you'd run out of fish long before salad.

AA... did you used to be a Brisbanite?

Yes, you're right, Newfarm would be expensive but it would depend on the set up, you're right... mainly because if it was a pretty alternative place... you'd have to be careful where you put it... right atmosphere.

I like the fish in tanks that they could pick.. you'd probably have to fudge it a little with the fish.. perhaps you could buy fish when necessary from other AP farmers to supplement?

it would be good if you could have at least one functioning system as a talking point....eco tourism as well as food

absolutely beeso! It'd maybe a courtyard kinda thing?

what would be cool would be to have on in one of those mega-nurseries.. or even as an aside to a store which sells hyro/AP products....

Definately!

A functioning model system too, chillies etc in the restaurant growing around display fish tanks. courtyards with a wee pond, nice.

Hey guys,
The aquaponics marketing plan is up. here's a link to it:
Aquaponics Cafe Marketing Plan