Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

hello my name is jeff newbie here ----friendlyaquaponics.com has anyone used their systems got any pics of your system purchased and running from them. I live in pa cold here now anyone in pa doing aquaponics on here. I was thinking about a commercial operation but might do something small to get my feet wet. I was thinking of growing lettuce and tomatoes. Was wondering how to combat the winter can you make money at this in the winter. I have been talking to friendlyaquaponics.com the seem like nice people they sent a few pages from some of their material about how to combat the cold insulating the tanks and the beds. I have been doing hydroponics and have been playing with aeroponics last few years but do not like chemical fertilizers.

Welcome Jeffrey!

I am in Cashtown just outside Gettysburg. I have been doing AP in the basement during the Winter and outside when the weather gets warm. I have been using tilapia which cannot be raised in our climate without shelter and a lot of energy for heat; this year I am going to try trout which are great for our climate.

I haven't heard that any of our members on here have bought any of the packages from friendlies. They don't sell systems as far as I know, only the plans and other information about building systems like theirs.

DWC does tend to scale well for Commercial AP but it is generally a more complex method than a small media based system for the backyard. In your climate, I expect you would probably need a greenhouse to go commercial year round. Even seasonal production would probably want protection to get good tomato production.

Welcome, Jeff.

You will find that keeping water warm is a lot harder than keeping it cool. Insulation on the tank doesn't help much as most heat is lost through evaporation. Greenhouses work....

Have fun!