Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Can anyone give me their ACTUAL stocking density for Tilapia? Please nothing theoretical. I have all those numbers. The reason I'm asking is that I just got a Florida Aquaculture certification and permit to purchase any variety Tilapia and most suppliers have minimums. I want to get the best $/fish but I don't want to have so many fish that I can't keep them alive when they start growing.

I currently have less than 100 lbs(45kg) in about 500 gallons(1900 lt) of water. I know this is a low stocking rate and I have a lot of capacity left . I'm ready to do a major expansion on my system but I sure don't want to underbuild.

Might have to talk to some serious tilapia farms Jazz.... I know they can be stocked at ridiculous densities....

With the right bio-filtration and oxygenation... usually direct oxygen injection.....





If you were to use the 2:1 ratio usually given in AP terms... 6kg/100ltr.... would give you about 120 x 1kg fish in your 2000ltr tank....

Or 240/250 plate sized fish....

Do you want/need to go beyond that???

Thanks Rupe. I'm looking at possibly 2500 kg at the peak. I know this is a serious amount of fish for a small guy but I do have a market and the time to do it.

WOW!
Cool.

Perhaps call Morning star and see if they can tell you what kind of density they have run without die offs since you know they are rather low tech with minimal filtration and only a small amount of air and definitely not O2 injection. Then you would know the range.

So what did it take to get the certification or permit?

Hi TCL. I think the permit is actually easy to get if you call the right office. When I applied before I was turned down flat out because they don't issue to hobbyists AND they require and aquaculture certification. When I called the Dept of Aquaculture in Tallahasee I was told that I had to have a commercial setup for the certification.

They actually sent an inspector out to look at my system and go over Best Management practices with me. The inspector told me that they should have issued the permit when I first called and that if I had called her office instead of Tallahasee I would have gotten it.

So to answer your question, I think if you can convince them that you're going to sell fish, you can get it.

PM me or call if you want contact info.

BTW, there are commercial aquaponics systems around the state. Someone in Polk county is growing lettuce in NFT using Tilapia. Of course she wouldn't say who it was and I wouldn't expect her to either. She did say that her office is very friendly to this concept.

Wow. I don't want to hijack the thread with this but i have a hard time with your comment: "Someone in Polk county is growing lettuce in NFT using Tilapia. Of course she wouldn't say who it was and I wouldn't expect her to either. "

First off, licenses should be public info. There's nothing wrong in checking out who holds what licenses.

Secondly, why on earth wouldn't you want to know? Gosh, you can alway call them and if they don't want to share info, well, that's cool. But to assume that companies somehow have the right to operate clandestinely is just alien to me. Much of our issue with sub-prime loans would never have happened if there had been more openess..

Please feel free to move this to another thread.

Poppa

2500kg .... wowwwa...

Are you intending to do this as an "aquaculture" venture.... or as an "aquaponics" setup??

Serious amount of water volume required there Jazz....

It's just not possible to run densities above 40kg/m3... with normal "air" aeration....

Normal "air" only has 21% oxygen.... you just cannot infuse sufficient oxygen into the water to cater for a biomass larger than that....

Having said that.... Tilapia seem capable of surviving in oxygen levels way below that of most other fish....

So let's say you could get 80kg/m3..... then to stock 2500kg of fish... you'd need approx 30m3 of tank volume..... 30,000ltrs.....

And filtration for at least that volume..... if you used aquaponic growbeds (say 500ltr - 50% filtration media).... then you'd need at least 120 x 500ltr growbeds....

Floating raft ala UVI might be a better alternative....or nft..... but that requires solids removal, skimmers, settling tanks etc...

Not sure what specs S&S Aqua were running.....

Some serious research needed Jazz ....

Poppa perhaps I didn't exactly expain.... The fact that there is a license is public information. The methods they use however is NOT public and shouldn't be. It's the competitive advantage that most businesses seek to stay ahead of their competion, whether it be real or imagined.

What I meant by my comment was: This was a state employee that visits many businesses. For her to divulge information about who is doing what is totally unethical.

Quick bit of research seems to suggest that the maximum stocking rate in pond based Tilapia aquaculture is between 2000-2500kg... per hectare.... depending on season/temperature.....

And that involved a distinct level of nitrogen fertilisation to generate plankton - the primary feed source....

And almost continual paddlewheel aeration.....

1 hectare equals 10000m2.... assume ponds 1.5mtr deep...15000m3... or 15000ltrs...

About half of what I thought.... but if you're intending to pellet feed.... in recirc tanks....

Then I think your requirements will be at least 30000ltrs.... with appropriate filtration... as I first calculated.... I stress... at least 30000ltr.....

Right on Rupe. Absolutely need some serious research. I'm actually looking at about 30k-40k liters. I am planning some NFT but will also have some serious gravel GB's for bio-filters.

I intend to start construction over the winter and be ready to go sometime around April, 2009. I already have my eye on a big greenhouse.

Think these might be the people in "Polk county" ...

http://www.aquaorganics.farmnotebook.co ... tion=about

And google indicates that the High School also has a farm... and an aquaponics syllabus...

Going Big time then Jazz!

Cool. I'll be watching your progress.

TCL I'll be enlisting your ideas. I need someone to play devil's advocate. I told you some day I'd need your advice!!!

Jazz, see if you can contact member "jdphish".... Mississipi way I believe...

Can't remember if he's farming catfish or tilapia.... but he has a "large" recirc aquaculture business.... much larger than he ever let on here on the forum...

He might be able to give you some pointers....

Thanks Rupe I'll do that. I"ll do that. I really need to talk to someone who is raising Tilapia in a recirc system with heavy densities before I go off half cocked.