Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Just wondering if anyone is doing this!, I would like to set-up a system with 6-500 gallon FT's and around 20 4'x8' grow beds.I would concentrate on basil and lettuce and service a few of the higher end eateries here and possibly a farmers market type thing at the local flea market.I could do this for about $5000.00.I would supplement the fish feeding with duckweed,worms and possibly BSF.I see no reason why this could not earn someone a modest income like say $20,000/year.......Any thoughts?

I would use a simple shaded hoop-house as we are 50-60 degrees all winter with plenty of sun, heavy shading and copious use of misting in summer.Seems like a perfect job for a stay-at-home-dad!!

If all your going to grow is basil and lettuce, DWC would be the better bet.

OBO, You might be right, it would certaintly be cheaper to start up, I'd have to do a search as I'm not terribly familiar with DWC.....Thanks!

if you can pull 20k a year from a 5k investment, you are a god.

Or a dealer

as with any sort of farming, pulling in a profit from any of it has more to do with finding a market than with setting it up.
It might be worth while for you to communicate with Angie, She is working on a prototype (see her thread in member systems) for probably just such a system trying to set it up on a budget (she luckily has some slope to work with on her property) and run it profitably.

As a hobby that provides food and education for a family, I have not doubt if AP's worth. On a more commercial scale, you really are at the whims of the market and local regulations.

I hope you do it though as the more people doing it, the faster we save the earth!

Yea, I can help you, if you want it. And OBO is right, if all you plan to grow is lettuce and basil, DWC is the way to go. Read about my system to give you an idea on what I am doing and see if that will work for you. Also there are some awsome links that will show you the results of DWC.
If you have any questions, you can ask here or PM me for more indepth and personal advise; that is how I helped WDYASQ, another member here.

Does WDYASQ have a system thread anywhere Angie?

No, after we exchanged a few e-mails, he dropped off the forum and I haven't heard from him since so I am hoping that he is doing well. I'm sure that if runs into something that he can't handle, he'll be back.

I just checked- the last time I heard from him was June 17, 2008 and we were discussing the economics of AP. When was the last time he posted here in the forum?

21 st July 2008.... guess around the time you gave him the info he needed Angie....

Well, if he does well, it will be better for us all- bring more people to the forum and those of us, who are like me, who have commercial aspirations- easier funding.

Pity though that he hasn't actually shared any updates as to just what design he ended up going with, funding obtained... how the system is going etc... for better or worse...

That certainly would help us all ...

Hi jack but ...
Aint that the truth Rupe
plethora of info from each endevour...
As before I will have some new info when the big system gets some energy
Thought sharing, was a no cost info transpiration of knowlege
...not what could, would or should be done
more our successes and failures, mod's and results
just a thought ... bit of a rant soz
C1

...and

I think a modest family of 5 (2 x adults & 3 kids)
would probably need a 4-6 bed system of 3kl ft, 1kl sump, & 4/6 x 600ltr gb's
25-40sq mtrs of growbed space, and some remote pots (worth the effort).
... and then build up
do you have a pool?