Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi everyone,I'm writing an article for my personal finance blog on the economic benefits of growing your own food with an aquaponic system. Aside from all the great psychological and health benefits, can it ever make sense from a monetary point of view too?

Or will growing your own stuff always be more of a labour of love?

There are very few members that have even contemplated aquaponics from a "commercial" aspect Jonathan... some are doing so lately...

Capital investment in order to build an aquaponics venture of the scale required to guarantee market supply and return on investment... is large....

In terms of growing your own vegetables and fish... it's hard to quantify.... there are not just the tangible savings in terms of purchase of produce... but intangible factors such as "food miles", "carbon footprint", health benefits... etc...

From a purely monetary point of view... there's a lot of expensive salads been produced from AP systems... and a lot of money invested in setting up some AP systems...

Ultimately they may/can return on the investment... but perhaps not within a timeframe that a "commercial" business might find acceptable... or even sufficient in terms of return on investment...

But, that's a backyard food production system, and most people probably haven't even done the sums....

Scaled up to a commercial venture... another matter...

Calcs on home system nearly never add labour as a cost ,, there is no way it would proove cheaper than the crappy Coles/Woolies vegies and imported Chinese frozen fish.
Commercial scale ,, take a look at Taylor madxe farms ,, they are making a GOOD dollar. http://www.tailormadefishfarms.com.au/

Yeah... economies of scale, and guaranteed markets...

Over 5000 tonnes of Barramundi a year... and 500000+ lettuce per annum....

Cost them over $2million to setup... no idea what their running costs are...

Have they finished their expansion ,, was suppose to be sea-water , Mulloway ,, sea-weed

If a person counts the set of of an aquaponics system as a hobby (as in something that they might spend some time and money on for enjoyment anyway) and they like growing their own food (veggies and fish) then I personally think it is a good investment to grow healthier food at home. Does a purchased system pay for itself in the savings of the food grown instead of purchased, I haven't crunched the numbers. I kinda suspect that a system can't compare to buying the cheapest food/produce available, at least not in easily tangible numbers. However, if you compared to buying the best fresh/organic/local produce and fish, I suspect growing at home might win. Of course that comparison is hard since you can't find fresh/organic/local produce of many kinds in each particular location.

There is another factor. Doing the gardening and aquaponics might not be a big money savor for me right now but it is preparation for a future where good/safe food might not be so easy to come by.

Growing one's own food is freedom.

Well Johnathon, I reckon it is a better investment than money in the bank.
At present I think interest rates are around 3 1/2%. For a preson that has time on their hands and a little skill they can set up their own system and start producing food within about 4 weeks. From then on it becomes more productive as well as being a pleasant past time. The health benefits alone reduce stress (most of the time), provide fresh healthy food, no food miles, no refrigeration costs and also educational. The holistic benefits can prevent illness and provide light excercise.
To me it is not all about the money side of it.
We did do the figures at the shop based on a four bed system and worked out that it would pay for itself in 2 years.

I have "crunched" the numbers on a commercial AP system, using wholesale prices for lettuce, which at the time was 20 cents per head and had it checked through the SBA for accuracy, viability and was even seeking out a secured SBA loan when the economy crashed and wiped out most of my real estate equity (my loan's collateral), dropping it below the underwriter's qualifications- so I am bootstrapping a smaller scaled version as "proof of concept" and will work up from there. I have been assured that after one season (traditional field agriculture growing season) of profitable operation, I qualify for FSA (farm loan programs) or I can try through SBA again, as they also fund agricultural loans.
I have no doubt that AP can be profitable- my concerns are expensive, volitile cost inputs (feed and energy) and long term operation viability (bacteria crashes, water availability, employee costs, transporation costs) but every business faces certain unknowns- many are facing them now.

Yes. Incalculable value with statistical and projected food failures.

I'm in total agreement with this, the things that entertain you, your hobbies cost money. So I feel it is money I may have spent anyway like pay per view or fishing trips. If I didn't edge walks, weed trim or trim hedges (hypotheticly speaking my neighbors will tell you I don't do these things ) and invested the time in growing edibles Or even duel use edible ornamentals you get double use from the same buck. I'm working on a system that will use my lawn clippings for animal/fish food as well as compost worms and BSF larva. A little more time in the great outdoors and a little less time in front of the devil vision! It just seams to encourage the next steps in healthy living. And as a hobby it is easy/fun, I quit dirt gardening in the heat of summer because it is too much like work. Fighting weeds, stooping in the heat, and fighting insects. A well set up system, not nessasarily expensive saves all the stooping and hard work. And watching fish swim or chickens peck the ground is relaxing, therapeutic. So maybe one less cold beer...nah well maybe not that relaxing.

Well, my system is going to pay for its self in 1 year. This last upgrade using pond liner and gravel breaks out like this..

Pond and Bed EDPM Liner $320
Gravel $480
Lumber $180
Bottom Drain Fitting $14
Pipe $30
Plastic Welding Rod $6
Fittings $52
1000 BlueGill $250
Pump $89
High End Cycle Timer $82

Total: $1503

Labor and extension cords not counted out.

Since March we have produced something like 130 AP only meals; some in this system some from the other, but I am confident this large bed can produce as much. At local produce prices thats over $500 in veggies and greens! By the end of its first year I expect to break even because I am learning how to plant and harvest more productively as well how to eat the plants.

I threw in the fish price even though they all died just to make the start up cost more realistic. The tilapia have reproduced well. Next spring I will be running full steam ahead with enough fish to plant the growbed fully.

Jonathan, also check out Growing Power. They're not exclusively aquaponics, but what they are doing really well is leveraging wasted space in cities, and using the waste stream to produce food. They get food scraps from local restaurants etc. and compost them, and vermicompost them. and then grow food.

Also, using the waste stream to grow black soldier fly larvae and simply some of the water from the AP system to grow duckweed will reduce the feed costs for the fish significantly. I'm not as far along as Angie, but I'm working up to going commercial as well.

And you're doing a good job of promoting aquaponics as well Karen ...

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/displa ... n_farming/

Can't hide much from us around here...

Very well put Faye

You cant put a price on fresh organic fish and veg.
Have you seen the price of it compared to the crap you get at pullthewooloveryoureyesworth ect. ( Big name supermarkets for or overseas members)
Better to spend money on a hobby that feeds your whole family rather than your ego.