Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Been thinking, a good pull factor for using 40s is the roof. I am thinking the best option is solar panels not grow beds. And go three stories high. I can fit 108 solar panels (260w type) on the 7 containers for a cool $50000. More than enough for total off grid production.

Got some more recarch to do, but a clear picture is starting to emarge, this looks very doable, will need a real good plan to satisife investers questions though.

Ok the question of filtration, I think I have the answer. A dam of 300 micron mesh across the slump the short way, with a area of 8 by 3 feet I don't think it will get cloged easily. That would be pre pump filtration, I will have a sand filter with the output directly into the imput stand pipe, in theory this is the best place for oxygen injection, and feeding. In closing the last filtration point would be when the pipes inter the grow bed.

I would leave the sand filters running 24/7 for chemical filtration cleaning would be done dayly of the the drain pipe filters and 2 times a week of the dam by power washers when the slump is drain.

In all I like the main idea and invite more critisum by the AP croud as we need to open source the task of comertialision our lovely hobby. Thinking of buying some pool cleaning robots to help. Any ideas on how we could deal with getting the containers to drain completely out?

How would you go about calculating the benifits of going solar comertialy? we face disconetion from the main if bills are 2 months overdue. it takes a bout 10 months to harvest units, in the event of a crop failure you have to start over, so if you have a failure at 9 monts you would have to wait a whole other 10 months meaning you paid for 19 months of crop but only gets money from 10 months, if this happens twice in a row it can kill a farm, so it is better to buy your energy by the year rather than the month, buy the 25 years you should get out the solar system upfront, if this makes sence to you.

Pool cleaning robots in AP! Wow! Futuristic farming... great!

Why yes automate everything you can, save on labour,the chicken growing model is heard to beat. Going to take lots of work.

Nanniode what do you think about what I said so far?

Btw, it is called a sump, not slump.

Hope you didn't cause his shoulders to sump...

Since 2005 byap has know I can't win a spelling compitition to will my life, ad this tablet I have has no spell check, making it worst, I am really good at AP though.

Any one wanna talk about my design private message me, even if to say good design.

Thank you.

That's a backwards way of trying to work it..

If you are counting the advantages of solar being that you won't get disconnected after power bills are over 2 months overdue. And that if you get multiple complete fish loses, you won't have lost out by paying for power over that period? Well it's just wrong.

If you have invested in a solar system to run the whole system, you will still be paying for it every month because you'd have to borrow money to do it.

I really think you need to go back to the start and sit down to plan your approach from the start, you also previously listed an advantage of shipping containers being that you could readily sell them afterwards. This should never be part of a business plan, how you can sell off the stuff after it fails, that just isn't a business plan, it's a "I'm gunna play around with some stuff maybe it will work, maybe it won't plan"..

Sadly it seems to be the most common approach to "commercial aquaponics"...

Ok now we have some traction. Well with solar if you get multiple fish losses you will not get disconnected but you still have to pay back your loan, I understand what you are saying EB, but buying 25 years worth of energy up front has to be more advantagious than one months worth. Let me explain how, the hardest time of a AP system would be start up time, during start up time crop failure comes at higher rates than a system that has been around for a whîle, reconection fees etc, are cost, these cost add up. When we borro money for our business we have to borro money for energy cost for at least one fish crop or around ten months. It would be foolish not to borrow money for 3 plus crops to offset any crop failurs when you look at the cost of 3 years operation energy from the grid, it is not very far from buying a of grid system one time. Then you don't have to worry about power outages or disconetion, it can be a pain in the ass worrying about paying the light bill.

I am currently in my planing stage so i want to make as much miss takes as I can on paper, that means less in real life.
About the the shipping container thing, I have a liking for them, they are our biggest standerdised container, and presently usesd in the shipping and handling system, I get a kick out of canibaliseing the S&h industry to uses for AP. I want to as people for money to do this, AP is not really a proven money maker and I want to help people feel safer investing money, my thinking was that it would be a " look if this don't work I will get back most my money and not lose all" type of system. That or I could ask for donations of shipping containers. By persons, componeys, etc.... I fuger most the people intrested in big fish might have acesses to containers as well to lone me, after the first system I would do purpouss built systems from there.

Correct me if I am wrong but you took a shot at commercial AP in the past, what was the outcome?

There are very few commercial aquaculture, hydroponic or integrated aquaculture (aquaponics) operations...

That are based on solar power... and with very good reason... not the least of which is the sheer costs involved.

Whilst your location might have more consistent sunlight hours than most other locations...

You have other potential meteorological factors that might severely compromise a totally solar power approach..

Most particularly the threat from hurricanes...

Your entire operation.. and solar installation could quite literally be blown away.. at best rendered inoperative due to damage...

A single storm could blow your investment down the drain...

Personally, I think you would be better served to invest in backup generator capacity...

No.. I have never attempted.. or claimed to have built a commercial AP system...

I did previously... many years ago... run a small scale commercial hydroponics operation...

And.. see above... it would not have been profitable to base it on solar power... then, or now...