Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Is it unheard of to design a sysrem where you can harvest mature fish every week?

I'm thinking of a setup where you can add new fingerlings indefinitely the same time as the mature batch is harvested.

Many thanks

I like that idea! The simplest form of this would have two fish tanks, connected but the fish can't intermix. As the mature fish are ready to harvest, take a few each week. The other tank will have the next batch of fry / fingerlings to start the cycle over again. By the time you harvest all the mature fish, the fish in the other tank are reaching harvest size. The empty tank can now be replenished with fry.

One issue is different size fish have different feed requirements, and eat at different rates. So it's hard to mix fish size in one tank. I have a tank like that now and it is not working well. Smaller fish are dying occasionally, probably due to aggression from bigger fish or they are unable to get enough food as the bigger fish eat it all.

Another option, depending on space and quantity desired for harvest, is just have two or more smaller systems rather than one large system. Each one could be at a different point in the growth stage.

Plans for a little more complicated 'farm' is in the works. I'll post it as it progresses. It consists of not 2, 3, or 4 segments (tanks) but 11 eleven! I'm thinking of harvesting 150# per week! With 24 towers holding roughly 2,000 plants. All crammed into 315 sq ft. Not sure if or when this project will ever bare fruit so to speak. Estimated cost purely of the top of my head 10k. Ha, im still looking for full sun :flower:

Stil, or never ending questions need answers too. Huge undertaking for 1 p00r farmer.

Glad to see some interest thanks

Sounds like a good plan, you can start one system a month for a year and by the time you are "done" you will be harvesting. The downside is any design flaws might be x11. As long as you have lots of experience, a good working design and a solid knowledge base it should go well.

If that is not the case I recommend starting one prototype system and running it for several months up to a year. See what works well and what doesn't. It's also a lot easier for startup costs to start small, then expand.

Also, have you considered sand media? If not, you should; no solids filtration required. But you need to do your research for a proper design and expectations.

Here's the basic design.11 segments =11 weeks More details shortly.

It appears I have some calculation errors with this new design.
I had just read water to fish ratio of 3:1 prior to starting this thread.
Since then I started to think about plant to fish ratio when i discover anothers recommendation of water/fish to be 8-10:1.
I guess this is one of the many variables within each setup.
Here's what I do know from my very limited experience.

With all that said, I know aquaponics isn't as complex as it's made out to be. Although it's hard for me to grasp the traditional style.

Taking that advice with much appreciationfor it.

Wow, cool looking design. Kind of futuristic. It looks like the FT is at the bottom, and all fish will be in one tank? Then the grow beds surround the FT on multiple levels? I'm trying to imagine what the access to the plants would be like, the plumbing for this system and the maintenance. It makes my head hurt. It seems like it may be overly complex.

I find that the more complexity means more failure opportunities for disaster and increased maintenance. The simplest system I have is very productive and very low maintenance. While my largest system has the FT as the lowest tank and no sump tank, it takes a lot of complexity to make that system work well and manage.

My typical chift-pist is the easy way to go and very productive.

As for ratios, you will find many various recommendations. I advocate FT volume to GB volume of wet media 1:1 minimum and up to 2:1. Fish density is better measure against bio-filtration, which means wet media for a typical system. I like to keep 1 lb fish per 5 gal water. With 1:1 FT:GB this also means 5 gal wet media.

I have exceeded this significantly, at one time I had 300 lbs of catfish in a 900 gal FT with 900 gal GBs + 300 gal raft beds. They did well for many months until the pump died and the fish died within hours after. High stocking means they system needs near constant monitoring or professional level automation and monitoring systems.

Have you read the FAO guide to Aquaponics? I think that is one of the best resources to get started if you are serious about learning and building / maintaining a system.

There's a lot to digest in your comment. This setup though complex in design, is suppose to have least interaction with highest output.

The most difficult thing I see here is you really can't start small and add on. It all has to work in conjunction. The plumbing might be a bit of a challenge. Just going to take some looking at and play around with some configurations. Have already figured out there'll be a backup pump already wired and plumbed in. How do you loose fish within hours? My rinkydink system in the past went 4 to 6 weeks unchecked. Meaning no circulation, no bubbler, nothing.

I think the only thing that could possibly be done in succession would be the canopy. The grid would double as a pergulla / sun screen mainly high noon (where the grid is most concentrated), and maybe strip it with pv 'photovoltaic'. It could be screened, or even glazed. You might find this in the desert, the ocean the moon,Mars?

There aren't any gbs. "Vertical design". Ever hear 'its cheaper to build up than out'? Think it had something to do with taxes. Probably no longer true anyway. Yes the center is the main tank. The outer rings I guess are called grow out tanks. Progressive g.o.t.
FAQ? I think you mean from bya. Not sure, but I'll have a look. I've read alot, and read constantly.

Keep an eye out. I'll post more images for you to get a better understanding of how easy this is.

Thanks for all of your comment

where is the biofiltration happening in this system design?

Ahh, so these are all fish tanks, no grow beds.

Here is a link to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, Small-scale aquaponic food production. It may target smaller systems than you have planned, but the information is solid.

http://www.fao.org/in-action/globefish/publications/details-publication/en/c/338354/

Best of luck on your build. Please post pictures as things progress.

Danny,

The biofilter is within each tower.

Cheers

John,
EXCELLENT link THANK YOU!

As you need to pass a certain percentage of the water (100% per hour typically recomended) to provide sufficient biofiltration, it seems to me that pumping the water so high up (for biofiltration) would be pretty inefficient and costly in terms of energy use.

Vertical growing is an efficient use of floor space, but pumping lots of water to the tops of tall towers is not an efficient use of energy.

If you could provide biofiltration at ground level then you could pump a much smaller amout of water through the towers - just enough to irrigate the plants, and save a lot on energy.

my pump runs 15 minutes every 3 hours or 2 hrs a day. my research in choosing a pump whith head pressure says not to get the bare minimum. "i sometimes do". so i have to pump the water all the way up there anyways. the biofilter didn't just happen to get in the way, i was shooting for low realestate, low evaporation, and a clean cute self contained unit. my water in any of my 4 separate units always come up the same. slightly higher ph 7, 0 amonia nitrites, and only once did 1 unit 'the one seen above' have a trace of nitrate. that was the day before all my fish vanished. haven't been able to catch it back up yet.
thanks for the heads up. should the time come in any further designs, your comment may play a part.
a2z