Aquaponics...anyone here doing it or have an interest in it?

Doing it, what do you want to know?

My friends wife has a huge set up in her back yard. I'll ask her how much she has invested but I'm pretty sure it's several thousand dollars. One thing I do know is she used crappie for a while but they take really long time to reach sexual maturity and they kept eating each other. One tank had tilapia but I think there was a legality issue with those fish.

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he has invested but I'm pretty sure it's several thousand dollars.

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Sounds about right. It can be a lot of fun but there is a more serious start up investment and you have to constantly monitor it. One mistake can kill your plants quickly.

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I don't see how you can break even in those setups.

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I'd certainly agree if it's for residential (personal) use.

If you want to get serious or semi serious and become a small commercial operation, it can be a value deal.
The hardest part would be developing a market. Be it restaurants, farmers markets, whatever, you need to make serious connections and be willing to open your business for others to see and get more comfortable with who you are and what you do.

Hydroponics and aquaponics are probably the easiest and cheapest way to break into modern Ag on your own (if you aren't born into it).

I've heard bluegill are pretty successful in aquaponics, and would allow you to tap into the pond stocking market.

Ok so I asked my friends wife. She says she built hers for a couple hundred bucks. Two rain collection barrels she bought from some earf day event are the tanks used to feed water into the grow medium. The fish are in two regular farm tanks that are sunk into the ground a little bit. Pumps are 12v pumps powered by two solar panels and marine batteries. She said the batteries last about two years, three if she's lucky, and are $100 each.

Her grow medium is just two big Styrofoam boards that float in a couple inches of water. She grows things like lettuce and fodder for the chickens. Apparently this is not a good medium for tomato or similar.

The fish are catfish in one tank and crappie in the other. The crappie are a huge bitch and she wants to change to something easier.

The filtration is a spiral filter and some kind of sluice box.



I forgot to mention that there are legal issues with tilapia in Louisiana, I didn't ask for specifics. She's also raised blue crabs in the tanks but the like to kill each other when their shells molt and they can't reproduce without salt water.

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What kind of fish are you using and why?

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catfish, because my local DNR is supplying them pro bono. I release a small percentage of them into a small estuary near by.

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What are you growing?

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herbs, tomatoes, & peppers in the 4 hydroton beds & lettuce in the single float bed.

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Did you buy a system?

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yes, $10K. Paid for with grants.I have 800 gallons flowing through the whole system.

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How much do you normally produce?

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I dont keep the records but I would surmise we harvest #1 basil & parsley every 2-4 weeks depending on growing conditions. The lettuces are taken out of the beds once every 28-35 days & new ones planted in their place. #2-6 of peppers & 3-4 qts of tomatoes every 3-5 weeks

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How many plants do you have?

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40 parsley, 40 basil, 80 Rex lettuce, 8 Bell pepper, 6 sun gold tomatoes

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Do you have it in a green house or outdoors?

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green house

Eta: the catfish reach proper culling size at about 120 days.