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Why Aquaponics?
The main principle of aquaponics is very
simple and mirrors nature. Fish are grown
in tanks and nutrient-rich water from these
tanks is pumped into hydroponic beds
where vegetables, herbs, flowers and other
crops absorb the nutrients for growth and
purify the culture water, which is returned
to the fish rearing tanks. Although the fish
are living in a tank, in essence they are
being raised in a river where their waste
products are swept away and replaced with
clean water. The plants are grown in water containing high levels of oxygen and nutrients – everything they
need – without the problems associated with soils, such as weeds, soil diseases and pests, heavy metal and other
toxicant issues and an often-experienced lack of oxygen or moisture. Plants remove only the water they need for
growth.
Other Advantages to Aquaponics:
1) In recirculating fish culture systems, large amounts of water are discharged to prevent nutrient build-up. In
aquaponic systems, these nutrients do not accumulate as they are utilized to produce a valuable second product –
the plants. Removal of these nutrients by plants greatly reduces discharges of fish culture water to natural water
bodies, which protects our lakes, rivers and the wider environment from nutrient enrichment and excessive algal
growth.
2) Fish excrete ammonia, which is toxic at high levels. A biofilter is required to remove ammonia. In some
aquaponic systems the plants and hydroponic growing beds become the biofilter, thereby eliminating the need
for a separate and expensive biofilter. There are many types of biofilters in the aquaculture industry, but when
the hydroponic growing bed is used for biofiltration it is the only biofilter that earns money.
3) Correctly designed aquaponic systems are well balanced ecosystems where the nutrients generated by the fish
are absorbed by the plants. There is no need to monitor the numerous water quality parameters as required in
 separate recirculating fish culture or hydroponic systems, saving considerable time and expense. Aquaponic
systems are therefore robust and very easy to operate and maintain. The average hobbyist or farmer can operate
an aquaponic system quite successfully.
4) The profit potential of commercial aquaponics is increased due to the availability of free nutrients for the
plants, lower water requirements, elimination of a separate biofilter in some aquaponic design approaches, less
water quality monitoring and shared costs for operation and infrastructure. In addition, the plant crops cannot be
sprayed with chemical herbicides or pesticides, so they can be marketed as “spray free”, which brings
potentially higher profits.
5) Since aquaponic systems can produce fish and vegetables intensively throughout the year outdoors in suitable
climates or in environmentally controlled greenhouses and land requirements are minimal, systems can be
located near urban markets, thereby reducing transportation costs and providing fresh, high quality fish and
plants. In fact, aquaponics may be located almost anywhere.
6) Aquaponic systems produce two crops from the one input source; the fish feed. In addition, the vast majority
of the nutrients added to the system via the fish feed stay in the system and only leave as profitable fish and
plant products. This makes aquaponics far more efficient in terms of nutrient utilization than other farming
systems.

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BA Agritech has signed a
ntact with UAE University
ting up a new aquaponic
stem. More in Projects.
Technology
Aquaponics: Innovative Technology for Intensive Fish and Crop Production, Water Reuse and Nutrient
Recovery
Dr. James Rakocy, Professor Emeritus, University of the Virgin Islands

Testimonials Introduction

monials will be inserted An integrated aquaculture and crop production system has been
developed at the University of the Virgin Islands. The system, which is
referred to as aquaponics, was developed on a small island (St. Croix)
with insufficient water resources for standard fish pond culture and field
crop production of vegetables. Using tilapia as the culture species, a lon
series of experiments were conducted in small systems to develop desig
criteria and management procedures for this technology. As the system
was scaled up to commercial size, construction techniques were
evaluated. The system was operated to refine management methods an
determine the production capacity of tilapia and various hydroponic
vegetables.

What started as a small project to address a local problem has grown in

a popular topic with worldwide appeal. I am now frequently invited to
give talks on the UVI aquaponic system. My most notable invitations
came from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman to speak at th
“Ministerial Conference on Agricultural Science and Technology” and fro
the European Aquaculture Society to be a keynote speaker at their
conference “Aquaculture Europe 2003: Beyond Monoculture.” A Japanes
production crew filmed the UVI aquaponic system and featured it in a
documentary for a Japanese TV series called Planet Earth, which was
viewed by an audience of 5 million. An annual short course, which was
initiated in 1999 to teach aquaponics, has attracted 510 students from
U.S. states and territories and 52 other countries. In 2008, the 10th
anniversary of the course, its name was changed to the International
Aquaponics and Tilapia Course. That year’s attendees came from all
seven continents, including Antarctica.

UVI Aquaponic System

Aquaponics is the combined culture of fish and plants in recirculating

systems. Nutrients, which are excreted directly by the fish or generated
by the microbial breakdown of organic wastes, are absorbed by plants
cultured hydroponically (without soil). Fish feed provides most of the
nutrients required for plant growth. As the aquaculture effluent flows
through the hydroponic component of the recirculating system, fish was
metabolites are removed by nitrification and direct uptake by the plants
thereby treating the water, which flows back to the fish-rearing
component for reuse.

Aquaponics has several advantages over other recirculating aquaculture

systems and hydroponic systems that use inorganic nutrient solutions.
The hydroponic component serves as a biofilter, and therefore a separa
biofilter is not needed as in other recirculating systems. Aquaponic
systems have the only biofilter that generates income from the sale of
hydroponic produce such as vegetables, herbs and flowers. In the UVI
system, which employs raft hydroponics, only calcium, potassium and
iron are supplemented. The nutrients provided by the fish would norma
be discharged and could contribute to pollution. Removal of nutrients by
plants prolongs water use and minimizes discharge. Aquaponic systems
require considerably less water quality monitoring than individual
recirculating systems for fish or hydroponic plant production. Vegetable
production in aquaponic systems has been shown to be comparable or
better than vegetable production in hydroponic systems. It has been
widely reported that vegetables produced from an organic source of
nutrients in aquaponic systems are more flavorful than vegetables
produced hydroponically with inorganic nutrients. Aquaponics increases
profit potential due to free nutrients for plants, lower water requiremen
elimination of a separate biofilter, less water quality monitoring and
shared costs for operation and infrastructure.

The design of the UVI aquaponic system starts at the culture water bein
pumped from the sump to the fish rearing tanks. Water flows from the
fish rearing tanks through the rest of the system by gravity and returns
to the sump. Numerous air diffusers aerate the fish rearing tanks,
degassing tank and hydroponic tanks. The hydroponic tanks are made
from poured concrete walls and LDPE liners. All other tanks are made
from fiberglass although other less expensive materials can be used.

Settlable solids are removed from the clarifiers three times daily by
opening a valve. Fine solids collect on orchard netting in the filter tanks
and are removed one or two times weekly by draining the tank and
washing the netting with a high pressure water spray. Sludge flows to a
aerated, lined pond. Using geotextile membranes, solid organic waste c
be recovered and used as a soil amendment for field crops. The clear
filtrate can be used for field crop irrigation or returned to the aquaponic
system.

The pH is monitored daily and maintained at 7.0 by alternately adding

calcium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide to the bass addition tank,
where it dissolves and slowly enters the system. In the process of addin
base, calcium and potassium ions are supplemented. Iron is
supplemented by adding it in a chelated form at a concentration of 2
mg/L once every three weeks. Water lost through evaporation,
transpiration and sludge removal is replenished with new water in the
sump. Influent water is regulated by a float valve and measured by a
water meter. Average daily makeup water is 1.5% of the system volum

Aquaponic System

The key design criterion is the ratio of daily feed input to plant growing
area. For maximum plant production the feeding rate ratio must range
 from 60 to 100 g of feed/day/m2 of plant growing area. At this ratio the
system has excess water treatment capacity, and water quality is
excellent. Since nutrients are generated daily for plant growth, the
culture water does not have to be changed regularly as in standard
hydroponics. The UVI system has been in continuous operation for year
without a complete water change.

Figure 2. Basil and okra production in the UVI Aquaponic System.

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Awkward Pause to Commercial Mode– A Graceless Transition →

Aquaponic System Final Design

Posted on May 23, 2012 by richard
I thought it’s about time to get down to business. So, I’m going to devote the month of
June and probably a bit of July to building the first unit of what I hope will be many
more units to come. This post is meant to be an overview of the system so that any
aquaponically-inclined readers may warn me of potential catastrophe.

The University of the Virgin Islands' Aquaponic System

Aquaponics– An Overview

Aquaponics is the combined culture of fish and plants in recirculating systems.

Nutrients, which are excreted directly by the fish or generated by the microbial
breakdown of organic wastes, are absorbed by plants cultured hydroponically (without
soil). Fish feed provides most of the nutrients required for plant growth. As the
aquaculture effluent flows through the hydroponic component of the recirculating
system, fish waste metabolites are removed by nitrification and direct uptake by the
plants, thereby treating the water, which flows back to the fish-rearing component for
reuse. In my system tilapia will be produced along with a variety of herbs, leafy plants,
vegetables, and perhaps fruits.

The aquaponic system I will be utilizing is a scaled down version of the University of the
Virgin Islands commercial scale system. It is roughly 1/4th the size of the UVI system,
but may be multiplied in accordance with resources and demand.

The UVI system has been producing tilapia for more than a decade. It is a proven
system and detailed information relating to it is freely available, including some of this
text which I am, honestly, guilty of plagiarizing freely at times. Thank you Dr. Rakocy. I
wish I could afford to go to the Virgin Islands and take part in one of your training
programs, but I’ve got to do it the hard way.

Aquaponics has several advantages over other recirculating aquaculture systems and
hydroponic systems that use inorganic nutrients solutions. The hydroponic component
serves as a bio-filter, and therefore a separate bio-filter is not needed as in other
recirculating systems. Aquaponic systems have the only bio-filter that generates
income, which is obtained from the sale of hydroponic produce such as vegetables,
herbs, and flowers. In the UVI system, which I copy, and which employs raft
hydroponics, only calcium, potassium and iron are supplemented. The nutrients
provided by the fish would normally be discharged and could contribute to pollution.
Removal of nutrients by plants prolongs water use and minimizes discharge. Aquaponic
systems require less water quality monitoring than individual recirculating systems for
fish or hydroponic plant production. Aquaponics increases profit potential due to free
nutrients for plants, lower water requirements, elimination of a separate bio-filter, less
water quality monitoring and shared costs for operation and infrastructure.

The Wrong Way Farm Stay Design

This is roughly what it will look like though I've made a few changes (see below).

(Note: My design has changed slightly over two months since I made this post, so see
this post for more information). My design is meant to get the same results or better
than the UVI system but at a much less expensive initial cost. In some ways it is more
complicated because I will be trying to control the environment with what I think is a
pretty cool greenhouse design and making use of passive solar energy for water
heating. It will also use less energy despite its need for climate control.

This is the final (I hope) layout to the aquaponic system.

So, here’s the floor plan. As you can see, it is 22.4m long and 6.55m wide. Some system
details are as follows:

 Rearing Tank — The rearing tank will hold roughly 9.5m3 of water. I rounded the
ends so the stupid fish don’t get bloody noses all the time. The tank will be stocked
every 4 weeks with 120 fish. There will be 6 cohorts of fish aged 4 weeks apart at all
 times. I will separate the cohorts with suitably sized netting. The position of these
divisions will be adjustable in accordance with the growth rate of any given cohort.
Harvesting will be done weekly, 30 fish at a time. The outside of the tank facing
south will be painted black and exposed to the sun.
 Hydroponic Tanks — There will be 4 hydroponic tanks. Each will be 12m long and
1.2 meters wide. At a water depth of 30cm, each tank will hold roughly 4.32m3.
Plants will be put in net pots which are inserted into holes in Styrofoam boards
(1.2m x 0.6m) and dangle their roots happily in the nutrient rich water.
 Clarifier/Filter/Degassing Units — Each hydroponic tank will get its own set of these
highly important if simply designed contraptions. A clarifier, otherwise known as a
swirl filter and other such names, removes the lumpier pieces of fish waste. I intend
to use 200l plastic barrels. The filter is just another smaller barrel that’s got an
armload of orchard netting in it to which the finer solids will be instructed to attach
themselves in an orderly fashion. The degassing tank is another small barrel with a
few air stones in it to help remove carbon dioxide, methane, and such.
 Pump — I’ve purchased a Reef Octopus recirculation pump which will push 7,000l
per hour while consuming a frugal 88W. This is roughly 1/4 of the flow rate that the
UVI system uses.
 Air Pumps — I’ve purchased 5 Hailea air pumps. Each would push 60l of air if only I
were at sea level instead of 1,200m. They are also frugal, using 55W each. Each
hydroponic tank will have its own air pump. Ten of the 12 diffusion nozzles fitted to
an air pump will go to air stones spaced equally along the bottom of the respective
hydroponic tank. The other two will be fed to the degassing tank. The 5th air pump
will be devoted to keeping the fish bubbly and happy.
 Sump — The sump is just a 1.2m round concrete ring set in the ground at a lower
height than the rest of the system. The pump will reside here and replace the water
that has flowed by gravity from the rearing tanks through the other system
components. There will be certain losses due to evaporation, plant uptake, leaks,
etc. Depending on the water temperature, this loss will be replaced by either hot
water produced in a solar water heater (a nice name for a couple of 200l barrels
painted black, facing the sun, and enclosed/insulated) or ambient temperature
water from a rain barrel. This is also the place where additives such as hydrated lime
are gradually added if necessary to raise the PH.
 Total Water Volume — About 30m3
 Total Growing Area — 55 to 57.6m2
 Greenhouse Footprint — 147m2
 Tilapia from Nam Sai Farms, my future fish fry supplier.

Strategy– The Fish

Tasty as they may be, the tilapia are in the tank to eat, pee, and poo. In fact, they will be
expected to consume between 3,978 and 4,099g of high quality pelleted food a day. At
least those are the numbers I get when I apply the data from Nam Sai Farms’ trials on
fish growth and feeding rates to 6 cohorts of 120 fish stocked 4 weeks apart. This very
slight variation in feed input is the result of harvesting 1 cohort during a 4 week period,
or 30 fish a week. Why such an emphasis on feed rate? Because, as Dr. Rakocy puts it,
“In a correctly designed and balanced aquaponic system, the ratio between fish and
plants is based on the feeding rate ratio. The feeding rate ratio is the amount of feed
fed to the fish daily per square meter of plant growing area. For a raft hydroponic
system, the optimum ratio varies from 60 to 100g/m2/day.” Assuming that I utilize
about 55m2 of growing area (one of my tanks has to be less than 12m long because the
liner comes in 50m rolls, something I just realized), that’s about 73g/m2/day.

If I were to begin stocking fry of an average weight of 27.5g on Saturday, August 4, I

would begin to harvest them on Saturday, December 29, at which point they would
weight and average of 717g. The 30 fish harvested each of the following 3 weeks would
weigh 767g, 817g, and 867g, respectively. This is also the period when the hydroponic
component would be in full operation.

But I’m not going to do it exactly like that. The minimum order for fry is 1,000, so I’m
going to chuck in the whole lot at first. According to my calculations, after 6 weeks the
average weight would be 138g and they would be consuming 3,660g of feed a day. At
67g/m2/day, that’s plenty for full plant production. But, what about after that? Well, at
less than 200g I doubt I could sell the extra tilapia, so I’ll gradually stock my river with
them, keeping the feeding rate in the rearing tank as constant as possible. That means
I’ll be harvesting plants in full from around the first week in October.

Tilapia fry (all males) will be sent to me by bus from Nam Sai Farms. They average about
0.25g and are about 1″ in length. I will “nurse” them to a more robust size in Ubon. My
close-to 8-year old daughter, Megan, will manage the operation under the stewardship
of her aunt while her mother, initially, anyway, incessantly complains. The nursery will
be a miniature aquaponic unit. I foresee it supplying all the veggies year round for
Wrong Way Cafe. More about this later.

Strategy — The Plants

The somewhat exotic "Red Oak" variety of lettuce.

Salad lettuce is the preferred plant in raft systems, although almost anything will grow.
Lettuce is very expensive right now. In fact, the other day at a market in Vientiane I
could hardly find any, and what I found was a poor excuse for lettuce. Initially, I will
devote 3 of my 4 hydroponic tanks to lettuce production. Two of the 3 types of lettuce
will be fairly standard local varieties and the 3rd will be the somewhat exotic “Red Oak”
variety. These will be nursed from seed for 2 weeks then embark on a 3 week journey
from one end of a hydroponic tank to the other. Each hydroponic tank can produce 80
robust heads of lettuce a week for a total weekly harvest of 240 heads. The 4th
hydroponic tank will be devoted to a variety of other plants, namely cilantro, water
convolvulus, and cabbage. Cilantro is another plant that is very expensive at the
moment, and usually expensive. The goal of greenhouse production is to time the crops
to when outdoor conditions are not favorable, so what I grow may vary with the
seasons.

The plants will be sprayed once a week with “worm tea.” My hope is that this will
provide them with some of the trace nutrients difficult to come by in an aquaponic
system. Iron is one such example. It also protects the plants from harmful insects, but
I’m hoping insect netting will perform this task suitably. Other than that, I don’t foresee
a lot of work in the plant department. There’s no weeding to be done, no watering, no
cleaning. The Styrofoam boards are lifted off the far end, the plants removed, and
young plants are added at the front end, once a week. The labor will be in the fish
department. This includes feeding them 3 times a day, keeping accurate records of
consumption, routine emptying of solids from the clarifers (probably 3 times a day),
and periodic rinsing of the orchard netting in the filter barrels. Some of the labor will
pay for itself, such as applying the solids removed from the clarifiers to my coffee
trees– higher yield.

Biodiversity

Giant freshwater prawns add to the biodiversity of the system.

As any of you serious aquaponic guys or gals who are familiar with the UVI system may
have noticed, my system falls a bit short in terms of aeration. I hope to make up for this
by splashing the return water from the sump into the rearing tank. In the hydroponic
tanks, I’m contemplating a secret weapon– freshwater prawns. These fellows consume
detritus, agitate the water, and are otherwise beneficial to the roots of the plants. They
are also very tasty. At a stocking density of 3 to 4 prawns per square meter, I estimate
an annual harvest of roughly 75kg. They will be tricky to harvest, though.

Dollars and Sense

Japanese raccoon dogs (tanuki).

There is a Japanese saying which goes something like “Counting the raccoon dog
(tanuki) skins before you’ve caught any.” That’s what I’m about to do. But, hey, that’s
part of the fun. So, here I go.

 Fish Yield over 4 Weeks (28 Days) — This will be about 95kg. Tilapia are moderately
expensive in Laos, and especially on the Bolaven Plateau as they normally need to be
trucked up from warmer climates. They can probably be sold for 20,000 kip per
kilogram ($2.40), or 1.9 million kip ($228) over 4 weeks.
 Lettuce Yield over 4 Weeks (28 Days) — Although I will begin by using 3 of the 4
hydroponic tanks for lettuce, I’ll use all 4 for this calculation as the value of what’s
grown in the 4th tank is likely to be in the same ballpark. At the moment a head of
lettuce is worth about 10,000 kip ($1.20), and the system’s potential is 312 heads
every week, or 1,248 over a 4 week period. So that’s a nifty 12.48 million kip
($1,498).
 Freshwater Prawn Yield over 4 Weeks (28 days) — Catching these little fellows will
probably be tedious, so I’m tentatively looking at 1 harvest every 4 weeks. That’s
about 5.77kg. They can fetch 80,000 kip ($9.60) per kilogram, so that’s a modest
461,600 kip ($55) at 4 week intervals.
 Major Cost #1: Fish Feed — I’ll be smuggling the quality fish feed in from Thailand.
Tentatively I’ll use $1 per kilogram of fish feed. At an average of 4kg per day, That’s
4$ a day, or $128 at 4 weeks.
 Major Cost #2: Labor — I want to split the labor between 2 people, not including
myself. They can work out a schedule amongst themselves. The total cost I’m
looking at is 1 million kip ($120).
 Major Cost #3: Screw-ups — My electricity is virtually free (hydropower) and I’m not
considering depreciation at the moment. So I’ll use a flat 20% for losses and costs
that were not considered.
Total yields over a year are $2,964 for fish, $19,474 for plants, and $715 for freshwater
prawns. Grand total is $23,153. Less fish feed at $1,664, labor at $1,440, and screw-
ups at $4,631, I’m looking at $15,418 net for a year, or $1,285 net a month. That’s
pretty good for an operation in Laos. Four of these units would give me over $60,000 a
year. That’s quite a few raccoon dog skins I’m counting. . .

And, so, in closing, here is some absolutely useless information to store along with
other useless information we’ve all picked up over the years. The Japanese raccoon dog,
or tanuki as it is known there, is famous for the immenseness of its balls (male tanuki,
that is). These over-sized testicles symbolize financial luck. There is even a popular
schoolyard song about them, sung to the American Baptist hymn called “Shall We Gather
at the River?”

“Tan-tan-tan” tanuki’s bollocks ring

The wind stops blowing

 But they swing, swing swing

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3 Responses to Aquaponic System Final Design

1. Phibun Mike says:

May 23, 2012 at 5:11 pm

Looks good Richard. I have two observations:

1) Your use of the term ‘cohorts’ is really cool;

2) Don’t you find the term ‘Wrong Way Design’ slightly unsettling?

To help with your planning, put me down for 0.64 heads of Red Oak every 27.3 days.

Cheers,
Mike
Reply

2. Josh says:
March 1, 2013 at 5:52 pm

Richard, thank you for the great information and design ideas. I am traveling now, but
intend to take my dining room aquaponics experiment full scale this summer when I
return home. I would love to add you to my contacts to bail me out and set me straight
when I screw it up.

P.S. I could not help but read most of your story as if it were narrated by John Cleese.
Reply

3. Scott says:
March 18, 2013 at 8:24 am

How s the year going? Did your projections prove realistic? Are you making the coon
dog skins you thought you would be?
Reply

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 About the Author

Richard was raised in Stow, Massachusetts. His interest in Asia, especially Japan, took him
overseas, where he's been an expat his entire adult life-- assuming he ever grew up. He works as a sales rep for
the greatest Japanese company there is, splits his time living in Thailand and Laos, and cannot stop getting
involved in things well over his head. In addition to having a pub in Thailand, now he's got a coffee plantation on
the Bolaven Plateau in Laos where he intends to experiment with sustainable farming. If he's trying to get home,
he's certainly going the wrong way.
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 AQUAPONICS FISH PRODUCTION AND
STOCKING DENSITIES
July, 08th 2012
By: Sylvia Bernstein

Do you want to understand the drivers for fish stocking densities in

aquaponics systems? Then start by recognizing that maximum levels are gated by how much
feed can be ‘processed’ by the fish and then how it is filtered from the fish environment as
solid waste. The more sophisticated the filtration system, the more densely the fish can be
stocked. This leads to point two – media-based systems use the grow media itself as a
mechanical trap for the solid waste while Deep Water Culture (DWC) or raft-based systems
use solids removal equipment that is specifically designed to capture those solid wastes so the
system operator can remove them.

Today’s DWC aquaponics systems evolved from the good work of Dr. James Rakocy and his
team at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI). They approached aquaponics from an
aquaculturalist’s perspective, asking and answering the question ‘how many fish can I grow
and still grow plants productively?’. Because their focus was primarily on fish system
productivity, they employed sophisticated waste removal techniques, thereby creating
systems that can handle high levels of solid fish waste. DWC systems with solid waste
removal equipment can generally handle up to one pound of fish for every two to three
gallons of water IF they are designed properly and well maintained.

There are aquaponics systems vendors that have created turn-key DWC systems and plans for
building your own DWC systems that employ the UVI methods. Many of them work pretty
well, but they tend to be much more expensive to buy or build than media based systems
because of the need for the extra solid-waste removal components. In addition, they require
daily maintenance levels that are far beyond that of media-based systems because those solids
filters need to be cleaned regularly and the fish poop handled, removed and properly
disposed. In fact, one DWC systems vendor claims to be able to grow 200 pounds of fish in
their small system which has four 50-gallon fish tanks. While I would love to see actual data
supporting this incredible level of productivity in such very small tanks, I give them credit for
at least acknowledging that in order to have a chance at achieving this you would need to
spend approximately an hour a day maintaining such a system. So it comes down to a large
up-front investment (in this case $6895 for 200 gallons of fish tank and 72 square feet of
growing area) and 365 hours of labor a year for 200 pounds of fish and large quantities of
leafy greens and herbs (the plant types that DWC systems grow extremely well).

A media based system, on the other hand, requires no external solids filtration. Instead, the
solid waste is sent straight into the grow beds where it is mineralized (broken down into a
form that is available to the plants, thereby adding to the food available to the plants) by
heterotrophic bacteria and composting worms. Because this is a natural, balanced system
versus a more human-intensive system; stocking density recommendations tend to be a more
conservative one pound of fish for every five to ten gallons of water.

AquaBundance Modular Bountiful Aquaponics

System

The good news about this lower level of fish production, however, is that you can eliminate
the expense, space requirements, and complication of the solid waste removal components
from your system (a clarifying tank, mineralization tank and degassing tank) and just install a
fish tank, grow beds, and a sump tank if needed. In fact, our AquaBundance Modular
Bountiful 6-bed System has the same 200 gallons of fish growing capacity and the same 72
square feet of plant growing area, but it only costs $4095, a $2800 saving over the DWC
system mentioned above. Plus, because the bacteria and the worms are doing the clean-up
work for you, maintenance drops to an average of about five to ten minutes per day. This
time goes primarily to feeding the fish, occasionally rinsing the pump intake, topping off
tanks as needed, and working with the plants.

Let’s look at this as an economic equation. What if you value your time at $20 / hour, for
example? Compare the 200 gallon DWC system at (365 days * 1 hour/day * $20) / 200
pounds of fish per year = $ 36.50 / lb of fish and accompanying vegetable output versus a
media based system with a 200 gallon tank at (365 days* 1/9 hour per day * $20) / 40 pounds
of fish per year = $20.28 /lb of fish and accompanying veggies. And the economic news gets
even better with a media based system because they cost less to begin with. Plus, while media
based systems might not be as efficient at producing lettuce as a DWC system, the higher
levels of nutrients available to the plants through the mineralized solids wastes along with the
structural support that the media offers the plants makes them far better at producing higher
value fruiting crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, strawberries, melons, squash, etc., etc.
And that decomposing solid waste actually acts as a ‘nutrient bank’ in media based grow
beds that allows you to weather fluctuations in fish stocking levels without starving your
plants.

The choice is yours. If maximum fish production is

your most important buyer value regardless of how you price your time or how dear the
dollars needed for your initial system purchase are to you, then you should be considering a
DWC system. But if you are looking for a balance between high levels of fish production and
high levels of vegetable production with the lowest possible maintenance and initial setup
cost then you should be considering a media based system. And if you are looking for the
best aquaponics systems available in the U.S. today, you have no further to look than
our AquaBundance Aquaponics Systems.

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Aquaponic System Final Design

Posted on May 23, 2012 by richard

I thought it’s about time to get down to business. So, I’m going to devote the month of
June and probably a bit of July to building the first unit of what I hope will be many
more units to come. This post is meant to be an overview of the system so that any
aquaponically-inclined readers may warn me of potential catastrophe.

The University of the Virgin Islands' Aquaponic System

Aquaponics– An Overview

Aquaponics is the combined culture of fish and plants in recirculating systems.

Nutrients, which are excreted directly by the fish or generated by the microbial
breakdown of organic wastes, are absorbed by plants cultured hydroponically (without
soil). Fish feed provides most of the nutrients required for plant growth. As the
aquaculture effluent flows through the hydroponic component of the recirculating
system, fish waste metabolites are removed by nitrification and direct uptake by the
plants, thereby treating the water, which flows back to the fish-rearing component for
reuse. In my system tilapia will be produced along with a variety of herbs, leafy plants,
vegetables, and perhaps fruits.

The aquaponic system I will be utilizing is a scaled down version of the University of the
Virgin Islands commercial scale system. It is roughly 1/4th the size of the UVI system,
but may be multiplied in accordance with resources and demand.

The UVI system has been producing tilapia for more than a decade. It is a proven
system and detailed information relating to it is freely available, including some of this
text which I am, honestly, guilty of plagiarizing freely at times. Thank you Dr. Rakocy. I
wish I could afford to go to the Virgin Islands and take part in one of your training
programs, but I’ve got to do it the hard way.

Aquaponics has several advantages over other recirculating aquaculture systems and
hydroponic systems that use inorganic nutrients solutions. The hydroponic component
serves as a bio-filter, and therefore a separate bio-filter is not needed as in other
recirculating systems. Aquaponic systems have the only bio-filter that generates
income, which is obtained from the sale of hydroponic produce such as vegetables,
herbs, and flowers. In the UVI system, which I copy, and which employs raft
hydroponics, only calcium, potassium and iron are supplemented. The nutrients
provided by the fish would normally be discharged and could contribute to pollution.
Removal of nutrients by plants prolongs water use and minimizes discharge. Aquaponic
systems require less water quality monitoring than individual recirculating systems for
fish or hydroponic plant production. Aquaponics increases profit potential due to free
nutrients for plants, lower water requirements, elimination of a separate bio-filter, less
water quality monitoring and shared costs for operation and infrastructure.

The Wrong Way Farm Stay Design

 This is roughly what it will look like though I've made a few changes (see below).

(Note: My design has changed slightly over two months since I made this post, so see
this post for more information). My design is meant to get the same results or better
than the UVI system but at a much less expensive initial cost. In some ways it is more
complicated because I will be trying to control the environment with what I think is a
pretty cool greenhouse design and making use of passive solar energy for water
heating. It will also use less energy despite its need for climate control.

This is the final (I hope) layout to the aquaponic system.

So, here’s the floor plan. As you can see, it is 22.4m long and 6.55m wide. Some system
details are as follows:

 Rearing Tank — The rearing tank will hold roughly 9.5m3 of water. I rounded the
ends so the stupid fish don’t get bloody noses all the time. The tank will be stocked
every 4 weeks with 120 fish. There will be 6 cohorts of fish aged 4 weeks apart at all
times. I will separate the cohorts with suitably sized netting. The position of these
divisions will be adjustable in accordance with the growth rate of any given cohort.
Harvesting will be done weekly, 30 fish at a time. The outside of the tank facing
south will be painted black and exposed to the sun.
 Hydroponic Tanks — There will be 4 hydroponic tanks. Each will be 12m long and
1.2 meters wide. At a water depth of 30cm, each tank will hold roughly 4.32m3.
Plants will be put in net pots which are inserted into holes in Styrofoam boards
(1.2m x 0.6m) and dangle their roots happily in the nutrient rich water.
 Clarifier/Filter/Degassing Units — Each hydroponic tank will get its own set of these
highly important if simply designed contraptions. A clarifier, otherwise known as a
swirl filter and other such names, removes the lumpier pieces of fish waste. I intend
to use 200l plastic barrels. The filter is just another smaller barrel that’s got an
 armload of orchard netting in it to which the finer solids will be instructed to attach
themselves in an orderly fashion. The degassing tank is another small barrel with a
few air stones in it to help remove carbon dioxide, methane, and such.
 Pump — I’ve purchased a Reef Octopus recirculation pump which will push 7,000l
per hour while consuming a frugal 88W. This is roughly 1/4 of the flow rate that the
UVI system uses.
 Air Pumps — I’ve purchased 5 Hailea air pumps. Each would push 60l of air if only I
were at sea level instead of 1,200m. They are also frugal, using 55W each. Each
hydroponic tank will have its own air pump. Ten of the 12 diffusion nozzles fitted to
an air pump will go to air stones spaced equally along the bottom of the respective
hydroponic tank. The other two will be fed to the degassing tank. The 5th air pump
will be devoted to keeping the fish bubbly and happy.
 Sump — The sump is just a 1.2m round concrete ring set in the ground at a lower
height than the rest of the system. The pump will reside here and replace the water
that has flowed by gravity from the rearing tanks through the other system
components. There will be certain losses due to evaporation, plant uptake, leaks,
etc. Depending on the water temperature, this loss will be replaced by either hot
water produced in a solar water heater (a nice name for a couple of 200l barrels
painted black, facing the sun, and enclosed/insulated) or ambient temperature
water from a rain barrel. This is also the place where additives such as hydrated lime
are gradually added if necessary to raise the PH.
 Total Water Volume — About 30m3
 Total Growing Area — 55 to 57.6m2
 Greenhouse Footprint — 147m2

Tilapia from Nam Sai Farms, my future fish fry supplier.

Strategy– The Fish

Tasty as they may be, the tilapia are in the tank to eat, pee, and poo. In fact, they will be
expected to consume between 3,978 and 4,099g of high quality pelleted food a day. At
least those are the numbers I get when I apply the data from Nam Sai Farms’ trials on
fish growth and feeding rates to 6 cohorts of 120 fish stocked 4 weeks apart. This very
slight variation in feed input is the result of harvesting 1 cohort during a 4 week period,
or 30 fish a week. Why such an emphasis on feed rate? Because, as Dr. Rakocy puts it,
“In a correctly designed and balanced aquaponic system, the ratio between fish and
plants is based on the feeding rate ratio. The feeding rate ratio is the amount of feed
fed to the fish daily per square meter of plant growing area. For a raft hydroponic
system, the optimum ratio varies from 60 to 100g/m2/day.” Assuming that I utilize
about 55m2 of growing area (one of my tanks has to be less than 12m long because the
liner comes in 50m rolls, something I just realized), that’s about 73g/m2/day.

If I were to begin stocking fry of an average weight of 27.5g on Saturday, August 4, I

would begin to harvest them on Saturday, December 29, at which point they would
weight and average of 717g. The 30 fish harvested each of the following 3 weeks would
weigh 767g, 817g, and 867g, respectively. This is also the period when the hydroponic
component would be in full operation.

But I’m not going to do it exactly like that. The minimum order for fry is 1,000, so I’m
going to chuck in the whole lot at first. According to my calculations, after 6 weeks the
average weight would be 138g and they would be consuming 3,660g of feed a day. At
67g/m2/day, that’s plenty for full plant production. But, what about after that? Well, at
less than 200g I doubt I could sell the extra tilapia, so I’ll gradually stock my river with
them, keeping the feeding rate in the rearing tank as constant as possible. That means
I’ll be harvesting plants in full from around the first week in October.

Tilapia fry (all males) will be sent to me by bus from Nam Sai Farms. They average about
0.25g and are about 1″ in length. I will “nurse” them to a more robust size in Ubon. My
close-to 8-year old daughter, Megan, will manage the operation under the stewardship
of her aunt while her mother, initially, anyway, incessantly complains. The nursery will
be a miniature aquaponic unit. I foresee it supplying all the veggies year round for
Wrong Way Cafe. More about this later.

Strategy — The Plants

 The somewhat exotic "Red Oak" variety of lettuce.

Salad lettuce is the preferred plant in raft systems, although almost anything will grow.
Lettuce is very expensive right now. In fact, the other day at a market in Vientiane I
could hardly find any, and what I found was a poor excuse for lettuce. Initially, I will
devote 3 of my 4 hydroponic tanks to lettuce production. Two of the 3 types of lettuce
will be fairly standard local varieties and the 3rd will be the somewhat exotic “Red Oak”
variety. These will be nursed from seed for 2 weeks then embark on a 3 week journey
from one end of a hydroponic tank to the other. Each hydroponic tank can produce 80
robust heads of lettuce a week for a total weekly harvest of 240 heads. The 4th
hydroponic tank will be devoted to a variety of other plants, namely cilantro, water
convolvulus, and cabbage. Cilantro is another plant that is very expensive at the
moment, and usually expensive. The goal of greenhouse production is to time the crops
to when outdoor conditions are not favorable, so what I grow may vary with the
seasons.

The plants will be sprayed once a week with “worm tea.” My hope is that this will
provide them with some of the trace nutrients difficult to come by in an aquaponic
system. Iron is one such example. It also protects the plants from harmful insects, but
I’m hoping insect netting will perform this task suitably. Other than that, I don’t foresee
a lot of work in the plant department. There’s no weeding to be done, no watering, no
cleaning. The Styrofoam boards are lifted off the far end, the plants removed, and
young plants are added at the front end, once a week. The labor will be in the fish
department. This includes feeding them 3 times a day, keeping accurate records of
consumption, routine emptying of solids from the clarifers (probably 3 times a day),
and periodic rinsing of the orchard netting in the filter barrels. Some of the labor will
pay for itself, such as applying the solids removed from the clarifiers to my coffee
trees– higher yield.

Biodiversity
 Giant freshwater prawns add to the biodiversity of the system.

As any of you serious aquaponic guys or gals who are familiar with the UVI system may
have noticed, my system falls a bit short in terms of aeration. I hope to make up for this
by splashing the return water from the sump into the rearing tank. In the hydroponic
tanks, I’m contemplating a secret weapon– freshwater prawns. These fellows consume
detritus, agitate the water, and are otherwise beneficial to the roots of the plants. They
are also very tasty. At a stocking density of 3 to 4 prawns per square meter, I estimate
an annual harvest of roughly 75kg. They will be tricky to harvest, though.

Dollars and Sense

Japanese raccoon dogs (tanuki).

There is a Japanese saying which goes something like “Counting the raccoon dog
(tanuki) skins before you’ve caught any.” That’s what I’m about to do. But, hey, that’s
part of the fun. So, here I go.

 Fish Yield over 4 Weeks (28 Days) — This will be about 95kg. Tilapia are moderately
expensive in Laos, and especially on the Bolaven Plateau as they normally need to be
trucked up from warmer climates. They can probably be sold for 20,000 kip per
kilogram ($2.40), or 1.9 million kip ($228) over 4 weeks.
 Lettuce Yield over 4 Weeks (28 Days) — Although I will begin by using 3 of the 4
hydroponic tanks for lettuce, I’ll use all 4 for this calculation as the value of what’s
grown in the 4th tank is likely to be in the same ballpark. At the moment a head of
lettuce is worth about 10,000 kip ($1.20), and the system’s potential is 312 heads
every week, or 1,248 over a 4 week period. So that’s a nifty 12.48 million kip
($1,498).
 Freshwater Prawn Yield over 4 Weeks (28 days) — Catching these little fellows will
probably be tedious, so I’m tentatively looking at 1 harvest every 4 weeks. That’s
about 5.77kg. They can fetch 80,000 kip ($9.60) per kilogram, so that’s a modest
461,600 kip ($55) at 4 week intervals.
 Major Cost #1: Fish Feed — I’ll be smuggling the quality fish feed in from Thailand.
Tentatively I’ll use $1 per kilogram of fish feed. At an average of 4kg per day, That’s
4$ a day, or $128 at 4 weeks.
 Major Cost #2: Labor — I want to split the labor between 2 people, not including
myself. They can work out a schedule amongst themselves. The total cost I’m
looking at is 1 million kip ($120).
 Major Cost #3: Screw-ups — My electricity is virtually free (hydropower) and I’m not
considering depreciation at the moment. So I’ll use a flat 20% for losses and costs
that were not considered.
Total yields over a year are $2,964 for fish, $19,474 for plants, and $715 for freshwater
prawns. Grand total is $23,153. Less fish feed at $1,664, labor at $1,440, and screw-
ups at $4,631, I’m looking at $15,418 net for a year, or $1,285 net a month. That’s
pretty good for an operation in Laos. Four of these units would give me over $60,000 a
year. That’s quite a few raccoon dog skins I’m counting. . .

And, so, in closing, here is some absolutely useless information to store along with
other useless information we’ve all picked up over the years. The Japanese raccoon dog,
or tanuki as it is known there, is famous for the immenseness of its balls (male tanuki,
that is). These over-sized testicles symbolize financial luck. There is even a popular
schoolyard song about them, sung to the American Baptist hymn called “Shall We Gather
at the River?”

“Tan-tan-tan” tanuki’s bollocks ring

The wind stops blowing

But they swing, swing swing

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3 Responses to Aquaponic System Final Design

1. Phibun Mike says:
May 23, 2012 at 5:11 pm

Looks good Richard. I have two observations:

1) Your use of the term ‘cohorts’ is really cool;

2) Don’t you find the term ‘Wrong Way Design’ slightly unsettling?

To help with your planning, put me down for 0.64 heads of Red Oak every 27.3 days.

Cheers,
Mike
Reply

2. Josh says:
March 1, 2013 at 5:52 pm

Richard, thank you for the great information and design ideas. I am traveling now, but
intend to take my dining room aquaponics experiment full scale this summer when I
return home. I would love to add you to my contacts to bail me out and set me straight
when I screw it up.

P.S. I could not help but read most of your story as if it were narrated by John Cleese.
Reply

3. Scott says:
March 18, 2013 at 8:24 am

How s the year going? Did your projections prove realistic? Are you making the coon
dog skins you thought you would be?
Reply

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 About the Author

Richard was raised in Stow, Massachusetts. His interest in Asia, especially Japan, took him
overseas, where he's been an expat his entire adult life-- assuming he ever grew up. He works as a sales rep for
the greatest Japanese company there is, splits his time living in Thailand and Laos, and cannot stop getting
involved in things well over his head. In addition to having a pub in Thailand, now he's got a coffee plantation on
the Bolaven Plateau in Laos where he intends to experiment with sustainable farming. If he's trying to get home,
he's certainly going the wrong way.
 Copyright © 2011 Richard A. Mong

 You can nourish the author by buying him some beer! Click on the Beer Lao photo!
NEXT »
Here is our walk through of our homestead aquaponics system. Its fully operational and this
spring is getting off to a great start. We are using goldfish to jumpstart the system and will be
switching them out with bluegill coming up soon.
~Zachary Bauer
What is Aquaponics?
Are you wondering “what is aquaponics?” The most simple definition is that it is the
marriage of aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (the soil-less growing of plants) that
grows fish and plants together in one integrated system. The fish waste provides an organic
food source for the growing plants and the plants provide a natural filter for the water the fish
live in. The third participants are the microbes (nitrifying bacteria) and composting red
worms that thrive in the growing media. They do the job of converting the ammonia from the
fish waste first into nitrites, then into nitrates and the solids into vermicompost that that are
food for the plants.
https://youtu.be/F3W03YlClmQ
In combining both systems aquaponics capitalizes on the benefits and eliminates the
drawbacks of each.
The problems with traditional soil-based gardening
The weeds
The amount of water required
The soil-borne insects
The heavy digging, the bending, the back strain
The the bunnies, the raccoons, and other 4-legged pests
Knowledge required to know when to water, when and how to fertilize, and what is the
composition of the soil
These issues are all solved with hydroponics, but hydroponics has problems of its own
Traditional hydroponic systems rely on the careful application of expensive, man-made
nutrients made from mixing together a concoction of chemicals, salts and trace elements. In
aquaponics you merely feed your fish inexpensive fish feed, food scraps, and food you grow
yourself.
The strength of this mixture needs to be carefully monitored, along with pH, using expensive
meters. In aquaponics you carefully monitor your system during the first month, but once
your system is established you only need to check pH and ammonia levels weekly or if your
plants or fish seem stressed.
Water in hydroponic systems needs to be discharged periodically, as the salts and chemicals
build up in the water which becomes toxic to the plants. This is both inconvenient and
problematic as the disposal location of this waste water needs to be carefully considered. In
aquaponics you NEVER replace your water; you only top it off as it evaporates.
Hydroponic systems are prone to a disease called “pythium” or root rot. This disease is
virtually non-existent in aquaponics.
The problem with recirculating aquaculture
The tank water becomes polluted with fish effluent which gives off high
aquacultureconcentrations of ammonia. Water has to be discharged at a rate of 10-20% of the
total volume in the tank daily. This uses a tremendous amount of water. Again, in an
aquaponics system you never need to discharge your water
This water is often pumped into open streams where it pollutes and destroys waterways.
Because of this unhealthy environment fish are prone to disease and are often treated with
medicines, including antibiotics. Fish disease is rare in an aquaponics system.
Waist-high aquaponics gardening eliminates weeds, back strain and small animal access to
your garden.
Reuse resources currently considered “waste”. In aquaponics there is no more toxic run-off
from either hydroponics or aquaculture.
Aquaponics uses only 1/10th of the water of soil-based gardening, and even less water than
hydroponics or recirculating aquaculture.
Watering is integral to an aquaponics system. You can’t under-water or over-water.
Fertilizing is also integral to an aquaponics system. You can’t over-fertilize or under-fertilize.
Gardening chores are cut down dramatically or eliminated. The aquaponics grower is able to
focus on the enjoyable tasks of feeding the fish and tending and harvesting the plants.
Instead of using dirt or toxic chemical solutions to grow plants, aquaponics uses highly
nutritious fish effluent that contains all the required nutrients for optimum plant growth.
Instead of discharging water, aquaponics uses the plants and the media in which they grow to
clean and purify the water, after which it is returned to the fish tank. This water can be reused
indefinitely and will only need to be replaced when it is lost through transpiration and
evaporation. Two primary methods of aquaponics growing are most widely in use today.
The raft based aquaponics growing system uses a foam raft that is floating in a channel filled
with fish effluent water that has been through filtration to remove solid wastes. Plants are
placed in holes in the raft and the roots dangle freely in the water. This method is most
appropriate for growing salad greens and other fast growing, relatively low-nutrient plants.
The second method is called media based aquaponics because plants are grown in inert
planting media (gravel, expanded clay pellets, coir, etc.). The media provides both the
biological (ammonia based waste) and mechanical (solid waste) filtration, so requires far less
maintenance than raft-based systems. Large, fruiting plants are also grown much more
successfully in media based systems than in rafts.
The third method is called hybrid aquaponics, which is a combination of the two. The media
beds become the pre-filter for the solid waste before the water enters the raft systems. This
hybrid system style is the focus of The Aquaponic Source’s AquaBundance systems because
it provides planting flexibility, high productivity and low maintenance.
History of Aquaponics
Long before the term “aquaponics” was coined in the 1970s the Aztec Indians raised plants
on rafts on the surface of a lake in approximately 1,000 A.D.
In modern times aquaponics emerged from the aquaculture industry as fish farmers were
exploring methods of raising fish while trying to decrease their dependence on the land, water
and other resources.
Traditionally fish were raised in large ponds, or in netted pens off ocean coastlines, but in the
past 35 years much progress has been made in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS).
The advantage of RAS is that fish can be stocked much more densely: up to of a pound of
fish per gallon of water, thus using only a fraction of the water and space to grow the same
amount of fish as pond or netting based systems.
The disadvantage is the large amount of waste water that quickly accumulates.
In the 1970s research on using plants as a natural filter began, most notably by Dr. James
Rakocy at the University of the Virgin Islands.
The first large scale commercial aquaponics facility, Bioshelters in Amherst, MA, was
established in the mid-1980s, and it is still in operation today.
Home based aquaponics owes its origin in the early 1990s to Tom and Paula Speraneo of
S&S Aquafarms in West Plains, MO. The Speraneo’s diligently refined a media bed growing
technique that was more appropriate for smaller systems, and wrote a how-to manual that
became a spring board for many home based systems build through-out the world.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world in Australia interest in home aquaponics was
taking off because aquaponics is a way to solve the drought and poor soil conditions that the
Australians have to contend with. Joel Malcom led the movement by starting a popular forum
(Backyard Aquaponics) and creating and selling aquaponic systems designed specifically for
homeowners. He was joined by Murray Hallam of Practical Aquaponics, who also runs a
forum and is best known for his series of entertaining DVDs on home aquaponics.
In January, 2010 the Aquaponic Gardening Community was formed, and it has since become
the largest online gathering place for aquapons in North America.
In September, 2011, the book Aquaponic Gardening by Sylvia Bernstein was introduced at
the first annual Aquaponics Association Conference in Orlando, Florida. It was the first time
that a complete guide to designing, building, starting and maintaining a media-based
aquaponics system had been available. Within a month the book was the best selling
gardening book on Amazon.com and within the first year the book was printed four times and
sold over 30,000 copies.
At that same conference the Aquaponics Association was officially created with Gina
Cavaliero of Green Acre Aquaponics and Sylvia Bernstein of The Aquaponic Source as the
founders and inaugural Chair and Vice Chair. The Association’s mission is to promote
aquaponics, and to continue holding annual conferences so aquaponics practitioners from
around the world can gather once a year to exchange ideas and learn from each other.
Aquaponics Fest__bannerWith the Aquaponics Association increasingly focused on
commercial farming, in August of 2014 the first Aquaponics Fest was held in Longmont, CO
for home and school aquaponic gardeners.
 Skip to content
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Awkward Pause to Commercial Mode– A Graceless Transition →

Aquaponic System Final Design

Posted on May 23, 2012 by richard
I thought it’s about time to get down to business. So, I’m going to devote
the month of June and probably a bit of July to building the first unit of what
I hope will be many more units to come. This post is meant to be an
overview of the system so that any aquaponically-inclined readers may warn
me of potential catastrophe.

The University of the Virgin Islands' Aquaponic System

Aquaponics– An Overview

Aquaponics is the combined culture of fish and plants in recirculating

systems. Nutrients, which are excreted directly by the fish or generated by
the microbial breakdown of organic wastes, are absorbed by plants cultured
hydroponically (without soil). Fish feed provides most of the nutrients
required for plant growth. As the aquaculture effluent flows through the
hydroponic component of the recirculating system, fish waste metabolites
are removed by nitrification and direct uptake by the plants, thereby treating
the water, which flows back to the fish-rearing component for reuse. In my
system tilapia will be produced along with a variety of herbs, leafy plants,
vegetables, and perhaps fruits.

The aquaponic system I will be utilizing is a scaled down version of the

University of the Virgin Islands commercial scale system. It is roughly 1/4th
the size of the UVI system, but may be multiplied in accordance with
resources and demand.

The UVI system has been producing tilapia for more than a decade. It is a
proven system and detailed information relating to it is freely available,
including some of this text which I am, honestly, guilty of plagiarizing freely
at times. Thank you Dr. Rakocy. I wish I could afford to go to the Virgin
Islands and take part in one of your training programs, but I’ve got to do it
the hard way.

Aquaponics has several advantages over other recirculating aquaculture

systems and hydroponic systems that use inorganic nutrients solutions. The
hydroponic component serves as a bio-filter, and therefore a separate bio-
filter is not needed as in other recirculating systems. Aquaponic systems
have the only bio-filter that generates income, which is obtained from the
sale of hydroponic produce such as vegetables, herbs, and flowers. In the
UVI system, which I copy, and which employs raft hydroponics, only calcium,
potassium and iron are supplemented. The nutrients provided by the fish
would normally be discharged and could contribute to pollution. Removal of
nutrients by plants prolongs water use and minimizes discharge. Aquaponic
systems require less water quality monitoring than individual recirculating
systems for fish or hydroponic plant production. Aquaponics increases profit
potential due to free nutrients for plants, lower water requirements,
elimination of a separate bio-filter, less water quality monitoring and shared
costs for operation and infrastructure.

The Wrong Way Farm Stay Design

 This is roughly what it will look like though I've made a few changes (see below).

(Note: My design has changed slightly over two months since I made this
post, so see this post for more information). My design is meant to get the
same results or better than the UVI system but at a much less expensive
initial cost. In some ways it is more complicated because I will be trying to
control the environment with what I think is a pretty cool greenhouse design
and making use of passive solar energy for water heating. It will also use less
energy despite its need for climate control.

This is the final (I hope) layout to the aquaponic system.

So, here’s the floor plan. As you can see, it is 22.4m long and 6.55m wide.
Some system details are as follows:

 Rearing Tank — The rearing tank will hold roughly 9.5m3 of water. I
rounded the ends so the stupid fish don’t get bloody noses all the
time. The tank will be stocked every 4 weeks with 120 fish. There will
be 6 cohorts of fish aged 4 weeks apart at all times. I will separate the
cohorts with suitably sized netting. The position of these divisions will
be adjustable in accordance with the growth rate of any given cohort.
Harvesting will be done weekly, 30 fish at a time. The outside of the
tank facing south will be painted black and exposed to the sun.
 Hydroponic Tanks — There will be 4 hydroponic tanks. Each will be
12m long and 1.2 meters wide. At a water depth of 30cm, each tank
will hold roughly 4.32m3. Plants will be put in net pots which are
 inserted into holes in Styrofoam boards (1.2m x 0.6m) and dangle their
roots happily in the nutrient rich water.
 Clarifier/Filter/Degassing Units — Each hydroponic tank will get its
own set of these highly important if simply designed contraptions. A
clarifier, otherwise known as a swirl filter and other such names,
removes the lumpier pieces of fish waste. I intend to use 200l plastic
barrels. The filter is just another smaller barrel that’s got an armload of
orchard netting in it to which the finer solids will be instructed to
attach themselves in an orderly fashion. The degassing tank is another
small barrel with a few air stones in it to help remove carbon dioxide,
methane, and such.
 Pump — I’ve purchased a Reef Octopus recirculation pump which will
push 7,000l per hour while consuming a frugal 88W. This is roughly
1/4 of the flow rate that the UVI system uses.
 Air Pumps — I’ve purchased 5 Hailea air pumps. Each would push 60l
of air if only I were at sea level instead of 1,200m. They are also frugal,
using 55W each. Each hydroponic tank will have its own air pump. Ten
of the 12 diffusion nozzles fitted to an air pump will go to air stones
spaced equally along the bottom of the respective hydroponic tank.
The other two will be fed to the degassing tank. The 5th air pump will
be devoted to keeping the fish bubbly and happy.
 Sump — The sump is just a 1.2m round concrete ring set in the ground
at a lower height than the rest of the system. The pump will reside here
and replace the water that has flowed by gravity from the rearing tanks
through the other system components. There will be certain losses
due to evaporation, plant uptake, leaks, etc. Depending on the water
temperature, this loss will be replaced by either hot water produced in
a solar water heater (a nice name for a couple of 200l barrels painted
black, facing the sun, and enclosed/insulated) or ambient temperature
water from a rain barrel. This is also the place where additives such as
hydrated lime are gradually added if necessary to raise the PH.
 Total Water Volume — About 30m3
 Total Growing Area — 55 to 57.6m2
 Greenhouse Footprint — 147m2
 Tilapia from Nam Sai Farms, my future fish fry supplier.

Strategy– The Fish

Tasty as they may be, the tilapia are in the tank to eat, pee, and poo. In fact,
they will be expected to consume between 3,978 and 4,099g of high quality
pelleted food a day. At least those are the numbers I get when I apply the
data from Nam Sai Farms’ trials on fish growth and feeding rates to 6
cohorts of 120 fish stocked 4 weeks apart. This very slight variation in feed
input is the result of harvesting 1 cohort during a 4 week period, or 30 fish a
week. Why such an emphasis on feed rate? Because, as Dr. Rakocy puts it, “In
a correctly designed and balanced aquaponic system, the ratio between fish
and plants is based on the feeding rate ratio. The feeding rate ratio is the
amount of feed fed to the fish daily per square meter of plant growing area.
For a raft hydroponic system, the optimum ratio varies from 60 to
100g/m2/day.” Assuming that I utilize about 55m2 of growing area (one of
my tanks has to be less than 12m long because the liner comes in 50m rolls,
something I just realized), that’s about 73g/m2/day.

If I were to begin stocking fry of an average weight of 27.5g on Saturday,

August 4, I would begin to harvest them on Saturday, December 29, at which
point they would weight and average of 717g. The 30 fish harvested each of
the following 3 weeks would weigh 767g, 817g, and 867g, respectively. This
is also the period when the hydroponic component would be in full
operation.

But I’m not going to do it exactly like that. The minimum order for fry is
1,000, so I’m going to chuck in the whole lot at first. According to my
calculations, after 6 weeks the average weight would be 138g and they
would be consuming 3,660g of feed a day. At 67g/m2/day, that’s plenty for
full plant production. But, what about after that? Well, at less than 200g I
doubt I could sell the extra tilapia, so I’ll gradually stock my river with them,
keeping the feeding rate in the rearing tank as constant as possible. That
means I’ll be harvesting plants in full from around the first week in October.

Tilapia fry (all males) will be sent to me by bus from Nam Sai Farms. They
average about 0.25g and are about 1″ in length. I will “nurse” them to a
more robust size in Ubon. My close-to 8-year old daughter, Megan, will
manage the operation under the stewardship of her aunt while her mother,
initially, anyway, incessantly complains. The nursery will be a miniature
aquaponic unit. I foresee it supplying all the veggies year round for Wrong
Way Cafe. More about this later.

Strategy — The Plants

The somewhat exotic "Red Oak" variety of lettuce.

Salad lettuce is the preferred plant in raft systems, although almost anything
will grow. Lettuce is very expensive right now. In fact, the other day at a
market in Vientiane I could hardly find any, and what I found was a poor
excuse for lettuce. Initially, I will devote 3 of my 4 hydroponic tanks to
lettuce production. Two of the 3 types of lettuce will be fairly standard local
varieties and the 3rd will be the somewhat exotic “Red Oak” variety. These
will be nursed from seed for 2 weeks then embark on a 3 week journey from
one end of a hydroponic tank to the other. Each hydroponic tank can
produce 80 robust heads of lettuce a week for a total weekly harvest of 240
heads. The 4th hydroponic tank will be devoted to a variety of other plants,
namely cilantro, water convolvulus, and cabbage. Cilantro is another plant
that is very expensive at the moment, and usually expensive. The goal of
greenhouse production is to time the crops to when outdoor conditions are
not favorable, so what I grow may vary with the seasons.

The plants will be sprayed once a week with “worm tea.” My hope is that this
will provide them with some of the trace nutrients difficult to come by in an
aquaponic system. Iron is one such example. It also protects the plants from
harmful insects, but I’m hoping insect netting will perform this task suitably.
Other than that, I don’t foresee a lot of work in the plant department.
There’s no weeding to be done, no watering, no cleaning. The Styrofoam
boards are lifted off the far end, the plants removed, and young plants are
added at the front end, once a week. The labor will be in the fish
department. This includes feeding them 3 times a day, keeping accurate
records of consumption, routine emptying of solids from the clarifers
(probably 3 times a day), and periodic rinsing of the orchard netting in the
filter barrels. Some of the labor will pay for itself, such as applying the solids
removed from the clarifiers to my coffee trees– higher yield.

Biodiversity

Giant freshwater prawns add to the biodiversity of the system.

As any of you serious aquaponic guys or gals who are familiar with the UVI
system may have noticed, my system falls a bit short in terms of aeration. I
hope to make up for this by splashing the return water from the sump into
the rearing tank. In the hydroponic tanks, I’m contemplating a secret
weapon– freshwater prawns. These fellows consume detritus, agitate the
water, and are otherwise beneficial to the roots of the plants. They are also
very tasty. At a stocking density of 3 to 4 prawns per square meter, I
estimate an annual harvest of roughly 75kg. They will be tricky to harvest,
though.

Dollars and Sense

Japanese raccoon dogs (tanuki).

There is a Japanese saying which goes something like “Counting the raccoon
dog (tanuki) skins before you’ve caught any.” That’s what I’m about to do.
But, hey, that’s part of the fun. So, here I go.

 Fish Yield over 4 Weeks (28 Days) — This will be about 95kg. Tilapia
are moderately expensive in Laos, and especially on the Bolaven
Plateau as they normally need to be trucked up from warmer climates.
They can probably be sold for 20,000 kip per kilogram ($2.40), or 1.9
million kip ($228) over 4 weeks.
 Lettuce Yield over 4 Weeks (28 Days) — Although I will begin by using
3 of the 4 hydroponic tanks for lettuce, I’ll use all 4 for this calculation
as the value of what’s grown in the 4th tank is likely to be in the same
ballpark. At the moment a head of lettuce is worth about 10,000 kip
($1.20), and the system’s potential is 312 heads every week, or 1,248
over a 4 week period. So that’s a nifty 12.48 million kip ($1,498).
 Freshwater Prawn Yield over 4 Weeks (28 days) — Catching these little
fellows will probably be tedious, so I’m tentatively looking at 1 harvest
every 4 weeks. That’s about 5.77kg. They can fetch 80,000 kip ($9.60)
per kilogram, so that’s a modest 461,600 kip ($55) at 4 week intervals.
  Major Cost #1: Fish Feed — I’ll be smuggling the quality fish feed in
from Thailand. Tentatively I’ll use $1 per kilogram of fish feed. At an
average of 4kg per day, That’s 4$ a day, or $128 at 4 weeks.
 Major Cost #2: Labor — I want to split the labor between 2 people, not
including myself. They can work out a schedule amongst themselves.
The total cost I’m looking at is 1 million kip ($120).
 Major Cost #3: Screw-ups — My electricity is virtually free (hydropower)
and I’m not considering depreciation at the moment. So I’ll use a flat
20% for losses and costs that were not considered.
Total yields over a year are $2,964 for fish, $19,474 for plants, and $715 for
freshwater prawns. Grand total is $23,153. Less fish feed at $1,664, labor at
$1,440, and screw-ups at $4,631, I’m looking at $15,418 net for a year, or
$1,285 net a month. That’s pretty good for an operation in Laos. Four of
these units would give me over $60,000 a year. That’s quite a few raccoon
dog skins I’m counting. . .

And, so, in closing, here is some absolutely useless information to store

along with other useless information we’ve all picked up over the years. The
Japanese raccoon dog, or tanuki as it is known there, is famous for the
immenseness of its balls (male tanuki, that is). These over-sized testicles
symbolize financial luck. There is even a popular schoolyard song about
them, sung to the American Baptist hymn called “Shall We Gather at the
River?”

“Tan-tan-tan” tanuki’s bollocks ring

The wind stops blowing

But they swing, swing swing

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3 Responses to Aquaponic System Final Design

1. Phibun Mike says:

May 23, 2012 at 5:11 pm
Looks good Richard. I have two observations:

1) Your use of the term ‘cohorts’ is really cool;

2) Don’t you find the term ‘Wrong Way Design’ slightly unsettling?

To help with your planning, put me down for 0.64 heads of Red Oak every
27.3 days.

Cheers,
Mike
Reply

2. Josh says:
March 1, 2013 at 5:52 pm

Richard, thank you for the great information and design ideas. I am traveling
now, but intend to take my dining room aquaponics experiment full scale
this summer when I return home. I would love to add you to my contacts to
bail me out and set me straight when I screw it up.

P.S. I could not help but read most of your story as if it were narrated by
John Cleese.
Reply

3. Scott says:
March 18, 2013 at 8:24 am

How s the year going? Did your projections prove realistic? Are you making
the coon dog skins you thought you would be?
Reply
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 "For every problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." (Henry Louis Mencken)

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 About the Author

Richard was raised in Stow, Massachusetts. His interest in Asia, especially Japan,
took him overseas, where he's been an expat his entire adult life-- assuming he ever grew up. He
works as a sales rep for the greatest Japanese company there is, splits his time living in Thailand and
Laos, and cannot stop getting involved in things well over his head. In addition to having a pub in
Thailand, now he's got a coffee plantation on the Bolaven Plateau in Laos where he intends to
experiment with sustainable farming. If he's trying to get home, he's certainly going the wrong way.
 Copyright © 2011 Richard A. Mong

 You can nourish the author by buying him some beer! Click on the Beer Lao photo!