Packed with web links that take you to
INTERACTIVE
the coolest
PDF EDITION!
aquaponics sites on the globe! Access to hardware too!
The
Aquaponics A quaponics Guidebook VOLUME 1
Access to Personal Personal Agriculture Agriculture
Aquaponics is proven worldwide as the most efcient efcient and sustainable way to grow food, food, on any scale. Now, you can do it, starting today. Bevan Suits
THE AQUAPONICS GUIDEBOOK Access to Personal Agriculture Volume 1 Interactive PDF Edition United States Edition Copyright Copyri ght 2009 2009
Bevan Suits
Editors: Nick Thompson David Cline, Auburn University Aquaculture Sustainable Design Group 1326 Fenway Circle Decatur, GA 30030
LEGAL NOTICE You may download, view and print the content o this PDF book, subject to the ollowing: (a) the Content may be used solely or personal, inormational purposes; (b) the Content may not be modifed or altered in any way; and (c) no graphics may be used separate separate rom rom accompanying text. Reproduction Reproduction or fle-sharing electronic electronic copies is protected protected by copyright laws and is expressly orbidden. It is illegal to email it to anyone. It is illegal to make multiple copies or distribution.
Contents Click to advance to selected page.
Dedication About This Book Good Reasons for Aquaponics Aquaponics Gallery Introducing Aquaponics
1
Aquaponics Models
5 6 7 8 9 10
Nitrogen Cycle A Basic Drip System The Ebb & Flow System System The Hydroponic Rat System The UVI System
Equipment / Media Container Gallery Pump DO = Aeration Heater Plumbing Lights Water, Testing or Quality Roots, Grow Media Bacteria Rule
Growing Fish An Afnity or Fish Choosing Tilapia Other Species Tilapia Wellness Food, Growth
A Home-built Hom e-built System System Getting Started System Start-up System Balance
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Personal Agribusiness Plant Farming Thinking Production Planning, Education, Education, Finance Grow Sell Eat Local
Scaling Up Sheltering the System Outside the Box Technology Technology,, Community Commun ity
Resources Interactive, North America Interactive, Australia, Arica Research Links
32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44
The Last Page
45
Picture Credits
46
Dedication This book is dedicated to the many pioneers, innovators and engineers who have made aquaponics into something even I can understand:
Dr. John Todd and Nancy Jack Todd, New Alchemy Institute, Ocean Arks International
Mark R. McMurtry, Douglas C. Sanders, Paul V. Nelson of North Carolina State University
Dr. James Rakocy, PhD, The University of the Virgin Islands
Rebecca Nelson & John Pade, Nelson & Pade, Inc.
Travis Hughey, Faith & Sustainable Technology
Will Allen, Growing Power
Tom and Paula Speraneo, S & S Aqua Farm
Murray Hallam, Aquaponics,net.au
Auburn University Extension Ofce
Aquatic EcoSystems Technical & Design Staff
All the independent aquaponic pioneers around the globe.
This book is also dedicated to:
Stewart Brand, The Whole Earth Catalog
Mary Suits
About This Book This book is intended to present the concept o aquaponics and to encourage you to try it out on a small scale. sca le. It will introduce introduce you to a worldwide network o people who have discovered aquaponics and ound it to be a technology that could inuence the world in a positive and necessary way. way. Once you try it you may think so too. This edition o the book, presented as a PDF, allows you to read it on your computer and click on links in the text and images that take you to some careully researched websites. There you can explore explore in more detail the people, products and concepts o aquaponics. Future editions will discuss in more detail the numbers numbe rs and strategies or larger systems. There is a lot to learn that a book can ca n only suggest.
Good some
Reasons
to try
Aquaponics
n
In traditional gardening you eed the soil. In aquaponics you eed the plants.
n
You get both protein and egetables om one system.
n
It’s been practiced around the world or many years.
n
It’s easy.
n
It’s un and amazing.
n
It works on a small or large scale, or un or proft.
n
You can do a great system or just a little money.
n
It uses ery little water compared to a conventional garden.
n
You can expand easily oer time.
n
Your plant harest will be organic because you can’t use chemicals -- they’d harm your fsh.
n
Vegetables grow much aster that those grown in a conventional garden.
n
It will make you popular.
n
You learn a aluable set o skills in science, math, engineering, biology, agriculture and economics.
n
Raising fsh is better than watching TV.
Aquaponics Gallery
Click on images to visit websites.
Aquaponics is growing fsh and plants in one system, with fsh waste eeding the plants. It works in many variations o scale and orm, though the basic concept does not change: Fish, bacteria and plants working together in a recirculating, soil-less system. It resembles a living organism, with a heart (the pump) and lungs (aeration). The bacteria remove waste like the kidneys and the liver. It will teach you a lot about ood and this ecosystem we c all home. Build a small system. Then you will want to build a larger one., because it’s simple and it works.
Growing Power, Milwaukee
Growing Power, Milwaukee
FAST, South Carolina
Red Heeler, Australia
FAST, South Carolina
FAST, Kenya
Sustainable Design Group, Atlanta
University of the Virgin Islands
Nelson & Pade, Montello, WI
Murray Hallam, Queensland, Australia
Introducing
Aquaponics TheAquaponicsGuidebook
R
Contents
eplace an aquarium lter with a pot o gravel. Put a plant in the pot. Let it drain back into the aquarium. Tat’s aquaponics, boiled down to its simplest orm.
Now, consider it on a bigger scale: An above-ground swimming pool with 3000 gallons o water. 4-oot wide grow bed trenches and lined with rubber, stretching 100 eet. Out o this system a staggering amount o vegetables and sh protein can be produced, to be consumed, traded or sold. Inputs are sh ood, electricity and a modest amount o maintenance.
Or how about this: Water rom a sh pond is pumped up hill and ltered down through gravel grow beds. Te clean water trickles back into the pond. Nothing is wasted. Te excess nutrients provide a valuable crop. Aquaponics is simple and it works. It’s also curious that it hasn’t caught on in a bigger way, or all the clear and immediate benets it provides.
Consider the Benets: Aquaponics is a highly ecient organic ood growing system that produces a com plete diet and requires no expensive or complex equipment.
Personal agriculture is ery important or shaping our uture
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
With a clear understanding o how the components t together, you can start putting a system together quickly. It begins to deliver produce in just a ew short weeks. Only a modest amount o resh water is needed, as the water or the plants is continuously circulated. Only water lost to evaporation is replaced. You can provide your own sh ood supply in the orm o worms, insects and aquatic duckweed (or tilapia).
economy and environment. We used to hae an economy based on ood production.
ilapia are the preerred aquaculture species worldwide. Tey taste great, grow ast, are very hardy and tolerate crowding. Tey grow rom tiny ngerlings to one-pounders in about 8 months. A 500 gallon tank can produce 250 pounds o live sh, which go or about $5 per pound, retail. Greens such as basil and lettuce will grow rom seedlings to harvest in about 6 weeks. In a southern, 6 month growing season, that’s about 4 easy harvests. Basil wholesales or about $10 per pound. I you add a greenhouse or other indoor growing environment with supplemental grow lights, you can grow year-round. 1
Te system does require close monitoring, routine maintentance and daily eeding (which can be automated). Yet there is no weeding, no back-breaking work with gas-guzzling machines. Pumps can be solar powered. anks can be heated with alternatives such as compost, solar or geothermal. Use this guide to get an idea o how it works and what’s possible.
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The Bigger Picture We have only a vague idea what’s in our ood, where it comes rom, who grows it or who pockets the prots. Tis uncertainty is what drives our interest in creating local, decentralized agricultural economies. We have become a culture o 99% consumption, 1% production when it comes to ood. Te more we grow our own ood, the better it is or everyone. When you hear about local ood, it’s really about local economies and strong communities. Most o our armed sh comes rom oreign countries, mainly China. It doesn’t have to be this way. We have millions o square eet o abandoned strip malls with sunny parking lots and empty south-acing store windows that could be converted to aquaponics growing operations. Now is a good time or innovations like aquaponics. It can provide productive and meaningul work or depressed areas. Many cities, especially in the Midwest are in great need o a post-industrial vision. Along with reinventing General Motors, we could be inventing a new economy built on sh and vegetables. Te education value o aquaponics is very high. It teaches chemistry, biology, math, horticulture, agriculture, hydraulic engineering, plumbing, nutrition, economics and business development skills. Hundreds o schools are implementing aquaculture or aquaponics into their curriculum. Since the set-up costs are low, you can start today with the smallest o systems. Wider vision and deeper commitment will ollow as you discover rom your experience the value o aquaponics.
Natural Model Aquaponics can be seen in your nearest pond where ood and waste are continuously recycled. Tis is a sustainable ecosystem. When the system is in balance, the water stays clean, plants and animals stay healthy. At the pond edges are marshy wetlands. Tis is the womb o nature, the deep silt supporting an explosion o lie at the surace. At the base o this chain o lie are bacteria. Organic waste matter is their ood. Tey convert waste matter to nutrients or plants, which then convert CO 2 to oxygen and provide urther nutrition and shelter or animals. So the real stars o aquaponics are the bacteria.
A strong community is the best surial tool. Growing ood builds community and proides jobs or people who need them.
Fish produce 50 - 100 mg o ammonia per kilogram o bodyweight per day. In a well-stocked tank, that’s pretty intense. Tey would soon be poisoned by their own waste i it weren’t or the nitrication process. Bacteria consume and oxidize this ammonia, converting it to nitrates, which plants need.
Nitrication Process Tese ammonia-oxidizing bacteria come mainly rom two amilies: Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter . Te actual chemistry is complex but suce it to say that nitrica2
tion is a two-step process: 1. Certain bacterial specialists convert ammonia to nitrite ia oxidization.
TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Contents
2. Other bacterial specialists convert the nitrites to nitrates.
It may sound like an assembly line but it’s really a dynamic chemical soup, very complex. Te closer you look, the more beauty you will see in it, like ding a new galaxy under your eet, literally. Tis is the ongoing oundation o lie on Earth. Te nitrates are then consumed by the plants so the water will return clean and ltered to the sh tank, in a perectly balanced system. High nitrate levels can be a problem or sh. So the volume o plants in the system must be airly well-balanced with the volume o ammonia produced by the sh. (See page 31.) Te oxygen level at the root level is critical. Unlike in a conventional garden, the roots in this soilless system are more exposed to the owing o air and water. Te grow media, such as gravel, provides just enough solid material or the roots to grab on to.
“Among our major tasks is the creation o ecologically deried human support systems - renew able energy, agriculture,
In traditional arming, soil is the best grow medium because it stores and releases water and nutrients between waterings. A good mulch and earthworms bring a supply o air to the roots.
aquaculture, housing
In aquaponics and hydroponics, however, the roots are supplied by a continous ow o air and nutrients, eeding the roots directly. Te open space between gravel or clay balls lets it ow easily. Bacteria by the trillions begin to populate the microscopic caves on the suraces. Since the mix o air, water and nutrients is so rich, the plants respond by growing extemely well.
strategies we research
Additives Plants need N (nitrogen), P (phosphorous) and K (potassium) to ourish, especially ruting plants like tomatoes. Fish waste supplies the nitrogen. As your system grows, however, you may benet rom adding the potash and pottasium. On the other hand, some have had consistent and long term success without adding anything extra. Te system is wide open or your experimentation. Here the discussion o chemistry ends, or now. Just remember that all you need to get started and achieve real results is curiosity and commitment.
Modern Timeline o Aquaponics In the early ‘70’s, Te New Alchemy Institute, led by Dr. John odd and Nancy Jack odd, started early experiments that eventually became aquaponics. Teir work resulted in a natural wastewater treatment system marketed as Liing Machines, developed by Worrell echnologies o Charlottesville, VA. Te New Alchemy Institute’s mission continues in the orm o Ocean Arks International. In 1986, Researchers at NC State University, Mark McMurtry, Douglas Nelson and Paul Nelson created the rst known recirculating, closed loop system o sh and vegetables.
and landscapes. Te emphasize a minimal reliance on ossil uels and operate on a scale accessible to indiidu als, amilies, and small groups. It is our belie that ecological and social transormations must take place at the lowest unctional leels o society i humankind is to direct its course towards a greener, saner world.”
In 1986, scientist Ronald Zweig’s article was published in the May/June Issue o Aquaculture Magazine, An Integrated Fish Culture Hydroponic Vegetable Production System. -NewAlchemyInstitute.1970
3
oday there are many projects worldwide. As the need grows, these projects will grow. Large systems are mostly academic research operations, the best known being the University o the Virgin Islands, headed by Dr. James Rakocy. Tere are nonprots as well, such as Growing Power in Milwaukee and many individuals orging their own path with help rom the internet.
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Contents
Most large operations have been in development or many years. But Australian Murray Hallam only learned o aquaponics in 2006 and is now successul at making aquaponics widely accepted there through the systems he builds and his media productions. Australians and other island nations have been drawn to aquaponics out o necessity. Te lack o water there is severe. As the climate changes, other regions, including developed nations, are beginning to see the benets. One o the most intriguing o new ventures to use aquaponics is Sky Vegetables, integrating urban rooops across America with vegetable gardens. For more on the history o aquaponics, have a look at this document rom ARA, the National Sustainable Agriculture Inormation Service. Apart rom these larger entities is a strong global network o individual pioneers growing sh and vegetables together, which you will nd by searching on the internet. A word o caution: As you compare the diferent approaches to aquaponics posted online, you’ll notice a lot o variation in technical details, oen presented as hard act. Tere are contradicatory statements. Tere is hard science at the base o it, but PhD’s and amateurs have diferent points o view. Te dynamics o a patio-sized system are diferent than a large scale commercial one. So nd what works best or you and don’t let all the details and discussions prevent you rom getting your hands wet. It’s hard to screw up a small system.
Can You Make Money From Aquaponics? Te answer depends on where you live, what you grow, how you grow and the size o your operation. Vegetables produce a higher return than sh. 1200 pounds o tilapia (in 2400 gallons o heated water) might yield two or three thousand dollars every 8 months, but ast growing greens, such as basil, have a aster turnaround and a much higher value per pound. Finding or creating new markets or specialty produce, medicinal herbs, etc, could prove to be lucrative. Roots like carrots, onions and potatoes are trickier but possible, as proven in Hawaii with taro. Te nancial aspect is where aquaponics breaks rom traditional soil-based growing. A community garden or urban arm is restricted in what it grows, where it grows and when it grows. Te ood is usually consumed by members or sold at armers markets. Te volume is not there or much revenue. With aquaponics however, the nancial picture changes dramatically. Te actors o time, volume, labor and relative cost are all proven to be way a head o soil-based growing. Steady supplies o produce are in demand by distributors, especially i they can speciy the varieties and of-season delivery dates. Te opportunities with aquaponics to build a unctioning urban agricultural economy are real. Look ahead to the chapter Personal Agribusiness or more details on nancial models and inormation on distributors. 4
Aquaponics Models
Contents
Nitrogen Cycle TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Contents
How Things Grow I you think o aquaponics as a system o fsh and plants, you’re leaving out the most important group: bacteria. Without bacteria there is no connection between the fsh and the plants. The ammonia rom the fsh would kill the plants. All o lie on earth depends on bacteria converting waste matter to nutrient matter. This is called the nitrogen cycle or nitrifcation. Growing “organically” means to strengthen and support this natural process, without using anything synthetic or man-made. What makes aquaponics so unique is that it contains bacteria and uses nitrifcation in the system. This is the feld o Bioprocess Engineering.
NItrate Consumption Plants thrive on nitrates.
Ammonia Fish secrete ammonia rom their gills and in their waste.
Nitrication A range o bacteria species consumes ammonia, converting it frst to nitrites (NO2) and then to nitrates (NO3).
New Perspective on the Ecosystem
This model is very simple or a process that is actually very complex.
Growingwithaquaponicscanhelpyourealize howtheinvisiblequadrillionsofbacteriaexistall aroundus,makinggrowthpossible.Itcanchange yourperspectiveoftheworld.Yourplants’rapid growthistangibleevidenceoftheseorganisms. Eventhoughwecan’tseethemwithoutahighpoweredmicroscope,itcanbelikediscoveringa newuniverseinyouryard,underyourfeet,onyour handsandinyournose.
6
A
Basic Drip System TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Each component o an aquaponic system can be grouped as a:
• Container • Connector • Medium • Organism • Nutrient
Contents
Fish Tank, Grow Bed Tubing, Valves, Pumps, Filters, Bulkheads
You could add Heat and Light as
Water, Gravel (or plants & bacteria)
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS and Electricity as POWER SOURCE.
People, Plants, Fish, Bacteria Fish Food, Fish Waste, Nitrogen, Oxygen, CO2
This system is basic drip irrigation, with 1/8” holes drilled into the tube. . A mesh pump bag will help prevent clogging. Alternately you can add emitters, which are valves on a stick, that bring the water to each plant.
ORGANISM
CONNECTOR
ORGANISM
Plant
Tubing
You
ORGANISM Bacteria
NUTRIENT Fish Food
CONTAINER Grow tray
MEDIUM Gravel
PUMP
CONNECTOR Valve & Bulkhead
MEDIUM Water
NUTRIENT Air
ORGANISM Fish
NUTRIENT Waste
CONTAINER Fish Tank
CONNECTOR Pump
7
The
Ebb & Flow System TheAquaponicsGuidebook
The ebb and ow system (also called ood and drain) uses a timer to turn on the pump to run or hal o each hour. Many experts rate this as the best model to use. The advantage o ebb and ow is increased oxygenation or the roots. It is also ascinating to watch the regular rising and alling o the water, like a tidal ow.
Contents
These diagrams are to illustrate the concept and are not construction drawings.
Sometimes an autosiphon is used instead o a timer, in which case the pump runs continuously. The autosiphon itsel is a marvel o physics that you can make yoursel. Click here to learn more about it.
OPTION: TIMER
OPTION: AUTOSIPHON The water level in the grow bed rises and alls about once per hour.
The fsh tank water also rises and alls, but not enough to c ause a problem or the fsh, as long as they are not overcrowded at “low tide”.
An elegant autosiphon drain design by Synaptoman in South Arica, adapted rom Australia’s Backyard Aquaponics .
HOW DEEP?
Grow beds need to be only as deep as your roots. Basil needs 4 - 6”, tomatoes deeper. Experiment to fnd the ideal depth. 8
The
Hydroponic Raft System TheAquaponicsGuidebook
This model is similar to commercial hydroponics, where plants oat in rats o styrooam sheets, with holes cut out or pots. In the pots are grow media or the roots.
Contents
“Hydroponics” The word was ormed 1937 in England rom hydro-, rom the Greek hydor "water" + -ponics, rom the Greek ponein "to labor, toil".
Otherwise it’s all continuously owing water and air. A settling tank, a bioflter and a serious aerator are required. When the water arrives at the grow bed, the ammonia is completely converted to nitrates or the plants. Air is pumped into the grow bed tank at evenly spaced ports in the bottom o the tank. This is an advanced system, best suited or larger operations. You can still borrow parts o it to make your own system, however.
BIOMEDIA BIOFILTER
STYROFOAM RAFT
POT WITH GROW MEDIA IN-LINE PUMP
DIFFUSER
AERATOR
MANIFOLD Red Heeler Hydroponic System
AIR LINE
SOLID WASTE SETTLING
Click to visit an Australian version o this model.
9
The UVI
System TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Contents
Aquaponics has been succesul because island nations have needed it as a sustainable ood supply. The University o the Virgin Islands has one o the largest and most productive aquaponics systems. Its Director, Dr. James Rakocy, is a leading expert. On a large scale like this, there is a lot o extra equipment and processing that you don’t see on a backyard scale. Managing more fsh waste requires more equipment, letting the solids settle out as it converts it to usable nitrogen in the flter and degassing tanks. Extra nutrients, P (potash) a nd K (potassium) are added. The stakes are higher in a large system. I something goes wrong, ailure o a piece o equipment or example, thousands o pounds o fsh could die in a short time. This is why it’s important to work your way up over time.
Fish Tanks 10’ x 4’ 2060 gallons each
Sump
Hydroponic Grow Tanks Each is 100’ x 4’ x 16” 3000 gallons capacity Growing Area 2,304 t x 6 Degassing
Inow Line
Clarifers Filter Tanks
Return Line
Projecting Potential Revenue Here is a sample o actual aquaponics production and revenue numbers, in a system similar to UVI’s, built at the Crop Diversifcation Center South, Alberta, Canada in the early ‘90’s.
Annual Production
Wholesale Price
Total Value
Pounds/ft2
Tons/ 2690 ft2
Unit
$
$ / ft2
$/ 2690 ft2
Tomatoes
6.0
8.1
15 lb
17.28
6.90
18,542
Genovese Basil
6.2
8.2
3 oz
5.59
186.64
502,044
Eggplant
2.3
3.1
11 lb
25.78
5.33
14,362
Crop
Source: Southern Regional Aquaculture Center
10
Equipment Media
Contents
Container Gallery Aquaponics is a series o connected containers. You have a lot o reedom choosing them, as long as they are ood-sae and durable. You can make containers rom planks and rubber pond liner. (When making a fsh tank with pond liner, be aware that algae can grow in the olds. Tilapia will eat the algae and can wear a hole the liner.)
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You mainly need to contain fsh and plants. Eventually you can add containers or biofltering, solid waste settling, sump, degassing, etc. It’s still the same continuous loop. Avoid galvanized.
This stock watering tank is ideal becuase it is light, durable and inexpensive. It has a built-in drain hole.
I your budget is tight, you can get creative. Old bathtubs can contain fsh or plants, are durable and available or ree or low cost.
Plastic storage boxes are un, inexpensive and versatile but can crack and leak.
Troughs come in a range o sizes and depths at hydroponics stores and are ideal or grow beds, such as this Botanicare model.
Barrels have been widely used or both fsh and plants.
An aquarium is the most obvious fsh container. Glass tanks are inexpensive and easy to fnd at yard sales. You can get creative and link together a stack o them on shelves.
A pond is a fsh container.
Backyard swimming pools give you the most water or the money. A 2500 gallon inatable pool costs under $200 ( www.tilapiaarmingathome.com ).
A container can be a liner or a hole in the ground. ( www.aquaponics.com ).
12
Pump TheAquaponicsGuidebook
The Heart o Your System
Contents
Aquaponics relies on a pump. I the pump ails, the fsh could die quickly, so plan to have a battery-powered backup aerator at all times (shown on page 14). The aerator will help to oxidize the ammonia until the power returns. The need or this increases as your system grows. You need to move a certain amount o water through your tank each hour. Pumps are measured according to their GPH (Gallons per Hour) or GPM (Gallons per Minute). The pressure they produce at certain height above the pump is the “head”. The higher the water is pumped, the lower the pressure. Head pressure is measured in PSI (Pounds per Square Inch). Pump types include submersible, (at the bottom o the tank), or in-line which sits outside the tank, the water line coming in and going out.
Water Pump Perormance Curves With the outlet at 12 eet, this pump can move 0 gallons o water per hour. 12 eet is the limit o this pump.
A pump perormace chart tells you how much water you can pump to what height. This chart compares three dierent pumps. The height o the outlet is called ‘head’.
A submersible pump sits on the bottom o your tank. The screen prevents small fsh rom getting stuck to the inlet and dying.
An in-line pump connects to the tubing between the fsh tank and the grow bed. It is more powerul but costs more money.
12’ 11’
With the outlet at 10 eet, this pump will move about 600 gallons o water per hour.
10’ 9’ D A E H L A T O T
8’ 7’ 6’ 5’ 4’
With the outlet at the same level as the pump (a total head o 0), this pump will move about 1350 gallons per hour.
3’ 2’ 1’ 0
200
400
600
800
1000
GALLONS PER HOUR (GPH)
1200
1400
13
DO = Aeration DO stands or Dissolved Oxygen. It is the breath o your system. Think o aeration as the lungs o your aquaponic organism. Fish, plants and bacteria need plenty o air. It keeps the system cleaner, with minimal algae growth. In nature, water plants and splashing water oxygenate the water, but in a tank you need to add it using an aearator and a diuser.
Types o Aerators and Diusers
TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Contents
Aeration Components
Air Pump
In the world o aquaculture, aeration is a big topic. There are many systems available, compressors, air pumps, blowers, paddlewheels. There are also a wide range o diusers or air stones to choose rom. To calculate exactly how much air you need is not or the mathematically-challenged, another reason to start small. In the beginning, don’t worry too much about oxygen level numbers, just give them a lot o air. Use an aquarium pump or tanks up to 100 gallons. It is also important to have a battery-powered back up aerator ready in case o power ailure.
DO Test Kit When you measure the DO, remember that ea ch fsh (tilapia) needs at least 5.0 ppm (parts per million). I it’s below that, get a bigger pump. Use a DO test kit and check the levels every so oten. In a small system i you aerate well and everything looks healthy, checking the levels once per week is probably fne.
Air Diusers
Every detail aects your oxygen levels: temperature, biomass (total fsh weight), water depth, species o fsh, etc. I you split your air ow into multiple tanks, using a maniold, you need to count or that. A rule o thumb or air is that 1 cm supports 27 pounds o fsh in a tank 4’ deep.
Backup Air Pump
Air pumps or larger systems ,100+ gallons
DO Test Kit
Maniold (splits air fow into several tubes) 14
Heater
90°
I you live in the South, or keep your fsh indoors, you can get by without a heater. Cold water fsh such as bass, bluegill, perch, trout or catfsh also minimize the need. Otherwise you need to heat the water, especially or tilapia, which need their water to stay between 75° and 90°. The chart below shows how to plan water temperature to match tank size. To read the chart, or example, i you need to raise the temperature o a 100 gallon tank 9°, you would need a 400 watt heater (or two 200 watt). I you want to raise a 400 gallon tank 22.5° you need 4,000 watts. I the water temperature is 60° in a 100 gallon tank, you need to get it up to around 86°, an increase o 26°. So you would add 1,500 watts. Here’s a big creative challenge: How can you heat a tank without electricity, using passive solar, composting mulch or other means? Solve it and be an aquaponics superstar.
Tilapia
TheAquaponicsGuidebook
85°
Contents
80°
Bass, Bluegill, Perch
75°
Koi, Goldfsh, Carp 70° 65° Trout 60° 55° 50° Coldwaterholdsmoreoxygen thanwarmwater.
Calculating Water Heater Size in Watts To Increase the Temperature (°F) Tank Size (gallons)
9°
13.5°
18°
22.5°
100
400 W
600 W
800 W
1000 W
1500 W
250
1000 W
1500 W
2000 W
2500 W
3000 W
400
1600 W
2400 W
3200 w
4000 W
4800 W
Source:AquaticEcoSystems
27°
ROUNDUPWHENINBETWEENWATTAGE
“While composting goes on, the bacterial actiity within a pile [o mulch] produces a considerable amount o heat . . . aeraging about 140°F in most instances. Tus it is po ssible to tap a signifcant source o thermal energy by intertwining heat-exchanging pipes throughout the interior o the stack.” - Mother Earth News Article on Jean Pain
15
Plumbing TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Aquaponics is really just an elaborate plumbing system. These hydroponic components are designed to make it easy.
Contents
Black vinyl tubing is ideal or a starter aquaponics system. The opaque color prevents algae rom growing. It is exible so you can move components around. It’s inexpensive, easy to work with and comes in a range o sizes. Bulkheads are a great piece o hardware or draining fsh tanks. They allow you to punch holes in containers and let water drain into a tube, while screening out gravel.
Valves, tees and elbows give you a lot o creative options or building your system. They don’t leak and you can easily move them as your system grows.
When leaks happen, a tube o silicone will usually solve the problem.
Autosiphons, Bell Siphons, Pipe-in-a-pipe In the world o aquaponics there is much discussion about autosiphons. They are a piece o plumbing equipment that you can make yoursel rom PVC pipe. Installed as a drain or each grow bed, they allow you to run a pump continously in an ebb and ow system. As the water level in the bed reaches a certain level, they begin to drain it out, then stopping the draining as the water reaches its low point, by means o an air tube which breaks the siphon. The water then begins to fll again. They are ascinating because they have no moving parts and are a demonstration o uid dynamics. There are a ew variations to choose rom. The problem is that they must be crated and installed perectly. It is challenging to do so, as any air leak, blockage or improper ratio o tube size / water pressure / air pressure will prevent it rom working. There is much less headache in using a pump with timer that cycles on and o every thirty minutes. Yet the magic o it is compelling and worth trying out. Click here to inquire about plans and instructions or making your own autosiphon.
A great way to learn about uid dynamics, autosiphons are simple to make, though difcult to master. 16
Lights More light
=
more vegetables, aster.
TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Contents
Adequate light levels are critical to your success in growing vegetables with aquaponics. You can get by with only natural light i you have a greenhouse or you intend to grow only in the summer or your own consumption. I you want to seriously grow or production, year-round, or indoors, you’ll need a lighting system, especially where ruiting vegetables are desired. Here is the general outline or lighting:
Lumens - A measurement o the intensity o the light output. The spectrum o light produced by a lamp. Wider is better. A Color broad spectrum o light is more important than the number o lumens.
High Intensity Discharge (HID) is much brighter than other types o lighting. An HID lighting system consists o Lie Span - Each light is rated or a number o hours, say 10,000 hours. This is a ballast, refector, socket and lamp misleading, because that means until it burns out. The output and color spectrum (light bulb). The ballast acts like the begins to deteriorate long beore the light burns out! A rule o thumb is to count on engine, converting and driving energy replacing the lights ater 6,000 hours, which equates to using them 16 hours per day to illuminate the lamp. HID lighting or a year. I you have some natural light, the lights can be extended longer than that. options include High Pressure Sodium (HPS), Metal Halide (MH), Mercury Vapor and Low Pressure Sodium. The two Efciency - How can you get a lot o light without seriously spikng your electric typically used or plant growth are HPS bill? An average increase is $8 to $20 per month. You can calculate the amount: Bulb wattage X number o operating hours divided by 1000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) and MH systems. =
used. Now fnd out what you pay per kWh. A 400 watt lamp running 18 hours will use 7.2 kW h. I your kWh rate is .33 that equals a monthly increase o 9.66. Not so bad.
Coverage - How many lights do you need or your grow space? 250 watt light covers about 3x3 eet (9 square eet) 400 watt light covers about 4x4 eet (16 square eet) 600 watt light covers about 6x6 eet (36 square eet) 1000 watt light will cover about 7 x7 eet (49 square eet) Overall, your crop yie lds will vastly improve with a good lighting set-up.
Traditional Fluorescent Lighting The regular shop light does not provide enough o what your plants need, which is why these other products exist. It’s better than nothing, but don’t expect the best perormance rom your plants.
T5 Fluorescent Lighting is a recent innovation. Traditionally, fuorescent lighting was used or seedlings, cuttings and plants with low lightlevel requirements and HID was used or established plants and plants with higher light-level requirements. T5’s, however, have changed that. With T5’s you get: • High-luminance. • Low heat / energy consumption • Broad color spectrum. • No need to rotate lamps. • Excellent light distribution.
17
Water, Testing for Quality I you’re more o an intuitive person in the way you grow things, here’s a chance to try something new. An engineered growing system is managed by numbers. You need to control the technology and keep things in balance and a test kit is how you do it.
TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Water Quality Parameters Tilapia, 75° - 90° F
DO mg/l
pH units
Alkalinity mg/l
CO2 mg/l
Un-Ionized Ammonia mg/l
Nitrite mg/l
3 - 10
6 - 9
50 - 250
0 - 30
0 - .04
0 - .8
What to Test For: The top priorities are or testing water are: 1. Temperature 2. Ammonia 3. pH 4. Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
Testing equipment covers a wide range o technologies and prices.
Most kits use reagents that you mix with the water. A color chart gives you the reading.
Click images or more inormation.
More pricey are electronic devices that give you a number, without having to compare colors.
Contents
Hardness mg/l
Chloride mg/l
50 - 350 0 - 5000
Salinity
0 - 15
Goldfsh / Koi, 65° - 75° F
DO mg/l
pH units
Alkalinity mg/l
CO2 mg/l
Un-Ionized Ammonia mg/l
Nitrite mg/l
4 - 10
6 - 8
50 - 250
0 - 25
0 - .08
0 - .6
Hardness mg/l
Chloride mg/l
50 - 350 0 - 2000
Salinity
0 - 4
Bass & Bluegill, 70° - 85° F
DO mg/l
pH units
Alkalinity mg/l
CO2 mg/l
Un-Ionized Ammonia mg/l
Nitrite mg/l
4 - 10
6 - 8
50 - 250
0 - 25
0 - .03
0 - .8
Hardness mg/l
Chloride mg/l
50 - 350 0 - 1500
Salinity
0 - 3
Source: Aquatic Ecosystems, Inc.
Making Adjustments Your fsh tank is a chemical soup, i you look close enough. Each compound interacts with the others. Temperature and light aect everything. Over time you’ll learn to understand and control this balance. Ammonia Level Too High (Un-ionized ammonia is the toxic orm o ammonia.) Possible Causes: There is not enough fltration happening. Overeeding. The density o the fsh in the tank may be too high. Not enough aeration. I your pump ails, the ammonia level will begin to increase immediately. The water returning to the fsh tank needs to be tested to make sure it’s clean enough. I it’s coming back with ammonia, you need to increase biofltration. (See the section on Biofltering). The rule o thumb or tilapia density is 1 pound per two gallons o water. Ammonia Level Too Low You need to produce enough ammonia or the plants or they won’t grow as ast as possible. To solve this, add more fsh, eed them more or use a smaller tank. pH Too High High pH levels, above 8.5, means the water is too alkaline. It is oten a symptom o imbalanced conditions, especially related to carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 is a unction o fsh respiration and photosynthesis o water plants. There are quick-fx water additives like alum. This is less o an issue or smaller tanks than or larger fsh ponds. Dissolved Oxygen Level Too Low This is easy to fx by adding more air stones. You can’t have a DO level that is too high. When the water is saturated, extra air disperses into the atmosphere.
18
Roots
Grow Media TheAquaponicsGuidebook
A good mix o grow media allows nitrifcation to take place, where the ammonia rom fsh waste is converted by bacteria into useul nitrogen.
Contents
Permatil by Stalite is expanded slate. It is used as a soil additive or gardens but is an excellent grow medium or aquaponics because o its light weight, high surace area and relatively low cost. Mix it 50/50 with low-cost pea gravel. Expanded clay, such as Hydroton, Viastone and other brands, are used in soilless systems or their ability to hold roots and provide a good home or bacteria. The pebbles are porous and light. They allow plenty o water, air and nutrients to reach the roots. A large bag costs about $35, so it is most cost-eective when mixed with less expensive gravel.
Actual Size
Actual Size
Actual Size
Kaldnes, rom Norway, is designed or wastewater treatment as an ideal environment or bacteria. It is an excellent biomedia or your bioflter. Though somewhat expensive, it provides maximum surace area or microbial growth while still allowing space or air and water to ow. At the same time, bacteria is protected rom abrasive action as the plastic pieces are circulated in water.
Extending rom roots are root hairs. This microenvironment is where everything comes together, the biochemical soup converting into plant esh. The roots beneft rom the large amount o air and nutrients that ow through a soilless system. This enables greens such as basil and lettuce grow rom seedling to harvest in as little as 4 weeks. I you use municipal water in your system, remember that it contains chlorine that kills benefcial bacteria..
In theory, just about any clean, inert and loose material can be a grow media. Shredded tires and packing peanuts are being studied.
19
Bacteria
Rule TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Microbes convert death and excrement into new lie. They can live without us. We can’t live without them.
Contents
The nitrifcation process is what makes aquaponics unique. Converting waste ammonia into useul nitrogen is what some bacteria specialize in. It’s the oundation o agriculture and all plant lie and, by extension, all animal lie. It’s the basis o wastewater treatment systems. The world o bacteria is as powerul as it is small. Every human body is host to over 100 trillion microbes. Understanding the bac terial realm is what “organic” is all about.
Nitrosomonas
A Partial List o Nitrogen Cycle Microbes (in order o importance) Nitrosomonas Nitrobacter Pseudomonas Bacillus Escerichia Coli* Azotobacter Clostridium
Escherichia Coli
Bacillus
*This species is a major component o eces. It has many harmless strains. The strain that sickens people is 0157:H7, which is associated with cattle eedlots. Azotobacter
Clostridium
Nitrobacter
Pseduomonas
20
Growing Fish
Contents
An Afnity for
Fish TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Fish as Livestock
O
Contents
ne hundred years ago, growing ood was part o our culture. Now you can help bring it back with an aquaponics system. Te sh o choice is tilapia.
Aquaponics is eco-technology on a backyard scale, a living, breathing machine with its own heart, lungs, kidneys and liver. It begins and ends with the sh. Te sh o choice is tilapia. Learning to raise sh or ood is one o the most sustainable or “green” things we can do, beyond buying a hybrid vehicle, because it represents a cultural shi in the right direction, back to sel-reliance and productivity. Grow system technologies also bring communities together. Te abundance o ood produced will help open doors in neighborhoods. A garden may have admirers, but a growing system will draw a crowd. A sh harvest estival may be the best reward o all. Once you decide to create a small aquaponics system o 100 sh or less, you can go online and discover vast amounts o inormation: Hobbyists, breeders, researchers, recipes, equipment dealers, economic statistics, etc. Tis is because armed sh, especially tilapia, are a driving orce o the world’s ood economy. Tey are easy to raise, grow ast and taste great. You can do it.
“Hunger caused by climate change may be the defning human tragedy o this century.” - OXFAM June 2009
Tere is both art and science to raising sh. Te art is in the intuitive nurturing that we know as gardeners, pet owners and parents. Tere is a lot o creative reedom in putting your system together and making it t your space, conducting experiments out o curiosity. Te sh are beautiul to watch. Seeing plants grow so quickly is encouraging. Hearing the splash o owing water is relaxing. Tis is technology that eels right, a model o an ecosystem. Te science is in observing, measuring and controlling the many variables that keep your system in balance. Te good news is that in starting small, the critical numbers are ewer and easier to manage. Once you have the eel and experience o a working system, scaling up becomes more easible. Beore long your system will be in balance and thriving. Young sh need several eedings per day, so you many need an automated sh eeder. As the sh grow, you will want to divide the sh tank or add extra tanks or diferent sized sh to separate the larger ones, g iving the smaller stock a chance to grow. Your sh will start to grow quickly and you’ll be planning what to do with them and looking ahead to starting a new batch, learning to stagger their production. Your success will give you condence. Aer you grow succesully with aquaponics, you may eel like an expert, but it’s 22
the ailures that create experts. Some sh may die, equipment may ail, plumbing may leak. Be prepared or at least a ew bumps in the road, it’s part o the process o learning, getting to your rst decent-sized harvest. Ten you’ll have earned a stripe or two.
Educational Value Hundreds o schools are using aquaculture and aquaponics in their curriculum. Tere is so much to learn rom it. Children o all ages can enjoy keeping track o the variables, how to measure and control them. Tis type o interactive learning opportunity is extremely rare, especially as it’s not merely “academic” but actually produces ood quickly, ideal or helping with short attention spans. Even though aquaponics is new to our culture in the US, there is a great support community online. Beore long your eforts will help create a local community o growers, perhaps the best benet o all.
TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Contents
What Aquaponics Teaches
Chemistry Botany Horticulture Agriculture
Learning aquaponics is
Math
really learning to manage
Biology
an ecosystem. The cycle
Ecology
o lie/death/rebirth is right there. Yet it’s not a completely closed loop,
Fluid Dynamics Plumbing
as nature is. We still have
Nutrition
to maintain it and eed the
Economics
sh. For children, this is a
Business
great lesson in how everything is connected. About 500 schools in the US are using aquaponics or aquaculture in their curriculum.
23
Tilapia
Choosing
TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Contents
5/8” Fingerling, 3 grams
Call Them Oreochromis. Avoid names like Bubbles or Franny. Your intentions with aquaponics will determine what fsh you raise and how you raise them. You have a wide range o choices but tilapia are the number one in most markets. They taste great, grow ast, and are tolerant o crowding. Their only drawback is that they require the water to be kept about 85° F.
230 Days
Another option is to keep natives such as bass, bluegill and catfsh, easy to fnd rom local pond stocking frms, or you can catch them yoursel. I you just want to look at the fsh and use them as waste producers, that’s just as valid and easier because you don’t have to kill them. In that case, koi are ideal. I you grow fsh as crops, then you’re an aquaculturist. They are an investment that you expect will pay you back in ood, cash or trade in a ew months’ time. Do not give them names. It’s easier that way at harvest time. For more on tilapia, click here.
550 grams, over 1 pound
24
Other
Species TheAquaponicsGuidebook
One problem with tilapia is that you have to buy the m in quantity rom breeders. The cost is under $200 or 1,000 fngerlings, including shipping. That’s a lot o fsh or someone starting out and you’ll need at least 2000 gallons o heated water by harvest time (2 gallons per one pound o fsh).
Contents
Another issue is that tilpia are a potentially invasive species and DNR ofces want to prevent them rom getting into local waterways, especially in the southern US. As long as they are never dumped into any open waterway, it should be okay, but check with your local DNR ofce. Fortunately, you can grow any kind o fsh or water creature in aquaponics, even turtles, crayfsh or shrimp. It depends on your goals. I you’re just starting out, buy a hundred eeder goldfsh at a ew cents each. They produce a lot o ammonia.
Bluegill, bass and panfsh amily.
Government fsh hatcheries have fsh available, though usually they sell in volume. In some states you c an get a mix o bass, bluegill, redear sunfsh and catfsh or $50 per pond/acre. They may allow smaller quantity purchases. Wild fsh are available rom your local streams and lakes by hook or by net or the price o a fshing license. You can get a ree supply o fsh, and at the same time interact with your local ecosystem. Game fsh such as bass and sunfsh can be caught with hook and line only. Nuisance species and bait fsh such as carp and shad can be netted. Check with Carp and koi amily. your local DNR ofce to fnd out what the rules are in your area.
Perch amily (yellow perch shown).
Catfsh.
Crayfsh.
Photos by Eric Engbretson.
Trout amily (rainbow trout shown).
25
Tilapia
Wellness TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Contents
Tilapia are number one in aquaculture in part because o their resistance to disease. They are very hardy. That doesn’t mean there are no problems. As their population at fsh arms has risen, so has the incidence o disease. Various pathogens that aect them include streptoccus, aeromona, columnaris and trichodina or trich, a parasite. There are treatments to try but ususally the best thing to do is to get rid o everything , sterilize the equipment and start over. For more on this topic visit Americulture. An all-male tilapia crop is preerable because males grow more quickly than emales. A mixed-gender batch can breed, overpopulation can occur and the system will deteriorate. Here is where things get controviersial. Fisheries avoid this problem by adding methyltestosterone that converts young tilapia emales to males. The reason or this, o course, is proftability due to aster growth. These hormones have no government standard o saety, but the US government does allow their use, as long as records are sent to the Fish and Wildlie Service. This program is called INAD, or Investigational New Drug Exemption. To the right are more links that provide a more in-depth look at INAD and other aquaculture industry topics. For consumers sensitive to the content o their ood, here is an opportunity to create a market or organic fngerlings. Breeders go by the demand o the markets, it’s the way o business. I there are enough independent aquaponics growers willing to pay a bit more, some breeders will respond. Or you can start breeding your own, a topic or a later book. Another topic is genetics. There are over 100 tilapia species, with a very ew pure breeds determined to be the best. Each breeder has a specialty and a reputation to uphold, not so dierent rom a vintner. There are pure line species like nilotica and mossambicus. Specialized hybrids are also available, such as the pennyfsh, with decades o detailed records to back up claims o superior quality. There is a lot to absorb when it comes to managing the health and well being o tilapia and other fsh. Starting small will allow you to get comortable running a balanced aquaponic system with low risk o disease.
Sites About INAD and Aquaculture. 2009 INAD Sign Up
Study Protocol for INAD Exemption
Aquaculture Drug Approval Process
Tilapia Health Diagnosis and Treatment Advice
Aquanet Aquaculture Community
26
Food
Growth TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Commercial sh ood is ormulated as a complete diet.
Grow your own duckweed and you’ll have an excellent and ree ood source or the omnivorous tilapia.
How ast the fsh are growing.
It’s better to undereed than overeed. Partculates o uneaten / undigested ood will stress your bioflter.
Aquaculture Feeding Chart This chart shows how detailed you can track fsh growth over several months. This is or commercial fsh production. Small systems need not be so detailed but it’s good to know about. In this system, commercial fsh ood is used exclusively, which makes it easier to measure. For a small system, you can experiment with dierent oods, as tilapia are omnivorous. Duckweed and earthworms are excellent alternatives and you can grow them yoursel organically.
Investing in an automated fsh eeder is a good idea or larger systems, as the daily eedings can be as oten as every two hours. You can also invent your own. Click on the picture or more inormation.
Contents
Feed them worms rom home-built worm beds, which eat your household garbage.
SGR, Specifc Growth Rate: Percentage o body weight gained.
Growth rate or all fsh combined (biomass).
Growth o the fsh rom a raction o an ounce to 19.75 ounces, over 1 pound.
Amount o ood added per fsh / per day.
Feed Conversion Ratio: Amount o ood used / Total weight gain.
Tilapia Feeding Chart Daily Feeding Rate
Age
Feeding Period
Weight
Weight Gain
SGR
Day
Days
Gram
G/Day
%/Day
10
10 - 20
3.2
0.43
8.50
8.3
0.3
0.46
10 - 12
20
20 - 30
7.6
0.61
5.92
5.3
0.4
0.55
10 - 12
30
30 - 40
13.7
0.79
4.55
4.7
0.6
0.60
10 - 12
40
40 - 50
21.6
0.97
3.70
4.4
1.0
0.68
10 - 12
50
50 - 60
31.3
1.15
3.12
4.2
1.3
0.77
8 - 10
60
60 - 70
42.7
1.32
2.70
3.7
1.6
0.87
8 - 10
70
70 - 80
56.0
1.50
2.38
3.6
2.0
0.95
8 - 10
80
80 - 90
71.0
1.68
2.12
3.5
2.5
1.03
8 - 10
90
90 - 100
87.8
1.86
1.92
3.3
2.9
1.12
8 - 10
100
100 - 110
106.4
2.04
1.75
3.2
3.4
1.19
8 - 10
110
110 - 120
126.7
2.21
1.61
3.1
3.9
1.27
6 -8
120
120 - 130
148.9
2.39
1.49
2.9
4.3
1.35
6 -8
130
130 - 140
172.8
2.57
1.39
2.6
4.5
1.41
6 -8
140
140 - 150
198.5
2.75
1.30
2.4
4.8
1.45
6 -8
150
150 - 160
226.0
2.93
1.22
2.3
5.2
1.49
6 -8
160
160 - 170
255.2
3.10
1.15
2.2
5.6
1.52
4 -6
170
170 - 180
286.3
3.28
1.09
2.1
6.0
1.55
4 -6
180
180 - 190
319.1
3.46
1.03
1.9
6.1
1.58
4 -6
190
190 - 200
353.7
3.64
0.98
1.8
6.4
1.60
4 -6
200
210 - 220
390.1
3.82
0.89
1.7
6.6
1.61
4 -6
210
210 - 220
428.2
3.99
0.85
1.7
7.3
1.62
3 -4
220
220 - 230
509.9
4.17
0.82
1.6
7.5
1.64
3 -4
230
230 - 240
553.4
4.35
0.79
1.5
7.6
1.65
3 -4
Source: Zemach Feed Mill, Israel
Feed/fsh
Cumulative FCR
%/Biomass G/Fish/Day
Daily Feedings
x/Day
27
A Home-built System
Contents
Started
Getting
A Simple System
TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Contents
Below is a modular aquaponics unit that you can build. It’s economical, sturdy and the parts should be easy to fnd. I you want to add to it later, it’s easy to replicate. Beore long you will be adding thousand-gallon swimming pools and a long line o grow beds. The skill level required to build it is average. The tools needed are ound in most homes. For access to detailed plans, specifcation sheet, sources or products and some alternative ideas to do it or less, inquire here.
Pots or growing vegetables o dierent sizes, rom seedlings to ull-grown tomatoes.
Room or 20 onepound tilapia.
Bioflter tank & pump.
29
System Start-up TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Culturing the System The benefcial bacteria in your grow beds take time to become established. Here is one process to get your system or getting your system up and running in two weeks.
Contents
Once the system is running with no leaks:
A TWO WEEK CULTURE PERIOD •Circulatethesystemforadayortwotoallowchlorinetoevaporate. •Addacoupledozeninexpensivegoldshtothetank.Theirammonia
will jump start the culturing process. • Feed the goldsh every day. •Todoitwithoutsh,addafewdropsofammoniumchloridetothe
tank each day. • Add plant seedlings in the grow bed. •Eachdayaddasolutionofseaweedconcetrate,suchasMaxicrop. This
will give the plants the nutrients they need in the beginning, plus some addtional ammonia or the bacteria. •Aftertwoweeksthesystemshouldbeready.Youcanthenreplacethe
goldfsh with your crop fsh. The bacterial culturing process will continue to maturity or a ew more weeks.
Adding Tap Water The chlorine in tap water can burn the fshes gills, and is harmul to bacteria so keep an open barrel (with a scren top) ull o water that’s been sitting at least a couple o days. Aerating it will speed up the de gassing. You can use a product such as Ammo Lock, which instantly removes both chlorines and chloramines. You can also invest in a reverse osmosis (RO) flter which delivers pure H20. These cost a ew hundred dollars but are worth it to minimize any guesswork about the content o the water.
Adding Fish Make sure the water temperature is right or the fsh. I the fsh are in a water-flled bag, oat it on the surace o the tank water or an hour or so. Then you can release them into the water and start eeding them. Keep a close watch on the fsh. It’s normal to lose a ew in the transport process, 5% is acceptable. I you prepared the tank careully, there should be no problem. Congratulations! You are now the parent o an ecosystem. The real learning will now begin. 30
System Balance TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Understanding Key Ratios Helps You to Troubleshoot
Contents
BALANCE
A Balanced System Here you have many fsh producing a good amount o ammonia. The biomedia in flter and grow bed is adequate to convert it to nitrates. There are enough plants to absorb all the nitrates. Water returns clean to the fsh tank. Enough biomedia Enough fsh Enough plants
Not Enough Biomedia / Grow Media Here is the same amount o fsh with a small amount o biomedia to convert ammonia to nitrates. The water is mostly unfltered, so too much ammonia returns to the tank.
Solution: Add a bioflter or more grow media so the bacteria can do its work. Remember that it takes time or bacteria culture to develop on new media.
Not Enough Plants
LESS MEDIA / MANY FISH
Too little media Per volume o fsh... Too much ammonia returns to fsh
FEW PLANTS / MANY FISH
The same amount o fsh with adequte biomedia but too ew plants to take up the nitrates. Too much nitrate returns to the fsh tank. Not dangerous but unhealthy.
Solution: Add more plants to soak up the extra nitrates.
Too ew plants Per volume o fsh... Too much nitrate returns to fsh
FEW FISH / MANY PLANTS
Not Enough Fish or Too Much Water A small amount o fsh, or too much water, with enough biomedia and enough plants. There is not enough ammonia being produced or the plants to grow well.
Solution: Add more fsh or grow ewer plants.
Not enough ammonia to nourish plants
31
Personal Agribusiness
Contents
Plant
Farming TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Plants Are #1 In aquaponics, plants are the primary crop, fsh are secondary. When you discover that there is a steady market or your vegetable crop, this will make sense. You can have several plant harvests over the 8 months it takes or tilapia to mature. You have great reedom to choose what vegetables to grow, with a couple o caveats: •Greensgrowfastestandbest,sixweeksfromseedlingto
harvest is common. •Fruitingplantsdowellbutrequirefullnutrientlevelsfrom
the fsh tanks. Some say it’s necessary to add phosphorous and potassium to the grow media. Others report great results with no additives. Experiment both ways and fnd out the truth.
Contents
Fruiting Plants or Aquaponics Tomatoes Corn Peppers Cucumbers Squash Melons Peas Beans Strawberries
•Addinggrowlightswillgreatlyincreasegrowthrateand
yield. •Rootplants,carrots,potatoes,onions,etc.reportedlydo
not do well. This is disputable however, because Friendly Aquaponics in Hawaii has been growing taro root very successully.
Room or Roots Aquaponics is still an emerging science. There is conicting inormation available about how deep the grow media needs to be or aquaponic. Some say 13” or all plants. Yet basil and lettuce do well with ar less room... 4” has been proven adequate. In a soil-flled container, 12” is recommended as “enough” depth, but you may be able to get by with less in a gravel grow bed. The best guide to root depth is intuition and common sense. Plants in any container need just enough space and no more. You can play it sae and give them extra. Or you can try experimenting with the same plant species in containers o dierent depths and see what is most efcient. Then you will know or sure.
Experimentation Take what you read online and in this book with a grain o salt. Take some risks and experiment. The best knowledge comes rom your own experience and research. Expect some errors. I you are a “by-the-book” perectionist, aquaponics is probably not or you.
Leay, Flowering Plants or Aquaponics Lettuce Kale Chard Arugula Bok Choy Spinach Basil Mint Watercress Chives Other Herbs Cabbage Celery Broccoli Caulifower
(On the other hand, you need to be technically-inclined and disciplined...this is arming, not gardening.) 33
Thinking Production Your Produce Has a Dollar Value What i you could make steady income with aquaponics and even fnance your equipment?
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We have been a consumer culture or so long that most o us have orgotten that growing is a business. I you c an deliver a steady volume o quality produce, you can count on selling it, which greatly aects how to think about aquaponics. On page 10 you can see a spreadsheet or a large-scale operation that brought in a lot o money rom a ew thousand square eet o growing space. Even i you only have a raction o that space, you should know what sells, at what price, and at what time o year. Eggplant, or example, wholesales in some markets today or around $18 per bushel. The price is higher in cold months. In the spreadsheet below you can see that a 10’ x 10’ basil bed has the potential to generate up to $1500 per month, at $10 per pound and ideal growing conditions. Pro Forma Basil Revenue
Crop
Pounds per Square Foot
Grow Period
Typical Wholesale Price per Pound
Net Revenue per 100 Square Ft
Basil
1 - 1.5
4 - 6 weeks
$10
$1000 - $1500
Source: Growing Edge Magazine
O course i everyone is growing basil the price starts to drop and you have to fnd another crop, which is simple agricultural economics. Hobby gardeners tend to orget this because we are conditioned to think o a single fve-month growing period, a harvest in September, with dozens o tomatoes and squash eaten, given away or let to rot. With aquaponics you gain so much efciency over traditional gardening that someone with even a modest amount o growing space can become a reliable supplier to wholesalers, restaurants, groceries and co-ops. There may also be emerging crop markets or (legal) medicinal herbs or Asian communities and other groups. There are likely other valuable markets remaining to be discovered or even created. Who will get there frst and cash in?
Growing Edge Magazine, Basil Stats
Local Harvest Network
How to Do It You don’t need an MBA to become an aquaponics business person. Just fnd out who wants what, how much they want and what they are willing to pay. You can do it like a CSA (Consumer Supported Agriculture), recruiting amilies to subscribe. Or you c an talk to owners o high-end restaurants and restaurant chains, grocery stores and wholesale distributors. Make some calls, promote yoursel. Being the frst one in is very important.
The Word on Organic The USDA jury is still out on organic certifcation or hydroponics/aquaponics. I you eed your fsh certifed organic fsh ood, duckweed, earthworms, without any antibiotics or hormones, it may be technically organic but you can’t sell it as such until you get the stamp. The links on the right provide more in-depth inormation. A decision is likely in November o 2009.
USDA Organic 1
USDA Organic 2
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Planning Education
Finance
Farm Credit System President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Farm Loan Act o 1916 which created the Farm Credit System (FCS). The FCS still thrives today, oering air lending terms or growers, which includes beginning armers, whether they live in the city or the country, doing traditional arming or aquaponics.
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Farm Credit Services
Initially the FCS made loans solely through cooperatives, using land and improvements as collateral. It gave armers a new alternative to the high interest rates and short terms oered by banks. During the Great Depression, the FCS and Congress continuously struggled with restructuring the way agriculture was fnanced. That era saw the creation o new legislation to help manage the crisis. The Agricultural Marketing Act o 1929, the Emergency Farm Mortgage Act and the Farm Credit Act o 1933 were legislated. The new Farm Credit Administration (FCA) was created by President Roosevelt to regulate the whole system. This is how today’s Farm Credit System was established. Beginning in the 1950’s, the culture o the amily arm began to ade as corporate interests became stronger. In order to increase production, armers had to fnance more equipment, machinery and land, so reliance on credit increased. Eventually the recession o the 1980’s proved atal to scores o amily arms. This heartbreaking event was a major cultural shit in our society, giving over theh bulk o ood production to corporate agribusiness. The fnancial model o aquaponics is much dierent than that o our current model o arming. There is much more control over such variables as weather, soil quality and acreage. I you use a greenhouse the season not an issue. Machinery such as combines are not needed, nor are pesticides and ertilizers. It is an intensive growing system with a more predictable rate o return, measured by the square oot instead o by the acre. With harvests o greens every 4 - 6 weeks, the payback process can be predictable and manageable. I there is a crop ailure or whatever reason, it’s on a much more contained scale, so the risk is lowered. The entire sytem lends itsel well to the needs o small growers.
Beginnning Farmers
Beginnning Farmers 2
CSREES
Gov’t Loan Programs
Today’s fnancial system is much more competitive than ever. Rates and payback terms or small equipment loans can be ound at all kinds o fnancial institutions. With aquaponics we have the opportunity or the next phase o personal agribusiness. The creation o regional growing cooperatives would ollow.
Beginning Farmer Loans and Education Programs The US government has always supported arming in small and large ways. Within the USDA is a vast store o valuable inormation which exists or the purpose o making it easy or even novices to grow or production, even i your nearest arm feld is an hour away. On the right are links to these sites.
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Grow Sell Eat
Local
The Whole Foods Infuence
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Even though the amily arm as we once knew it is mostly gone, a new small and local agriculture has been emerging, supported by the likes o Whole Foods. The growers in their network include some o the remaining amily arms who have been able to make a living, thanks to stores’ customers who are willing to pay more or a high-quality product that supports a sustainable, environmentallyriendly model. The problem is that many o these arms should be more “local” than they are. Although it beats bringing in peppers rom Chile, our hours rom the store is a long way. This represents a great opportunity or aquaponics in urban areas, where the growing, selling, buying and consuming can all take place within a twenty-mile loop o beltline highway.
Produce Buyers
Whole Foods Local
There is no obstacle to this opportunity. Another opportunity or aquaponics is to deliver produce o-season, which traditional arms cannot do. This is especially attractive to distributors. I you look at the prices or tomatoes in January, which are imported or grown in “hot houses”, the need is clear. An insulated greenhouse heated with solar and composting mulch would reduce heating costs to make this even more easible. Fruiting vegetables like tomatoes, red and green peppers and e ggplant are in the highest demand in the o-season, less so in late summer. Distributors are happy to tell you what they’d like to buy over a year’s time. Recent years has seen problems with ood saety, especially e. coli on spinach and salmonella with peanuts. This is an ongoing c oncern that requires growers to have at least $1 million in insurance coverage. Fortunately this costs only a ew hundred dollars per year and could decrease with a growing network o small, local growers working in a co-op. Remember that vegetables are the number one moneymaker in aquaponics. The fsh’s real unction is to provide ammonia. A hal-ton o tilapia may yield a ew thousand dollars, but a promotional fsh ry may have higher value as a way to thank customers and neighbors.
Aquaponics Cooperatives Fish orm in schools to gain a group advantage. It’s the same with growers who pool their resources. Agricultural cooperatives or starting aquaponics growers in urban areas would be easy to establish. The rough structure o them already exists with CSA’s, community gardens and ood co-ops. Agricultural service cooperatives oer both supplies and marketing or its members. Credit cooperatives provide, o course, access to fnancing. Cooperatives help armers “overcome the curse o smallness”, so they resemble trade unions. Assets can be shared, in the orm o equipment, growing space, labor and knowledge. A cooperative entity can be attractive to larger distributors who want reliable delivery o quality product. So it can really be a win/win situation. 36
Scaling Up
Contents
Sheltering the
System
Planning or Year Round Growing
TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Placement o the System
Contents
Your basic aquaponics system can go just about anywhere it’s warm, as long as you have enough light or your plants and power or pumps, aerators and tank heaters. With grow lights, you can put it in your house or garage. A basement can work i there is access to water and a drain. A healthy system is relatively odor-ree – it’s basically the same as a large aquarium. You can separate the fsh tank and grow beds, keeping fsh in the garage, plants a ew eet away outdoors, perhaps contained in a lean-to hoop house.
Greenhouses & Hoop Houses The best shelter is a greenhouse. You can fnd them as kits or make hoop houses, a good low-cost alternative to a greenhouse. There are a wide range o kits and ideas available. Or you can replace your garage roo with double wall polycarbonate.
Garage becomes greenhouse with double-wall polycarbonate roo.
Security Security and saety is an issue, to keep the fsh s ae rom vandals, thieves or curious children. A water tank o any depth requires keeping young children out.The biggest threat o thet outdoors comes rom herons and racoons who will eat all o your fsh. People with koi ponds deal with this issue all the time. So an exposed fsh tank needs some type o cover, either netting or a hinged rame with screen.
Region Aquaponics will unction much dierently in Florida than it will in Minnesota, obviously. For northern climates one should actor in some type o greenhouse structure to extend the season. Tilapia can be replaced with cold water fsh like bluegill or catfsh.
Hoop houses are easy to build, eective and inexpensive.
Abandoned Buildings A vast amount o square ootage is available or what is called “adaptive reuse”, where a building is redesigned to unction in a new way. Turning an old gas station into a restaurant is one example. There are many architects available who specialize in this process. It makes sense to consider how aquaponics might ft into an abandoned strip mall, with large, south-acing windows. Replace the roo o a store with greenhouse roo sections. Aquaponics and all that it brings to a community would be an excellent use o decaying commercial buildings, potentially even paying the mortgage and then some.
Abandoned commercial spaces can be redeveloped into valuable community assets.
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Outside the
Box
Other Creative Options Home Aquariums
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Every home aquarium has flters and systems to deal with fsh waste. Yet with aquaponics that waste can be put to good use. Fish are fsh and ammonia is ammonia. So i you have an aquarium you can create a rudimentary aquaponics system by buying or making a grow bed a ew inches deep and putting the aquariums flter tube into it at one end, a valve to return water to the aquarium at the other and you’re almost there.
Public Aquariums The large public aquarium also deals with waste, but on a massive scale. The primary goal is to make sure the water is perect or fsh. However, there may be a big opportunity to capture a wasted resource and use it or growing.
Koi Ponds Koi are excellent producers o ammonia, so every koi pond is a starting point or aquaponics. Koi ponds are designed to make beautiul landscapes however, so it’s not likely you’ll see rows o industrial grow beds next to them. But grow beds can be dug into the ground and they don’t have to be straight. Take a look at Japanese gardens with dry gravel stream beds and you’ll get some ideas about how to make it look natural. Simply dig trenches in serpentine shapes uphill rom the pond and pump the water through the gravel to return to the pond. Bioflters and other equipment can be hidden. Any plant you grow, edible or not , will grow very well.
Farm Ponds Then there is the arm pond. The problem to solve is how to concentrate enough fsh waste so that grow beds c an achieve the volume o nutrients that they need. One option is to contain a volume o fsh in small enced area at an end o the pond. An inline pump will draw water through the enced area to increase the ammonia. This will require some experimentation to get consistent results. As the need or more grow space increases, simply expand the size o the penned area.
Swimming Pools Finally there is the abandond, below-ground swimming pool, waiting or a new lease on lie. One pool could hold enough fsh water or a whole neighborhood o grow beds. 39
Technology Community TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Contents
New Green Technology The potential or widespread hunger is looming or the world in years to come. Perhaps not so much in America, but when hundreds o millions are suering, we know that the problem is one we all share. We’ve proven that we can engineer and export the most amazing and sophisticated weapons systems the world has seen, or the purpose o “keeping the peace”. Exporting a ood production system instead would obviously go a long way to building on that, at a tiny raction o the cost. The nice thing about engineered systems like aquaponics is that they can usually be made to work on smaller or larger scales, as well as shipped in complete packages. This makes aquaponics a good solution or shipping to areas o the world where ood and water are in short supply.
New Community Aquaponics also has the unique potential among engineered systems to stabilize communities. A small system can be managed by an individual, but as the scale increases, the management needs to be spread among a team. This is where a amily, a class, a church or a neighborhood can work together, creating great value beyond the crops it produces. When the economy goes down, there is opportunity to put people to work in more sustainable ways. Aquaponics c an help sustain communities when there are ewer jobs, sustain our spirit when we work together and sustain our health when eating local ood. Places like Detroit and other rust belt cities are ideal labs or implementing aquaponics. The cost o commercial buildings, which can be converted or use as year-round aquaponics operations, is amazingly low. Entrepreneurs and investors can work with local communities to provide labor, which has been proven by Growing Power in Milwaukee. The payback comes to the community in terms o employment, education, improved nutrition, lowered crime and overall stability. This type o project could serve as a catalyst and anchor or related developments in the neighborhood. There is nothing in the way o this opportunity.
Access to clean water and locally-produced ood will defne global politics or decades to come. 40
Resources
Contents
Interactive Tour Page
North America TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Contents
This PDF edition eatures hyperlinks. By clicking the names, the websites o these eatured aquaponics specialists will open in your browser.
Floating Gardens
Crop Diversifcation Nelson & Pade Vancouver Island U
Kirby Peak
Growing Power
Ocean Arks
Flying Fish
Freshwater Institute
Portable Farms
FAST
Grow Foods
Morning Star Fishermen
S&S Aqua Farm
UVI
Acuaponia
Auburn ALEARN
Friendly Aquaponics
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Interactive Tour Page
Australia
+ UK + South Africa
Australia is way ahead o everyone in aquaponics.
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Urban Aquaponics Aquaponics Shop Practical Aquaponics Aquaponics Pty Ltd Red Heeler
AquaponicsUK
Scotland
True Blue Marro n
Backyard Aquaponics
England
Cherax cainii, the Australian blue marron. Not to be conused with yabbies, red claws, koonak or gilgie. This cousin o the crawfsh is the most widely arm-grown crustacean in Australia. It comes in a range o colors besides bright blue. South Arica Synaptoman
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Research
Links TheAquaponicsGuidebook
USDA Defnes Sustainable Agriculture
Contents
Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Alternative Farming Systems Inormation Center Cooperative State Research, Education & Extension Service Western Sustainable Agriculture Sustainable Urban Gardens Denver Urban Gardens Milwaukee Urban Gardens
Philadelphia Urban Gardens Urban Habitat Chicago Urban Gardens Los Angeles Seattle Tilth Atlanta’s Farmer D Just Food in New York City Urban Gardens DC Growing Edge Magazine Farmer John’s CSA, Angelic Organics Urban Garden Magazine Food Inc, The Movie
ALEARN, Auburn University Aquaculture Extension American Tilapia Association The Fish Site , Aquaculture Stats on Tilapia Mississippi State, Stats on Tilapi a
Whole Foods Corporate Values Slow Food Movement Local Harvest Network Food Routes, Knowing Where Food Comes From National Family Farm Coalition 44
The
Last Page TheAquaponicsGuidebook
Contents
This could be a conclusion that describes a wonderul uture where everyone grows with aquaponics in a just, verdant and peaceul world. I will spare you rom that. Aquaponics is not a panacea. It simply grows ood exceptionally well with very little water. Just look at the practical beauty o it, give it a go on a small scale and see i you like it. For the price o a Schwinn mountain bike you can build a decent system and get it growing on your back deck. For the price o a used Harley you can grow enough ood or a amily, and then some. For the price o a Chevy Malibu you can build a small greenhouse and grow enough ood to sell year-round. Once you build a couple o systems and grow some fsh and vegetables, you’ll have experience and skills worth promoting, helping others to get into it. They might pay you. Consider it a capital investment in knowledge and experience, one that doesn’t depreciate.
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Picture Credits used with permission
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Contents
Page
Image
Credit
Cover Contents Dedication About
Graphic Minnow Graphic Cucmber VIne Bluegill TV Fish + Man All Small Fish icon Broccoli Bluegill Bacillus Roots Fish + Man Fish Food Siphon UVI System Tank Plastic Boxes Grow Bed Bathtub Blue Barrel Aquarium Aquaponics System Pond Tilpia Pools Pumps Aerators, Test Kit Heater Fittings Silicone Siphon Test Kits Hydroton Kaldnes Permatill Radish Root Bacteria Tilapia Filet Earthworm Girl Small Fish Large Fish All Tilapia AquaXcel Duckweed Earthworm Feeders Illustration Ammo Lock Maxicrop Cucumber Vine Lettuce Dollar Coop Garage Hoop House Strip Mall Aquarium Ga Aquarium Koi Pond Tomato Plant Water System Marron
Sustainable Design Group Public Domain Sustainable Design Group Amy Preneta Eric Engbretsen www.vintagelooks.com Sean Shimmel Linked to source Noel Burkhead Sustainable Design Group Eric Engrbretsen CDC Public Domain Sean Shimmel Cargill, Inc. Linked to source Linked to source Freeland Industries Sustainable Design Group American Agritech Craig Kloeden Sustainable Design Group Public Domain Nelson & Pade (Linked to source) Judy Baxter Edgar Sanchez (Linked to source) Linked to source Linked to source Linked to source Linked to source General Electric Sustainable Design Group Linked to source Linked to source Linked to source Linked to source Public Domain CDC, Public Domain Sustainable Design Group Jessica Clark Public Domain Pubilc Domain Eric Engbretson Public Domain Cargill Sustainable Design Group Sustainable Design Group Linked to source Sustainable Design Group Linked to source Linked to source Wendy Gross Annette Nelson Public Domain Library o Congress Sustainabel Design Group PJ Chmiel Christopher Hansen Public Domain Sustainable Design Group Public Domain Judy Baxter Susy Morris Mahmood Hassan Linked to Source
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