A commercial aquaponics system is a cheap and effective method of raising plants, whether they are for your own consumption or for sale. The plants thrive on the nutrient rich water from the fish and can grow twice as fast as plants grown in a typical vegetable bed.
Growing your own organic vegetables is easy with a commercial aquaponics system as organic fish food is readily available, and relatively cheap compared to organic plant food. This way both of your products can be labelled as organic and sold at a premium.
How it All Works
A simple commercial aquaponics system consists of a two tanks – one shallow for the growing plants and one deep for raising fish.
The fish are bought as young as possible (this keeps the price down and your profits up) and are fed with organic fish food. As they grow the fish produce a large amount of waste in the form of faeces, ammonia and nitrates. This soup of waste is rich in nutrients which are essential for plants. In fact the plants live entirely off this effluent.
The fishy water is pumped up to a tank above the fish where the plants are grown. The vegetables are grown in rock wool or another inert material and have their roots in the water. The roots absorb all the nutrients they need from the fish water being pumped up to them.
You can raise all sorts of fresh water life including goldfish, trout, crayfish and fresh water shrimp depending on the size of tank you have. You can also grow practically any type of vegetable from spinach and strawberries through to kohlrabi and turnips. All you have to do is vary your set up very slightly to take the larger plants.
Setting Up
Making your own commercial aquaponics systems isn't half as difficult as it sounds. And if you are in any way looking to save money you should certainly look in to making your own. You can also buy in ready-made kits, though these tend to be pricey and obviously you can't easily alter it to suit your own needs.
You will need to have some space where you can set up the system. Outside is fine if you are raising hardy fish such as goldfish. Be aware that some fresh water species are sensitive to changes in water temperature so you will need a big tank. Inside is a more stable environment and a green house is perfect. The light and heat will tempt the plants to grow at full speed and tropical fish can be raised in the tank – perfect if you are selling the fish as tropicals are worth more.
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