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RE: The Good The Bad and The Ugly of Aquaponics
This is a fantastic post. I particularly appreciate the trouble-shooting advice. I've been interested in aquaponics. Thanks for sharing some of what you have learned. :)
You're welcome. And thank you for the compliment. I'm glad you liked it. Aquaponics can seem like a complicated science experiment, but once you get going it's not much more difficult than having a fish tank.
How many sq/ft do you think you are growing plant material in?
What do you think your approximate investment is, in your particular set-up?
The grow bed area is approx 11 sqft and a foot deep. The IBC tote was US$125 and the grow media around $100 (I’m using expanded clay, which is on the pricier end). The pump, water heater and tubing were each around $20. So all in, it was just under $300. The area is facing southeast, so the sun is providing light from spring-fall. I use a small UFO LED light w/ blue and red spectrum to boost growth in the winter. I think this was around $80. With the size of the holding tank, I could add more fish and another grow bed, but right now I’m keeping the size manageable. Hope this helps.
Yes it does thank you. I think you've still come in around $400. Relatively inexpensive production costs for nutritionally dense food...year round I might add!
Well done!
I haven’t been measuring the output, but I get a big bunch of basil every 2 weeks just from the 3 basil plants. This would cost $2 at the grocery store…about $50/year. I’ve grown tomatoes, peppers and even 1 small melon over the summer (total grow bed overload – nitrate level dropped to zero). I’m shifting the focus to herbs (basil, parsley, cilantro and chives) because I think those would provide the best return per sqft. Swiss chard and radishes will probably make an appearance as well.