Welcome to my new book on Aquaponics

Welcome to my new book on Aquaponics. I like the idea of writing and Electronic

downloadable book. It can be timely… featuring current events , have pictures galore, and

jump around to your area of interest and it can have live links to web pages for increased

content.

I want to make a flat statement that the BEST way to learn Aquaponics is to attend and

introductory course, learn the language, then VISIT as many Aquaponics Gardens and Farms as

possible. VISITING FARMS is the BEST education. Then buy a reference book that has a Note

(Foreword), 31 Dec 2009, 20:06 encyclopedia

With that thought in mind I want to mention that Dragons Eye Aquaponics is hosting a

Workshop on January 9th for ONLY $75. Go to it if you can. I plan to be there.

http://www.dragonseyeventures.com/Site/aquaponics_tours.html

Follow that up with an all day tour (January 23) of four Aquaponics farms, Friendly

Aquaponics and Justin/ Cherise Bugado on Hamakua Coast to Lynn and Dragons Eye Puna on

the south side. It is only $125 to tour FOUR Aquaponics farms!

This is the BEST way to learn, tour the farms. I have done it three times this year! I learned

SO much.

Check out their info at:

http://www.dragonseyeventures.com/Site/aquaponics_tours.html

http://www.dragonseyeventures.com/Site/Workshop_page.html

Olomana Gardens Certified Organic Aquaponics Gardening

There is a famous saying, is that you do not write a book, you Grow a book….which is the

case THIS BOOK IS GROWING…..this is the seedling.

This is the first manual ever written to teach the Hybrid system of combining Aquaponics

Flood and Drain Australian system with the Virgin Island Float bed system.

This system will describe the Olomana Gardens systems and explain how and why they

work.

It will include descriptions of all of the Aquaponics farms that Glenn has visited and

toured.

This manual will contain a synopsis of all the training the Glenn Martinez has attended in

the last 18 months. You will learn what the best teachers available are teaching.

This is just the opening page. This is a brand new adventure. We are working out the bugs.

This “book” will be updated and expanded on a daily basis. It is FREE for now, keep

checking back for daily updates.

This is a test to see if this “marketing system” is valid and operational. I am having to

switch form a PC to a MAC…learn Snow Leopard, Scrivener (book editing software) and then

switch to Adobe to make a PDF file that can be uploaded to PayLoadz web site so you can get it

for free.

So what are going to have in this book?

A brief overview of Olomana Gardens and a history of how we got to this point in time:

A Power Point presentation of our University of Hawaii Outreach College Course on

Aquaponics. This is the Introductory to Aquaponics course that I taught for three semesters for

UH.

We will have in-depth descriptions of the three workshops and training sessions that Glenn

has attended in the last 18 months. That starts with Friendly Aquaponics on the Big Island (not

recommended) then to Dr. Rakocy of Virgin Island fame 9highly recommended) to Brisbane,

Australia for lesson with Australia‟s best authors of Aquaponics books and DVD‟s, (highly

recommended). Then I went to Nelson and Pade (recommended) for Green House or Controlled

Environment Aquaponics

A drawing of the different systems at Olomana Gardens.

An offer to buy our award winning Video of Olomana Gardens.

A bio on the “who-is-who” in Aquaponics. You will meet and know the top educators and

movers and shakers. We will provide live links to their web sites.

We are going to write a description of every classical system that we know of, with pointer

on their strong and weak points.

We hope to have the address and tour information for every aquaponics farm that

welcomes visitors not only here in Hawaii but everywhere. Seeing and touring farms is the BEST

education.

Anyway, I will be writing just about every day and updating this file and the book will get

better and better.

Thanks and feel free to email me at olomanagardens@hawaii.rr.com

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Dragon Eye is hosting Introduction to Aquaponic classes and a one day tour on the 23rd

Check out the information

http://www.dragonseyeventures.com/Site/Workshop_page.html

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Dragon Eye hosts tours to FOUR Big Island Aquaponic Farms; they pick you up at

the airport in early morning and bring you back for a 7:30 pm flight.

Check this site for current tours

http://www.dragonseyeventures.com/Site/aquaponics_tours.html

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MISSION

Olomana Gardens is a permaculture farm dedicated to serving the local community as

a demonstration farm for modern, sustainable food growing systems suitable for small-scale

farms and even food production for residential lots.

The central features of our farm are integrated systems of animals, composting and

vermicomposting, and aquaponics (aquaculture + hydroponics), combining fish raising and

production of organic vegetables. We have a diverse and colorful collection of animals,

including horses, chickens, ducks, turkeys and goats and thousands upon thousands of

composting worms which turn organic waste and manures into natural fertilizer.

We produce aquaponic, certified organic vegetables and natural chicken and duck eggs are

sold as available. We also sell composting and tiller worms, worm composting bins, worm

compost and organic pallet gardens for delivery (the all-in-one pallet gardens are perfect for

budding farmers with limited space or those who want only organic produce).

Agriculture workshops are held regularly, and small group and school tours are welcome.

Visit our web site or call for information

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Aquaponics is an entire ecosystem in itself,

Your system can be USDA Certified Organic on the plant side, but on the fish side there

are no Organic standards in USA. So there is no organic fish in the USA.

Aquaponics is a recirculation system. The fish urine and waste (nitrite) is filtered to

remove fish solids, through

Cinder or clay balls or settling tanks and mechanical devices that naturally contain bacteria

that break down the ammonia into nitrite. Then the nitrite bacteria are eaten by the Nitrate

bacteria that put the nitrogen in a form that the plants can utilize.

The filtered water

Is then recycled back into the fish tank. The problem with Aquaculture fish farms

Is keeping the water clean so typical they flush the water in one third change outs, toss the

dirt water wherever is handy. And the problem with hydroponics is the purchasing the

nutrients (Chemicals)

Needed (usually petro non-organic) and they have to be disposed of every 6 6o 8 weeks in

most hydroponic systems. The revolutionary Aquaponics technique marries the two fields,

Aquaculture married to Hydroponics.

You can grow many tilapias in close proximity to each other in a small container

which make them perfect for this set up. Also, Tilapia has a mild flavor

This is why chefs enjoy cooking with them. They are basically a blank

Tilapia is a blank pallet for the chef to flavor however they want. And the salads and

Herbs that can grow from the fish are amazing crisp and fresh and also

Organic. No pesticides, no fertilizers needed. HUGE leaves. Imagine

1000's of these set up in the poorest countries. It could feed everyone.

In larger Aquaponics systems...with large holding tanks

(1000 - 5,000 gallons). With these, you can produce 100's of Tilapia,

Since they can grow in schools, in close proximity of each other. If

you had 100, you could have fish 1 to 2 fish a week. Have eight hundred and you can eat

up to 16 fish a week. They take about

9 months to grow, and the reproduce all the time, so it's a cycle that

never ends. Most greens are very fast growing and you can begin

harvesting in 21 days. If you start new plants every 7 to 10 days, then you

can have 4 different growing stages (or more) so you can basically eat

fresh salad just about every night if you plan right.

It's amazing how

Positive people are when introduced to Aquaponics. You are invited to YOU

tube Aquaponics; there is information everywhere about this. It's not that

farfetched. It's pretty simple to do. And free organic food is better

than the alternative.

Olomana DVD

To purchase our award winning DVD, please visit our home page at Olomana Gardens

https://olomanagardens.com/Sales.html

#

To see Trailers of our DVD here are two live links for instant playing

http://vimeo.com/5106330

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htLg_2bTTyM

If you want to purchase our Permaculture and Aquaponics video please visit our store at:

https://olomanagardens.com/Sales.html

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AWARD FOR OLOMANA GARDENS' VIDEO

Filmmakers, Al and Jayne Cloutier of World Class Productions, have won a prestigious

Award of Excellence from the International Accolade Film Awards for the video, Olomana

Gardens, Permaculture and Aquaponics.

The video features Glenn Martinez of Olomana Gardens as he takes viewers on a guided

tour of Olomana Gardens. Get more information at Accolade Video Awards. The video is

available in OUR STORE online.

https://olomanagardens.com/Sales.html

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A Pocket History of Aquaponics

While most people know that Aquaponics is the combination of Aquaculture and Hydroponics, rather fewer know much of how it came

about.

The notion of using fish wastes to fertilize plants (the fundamental premise of aquaponics) has its roots in early Asian and South American

civilizations.

The ancient Aztecs built „chinampas‟ (networks of canals and stationary artificial islands) in which they cultivated crops on the islands

using nutrient-rich mud and water from the canals.

The ancient Chinese also employed a system of integrated aquaculture in which finfish, catfish, ducks and plants co-existed in a symbiotic

relationship where the ducks were housed in cages over the finfish ponds. The finfish processed the wastes from the ducks. In a lower pond, the

catfish live on the wastes that have flowed from the finfish pond. The water from the catfish ponds was used for irrigated rice and vegetable

crops.

The New Alchemists are probably the people principally responsible for Aquaponics, as we currently know it.

In 1969, John and Nancy Todd and William McLarney founded the New Alchemy Institute. The culmination of their efforts was the

construction of a prototype agricultural “Ark”……a solar-powered, self-sufficient, bio-shelter…..designed to accommodate the year-round needs

of a family of four using holistic methods to provide fish, vegetables and shelter.

In the mid 1980‟s, Mark McMurtry (a graduate student at North Carolina University) and Professor Doug Sanders created the first known

closed loop aquaponic system.

Effluent from fish tanks was used to trickle-irrigate tomatoes and cucumbers in sand grow beds which also functioned as bio-filters. As the

water drained from the sand grow beds it was recirculated back into the fish tanks.

McMurtry‟s research and findings confirmed much of the background science that underpins Aquaponics.

In the early 1990‟s, Missouri farmers Tom and Paula Speraneo modified the NCSU system and introduced their Bioponics concept. They

grew herbs and vegetables in ebb and flow gravel grow beds irrigated by the nutrient rich water from a 2200 litre tank in which they raised

Tilapia.

While gravel grow beds had been used for decades by hydroponicists, the Speraneos were the first to make effective use of them in

Aquaponics. Their system was practical and productive and has been widely duplicated by Aquaponics enthusiasts throughout the World.

Around the same time, at the University of Virgin Islands, James Rakocy PhD and associates developed a commercial-scale aquaponics

system which comprises four 7,800 litre tanks feeding six deep water culture (DWC) troughs. Most large commercial aquaponics systems are

premised upon DWC or NFT growing systems.

Americans Rebecca Nelson and John Pade commenced publication of their quarterly Aquaponics Journal in 1997.

In more recent times, Canadian researcher Dr Nick Savidov has undertaken further research around the productive potential of aquaponics.

Through the efforts of these pioneers, Aquaponics…..a modern slant on an old idea….is enjoying a renaissance.

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This is the sales site for our award winning DVD…..

https://olomanagardens.com/Sales.html

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Basic Design Criteria:

You START designing you Aquaponics garden or farm with the fish tank. Decide how

large a fish tank you want. Everything is built around the capacity of the fish tank.

How many fish do you want to eat per week on a year round basis? For every 100

fish you raise, you can eat two fish a week. Have a large family to feed? Then have larger fish

tank. Bill Hallam recommends 250 gallons is often referred to as the smallest practical size. You

can do smaller, and many people do, but they have small gardens and small fish. If you want to

raise fish to one and half pounds, think bigger fish tank. Five hundred gallons is the minimum for

small commercial ventures. In that you can raise 150 to 200 fish without problems. If you add

float beds to your system, the added gallons in the float bed allow more fish in the fish tank.

Decide on your stocking density. Bill Hallam recommends one fish per two and half

gallons. Dr. James Rakocy runs as high as one fish per gallon of water. I recommend one fish per

three gallons of SYSTEM water. Note I am not talking of tank water alone, but the combined

fish water that is circulating in the garden system. If I have a three hundred gallon horse trough

fish tank (filled to 260 gallons) and three 90 gallon masonry FLOAT BEDS trays (filled to 80

gallons) holding 80 gallon of water each, then I have 260 plus 80+80+80 = gallons of water. So

I can have up to 500 gallons of water in constant circulation. If I stock it 3 to 1 ratio, that would

around 150 plus fish (at one pound =$450 worth of fish). With 150 fish I could eat three to four

fish per week forever.

There are some considerations when deciding stocking density. If you have a lot of fish in

a tank, they tend not to breed. No privacy, no necking areas, too much action to take the time to

breed. Fish like to school and seem comfortable in dense tanks. On the other hand, if a pump

fails and the water stops circulating, the fish are in trouble FAST. So when you start out, have

less fish and increase the chance of surviving power failures. Most beginners procrastinate on

power failure backup systems….till they lose a tank of fish. Then they spend the money to get

alarms, battery backup and generators. Such is life. Been there myself.

So let‟s say you have a system with 300 gallons fish tank, you need one gallon of bio-filter

for each gallon of dense fish tank. I call this the cinder/filter beds. So that means I need 260

gallons (we never over fill the stock tank) gallons of bio filter minimum. So I pick three 90

gallon masonry trays. They are filled to 80 gallons of black volcano cinder or clay balls.

Now I need a pump to pump the water from the fish tank to the bio-filter bed. How big a

pump? The standard in the aquaculture or aquarium world is to pump the capacity of the tank

each hour. So, if I have a 300 gallon fish tank, I buy a 500 gallon or larger pump. I always buy a

larger pump and bleed off the excess capacity back to the fish tank with a by-pass valve. In my

system put in a 900 gallon per hour pump and send it all to the cinder beds.

So, how much is too much? Well we go to our Australians Ebb and Flow systems. After

interviews many Aquaponics gardeners, I found that 10 to 12 minutes was the recommended

cycle. I have built several Aquaponics systems and found that if the system is cycled in 10 to 12

minutes (10 minute fill and 2 minute drain) that the water is oxygenated. If I slow the cycle of fill

and drain to one hour, the oxygen is deleted. We have also noticed that the plants in a system

cycling at 10/12 minutes grow best, and going slower, the plants live, but not the robust growth. I

set a maximum fill/drain cycle of 15 minutes. That is four times an hour. I go for the 12 minute

when I can make it happen.

I have been taught that the water should always be kept at 5 parts per million or better in

the grow beds. We try to keep our fish at 6 parts per million (ppm). No matter how many air

compressors I turn on, I cannot get it above 7.5. Turn them off and watch it drop like a rock. This

is where the Olomana Garden system of combining cinder/filter beds with deep (8 inches or

more) help with oxygen. The cinder/float beds add air and the deep float beds act like great

buffers of stored oxygen.

So now back to my 900 gallon per hour fish tank. I have a 900 gallon per hour pump. It is

pumping up to three masonry trays 3x5 foot and 1 foot deep. They hold 90 gallons of Big Island

cinder, so it only takes about 40 gallons to fill them to within one inch of the surface. Since there

are 3 masonry trays used as filter beds, I need 3 X 40 gallons = 120 gallons will be filled in ten

minutes. I simply turn on the pump and time how long it takes to fill the cinder/filter beds. If it

takes less than 10 minutes, then I open the by-pass valve attached to the submersible pump and

let some of the water spray back in the tank. It takes one or two cycles to get the flow correct for

a 10 minute fill time.

Since my pump is pumping 900 gallons in an hour which is the same as saying 15 gallons

every minute and in ten minutes would be 150 gallons. minutes, so that means my pump can fill

the three cinder filter beds with 120 gallons of water in 10 minutes or less. IF the pump could not

fill the cinder/beds in at least 13 minutes, I buy a bigger pump. I always try to buy a pump with

30% extra capacity to make up for wear and the load of pumping the water three or four feet

above the fish take to the cinder/filter beds.

The next design project is to hook all three cinder/filter beds to one drain pipe. I build a

simple siphon to set the maximum fill level of the cinder/filter beds. The water overflows and

sets up a siphon that flushes and pulls the water out the drain at an accelerated rate. Normally

draining the tank in ¼ the time it took to fill. Bill Hallam calls it, slow fill, and fast drain.

I like to drain the water via the siphon as fast as the flow beds can take it. I also like to

aerate the water when ever in moves from one tank to another. The more I can use gravity and

water splashing to aerate, the smaller an air compressor I need to operate.

So in summation: Get as large a fish tank as space and budget allow. Stock it ⅓ fish to ⅔

water (one fish per 3 gallons) , pump the water up to cinder/filter beds at a rate per hour equal to

the size of the fish tank, such that you accomplice a 10 to 12 minute flood and drain cycle.

Install as many float beds as space and budget allow, up to the rate of 1/2 square feet per

gallon of fish tank water. So my 300 gallon fish can support up to 150 square feet of garden.

That would be a 4 foot wide 40 long garden! Or using my popular mortar trays, they are 3x5

square foot. That means 15 into 150 square feet goes 10 times. Ten trays is a lot of food. It takes

75 square feet of intense high density garden to supply each person with all the greens they need.

Another 75 square feet could supply all the vegetables needed.

So you can see that a 300 gallon system can make quite an impact in a couple‟s diet. Build

two systems and they will have enough fish for two meals a week, and salads and vegetables all

week.

Keep in mind that the larger the tank, the easier it is to manage. The most popular size is

500 to 700 gallon. Small enough to move when needed, easy to clean and care for, yet large

enough to be stable.

I think that using two 300 gallon horse trough tanks is a winner and allows sizing the fish.

It is a good idea to separate the young from the old.

I recommend building one piece deep float tanks using 2x12 lumber 20 foot long with 2x4

joist hangers every 16 inches. A plywood deck of ½ inch seems to work fine. Then install food

grade plastic liner to complete the project.

I place the float bed assembly on 8x8x16 inch conventional cinder blocks. Have the top

block be 8x8x4 inch termite block with a termite metal shield. This stops slugs and many other

crawly things.

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Ratio of Aquaponic Hybrid system combining Bio-Filter beds with Float Beds

By Glenn Martinez

There are two kinds of Bio-Filter beds, those that are deep, over 12 inches and often 4 foot

deep.

The beds that are 6 inches to 12 inches deep are most often used for grow beds. The plants

thrive in the nutrient rich water and the worms flourish in the environment of highly oxygenated

water flooding and draining. In the history of using bio-filter grow beds, I can find no record of

baby fish or eggs getting through the bio-filter to the standard Float beds 9 1 foot deep and 4 foot

wide, 20 to 100 feet long.

I can also not find any reports of any fish solids getting through the bio-filter beds. The

only thing I have heard is that bio-filter beds, whether clay balls, blue stone gravel or cinder, is

that they say users found they had to clean out the bio-filter bed once a year. This is spoken of as

a “deal breaker”. Such that anything that needs to be cleaned once a year, is out of the question. I

have also noted that those folks that raise composting worms in their bio-filter beds (mostly clay

balls or volcanic cinder) have NEVER cleaned their bio-filter grow beds and do not expect to

ever “clean them”.

After 9 months, I am seeing no build up of solids in Olomana Gardens black Cinder beds.

In the Australian method of using clay balls in bio-filter beds, they are adamant that all soil

be removed from seedlings. They grow 100% Soil free. On the other hand at Olomana Gardens

we plant out seeds in 2 inch “soil blocks” that are made of 1/3 fine worm casting / 1/3 of coconut

fiber / 1/3 of screened .25 inch black cinder.

The seeds are allowed to sprout and then transplanted to the bio-filter cinder beds.

Olomana Garden Cinder beds run 16 to 18 inches deep and the water is flooded within two

inches of the surface, then drained 100% via an external barrel siphon. I have found that an

external siphon can remove 100% of the water in a bio-filter cinder bed. The remote external

barrel siphon also has the ability to regulate the fill level and drain multiple bio-filter grow beds.

It is much more efficient to have ONE barrel siphon controlling up to six flood and drain beds

then to have individual small siphons in each grow bed. It is much easier to get consistent siphon

action with 4 or more beds filling one large 3 inch bell siphon and it allows draining all grow

beds to zero. There is always 6 inches of water left in the barrel siphon, but it is free flushing and

changed out each flush, unlike the individual cinder beds that leave 2 to 4 inches stagnant in each

garden.

I follow a ratio of one gallon of cinder bio-filter for every gallon of fish tank water (that is

what I am filtering-not the flow beds they are clean), I like the cinder only 12 inches deep, with

plants growing in them.

Cycle the cinder bio-filter every 12 to 12 minutes.

Have two gallons of water in the float beds, minimum, for every gallon of water in the fish

tank.

Stock the fish tank at 1 fish per gallon of fish tank water.

Anyway food for thought.

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Improved shelf life of product. Flash, leave the roots on! Two popular versions, you pick

up the float tray, set in on the saw horses or rack, hose the bottom off with a pressure hose, then

cut the roots off leaving only one inch on, Hose again. Then from the top, pull the lettuce plant

out, pull any bad leaf, and bag it….since grown in green house, plant is clean. They do not wash

the lettuce! Placed in an open top ventilated bag….not sealed.

Vinny Mendoza shares that he LEAVES ALL THE ROOT ON! Sells the plant as

“LIVING LETTUCE”. Customers bring in home and put in water and eat as they go or

refrigerator and it lasts for three weeks. He reports great acceptance from stores. Very, clean.

I am eager to try it with basil. Sell the whole plant, great shelf life. Customer will kill the

plant in stale water, but it will last till they eat it all! Should improve sales, and harvest is a snap.

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Do not use a net pot. Drill hole in one inch foam, tapered one inch to 3/8 inch. Germinate

lettuce in 100% Rockwool (not organic approved- but I think we can find substitute) wrap and

stuff in tapered hole. No net pot, no soil, no dirt roots.

When harvesting, pull entire plant and sell will roots naturally whole or trimmed to one

inch.

Marketing: the product sells as a bagged plant, not by the pound. Getting $4 to $6 a plant.

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Want germination in 12 hours? Place lettuce seeds on bed of coconut fiber. Place under

mister that is spraying 100% worm casting tea. Install a water filer to keep mister from clogging.

Vinny reports germination 12 hours, Set timer for 4 seconds every four minutes. Make a small

Nursery bed 4x4 foot and put on sprayer. I am using a boat pressure pump to pump my nursery,

provides 40psi, runs on 12 volt and has built in pressure switch for 40 psi.

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Investors see farms as way to grow Detroit

Acres of vacant land are eyed for urban agriculture under an ambitious plan that aims to

turn the struggling Rust Belt city into a green mecca

Reporting from Detroit - On the city's east side, where auto workers once assembled cars

by the millions, nature is taking back the land.

Cottonwood trees grow through the collapsed roofs of homes stripped clean for scrap

metal. Wild grasses carpet the rusty shells of empty factories, now home to pheasants and

wild turkeys.

This green veil is proof of how far this city has fallen from its industrial heyday and, to a

small group of investors, a clear sign. Detroit, they say, needs to get back to what it was

before Henry Ford moved to town: farmland.

"There's so much land available and it's begging to be used," said Michael Score,

president of the Hantz Farms, which is buying up abandoned sections of the city's 139-

square-mile landscape and plans to transform them into a large-scale commercial farm

enterprise.

"Farming is how Detroit started," Score said, "and farming is how Detroit can be saved."

The urban agricultural movement has grown nationwide in recent years, as recession-

fueled worries prompted people to raise fruits and vegetables to feed their families and

perhaps sell at local farmers' markets.

Large gardens and small farms -- usually 10 acres or less -- have cropped up in thriving

cities such as Berkeley, where land is tough to come by, and struggling Rust Belt

communities such as Flint, Mich., which hopes to encourage green space development

and residents to eat locally grown foods.

In Detroit, hundreds of backyard gardens and scores of community gardens have

blossomed and helped feed students in at least 40 schools and hundreds of families.

It is the size and scope of Hantz Farms that makes the project unique. Although company

officials declined to pinpoint how many acres they might use, they have been quoted as

saying that they plan to farm up to 5,000 acres within the Motor City's limits in the

coming years, raising organic lettuces, trees for biofuel and a variety of other things.

The project was launched two years ago by Michigan native and financier John Hantz,

who has invested an initial $30 million of his own money toward purchasing equipment

and land.

It will start small. Next spring, the farm is expected to begin growing crops on about 30

acres of land, Score said.

Because it has been difficult for Hantz and his team to purchase large contiguous parcels,

much of the acreage has been grouped into smaller "pods." Each will grow different

crops, depending on the condition of the soil and what buildings remain on the land,

Score said.

Hantz executives envision a city where green fields and apple orchards flourish next to

houses and factories, and forests thrive alongside interstates and highways. The team is

still figuring out what will grow where: Tree groves could be planted where the soil is too

contaminated to grow food, and empty factory buildings may be converted to house

hydroponic fields to raise specialty vegetables, fruit and cooking herbs.

"People look at these abandoned houses and think, 'No one could live there. Let's tear it

down,' “said Score, a former business development consultant for Michigan State

University's agricultural extension program.

"I look at it and think; maybe we could grow mushrooms inside there."

The idea of turning this former American manufacturing capital into an agrarian paradise

is not that far-fetched, at least not with history as a guide.

The city, one of the Midwest's oldest, began as an agricultural settlement in the early

1700s with "ribbon" farms -- long, narrow stretches of land -- carved out along the edge

of local rivers. And until its industrial boom of the early 20th century, this swath of

southeastern Michigan was covered in apple and peach orchards and miles of grapevines.

In 1910, about 80% of the 396,800 acres of Wayne County was being farmed, according

to research collected by Michigan State. By 1925, as the auto industry boomed, that

figure fell to 47%.

Today, fewer than 21,000 acres are being farmed.

Local leaders say they are encouraged by the idea of farm jobs coming to Detroit, which

could help ease the region's grim economic situation: The Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn area

had an unemployment rate of 17.7% in October, the highest in a region of 1 million

residents or more, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But local officials put the number far higher: Mayor Dave Bing recently said that nearly

half of the city's workers are either unemployed or underemployed. These officials

support the effort to redevelop the estimated one-third of Detroit's 376,000 parcels that

are either vacant or abandoned.

And in a city where there are no major grocery store chains, and more than three-fourths

of the residents buy their food at convenience stores or gas stations, the idea of having

easy access to fresh produce is appealing.

"There is real potential for this to work, because land prices in Detroit are low and there's

a demand for local food," said Bill Knudson, an agricultural economist at Michigan State.

"The million-dollar question is whether that local-food trend is permanent," Knudson

said. "If it is, then this plan works because you have more than a million consumers in the

city and nearby areas to sell to. If not, you're going to have a hard time getting enough

acreage put together to make the costs of running a commercial operation feasible."

City officials also remain cautious about the project. They point out that commercial

farming brings with it numerous hurdles that other commercial projects don't.

Their concerns include figuring out who would pay for cleaning pollutants out of the soil

and removing utility infrastructure, such as gas and sewer lines; how to rewrite the city's

zoning laws; and how to adjust property tax rates and property values to allow for

commercial farming.

"Urban farming will be part of Detroit's long-term redevelopment plan," Bing said in a

statement.

However, he added, "as a city built primarily for manufacturing and industrial

production, preparing land for widespread agricultural purposes is a process that cannot

occur overnight."

p.j.huffstutter@latimes.com

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Flood and Drain

The whole concept behind flood and drain is to capture all the fish solids and use them to

grow plants. The idea is to pick up all the dirty water from the fish tank with as many solids as

possible, and send it thru the Bio-filter grow beds.

The beds should not be less than six inches and not more than 12 inches. They should be

flooded with water to a within one or two inches of the surface. The water should NEVER be

allowed to reach the surface. Water on the surface will allow weed seeds to germinate, will allow

algae to grow, will expose the water to sunlight that kills the nitrifying bacteria, and it will lead

to leaf rot on the crops that touch the wet surface.

It the Bill Hallam style of bell siphon, there is always water left in the grow bed. The

nature of the design of the Bell siphon has the “siphon break air hose” several inches off the

bottom. This leaves several inches of water stagnate on the bottom on the bio-filter grow bed.

I do not believe in having the bell siphon in the grow bed itself, unless there is a sump built

into the tank that allows the water to be drain down to the very bottom of the grow bed. For

practical purposes, this would be a box or pipe 12 inches below the main grow bed. This would

serve as a sump for the grow bed water to collect in. Thus when the siphon breaks (via the air

hose on the side) the water would be completely drain from the grow bed first.

#

Draining Grow Beds

When one needs to drain a grow bed, it is important that it be rapidly.

This is to carry solids down into the medium. It is also important to maintain the 10 to 12

minute desire cycle in flood and draining the grow beds. If the bed is slower cycle, the water will

compost and use up oxygen in the water. If the bed is faster, it inhibits the worms finding a level

of comfort to have a good habitat. The worms are necessary to eat the solids. The worm‟s

castings get dissolved in the flushing water and provide the nutrition to the water. The worm

casting do not appear to build up in the bio-filter grow bed. After nine months, we are seeing no

accumulation of solids. We will be digging out some of our cinder beds to check the conditions.

#

Fish Solid Removal

In Aquaponics the fish solids need to be removed constantly from the fish tank water. The

fish need a healthy environment free from the fish solids. If the fish solids are not removed, they

accumulate on the floor of the tank and start to compost and use up oxygen in the water. It is

unsightly and makes it difficult to see thru the water.

There are two schools of thought for fish solid removal.

First, Dr. Rakocy model of sending the fish water through a series of settling tanks, net

tanks, bio-skimmers and degassing tanks before the fish water is sent to the deep “float beds” .

The solids have to be removed before the fish water gets to the float beds, otherwise the roots of

the plants will catch the drifting solids and clog the plant roots. The roots will turn brown and rot

off. The solids will be decomposing in the Float Beds and using up the oxygen. If the oxygen

levels fall below 5.0, the plants health is stressed.

In Dr. Rakocy lectures he tells of the first 50% of a Float bed dying due to the fish solids

accumulating on the plant roots.

The downside of this model of solid removal is that it cost to build and operate the settling

tank, net tank, bio-skimmer, and such. And it is reportedly removes 40% of the nutrition from the

water immediately. That is a heavy tax to pay for cleaning the water.

The second method is made popular by Bill Hallam of Brisbane Australia. He has

designed, builds and sells an Aquaponic system that uses the flood and drain model, via the use

of a bell siphon in each grow bed.

The water is pumped from the fish tank, that is on ground level, up to the grow bed that is

12 inches deep in clay grow balls. He fill the grow bed within an inch of the surface and the bell

siphon trips and drains the grow bed down to two or three inches of water. The water drains back

to the fish tank, nice a clean of all solids.

#

�

������Aquaponics is a bio-integrated system that links recirculation aquaculture with hydroponic vegetable, flower,

and/or herb production. Recent advances by researchers and growers alike have turned aquaponics into a working model of

sustainable food production. This publication provides an introduction to aquaponics with brief profiles of working units

around the country. An extensive list of resources points the reader to print and Web-based educational materials for further

technical assistance.

Aquaponics is a bio-integrated system that

links recirculation aquaculture with hydroponic

vegetable, flower, and/or herb production. Recent

advances by researchers and growers alike have

turned aquaponics into a working model of

sustainable food production. This publication

provides an introduction to aquaponics with

brief profiles of working units around the

country. An extensive list of resources points the

reader to print and Web-based educational

materials for further technical assistance.

Table of Contents

• Introduction

• Aquaponics: Key Elements and

Considerations

• Aquaponic Systems

◦ The North Carolina State University

System

◦ The Speraneo System

◦ The University of the Virgin Islands

System

◦ The Freshwater Institute System

◦ The Cabbage Hill Farm System

◦ The New Alchemy Institute

◦ Miscellaneous Systems

• Organic Aquaculture

• Evaluating an Aquaponic Enterprise

• References

• Resources

• Appendix: Bibliography on

Aquaponics

• Dissertations

Introduction

Aquaponics, also known as the integration

of hydroponics with aquaculture, is gaining

increased attention as a bio-integrated food

production system.

Aquaponics serves as a model of

sustainable food production by following certain

principles:

• The waste products of one biological

system serve as nutrients for a second biological

system.

• The integration of fish and plants

results in a polyculture that increases diversity

and yields multiple products.

• Water is re-used through biological

filtration and recirculation.

• Local food production provides

access to healthy foods and enhances the local

economy.

In aquaponics, nutrient-rich effluent from

fish tanks is used to fertigate hydroponic

production beds. This is good for the fish because

plant roots and rhizobacteria remove nutrients

from the water. These nutrients – generated from

fish manure, algae, and decomposing fish feed –

are contaminants that would otherwise build up

to toxic levels in the fish tanks, but instead serve

as liquid fertilizer to hydroponically grown

plants. In turn, the hydroponic beds function as a

biofilter – stripping off ammonia, nitrates,

nitrites, and phosphorus – so the freshly cleansed

water can then be recirculated back into the fish

tanks. The nitrifying bacteria living in the gravel

and in association with the plant roots play a

critical role in nutrient cycling; without these

microorganisms the whole system would stop

functioning.

Greenhouse growers and farmers are taking

note of aquaponics for several reasons:

• Hydroponic growers view fish-

manured irrigation water as a source of organic

fertilizer that enables plants to grow well.

• Fish farmers view hydroponics as a

biofiltration method to facilitate intensive

recirculate aquaculture.

• Greenhouse growers view aquaponics

as a way to introduce organic hydroponic

produce into the marketplace, since the only

fertility input is fish feed and all of the nutrients

pass through a biological process.

• Food-producing greenhouses –

yielding two products from one production unit –

are naturally appealing for niche marketing and

green labeling.

• Aquaponics can enable the production

of fresh vegetables and fish protein in arid

regions and on water-limited farms, since it is

water re-use system.

• Aquaponics is a working model of

sustainable food production wherein plant and

animal agriculture are integrated and recycling of

nutrients and water filtration are linked.

• In addition to commercial application,

aquaponics has become a popular training aid on

integrated bio-systems with vocational

agriculture programs and high school biology

classes.

The technology associated with aquaponics

is complex. It requires the ability to

simultaneously manage the production and

marketing of two different agricultural products.

Until the 1980s, most attempts at integrated

hydroponics and aquaculture had limited success.

However, innovations since the 1980s have

transformed aquaponics technology into a viable

system of food production. Modern aquaponic

systems can be highly successful, but they require

intensive management and they have special

considerations.

This publication provides an introduction to

aquaponics, it profiles successful aquaponic

greenhouses, and it provides extensive resources.

It does not attempt to describe production

methods in comprehensive technical detail, but it

does provide a summary of key elements and

considerations.

Related ATTRA Publications

Aquaculture Enterprises: Considerations and Strategies Agricultural

Business Planning Templates and Resources

Back to top

Aquaponics: Key Elements and

Considerations

A successful aquaponics enterprise requires

special training, skills, and management. The

following items point to key elements and

considerations to help prospective growers

evaluate the integration of hydroponics with

aquaculture.

Hydroponics: Hydroponics is the

production of plants in a soilless medium

whereby all of the nutrients supplied to the crop

are dissolved in water. Liquid hydroponic

systems employ the nutrient film technique

(NFT), floating rafts, and non-circulating water

culture. Aggregate hydroponic systems employ

inert, organic, and mixed media contained in bag,

trough, trench, pipe, or bench setups. Aggregate

media used in these systems include Perlite,

vermiculite, gravel, sand, expanded clay, peat,

and sawdust. Normally, hydroponic plants are

fertigate (soluble fertilizers injected into

irrigation water) on a periodical cycle to maintain

moist roots and provide a constant supply of

nutrients. These hydroponic nutrients are usually

derived from synthetic commercial fertilizers,

such as calcium nitrate, that are highly soluble in

water. However, hydro-organics – based on

soluble organic fertilizers such as fish

hydrosylate – is an emerging practice.

Hydroponic recipes are based on chemical

formulations that deliver precise concentrations

of mineral elements. The controlled delivery of

nutrients, water, and environmental modifications

under greenhouse conditions is a major reason

why hydroponics is so successful.

Nutrients in Aquaculture Effluent:

Greenhouse growers normally control the

delivery of precise quantities of mineral elements

to hydroponic plants. However, in aquaponics,

nutrients are delivered via aquacultural effluent.

Fish effluent contains sufficient levels of

ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, phosphorus, potassium,

and other secondary and micronutrients to

produce hydroponic plants. Naturally, some plant

species are better adapted to this system than

others. The technical literature on aquaponics

provides greater detail on hydroponic nutrient

delivery; especially see papers cited in the

Bibliography by James Rakocy, PhD.

Plants Adapted to Aquaponics: The

selection of plant species adapted to hydroponic

culture in aquaponic greenhouses is related to

stocking density of fish tanks and subsequent

nutrient concentration of aquacultural effluent.

Lettuce, herbs, and specialty greens (spinach,

chives, basil, and watercress) have low to

medium nutritional requirements and are well

adapted to aquaponic systems. Plants yielding

fruit (tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers)

have a higher nutritional demand and perform

better in a heavily stocked, well established

aquaponic system. Greenhouse varieties of

tomatoes are better adapted to low light, high

humidity conditions in greenhouses than field

varieties.

Male tilapia fish.

AARM - Aquaculture & Aquatic

Resources Management Asian Institute of

Technology, Thailand.

Fish Species: Several warm-water and

cold-water fish species are adapted to recirculate

aquaculture systems, including tilapia, trout,

perch, Arctic char, and bass. However, most

commercial aquaponic systems in North America

are based on tilapia. Tilapia is a warm-water

species that grows well in a recirculate tank

culture. Furthermore, tilapia is tolerant of

fluctuating water conditions such as pH,

temperature, oxygen, and dissolved solids.

Tilapia produces a white-fleshed meat suitable to

local and wholesale markets. The literature on

tilapia contains extensive technical

documentation and cultural procedures.

Barramundi and Murray cod fish species are

raised in recirculate aquaponic systems in

Australia.

Tilapia is a warm-water species that

grows well in a recirculate tank culture.

Water Quality Characteristics: Fish

raised in recirculate tank culture require good

water quality conditions. Water quality testing

kits from aquacultural supply companies are

fundamental. Critical water quality parameters

include dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide,

ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, pH, chlorine, and other

characteristics. The stocking density of fish,

growth rate of fish, feeding rate and volume, and

related environmental fluctuations can elicit rapid

changes in water quality; constant and vigilant

water quality monitoring is essential.

Biofiltration and Suspended Solids:

Aquaculture effluent contains nutrients, dissolved

solids, and waste byproducts. Some aquaponic

systems are designed with intermediate filters and

cartridges to collect suspended solids in fish

effluent, and to facilitate conversion of ammonia

and other waste products to forms more available

to plants prior to delivery to hydroponic

vegetable beds. Other systems deliver fish

effluent directly to gravel-cultured hydroponic

vegetable beds. The gravel functions as a

“fluidized bed bioreactor,” removing dissolved

solids and providing habitat for nitrifying bacteria

involved in nutrient conversions. The design

manuals and technical documentation available in

the Resources section can help growers decide

which system is most appropriate.

Component Ratio: Matching the volume

of fish tank water to volume of hydroponic media

is known as component ratio. Early aquaponics

systems were based on a ratio of 1:1, but 1:2 is

now common and tank: bed ratios as high as 1:4

are employed. The variation in range depends on

type of hydroponic system (gravel vs. raft), fish

species, fish density, feeding rate, plant species,

etc. For example, the Speraneo system described

below is designed for one cubic foot of water to

two cubic feet of grows bed media (pea gravel).

Further, when shallow bed systems only three

inches in depth are employed for the production

of specialty greens such as lettuce and basil, the

square footage of grow space will increase four

times. Depending on the system design, the

component ratio can favor greater outputs of

either hydroponic produce or fish protein. A

“node” is a configuration that links one fish tank

to a certain number of hydroponic beds. Thus,

one greenhouse may contain a multiple number

of fish tanks and associated growing beds, each

arranged in a separate node.

Back to top

Aquaponic Systems

Profiles of several aquaponic greenhouses

are highlighted below as models of commercially

viable systems. Most of these operations are

featured in magazine articles and conference

proceedings. Some operations offer technical

assistance through short courses, design manuals,

and on-site tours. Please refer to articles in the

Resources section, and the Bibliography, for in-

depth descriptions and technical details.

The North Carolina State University

System

Water consumption in an integrated

aquavegeculture system amounts to 1 percent

of that required in pond culture to produce

equivalent tilapia yields.

In the 1980‟s Mark McMurtry (former

graduate student) and the late Doug Sanders

(professor) at North Carolina State University

developed an aqua-vegeculture system based on

tilapia fish tanks sunk below the greenhouse

floor. Effluent from the fish tanks was trickle-

irrigated onto sand-cultured hydroponic vegetable

beds located at ground level. The nutrients in the

irrigation water fed tomato and cucumber crops,

and the sand beds and plant roots functioned as a

biofilter. After draining from the beds, the water

recirculated back into the fish tanks. The only

fertility input to the system was fish feed (32

percent protein).

Some findings and highlights of

McMurtry‟s research:

• Benefits of integrating aquaculture

and vegetable production are:

1. conservation of water resources and

plant nutrients

2. intensive production of fish protein

3. Reduced operating costs relative to

either system in isolation.

• Water consumption in an integrated

aqua-vegeculture system amounts to 1 percent of

that required in pond culture to produce

equivalent tilapia yields.

• Such low-water-use symbiotic

systems are applicable to the needs of arid or

semi-arid regions where fish and fresh vegetables

are in high demand.

• Organic vine-ripened, pesticide-free

produce and “fresh-daily” fish can bring premium

prices, particularly during winter months in urban

areas.

• Biofilter (sand beds with vegetables)

that are alternately flooded and drained with

nutrient-laden fish tank water are called

reciprocating biofilter.

• Reciprocating biofilter provide

uniform distribution of nutrient-laden water

within the filtration medium during the flood

cycle, and improved aeration from atmospheric

exchange during each dewatering with benefits to

both nitrifying bacteria and plant roots.

• Dissolved and suspended organic

materials accumulate rapidly in aquaculture

systems and must be removed for efficient fish

production.

• Previous integrated fish-vegetable

systems removed suspended solids from the

water by sedimentation in clarifiers prior to plant

application. Removal of the solid wastes resulted

in insufficient residual nutrients for good plant

growth; acceptable fruit yields had previously

only been achieved with substantial

supplementation of plant nutrients.

• Aqueous nitrate concentrations in

recirculate aquaculture can be adequately

regulated when fish and vegetable production are

linked via reciprocating biofilter.

• Tomatoes may have also assimilated

nitrogen in organic amino acid forms. In 1950

Gosh and Burris (Utilization of nitrogenous

compounds by plants. Soil Science. Vol. 70: 187-

203) found that tomatoes utilize alanine, glutamic

acid, histidine, and leucine as effectively as

inorganic nitrogen sources.

• Research to determine the optimum

ratio of fish tank to biofilter volume on fish

growth rate and water quality found that stocking

density of fish and plants can vary depending on

desired goal. The component ratios of the system

may be manipulated to favor fish or vegetable

production according to local market trends or

dietary needs. Fish stocking density and feeding

rates are adjusted to optimize water quality as

influenced by plant growth rate.

See the Bibliography on Aquaponics in the

appendix for a of list articles that resulted from

the North Carolina research.

Aqua-vegeculture research at NCSU has

been discontinued because the technology had

evolved to the point where it is ready for grower

application. The Department of Horticulture and

the Cooperative Extension Service at NCSU

provide technical assistance to aquaponic

greenhouse growers in North Carolina.

Back to top

The Speraneo System

In the early 1990s, Tom and Paula

Speraneo – owners of S & S Aqua Farm near

West Plains, Missouri – modified the North

Carolina State method by raising tilapia in a 500-

gallon tank, with fish effluent linked to gravel-

cultured hydroponic vegetable beds inside an

attached solar greenhouse. Later, they expanded

to a full-size commercial greenhouse. The

Speraneo system was practical, productive, and

wildly successful. It became the model for dozens

of commercial aquaponic greenhouses and high

school biology programs.

The Speraneo system was practical,

productive, and wildly successful.

Sadly, Tom Speraneo died in February

2004. Tom was a true pioneer in aquaponics, and

he was unfailingly generous and helpful to others.

Paula Speraneo and her family continue to run

the greenhouse and actively participate in

aquaponics technology transfer. The following

notes describe the Speraneo system and available

resources.

The commercial-scale solar greenhouse at S

& S Aqua Farm is 50 feet by 80 feet, oriented

East-West to create a south-facing slope. It

contains six 1,200 gallon fish tanks. Each tank is

linked to six one-foot-deep hydroponic beds

filled with river gravel. Tom referred to each

tank-plus-hydroponic bed setup as a “node.” This

way, each node can operate independently of one

another.

Some aspects of the Speraneo system were

modeled after the aquaponics research at North

Carolina State University, while others are

modified. The Speraneos employ hydroponic

vegetable beds as “fluidized bed reactors,” but

they use pea-grade river gravel instead of sand.

Tilapia are raised in fish tanks, but the tanks are

more conveniently located above ground and

tilapia hybrids adapted to cooler water

temperatures are grown. The reciprocating water

cycle, PVC piping, and return-flow water

pumping methods were designed by Tom and

Paula to match their system.

For years, Purina® fish chow at 40 percent

protein was the primary fertility input,

supplemented with tank-cultured algae. Tilapia in

the Speraneo system are raised for 7 to 12

months, and then harvested at one to one-and-a-

half pounds in size. Later, Tom started adding

small amounts of Planters 2® rock dust on top of

the gravel as a trace element supplement.

S & S Aqua Farm has grown fresh basil,

tomatoes, cucumbers, mixed salad greens, and an

assortment of vegetable, herb, and ornamental

bedding plants in the aquaponic greenhouse. In

the early 1990‟s, Tom and Paula were raising and

selling basil for $12 a pound to gourmet

restaurants about four hours away in St. Louis,

Missouri. Following passage of the North

American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),

however, Mexican imports of basil resulted in a

market crash to $4 per pound, so they dropped

the St. Louis market. S & S Aqua Farm now

grows a diverse variety of vegetable and herbs,

selling locally at a farmers market combined with

direct sales out of their greenhouse.

Aquaponic greenhouse at S&S Aqua Farms, West Plains, Missouri.

Photos by Steve Diver, NCAT.

Tom once calculated the farm produces 45

to 70 pounds of produce for every pound of

tilapia, an impressive yield. However, Paula

explained this figure takes into account the

cumulative yields of multiple vegetable crops

raised during the 7- to 12-month time period

required to raise fish to harvest.

The component ratio favors vegetables over

fish yields in the Speraneo system.

Interest in the Speraneo system resulted in

more than 10,000 visitors to the small farm in

Missouri, including school children, farmers,

researchers, and government officials. To handle

requests for assistance, the Speraneos compiled a

resource packet and design manual with technical

specifications to establish an S & S Aqua Farm-

style aquaponic system. The resource packet

includes a 10-minute video and a list of supplies.

Response from growers to a practical design

manual such as this was tremendous. The

Speraneo system is now in use worldwide. The

resource packet, which sells for $250, is available

through:

S & S Aqua Farm [Contact: Paula

Speraneo] 8386 County Rd. 8820 West

Plains, MO 65775 417-256-5124

Especially see: Maturing Marvel (PDF

/ 282K) by Vern Modeland The Growing Edge,

May-June 1998

The Genius of Simplicity (PDF / 30K) by

John Wesely Smith The Growing Edge, Winter

1993-94

Bioponics – Revolution in Food Growing:

Missouri Aquafarmer Discovers Huge Benefits in

Trace Elements by David Yarrow

Remineralize the Earth, December 1997.

Back to top

The University of the Virgin Islands

System

James Rakocy, PhD, and associates at the

University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) developed

a commercial-scale aquaponic system that has

run continuously for more than five years. Nile

and red tilapia are raised in fish rearing tanks, and

the aquacultural effluent is linked to floating raft

hydroponics. Basil, lettuce, okra, and other crops

have been raised successfully, with outstanding

quality and yields.

James Rakocy, PhD, and associates at

the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI)

developed a commercial-scale aquaponic

system that has run continuously for more

than five years.

The system components include: Four fish

rearing tanks at 7,800 liters each, clarifiers, filter

and degassing tanks, air diffusers, sump, base

addition tank, pipes and pumps, and six 400-

square foot hydroponic troughs totaling 2,400 sq.

ft. The pH is monitored daily and maintained at

7.0 to 7.5 by alternately adding calcium

hydroxide and potassium hydroxide to the base

addition tank, which buffers the aquatic system

and supplements calcium and potassium ions at

the same time. The only other supplemental

nutrient required is iron, which is added in a

chelated form once every three weeks.

Tilapia are stocked at a rate of 77 fish per

cubic meter for Nile tilapia, or 154 fish per cubic

meter for red tilapia and cultured for 24 weeks.

The production schedule is staggered so that one

tank is harvested every six weeks. After harvest,

the fish tank is immediately restocked. The fish

are fed three times daily with a complete, floating

fish pellet at 32 percent protein. Projected annual

fish production is 4.16 metric tons for Nile tilapia

and 4.78 metric tons for red tilapia.

In one notable experiment the UVI

researchers compared the yields of a leafy herb

(basil) and a fruiting vegetable (okra) grown in

aquaponic vs field production systems. Basil and

okra were raised in raft hydroponics. Yields of

aquaponic basil were three times greater than

field-grown, while yields of aquaponic okra were

18 times greater than field-grown. Based on a

market price in the U.S. Virgin Islands of $22 per

kg for fresh basil with stems, researchers

calculated gross income potential. The aquaponic

method would result in $515 per cubic meter per

year or $110,210 per system per year. This

compares to field-produced basil at $172 per

cubic meter per year or $36,808 per year for the

same production area. When fish sales are

included, the aquaponic system yields $134,245.

(1)

Like McMurtry, researcher Rakocy sees

integrated water reuse systems as a viable

solution to sustainable food production in

developing countries and arid regions – such as

the Caribbean Islands – where fresh water is

scarce.

To provide in-depth technical support, the

UVI research team offers a week-long short

course on aquaponics each year at the UVI

agricultural experiment station. The UVI short

course is the premier educational training

program available to farmers in the world. In

addition to aquaponics, UVI specializes in green

water tank culture, a recirculate aquaculture

system.

Rakocy has published extensive research

reports and several Extension Service bulletins on

recirculate aquaculture and aquaponics. See the

Bibliography in the appendix for citations to

articles and papers by Rakocy.

Contact:

James Rakocy, PhD University of the

Virgin Islands Agriculture Experiment Station

RR 1, Box 10,000 Kingshill, St. Croix

U.S. Virgin Islands 00850-9781 340-692-

4020 jrakocy@uvi.edu Aquaculture

Program Aquaponics

Especially see:

Update on Tilapia and Vegetable

Production in the UVI Aquaponic

System James E. Rakocy, Donald S. Bailey, R.

Charlie Shultz and Eric S. Thoman. Page 676-

690. In: New Dimensions on Farmed Tilapia:

Proceedings of the Sixth International

Symposium on Tilapia in Aquaculture, Held

September 12-16, 2004 in Manila,

Philippines. Proceedings paper: 15 pages (PDF

/ 254 K) PDF Presentation: 49 pages (PDF /

1.47 MB)

Aquaponics: Integrated Technology for

Fish and Vegetable Production in Recirculating

Systems James Rakocy, University of the

Virgin Islands USDA Ministerial Conference and

Expo on Agricultural Science and

Technology. PowerPoint Presentation; 69 slides

Back to top

The Freshwater Institute System

The Freshwater Institute in Shepherdstown,

West Virginia – a program of The Conservation

Fund, an environmental non-profit organization –

specializes in aquaculture research and education.

Fresh spring water is an abundant resource in the

Appalachian region. However, protection of

spring water quality as it relates to aquaculture

effluent is viewed as a vital component of this

technology.

For years, the institute has specialized in

cold-water recirculate aquaculture systems

raising trout and arctic char. The institute helps

Appalachian farmers set up two types of

aquaculture systems: (a) an indoor, high-tech

recirculate tank method and (b) an outdoor, low-

tech recirculate tank method. Treatment of

aquaculture effluent prior to its return to the

natural stream flow led to collaborative research

with USDA-ARS scientists in Kearneysville,

West Virginia, on integrated hydroponic-fish

culture systems. Trials at the institute‟s

greenhouses showed that nitrogen, phosphorus,

and other nutrients in aquaculture effluent can be

effectively removed by plants grown in NFT

hydroponics or constructed wetland systems.

In the mid-1990s, the institute implemented

an aquaponic demonstration program based on a

Speraneo-style gravel-cultured system. Tilapia is

raised as a warm-water fish species. Hydroponic

crops include basil, lettuce, and wetland plants.

To provide technical assistance to farmers

and high school biology teachers, the institute

published a series of publications on recirculate

aquaculture and aquaponics. The Freshwater

Institute Natural Gas Powered Aquaponic System

– Design Manual is a 37-page manual published

by the institute in 1997. Included are diagrams

and photos, details on greenhouse layout and

aquaponic production, parts list with suppliers

and cost, estimated operating expense, and

further informational resources.

Please note the institute no longer provides

direct technical assistance to farmers on

aquaponics. Instead, it has made the aquaponics

design manual and related publications on

recirculate aquaculture and aquaponics available

as free Web downloads.

The Freshwater Institute Shepherdstown,

West Virginia Selected Web Publications

from The Freshwater Institute

• Suggested Management Guidelines

for An Integrated Recycle Aquaculture –

Hydroponic System

• The Freshwater Institute Natural Gas

Powered Aquaponic System - Design Manual

• 880 Gallon Recycle Aquaculture

System Installation Guide

• Linking Hydroponics to a 880 Gallon

Recycle Fish Rearing System

• Operators Manual for 880 - Recycle

System

Back to top

Backyard Aquaponics in Western Australia.

Photos by Joel Malcolm, Backyard Aquaponics, (with permission)

The Cabbage Hill Farm System

Cabbage Hill Farm promotes

education on aquaponics and hosts

greenhouse interns.

Cabbage Hill Farm is a non-profit

organization located about 30 miles north of New

York City. The foundation is dedicated to the

preservation of rare breeds of farm animals,

sustainable agriculture and local food systems,

and aquaponic greenhouse production.

Cabbage Hill Farm designed and continues

to operate a simple recirculate aquaponic system.

Cabbage Hill Farm promotes education on

aquaponics and hosts greenhouse interns. Tours

are available.

Tilapia fish and leaf lettuce are the main

products of the Cabbage Hill Farm system,

though basil and watercress are also grown in

smaller quantities. In addition to hydroponics,

water passes through a constructed reed bed

outside the greenhouse for additional nutrient

removal.

Aquaponics – Preserving the Future is a

video film documenting the research and

demonstration of aquaponics at Cabbage Hill

Farms. The cost is $18.

Cabbage Hill Farm 205 Crow Hill Road

Mount Kisco, NY 10549 914-241-2658

914-241-8264 FAX

Back to top

The New Alchemy Institute

The New Alchemy Institute in East

Falmouth, Massachusetts, conducted research on

integrated aquaculture systems during the 1970s

and 1980s. Although the institute closed in 1991,

New Alchemy publications on greenhouse

production and aquaponics provide historical

insight to the emerging bioshelter (ecosystem

greenhouses) concept and are still a valuable

resource for technical information. The Green

Center, formed by a group of former New

Alchemists, is again making these publications

available for sale. The Web site has a section

featuring for-sale articles on aquaculture and

bioshelters (integrated systems). A selection of

past articles is available online.

Contact:

The Green Center 237 Hatchville Rd.

East Falmouth, MA 02536

Especially see:

An Integrated Fish Culture Hydroponic

Vegetable Production System (PDF / 6.57 MB)

by Ronald D. Zweig Aquaculture Magazine,

May-June 1986.

Summary of Fish Culture Techniques in

Solar Aquatic Ponds (PDF / 815K) by John

Wolfe and Ron Zweig Journal of The New

Alchemists, 1977

Back to top

Miscellaneous Systems

Instead of locating the fish and vegetable

components in separate containers inside a

greenhouse, fish production can be located in

outdoor tanks or adjacent buildings. The effluent

simply needs to be delivered to hydroponic

vegetable beds.

In warm climates, hydroponic vegetable

beds may be located outside. As an example, the

Center for Regenerative Studies at California

State Polytechnic University- Pomona

implemented an outdoor integrated bio-system

that links: (a) a pond containing treated sewage

wastewater stocked with tilapia and carp; (b)

water hyacinth – an aquatic plant very efficient at

sucking up nutrients – covering 50 percent of the

water surface area; the plant biomass generated

by water hyacinth is used as feedstock for

compost heaps; (c) nearby vegetable gardens

irrigated with nutrient-laden pond water.

In addition to locating the fish and

vegetable components in separate containers, fish

and plants can be placed in the same container to

function as a polyculture. For example, plants sit

on top of floating polystyrene panels with their

roots hanging down into the water that fish swim

around in. Models include the Rakocy system,

solar-algae ponds (see literature by Zweig and

Kleinholz), and the solar-aquatic ponds, or Living

Machines, made popular by John Todd at Ocean

Arks International.

In Australia, barramundi (Lates calcarifer)

and Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii peelii)

fish species have been adapted to recirculate

aquaculture and aquaponics systems. The

stocking densities for these fish species is higher

than tilapia, which in turn results in greater

hydroponic surface under production. Several

references are provided on these fish species and

aquaponic systems in the Resources and

Bibliography sections.

Back to top

Organic Aquaculture

Organic production of crops and

livestock in the United States is regulated by

the Department of Agriculture‟s National

Organic Program, or NOP.

Organic production of crops and livestock

in the United States is regulated by the

Department of Agriculture‟s National Organic

Program, or NOP. The NOP is an organic

certification and marketing program that ensures

foods and food products labeled as “organic”

meet universal standards and guidelines for

organic production. Production inputs used in

organic production – such as feed and fertilizers –

must be of natural origin and free of synthetic

materials. A farm plan, documentation of inputs

and production methods, and farm inspection are

required to obtain “certified organic” status. This

process allows farm products to be labeled and

sold as organic.

Organic trout, tilapia, salmon and other fish

species are raised in Europe, Australia, and Israel

using production standards developed by

international organic certification agencies.

However, organic aquaculture was not clearly

defined in the NOP and the lack of organic

aquaculture guidelines has hampered the growth

of a domestic organic aquaculture industry in the

United States.

The ATTRA publication Aquaculture

Enterprises: Considerations and Strategies

contains a section on organic aquaculture. It

states that accredited organic certifying agencies

can certify organic aquaculture operations, but

the products are not allowed to carry the USDA

organic label.

In fact, Quality Certification Services in

Florida has certified about a dozen organic

aquaculture operations in the U.S. and abroad

under a private label. AquaRanch, an aquaponic

greenhouse in Illinois, set a precedent for the

aquaponics industry by obtaining organic

certification for its hydroponic produce through

Indiana Certified Organic. Meanwhile,

AquaRanch markets its greenhouse-raised tilapia

as “naturally grown.”

To address the issue of organic aquaculture,

the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB)

established an Aquatic Animals Task Force in

June 2000. In 2003, a second group – The

National Organic Aquaculture Working Group

(NOAWG), comprised of 80 aquaculture

professionals and related stakeholders – formed

to provide further guidance and clarification to

the NOSB. The 81-page white paper published by

NOAWG in May 2005 provides historical notes

and documents on this topic as well as the

currently proposed recommendations to NOSB,

accessible through the Aqua KE Government

Documents collection.

To provide guidance to the large volume of

documents, reports, and organic production

standards surrounding the issue of organic

aquaculture, the National Agricultural Library

published an 80-page bibliography, Organic

Aquaculture, through the Alternative Farming

Systems Information Center.

Organic Aquaculture: AFSIC Notes #5 by

Stephanie Boehmer, Mary Gold, Stephanie

Hauser, Bill Thomas, and Ann Young.

Alternative Farming Systems Information

Center, National Agricultural Library, USDA.

Back to top

Evaluating an Aquaponic Enterprise

Due to the highly technical nature of

aquaponics and the expense associated with

greenhouse production, prospective growers are

advised to thoroughly investigate production

methods and market potential.

For general information and supplies

associated with greenhouse vegetable production,

see the ATTRA resource list Greenhouse and

Hydroponic Vegetable Production Resources on

the Internet. Complementary ATTRA

publications include Organic Greenhouse

Vegetable Production and Integrated Pest

Management for Greenhouse Crops.

Building and equipping a commercial-sized

aquaponic greenhouse can cost $10,000 to

$30,000, depending on the system design and

choice of components. Due to the highly

technical nature of aquaponics and the expense

associated with greenhouse production,

prospective growers are advised to thoroughly

investigate production methods and market

potential. A sequence of considerations and

learning opportunities geared to evaluating an

aquaponic greenhouse enterprise are listed below.

1. Aquaponic greenhouses yield two

food products. To evaluate greenhouse

profitability, obtain typical yields and market

prices for hydroponic vegetables and fish, and

investigate local and regional markets and related

point of sales. Retail sales directly out of your

greenhouse or roadside stand might be an ideal

situation, but this will depend on your location.

2. Aquaponics is one method of

hydroponics, and hydroponics is one method of

greenhouse production. Consider lower-cost and

simpler alternatives. Bag culture of greenhouse

vegetables – raising plants in polyethylene grow

bags filled with compost-based potting mixes – is

a simple and productive way to get started in

greenhouse vegetable production. You may

quickly find that your biggest challenge is weekly

marketing of fresh produce rather than successful

production of vegetables. This includes labor to

harvest vegetables, grading and packing with

brand name labels, post-harvest handling

methods to maintain superior quality, and quick

delivery of perishable produce to established

markets.

3. Read technical and popular literature

on recirculate aquaculture and aquaponics to

become familiar with production methods, yields,

and market prices for fresh fish and hydroponic

vegetables. The Web Resources listed below

provide quick access to reading material,

diagrams and images, and related details. The

Bibliography in the Appendix provides access to

in-depth research and technical data.

4. Visit an aquaponic greenhouse to gain

first-hand observations. Take lots of pictures to

document the system components and how they

relate to one another. Keep in mind that

aquaponic growers are busy people with a

considerable investment in time and resources to

establish their businesses.

5. Attend a short course. There are three

prominent aquaponic short courses in North

America, offered by University of the Virgin

Islands, (2) Aquaculture International (3) in

North Carolina, and Growing Power (4) in

Wisconsin. Cornell University co-hosts a

recirculate aquaculture short course in association

with The Freshwater Institute. (5)

6. Obtain one or two aquaponic training

manuals to acquire detailed technical

specifications. The Cabbage Hill video ($18)

can provide a quick overview of an aquaponic

system. The Desktop Aquaponics Booklet ($15)

and the Introduction to Aquaponics DVD ($50)

from Nelson/Pade Multimedia are another good

starting point. When you are ready to explore a

commercial system, the design manuals from

S&S Aqua Farm ($250) in Missouri and Joel

Malcolm‟s Backyard Aquaponics ($95) in

Western Australia contain in-depth technical

specifications, illustrations, and parts lists (6,7).

The Web Resources section lists additional

training manuals and technical documentation.

7. Hire an agricultural consultant to

acquire expert advice and consultation, and to

shorten the time and risk involved getting started.

A few consultants with expertise in aquaponics

are listed in the Agriculture Consultants section

below.

8. Participate on the Aquaponics E-mail

Discussion Group. E-mail discussion lists have

become the modern town square. This is where

practitioners, scientists, specialists, and business

people all share resources, supplies, and

production methods. The e-mail list is hosted by

Paula Speraneo with S&S Aqua Farms. The

archives are publicly accessible, and serve as a

treasure trove of technical information and

farmer-to-farmer exchange.

9. Lastly, avoid the “inventor‟s urge” to

re-invent the wheel. Successful aquaponic

greenhouse operators have already figured out the

system components and methods of production,

based on years of research and experience. Pick

one of the existing models and duplicate it insofar

as possible. The old saying, “Get the engine

running first, then adjust the carburetor,” can be

aptly applied to aquaponic start-up greenhouses.

Back to top

References

1. Rakocy, James E., Donald S. Bailey,

R. Charlie Shultz and Eric S. Thoman. 2004.

Update on tilapia and vegetable production in the

UVI aquaponic system. p. 676-690. In: New

Dimensions on Farmed Tilapia: Proceedings of

the Sixth International Symposium on Tilapia in

Aquaculture, Held September 12-16, 2004 in

Manila, Philippines.

2. University of the Virgin Islands –

International Aquaponics and Tilapia

Aquaculture

3. Aquaculture International – Short

Course on Aquaponics

4. Growing Power – Short Course on

Aquaponics

5. Cornell University – Short Course on

Recirculating Aquaculture

6. S&S Aqua Farm – Design Manual

7. Joel Malcolm – Backyard Aquaponics

Design Manual Western Australia

jmalcolm@iinet.net.au

Resources

E-mail Discussion Lists for Aquaponics -

Hydroponics - Aquaculture

Aquaponic E-Mail List

Paula Speraneo of S & S Aqua Farm in

Missouri hosts the Aquaponics E-Mail list on the

Internet. The Aquaponics List is a prominent

source of technology transfer and resource

sharing on all aspects of aquaponics:

hydroponics, aquaculture, fish species, supplies,

practical solutions, and resources. The e-mail

archives are a key source of information.

To subscribe, send an email request

to: aquaponics-subscribe@townsqr.com

To view Web e-mail archives, go to:

Aquaponics List – 2002

Onwards Aquaponics List – Before 2002

Hydroponics and Aquaculture E-Mail List

A number of e-mail lists on hydroponics

and aquaculture are scattered among the Internet

hosting sites like YahooGroups.com, MSN.com,

and Topica.com.

Trade Magazines

Aquaponics Journal Nelson/Pade

Multimedia P.O. Box 1848 Mariposa, CA

95338 209-742-6869 info@aquaponics.com

Aquaponics Journal is the quarterly journal

from Nelson/Pade Multimedia. It has become a

prominent source for articles, reports, news, and

supplies for the aquaponics industry. Back issues

are a valuable resource, available in print or as e-

files. Print Subscription, $39/year; E-

Subscription, $29/year.

The Growing Edge Magazine New Moon

Publishing P.O. Box 1027 Corvallis, OR

97339-1027 800-888-6785; 541-757-8477

541-757-0028 Fax

The Growing Edge is a bi-monthly trade

magazine on high-tech gardening systems like

hydroponics, Bioponics, aquaponics, and

ecologically based pest management. Past articles

are an important source of technical information

on aquaponics, Bioponics, and organic

hydroponics. Subscription: $27/year; back issues

$5 each.

Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses

P.O. Box 225 Narrabeen, NSW 2101

Australia Phone: +61 (02) 9905 9933 Fax:

+61 (02) 9905 9030 info@hydroponics.com.au

Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses is a

bimonthly magazine dedicated to soilless culture

and greenhouse production. Articles profile

soilless culture and greenhouse enterprises from

around the world. It also reports on new products,

research and development, and industry news.

Back issues are a valuable resource. The award-

winning magazine is now online as an exact

digital copy of the print edition, using DjVu

technology. Subscription: $60 Australian/year.

Aquaculture Magazine P.O. Box 1409

Arden, NC 28704 828-687-0011 828-681-

0601 FAX 877-687-0011 Toll-Free

comments@aquaculturemag.com

Aquaculture Magazine is the trade

magazine for aquaculture and fish culture. It

publishes a regular issue every two months, an

Annual Products Guide each summer and The

Buyers Guide and Industry Directory each

December. Subscription: $19/year; back issues

$5.

Grower Talks

Greenhouse Management & Production

Greenhouse Grower

Greenhouse Product News

World Aquaculture

Aquafeed.com

Austasia Aquaculture

Aquaponic Books and Videos

Nelson/Pade Multimedia, publisher of

Aquaponics Journal, offers booklets, DVDs,

videos, and educational curricula on aquaponics,

hydroponics, and aquaculture. See their Web

page for details. Contact:

Nelson/Pade Multimedia P.O. Box

1848 Mariposa, CA 95338 209-742-

6869 info@aquaponics.com

Agricultural Consultants for Integrated

Hydroponics and Aquaculture

AquaRanch Industries, LLC [Contact:

Myles Harston] 404 D. East Lincoln St. P.O.

Box 658 Flanagan, IL 61740 309-208-

5230 815-796-2978 309-923-7479

FAX info@aquaranch.com

Fisheries Technology Associates,

Inc. [Contact: Bill Manci] 506 Wabash

Street Fort Collins, CO 80522-3245 970-225-

0150 info@ftai.com

Global Aquatics USA, Inc. 505 Aldino

Stepney Rd. Aberdeen, MD 21001 443-243-

8840 410-734-7473

FAX aquatic@iximd.com Gordon

Creaser 5431 S. Bracken Court Winter Park,

FL 32792 407-671-5075 407-671-5628

FAX GordonCreaser06@aol.com

Mark R. McMurtry PMB 267 1627 W.

Main St. Bozeman, MT 59715-4011 406-580-

0382 lonewolfmtn@littleappletech.com

Nelson/Pade Multimedia [Contact: John

Pade and Rebecca Nelson] P.O. Box

1848 Mariposa, CA 95338 209-742-

6869 info@aquaponics.com S&S Aqua

Farms [Contact: Paula Speraneo] 8386

County Rd. 8820 West Plains, MO

65775 417-256-

5124 snsaquasys@townsqr.com

Aquaculture Associations

Aquacultural Engineering Society

American Tilapia Association

The Alternative Aquaculture Association

Directory of Aquaculture

Associations Aquaculture Network Information

Center (AquaNIC)

Aquaculture Directories and Resource

Collections

National Agricultural Library – Alternative

Farming Systems Information Center

The Alternative Farming Systems

Information Center (AFSIC) at the National

Agricultural Library, a program of USDA-ARS,

provides extensive aquaculture resource listings.

Organic Aquaculture (AFSIC Notes No. 5),

published in January 2005, is an important new

publication from AFSIC that addresses the

potential of organic aquacultural products; it also

contains a section on recirculate aquaculture.

Aquaculture Resources

• Organic Aquaculture

• Aquaculture-Related Internet Sites

and Documents

• Directory of Aquaculture Related

Associations and Trade Organizations

• Directory of State Aquaculture

Coordinators and Contacts

• Automated Searches on General

Aquaculture Topics

AFSIC, NAL, USDA-ARS 10301

Baltimore Ave., Room 132 Beltsville, MD

20705-2351 301-504-6559 301-504-6409

Fax afsic@nal.usda.gov

The Aquaculture Center – Educational

Resources Virginia Tech University

Virginia Tech offers aquaculture

educational curricula, fact sheets, and PowerPoint

presentations, including a section on recirculate

aquaculture. Proceedings of the Recirculating

Aquaculture Conference held in Roanoke, VA, in

1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2004 are available

in CD-ROM, and hard copies (except for 1996);

inquire with Ms. Terry Rakestraw (aqua@vt.edu)

in the Food Science & Technology Department.

Aquaculture Network Information Center

(AquaNIC)

AquaNIC is the gateway to the world‟s

electronic resources for aquaculture information.

Especially see the extensive resource listing on

recirculation aquaculture systems and the

complete listing of publications from the

Regional Aquaculture Centers.

Recirculating Aquaculture Systems –

Index, Aquaculture Network Information Center

(AquaNIC)

Regional Aquaculture Center Publications –

Index, Aquaculture Network Information Center

(AquaNIC)

• Center for Tropical and Subtropical

Aquaculture

• North Central Regional Aquaculture

Center

• Northeastern Regional Aquaculture

Center

• Southern Regional Aquaculture

Center

• Western Regional Aquaculture Center

Aqua KE

Aqua Ke, or Aquaculture Knowledge

Environment, is a database and documents library

featuring full-text access to aquaculture articles

and government reports. The library is organized

by themes for browsing of aquaculture topics.

The database provides keyword, author, and title

search capacity for hundreds of scientific journals

via a portal to Stanford University‟s HighWire

Press database.

Environmentally Friendly Aquaculture

Digital Library National Sea Grant Library

The National Sea Grant Library (NSGL)

contains a complete collection of Sea Grant

funded work. The NSGL maintains a

bibliographical database containing over 36,000

records that can be searched by author-keyword

or browsed by topic. Selected items include

proceedings from recirculating aquaculture

conferences and related documents. The

Environmentally Friendly Aquaculture Digital

Library is a topic-oriented portal to NSGL,

organized by subject category.

Aquaponic Resources on the Web

Selected Publications from Southern

Regional Aquaculture Center (SRAC)

Recirculating Aquaculture Tank

Production Systems: Integrating Fish and Plant

Culture SRAC Publication No. 454 (PDF /

314K)

Recirculating Aquaculture Tank Production

Systems: An Overview of Critical Considerations

SRAC Publication No. 451 (PDF / 142K)

Recirculating Aquaculture Tank Production

Systems: Management of Recirculating Systems

SRAC Publication No. 452 (PDF / 115K)

Recirculating Aquaculture Tank Production

Systems: Component Options SRAC

Publication No. 453 (PDF / 378K)

Tank Culture of Tilapia SRAC

Publication No. 282 (PDF / 49K)

Selected Aquaponic Training Materials

and Design Manuals

S&S Aqua Farm

Design manual with specifications

Backyard Aquaponics

Design manual with specifications

A Prototype Recirculating Aquaculture-

Hydroponic System (PDF / 94K) By Donald

Johnson and George Wardlow University of

Arkansas, Department of Agricultural and

Extension Education AgriScience Project

A 10-page reprint article originally

published in Journal of Agricultural

Mechanization (1997). It describes a low cost

(less than $600) recirculating aquaculture-

hydroponic system suitable for use in laboratory

settings, including a materials list with

approximate cost of materials to set up a 350-

gallon aquaponic unit.

The Freshwater Institute Publications

Index, Shepherdstown, West Virginia

• Suggested Management Guidelines

for An Integrated Recycle Aquaculture –

Hydroponic System

• The Freshwater Institute Natural Gas

Powered Aquaponic System - Design Manual

• 880 Gallon Recycle Aquaculture

System Installation Guide

• Linking Hydroponics to a 880 Gallon

Recycle Fish Rearing System

• Operators Manual for 880 - Recycle

System

Aquaculture on Cat Beach WORD DOC

(265K)

A 10-page booklet with directions on

establishing a small aquaponic system, including

a parts list. The HTML version contains

additional photos that illustrate system

components and greenhouse production.

OneSeedling.com

Paul and Bonnie Range, homesteaders in

Texas, offer two aquaponic manuals: Small Unit

Aquaponics Manual and Simplified Aquaponics

Manual for $20 each.

Barrel-Ponic (aka Aquaponics in a Barrel)

(PDF / 3.09MB) By Travis W. Hughey

General Aquaponic Resources on the Web

The Essence of Aquaponics – Index to

Aquaponics Mail Group Topics

The Essence of Aquaponics Web site of

Pekka Nygard and Stefan Goës in Sweden

provides an index to key topics (aquaponics, fish,

fish feed, plants, plant nutrition, water, biofilter,

greenhouses, maintenance, economics, links,

literature) posted on the Aquaponics Mail Group

(see e-mail resources above).

Aquaponics Library

Enhancing Student Interests in the

Agricultural Sciences through Aquaponics (PDF /

725K) by G.W. Wardlow and D.M. Johnson

University of Arkansas, Department of

Agricultural and Extension Education.

Aquaponics - The Theory Behind

Integration by Wilson Lennard, Gippsland

Aquaculture Industry Network.

ADM - Turning Waste into Growth,

Practical, Hydroponics & Greenhouses, May-

June 2000.

Tailormade Aquaponics, Practical

Hydroponics & Greenhouses, November-

December 1998.

Aquaponics Simplified, Practical

Hydroponics & Greenhouses, July-August 2005.

Young‟s Greenhouses, Texas, Practical

Hydroponics & Greenhouses, January-February

2000.

Aquaponics Proves Profitable in Australia,

Aquaponics Journal, First Quarter, 2002.

Developing an Aquaponic System,

Aquaponics Journal, July-August 1999.

Vertical Aquaponics by Tom Osher

Integrated Systems of Agriculture and

Aquaculture in the Classroom, University of

Arizona

Aquaculture on the Web

Greenhouse Tilapia Production in

Louisiana Louisiana State University

Recirculating Aquaculture Systems --

Teacher‟s Resource Web Site Auburn

University The Urban Aquaculture Manual

by Jonathan Woods

Regional Aquaculture Centers sponsored

by the Extension Service

Northeastern Regional Aquaculture Center

(NRAC)

North Central Regional Aquaculture Center

(NCRAC)

Southern Regional Aquaculture Center

(SRAC)

Western Regional Aquaculture Center

(WRAC)

Center for Tropical and Subtropical

Aquaculture

Aquaculture Network Information Center

Fisheries Publications at Texas A&M

Southern Regional Aquaculture Center

Publications at Texas A&M

Scientific Journals on Aquaculture

(Elsevier journal)

Aquacultural Engineering (Elsevier journal)

Aquaculture International (Springer

journal)

Aquaculture Research (Blackwell journal)

Integrated Bio-Systems on the Web

Internet Conference on Integrated Bio-

Systems in Zero Emissions Applications

Demonstrating Ecological Engineering for

Wastewater Treatment in a Nordic Climate using

Aquaculture Principles in a Greenhouse

Mesocosm by Bjorn Guterstam and Lasse

Forsberg Internet Conference on Integrated

Bio-Systems in Zero Emissions Applications

The design of living technologies for waste

treatment by John Todd and Beth Josephson

Internet Conference on Integrated Bio-Systems

in Zero Emissions Applications

Internet Conference on Material Flow

Analysis of Integrated Bio-Systems

Study of Agriculture-Aquaculture

Ecological Economic System With Nutrient Flow

Analysis (Surface Aquaponics) by Song Xiangfu,

et al. Internet Conference on Material Flow

Analysis of Integrated Bio-Systems

Phytoremediation of Aquaculture Effluents

by Paul Adler Internet Conference on Material

Flow Analysis of Integrated Bio-Systems

Wastewater- Fed Aquaculture Systems:

Status and Prospects (PDF / 148K) by Peter

Edwards Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources

Management Program, Asian Institute of

Technology

World Fish Center

Ecological Engineering (Elsevier journal)

Ecological engineering has been defined as

the design of ecosystems for the mutual benefit of

humans and nature. Specific topics covered in the

journal include: ecotechnology; synthetic

ecology; bioengineering; sustainable

agroecology; habitat reconstruction; restoration

ecology; ecosystem conservation; ecosystem

rehabilitation; stream and river restoration;

wetland restoration and construction; reclamation

ecology; non-renewable resource conservation.

Wastewater-fed Aquaculture in Temperate

Climates - Nutrient recycling with Daphnia and

Fish (PDF / 97K), 4th International Conference

on Ecological Engineering for Wastewater

Treatment, June 1999, Aas, Norway

Appendix: Bibliography on Aquaponics

The following bibliography contains

selected literature citations on aquaponics and

integrated hydroponics-aquaculture published in

trade magazines and scientific journals.

Collectively, these articles provide an instant

library on aquaponics. They are provided here as

an important time saver to those seeking

technical and popular information on this topic.

University libraries carry scientific journals (e.g.,

Aquaculture International, Aquacultural

Engineering) and trade magazines (Aquaculture,

Greenhouse Management and Production), and

they offer on-site photocopying services to

library visitors. Inter-Library Loan is a service

available through most local libraries, and can

provide photocopies of articles for a small fee.

Please note The Growing Edge, Aquaponics

Journal, and Practical Hydroponics &

Greenhouses are the most relevant trade

magazines for aquaponics, recirculation

aquaculture, hydroponics, and related topics,

including farmer profiles. However, they are

relatively new and less widely distributed in

university libraries. For a complete list of articles

and back issues available through these trade

magazines, see the publisher‟s Web sites:

The Growing Edge

Aquaponics Journal

Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses

North Carolina State University

McMurtry, M.R., et al. 1990. Sand culture

of vegetables using recirculation aquacultural

effluents. Applied Agricultural Research. Vol. 5,

No. 4. (Fall). p. 280–284.

McMurtry, Mark Richard. 1992. Integrated

Aquaculture- Olericulture System as Influenced

by Component Ratio. PhD. Dissertation, North

Carolina State University. UMI, Ann Harbor, MI.

78 p.

McMurtry, M.R., D.C. Sanders, and P.V.

Nelson. 1993. Mineral nutrient concentration and

uptake by tomato irrigated with recirculation

aquaculture water as influenced by quantity of

fish waste products supplied. Journal of Plant

Nutrition. Vol. 16, No. 3. p. 407–409.

McMurtry, M.R., et al. 1993. Yield of

tomato irrigated with recirculation aquacultural

water. Journal of Production Agriculture. Vol. 6,

No. 3. (July-September). p. 428–432.

McMurtry, M.R., D.C. Sanders, and R.G.

Hodson. 1997. Effects of biofilter/culture tank

volume ratios on productivity of a recirculating

fish/vegetable co-culture system. Journal of

Applied Aquaculture. Vol. 7, No. 4. p. 33–51.

McMurtry, M.R., D.C. Sanders, J.D. Cure,

R.G. Hodson, B.C. Haning, and P.C.S. Amand.

1997. Efficiency of water use of an integrated

fish/vegetable co-culture system. Journal of the

World Aquaculture Society. Vol. 28, No. 4. p.

420–428.

Sanders, Doug, and Mark McMurtry. 1988.

Fish increase greenhouse profits. American

Vegetable Grower. February. p. 32–33.

The Speraneo System

Durham, Deni. 1992. Low-tech polycultural

yields, high profit. Small Farm Today. June. p.

23–25.

Modeland, Vern. 1993. Aquafarming on a

budget. BackHome. Summer. p. 28–31.

Modeland, Vern. 1998. The Ozarks‟ S&S

aqua farm. The Ozarks Mountaineer. June-July.

p. 42–44.

Modeland, Vern. 1998. Maturing marvel:

S&S Aqua Farm. The Growing Edge. Vol. 9, No.

5 (May- June). p. 35–38.

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Barramundi and Murray Cod Systems

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Bender, Judith. 1984. An integrated system

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Belusz, Larry. 1993. Recirculating

aquaculture: Is it for you? Small Farm Today.

June. p. 23–24.

Bird, Kimon T. 1993. Aquatic plants for

treatment of aquaculture wastewater. Aquaculture

Magazine. January-February. p. 39–42.

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round fish and vegetable production in a passive

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Combining Ingenuity and Enterprise. The

Growing Edge. July-August. p. 36–37, 39-41.

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plants in the same environment. Combined

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Jr., and A. M. Brandenburg. 1978. Use of

hydroponics to maintain quality of recirculated

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Brandenburg, and K.D. Schnoor. 1981. On the

maintenance of water quality for closed fish

production systems by means of hydroponically

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concentration on plant nutrient uptake; A

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during different stages of red tilapia

(Oreochromis sp.) growth in a recirculating

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possibility of combined fish and vegetable

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to: New York State Department of Agriculture &

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Walker. 1998. Nutrient dynamics in integrated

aquaculture- hydroponics systems. Aquaculture.

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investigating nutrient dynamics in integrated

aquaculture-hydroponics systems, p. 137–47. In:

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Aquaculture. American Society for Agricultural

Engineers, St. Joseph, MI.

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hydroponics. Aqua-culture and the Fish Farmer.

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recycling for fish farmers. BioCycle. April. p.

73–74, 76.

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observations on a fish production system that

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29, 40.

University of California-Los Angeles.

1975. Waste nutrient recycling using hydroponic

and aquacultural methods. Institute of

Evolutionary and Environmental Biology,

Environmental Science and Engineering,

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1984. Tropical production of tilapia

(Sarotherodon aurea) and tomatoes

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Youth, Howard. 1992. Farming in a fish

tank. World Watch. May-June. p. 5–7.

Dissertations

Dissertations (PhD) and theses (Masters

degree) on integrated aquaculture-hydroponic

systems can provide critical access to research

data and literature reviews. For example, the

Speraneos in Missouri and Gordon Watkins in

Arkansas used Mark McMurtry‟s dissertation

from North Carolina State University as a guide

in the design of their systems. The UMI ProQuest

Digital Dissertations database (see below)

provides public Web access to titles and

abstracts, via keyword and author search. Print

copies are available for sale, ranging from $38 to

$47 for unbound or softcover editions. Land-

grant university libraries – through fee-based

subscription– provide full-text access to recent

documents via the ProQuest Dissertations and

Theses database. Selected titles on aquaponic

systems are listed below. The thesis by Carla

MacQuarrie contains a detailed description of an

aquaponics facility, including parts and pumping

equipment, for example. There are numerous

other titles in hydroponics, aquaculture,

recirculating aquaculture, tilapia, tank culture,

and wastewater effluent for those who wish to

explore further. Contact:

UMI ProQuest Digital Dissertations 300

North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor,

MI 48106-1346 734-761-4700 800-521-

0600 info@il.proquest.com

Faucette, Raymond Frank, Jr. 1997.

Evaluation of a Recirculating Aquaculture-

Hydroponics System. PhD Dissertation,

Oklahoma State University. UMI, Ann Harbor,

MI. 69 p.

Head, William. 1986. An Assessment of a

Closed Greenhouse Aquaculture and Hydroponic

System (Tilapia Diets). PhD. Dissertation,

Oregon State University. UMI, Ann Harbor, MI.

127 p.

Khan, Masud A. 1996. Utilization of

Aquaculture Effluent to Supplement Water and

Nutrient Use of Turfgrasses and Native Plants

(Ephedra viridis, Artemesia tridentata, Atriplex

canescens, Ceratoides lanata, Chrysothamnus

nauseosus, and Cercocarpus montanus). PhD

Dissertation, New Mexico State University. UMI,

Ann Harbor, MI. 218 p.

King, Chad Eric. 2005. Integrated

Agriculture and Aquaculture for Sustainable

Food Production. PhD Dissertation, The

University of Arizona. UMI, Ann Harbor, MI. 87

p.

MacQuarrie, Carla Dawn. 2002.

Computational Model of an Integrated

Aquaculture- Hydroponic System. MS Thesis,

Daltech-Dalhousie University. UMI, Ann Harbor,

MI. 127 p.

McMurtry, Mark Richard. 1992. Integrated

Aquaculture- Olericulture System as Influenced

by Component Ratio. PhD Dissertation, North

Carolina State University. UMI, Ann Harbor, MI.

78 p.

Rakocy, James Edward. 1980. Evaluation

of a Closed Recirculating System for Tilapia

Culture. PhD Dissertation, Auburn University.

UMI, Ann Harbor, MI. 129 p.

Seawright, Damon Eurgene. 1995.

Integrated Aquaculture-Hydroponic Systems:

Nutrient Dynamics and Designer Diet

Development. PhD Dissertation, University of

Mexico. UMI, Ann Harbor, MI. 274 p.

Singh, Sahdev. 1996. A Computer

Simulation Model for Wastewater Management

in an Integrated (Fish Production-Hydroponics)

System. PhD Dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic

Institute and State University. UMI, Ann Harbor,

MI. 150 p.

Aquaponics – Integration of

Hydroponics with Aquaculture

By Steve Diver

Paul Driscoll, Editor

Sherry Vogel, HTML Production

IP163

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Investors see farms as way to grow Detroit

Acres of vacant land are eyed for urban agriculture under an ambitious plan that aims to

turn the struggling Rust Belt city into a green mecca.

Reporting from Detroit - On the city's east side, where auto workers once assembled cars

by the millions, nature is taking back the land.

Cottonwood trees grow through the collapsed roofs of homes stripped clean for scrap

metal. Wild grasses carpet the rusty shells of empty factories, now home to pheasants and wild

turkeys.

This green veil is proof of how far this city has fallen from its industrial heyday and, to a

small group of investors, a clear sign. Detroit, they say, needs to get back to what it was before

Henry Ford moved to town: farmland.

"There's so much land available and it's begging to be used," said Michael Score, president

of the Hantz Farms, which is buying up abandoned sections of the city's 139-square-mile

landscape and plans to transform them into a large-scale commercial farm enterprise.

"Farming is how Detroit started," Score said, "and farming is how Detroit can be saved."

The urban agricultural movement has grown nationwide in recent years, as recession-

fueled worries prompted people to raise fruits and vegetables to feed their families and perhaps

sell at local farmers' markets.

Large gardens and small farms -- usually 10 acres or less -- have cropped up in thriving

cities such as Berkeley, where land is tough to come by, and struggling Rust Belt communities

such as Flint, Mich., which hopes to encourage green space development and residents to eat

locally grown foods.

In Detroit, hundreds of backyard gardens and scores of community gardens have

blossomed and helped feed students in at least 40 schools and hundreds of families.

It is the size and scope of Hantz Farms that makes the project unique. Although company

officials declined to pinpoint how many acres they might use, they have been quoted as saying

that they plan to farm up to 5,000 acres within the Motor City's limits in the coming years,

raising organic lettuces, trees for biofuel and a variety of other things.

The project was launched two years ago by Michigan native and financier John Hantz, who

has invested an initial $30 million of his own money toward purchasing equipment and land.

It will start small. Next spring, the farm is expected to begin growing crops on about 30

acres of land, Score said.

Because it has been difficult for Hantz and his team to purchase large contiguous parcels,

much of the acreage has been grouped into smaller "pods." Each will grow different crops,

depending on the condition of the soil and what buildings remain on the land, Score said.

Hantz executives envision a city where green fields and apple orchards flourish next to

houses and factories, and forests thrive alongside interstates and highways. The team is still

figuring out what will grow where: Tree groves could be planted where the soil is too

contaminated to grow food, and empty factory buildings may be converted to house hydroponic

fields to raise specialty vegetables, fruit and cooking herbs.

"People look at these abandoned houses and think, 'No one could live there. Let's tear it

down,' “said Score, a former business development consultant for Michigan State University's

agricultural extension program.

"I look at it and think; maybe we could grow mushrooms inside there."

The idea of turning this former American manufacturing capital into an agrarian paradise is

not that far-fetched, at least not with history as a guide.

The city, one of the Midwest's oldest, began as an agricultural settlement in the early 1700s

with "ribbon" farms -- long, narrow stretches of land -- carved out along the edge of local rivers.

And until its industrial boom of the early 20th century, this swath of southeastern Michigan was

covered in apple and peach orchards and miles of grapevines.

In 1910, about 80% of the 396,800 acres of Wayne County was being farmed, according to

research collected by Michigan State. By 1925, as the auto industry boomed, that figure fell to

47%.

Today, fewer than 21,000 acres are being farmed.

Local leaders say they are encouraged by the idea of farm jobs coming to Detroit, which

could help ease the region's grim economic situation: The Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn area had an

unemployment rate of 17.7% in October, the highest in a region of 1 million residents or more,

according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But local officials put the number far higher: Mayor Dave Bing recently said that nearly

half of the city's workers are either unemployed or underemployed. These officials support the

effort to redevelop the estimated one-third of Detroit's 376,000 parcels that are either vacant or

abandoned.

And in a city where there are no major grocery store chains, and more than three-fourths of

the residents buy their food at convenience stores or gas stations, the idea of having easy access

to fresh produce is appealing.

"There is real potential for this to work, because land prices in Detroit are low and there's a

demand for local food," said Bill Knudson, an agricultural economist at Michigan State.

"The million-dollar question is whether that local-food trend is permanent," Knudson said.

"If it is, then this plan works because you have more than a million consumers in the city and

nearby areas to sell to. If not, you're going to have a hard time getting enough acreage put

together to make the costs of running a commercial operation feasible."

City officials also remain cautious about the project. They point out that commercial

farming brings with it numerous hurdles that other commercial projects don't.

Their concerns include figuring out who would pay for cleaning pollutants out of the soil

and removing utility infrastructure, such as gas and sewer lines; how to rewrite the city's zoning

laws; and how to adjust property tax rates and property values to allow for commercial farming.

"Urban farming will be part of Detroit's long-term redevelopment plan," Bing said in a

statement.

However, he added, "as a city built primarily for manufacturing and industrial production,

preparing land for widespread agricultural purposes is a process that cannot occur overnight."

p.j.huffstutter@latimes.com