Aquaponics for Profit

Here at Urban Fish Farmer we talk a lot about different ideas and plans to create the perfect home scale aquaponics systems. The question does arise from time to time, “What if you want to go bigger?” even better yet, “What if you want to do Aquaponics for profit?” If you are just starting out these questions may not be in your mind yet, but that does not mean that they are not too far off on the horizon. Murray Hallman at... Read More

Harvest Time Fish Fry

We have been very blessed with our aquaponics system and the continued growth of the fish and the vegetables even through this cooler fall season. One of the first reasons that we set up an aquaponics garden was to help off-set our food costs and to have something edible just in-case we needed it for survival. Fortunately for us, with no major catastrophes as far as earth quakes, fires or tsunamis we started to develop a plethora of extra fish. As... Read More

Green Lady Aquaponics Inatallation – Week 2

So far the Aquaponic System that we helped install in the showcase window at Green Lady Hydroponics in Ocean Beach San Diego, California is doing just great in it’s second week. Last week we added some goldfish to the system for a couple of reasons. One reason is to check the water quality, if fish live, the water is getting there, if fish die you need to wait a little longer. Gold fish are dirty fish which is good for building the bacteria... Read More

Green Lady Aquaponics Inatallation – Week 1

Recently one of the Hydroponic & Garden Supply stores in our town asked us if we would put an aquaponics installation in their store. Because our goal is to share the information that we have learned over the years with as many people that we can, we felt that this would be a good way to get the word out in our neighborhood. Day 1(one) We decided to work with what they had available in their store so that their customers would be able to set... Read More

Garden Pool – Aquaponics

Do you have pool in your backyard that you are not quite sure what to do with? How about raising some chickens, fish and enough fruits and vegetables to feed your family. Check out what this creative family did in Arizona, turning their backyard pool into a sustainable food provider for their family. Image Courtesy of Gardenpool.com What is a garden pool you might ask, well according to the founders of Gardenpool.org “The Garden Pool was a... Read More

Aquaponics In the Tropics

The following video is pretty inspiring. It is large home-scale aquaponics system that was installed at a house in the Philippines posted on greencorerevolution. Heads up, the score/music in the video kind of lags, feel free to turn down the volume. You can see how they incorporate fish, vegetation, ducks and even rabbits into their system. The system holds 5,000 ltr water and 8,000 ltr gravel, it uses a 1/2 horse power motor ( $ 15 ) on timer... Read More

Home Scale Constant Flow Aquaponic System

Here is example of a home scale gravity feed constant flow aquaponic unit that I set up in a front yard in Ocean Beach, California. The tank is a 750 liter re-purposed food grade cart dug 16 inches into the ground then covered with bricks for aesthetics. The water is pumped up into a set of 8ft x 4inch PVC tubes with 3inch wholes cut every 10 inches for the vegetables to grow out of. The tubes were painted brown for aesthetics. The bottom tube... Read More

Ebb & Flow Aquaponic System

The ebb and flow gravity feed system is the first system that I started with, and still one that I continue to work with today. The ebb & flow is like a natural system in the sense that it mimics the ebb and flow of the tidal system, which follows the moon. Similar to rivers and estuaries filling up when the tide creeps in, the plants in the growbeds  and mangroves soak in the nutrients from the water then the roots dry out as the water gets... Read More

Constant Flow Aquaponics Systems

Another type of aquaponic system that is used both commercially and on home scale is the constant flow aquaponic system. There are both advantages and disadvantages to using this type of system over a traditional ebb & flow system, the choice is left up to the farmer. Some farmers swear by the constant flow system as it requires less maintenance, however this is not always the truth, as it does require that you supply ample amount of oxygen to... Read More

Aquaponic Drip System

Drip systems are commonly used in gardening around the world. The concept is simply provide the needed amount of water directly to the plants roots. The drip system was able to revive gardening and farming in areas where wahter is scarce because of its controlled water wise system. Aquaponic farmers have adabted the drip system for a number of reasons, however controlling the exact flow of water and distributing it egally through out a grow bed has... Read More