Commercial Aquaponics – Why is it not pervasive?

[Neil H]

Hi All …

While I am not an active member, I am an avid reader and consumer of information….

I come from a large projects environment and for some time now have been trying to figure out why Aquaponics (AP) has not caught on in mainstream farming in a “Big Way”? Aside from the usual barriers to new technology or ideas there must be something else that is hindering the commercial application of this technology….. I thought I would post some thoughts and see what other members think ….?

Is this new unproven technology ? …. The word may be unfamiliar to some, but the concept is readily accepted by many, indeed there are a number of farms in the US which have been recognised and certified as organic AP producers. Hundreds of back yard enthusiasts have proved that AP works, however scaling up seems to be an issue…??? But what is the issue with scaling up? The minute we scale up we are worried about profit, because well that is what scaling up is for … profit. So is AP unproven technology? At a backyard level NO

I believe there is a disconnect between the DIY / backyard enthusiast philosophy and a commercial approach to AP. Let me qualify that statement, I am not saying backyard does not work, it clearly does, but the same philosophy cannot be applied to a commercial setup……

Example 1 : I set up a small AP system at home using IBC containers…. 1000L tank, 1000L growbed, 500L odd sump, pump in sump, flood and drain system with gravel as the grow medium, a couple of tilapia in the tank. The system worked as it should have …. The fish grew and the plants grew…. Yes AP works… Can we take this system and make it into a commercial venture … my suggestion is…………. not with the same sort of thinking.

With AquaCULTURE (AC), specifically the farming of fish, the world is littered with fish AC projects which have failed…..and others that have achieved success …. What is the fundamental difference between the ones which succeed and the ones which fail? In my mind the greatest difference between these is the value of the product for sale at the end of production….. we have open systems, closed systems, filters of an infinite description, but at the end of the day the value of the end product reigns supreme as the key difference. Point in case look at the value of trout vs the value of tilapia….. food conversion rate is not dis-similar, value of end product is vast. As backyard AP enthusiasts we tend to tinker with the systems and more often than not marvel at our success but we like to have hardy fish as the lifeblood of the system and tilapia, carp etc fit this bill perfectly (I am not suggesting that there is an error in this approach from a backyard AP perspective) but they have little value at the end of production. So in summary commercial AP operations not using a high value fish are missing out on a serious revenue source. I am not suggesting that trout are the solution, there may be other options such as barramundi (sp) in Aus, the key is that the selected fish should be of high value, not simply the easiest fish to keep. If the fish are not high value then aside from the “organic” production method, there is no benefit in AP vs a system like Hydroponics, and the operator is looking after fish without the full financial benefit of doing so

The next key failure I believe is the failure of the systems to keep it simple, and the failure of the commercial systems to fully appreciate the cost of power. Certainly from an African perspective the cost of power is astronomical and will not come down any time soon, so systems should be simple and energy efficient. If we go back to my example above …. Perfectly good system, for a backyard enthusiast, but very poor power efficiency if scaled up. I needed a 2000LPH pump to pump the 1m head efficiently enough to effectively flood and drain the system….. this has a minor impact on my utility bill, but scale this up 1000 times and whoa, the effect is no longer negligible ….. Is the solution then not to eliminate the “head” requirement…. Bury the main tank into the ground, so that the elevation of the tank is very similar to or the same as the elevation of the grow beds ….. the efficiency of the pumps deployed are exponentially better…. Power usage is thus exponentially better. A deep water system could potentially eliminate the requirement of a sump all together – further eliminating the requirement for a pump that deals with head.

With small systems we tend to not worry about the solid waste produced by our couple of fish …. We may siphon it out once every two weeks, but further than that we don’t really worry about it. Experience with Koi has taught me that effective and efficient removal of solid waste is critical to maintaining water quality…. Should the same systems employed in koi ponds not be in place for commercial AP? Essential to this is the concept of “bottom Drains” the solids gravitate to the lowest point of the tank or pond and water pumped through the AP system is removed from this point, passing through something like a swirl filter to remove the solids before entering the AP grow beds

Commercial AP systems need to be viewed in a holistic manner…. It is a neat trick that you can grow plants from fish poop, but a trick it will remain until a high value fish is selected along with a high value vegetable crop, in an energy efficient system designed to cater for high stocking densities. Of course the final closing of the loop is to eliminate costly fish foods, while I will not discuss this in this first post, I believe that the trend towards protein recycling and the use of the humble maggot will ultimately solve this issue.



I am really interested in what everyone has to say about the above comments / thoughts … in summary

This is not a critique on existing AP farms in any means, really just discussion points........

[Willy]

Well, lets have my thoughts also here:
I am living in Thailand, the local farmer do what they do since centuries and provide a common stock to the market, everybody the same.
AP is not so far known but HP is coming up.
Deepwater grow beds are in coming and still the same Product hits the market, now no grown on soil, therefore cleaner and also more equal quality. The HP bed are covered under Roofs with nets at the side, temperature control is more the decision of the weather itself.

I have been raised up in Germany and have HP farmers over decades in my Family in Holland and Germany using Greenhouses.
Why Greenhouses? Mainly to produce a cimate that allow to grow more flexible and in a wider range.
This idea came to my head as I relocated in Thailand. Family members of my wife with worn out bones moving dirt and harvest. And then I have seen over the past 13 years here, the behaviour of the Thai consumer changes drastically. They want bio, the are changing their meals and are more open to try new introductions. AND they are willing to pay a bit more for a nice scran.
Example: I love mashed Sweedes and in Germany a 1.5 Kg root costs me 1,49 EUR/Kg.. Now I found them Imported as a 250gr Root for more than 8 EUR in Thailand's Supermarkets.
What we need is what we did in Europe. Climate control and how to archieve it? Buying a Greenhouse.
I am just beginning picking the brains as I have got from my Uncle in Law 20000sqm of infertile land after approval with a 120sqm test farm that this idea might work very well (the test farm was consuming as little as 25000EUR in 4 years). So 20000 sqm is a bit too much for the start but slowly slowly catching the monkey.
1800sqm is phase 1 and here we go.
To get it running the Greenhouse will be 300000 EUR incl AP stuff inside.
The first plan must be, Fish is just a helper to cover a few expenses but is still essential to go "Bio" so the fish has to hide under the grow beds.
Grow beds need access and acess means waste of grow space = loss of money.
Hence, you need to go vertical.
Vertical requires more energy for pumps as there will be a huge flow rate for raised deepwater grow beds.
Can the space saved catch up with the additional costs? Can the Product beeing made cheaper as to import it?
4 years in my test Greenhouse says me: YES it can.

BUT, a test field did not mean business, as the greenery starting exploding in the racks and the entire village was eating as mad just to have spacce to run further tests with other plants we fed left over (much it was to the chickens and buffalo) there was the next idea born:
What about unsold Products.. Some fishes love greens but you need to add things to it. So we bought more chicken just for the AP farm and we were running in an overstock of eggs. Then we found out eggs are a good add to the fish food so what else to mix in. You want no slimy roots and full digested food.
3 Family member were working 3 years just to create the perfect fish food and at the end we needed to buy only one single ingredient more to make it perfect. Wastemanagement done! Still no business touched.. But from nearby villages some people bought already for resale.
Here ends my story as I just start to put all learned into a bigger testfield, but this one needs to pay a bit back and sure it shall not end like the 120sqm that our buffalo rampaged one night.

I have made a thread in Commercial Aquaponics and feel I am at the begin again. Instead of one fish tank we plan now 6 recks with each 11 tanks. A new issue comes up.. Nobody of us is a plumber, so how to distribute water when you have more than 1 tank and 120sqm growbeds..
Any help is appreciated under the forum Commercial Aquaponics thread 20000sqm in Thailand.

Conclusion: If you think Big go first for space reduction, a sqm Greenhouse wasted is a sqm that costs insted of gains.. To make it profitable you want to use every squarecentimeter to make $$$$$. and that off cause without blowing more in as that comes out.

Will