Hello,

My name is Willy (in full person, not behind my trouser zipper) and I am a German expat living since 13 years in Tapong/Muang Rayong Thailand.
I am 53 years old, married to a Thai working in the renewable energy sector in the offshore and getting a bit fed up with traveling.
I came to Aquaponics due to my history. Some of my relatives from Germany and Holland are farmers using hydroponics and with the coming age, the wish came up to leave the job and start the same my relatives did.
Well here we go.

I have made near Khon Kaen in a small village an aquaponic test farm of 120sqm and after 2 years and 25000 EURO later it went into a full sucess.
We fed almost the entire village...
...until my father i. law's buffalo made the farm equal with the ground.
I was feeding it every day with leafes and after I went for a job it helped itself in my greenhouse...

All what is left is now a high motivated Thai family, the grandparents, parents and uncles with worn out bones from the hard works in the rice fields, sugar cane fields, rubber plantages and their worries about the future of their kids.
The uncle gave us 20 rai (32000 sqm) of land and now we want to give it a go.

BUT, we are aware, that the test system with only ONE fishtank will be not the same as a commercial farm.

Phase one will be another 1800sqm test farm with 8 fish tanks and I reckon there is a bit more to learn as what we learned in our small farm.
Phase 2-5 will be expanding in increment steps each 5000sqm till year 2021.
Thai Aquaponics sticking still in children's shoes by meaning open air or roof covered. This leaves the potential and the plant selection is limited by heat and humidity.
We will go for greenhouses, hence a more controllable climate and green energy by meaning solar power
which gives us the option to produce a wider range of veggies.

I hope I will find here a lot of help to make these planned phases to a sucess.

One lesson learned were the words from my wife's auntie:
Will, the salad grew in 4 week sooo big, are you sure it is not poisonous?

Last: I am calling myself a desasterous plumber and more that common sense I have not on the paper. Also my Family has all kind of useful diamonds but in relation to plumbing = Thai style even.. There I would need some help for these forums I have signed in but 3 of them I barely got any reply, so here my hope that more of you guys are lending me a brain before I do something silly: see Commercial Aquaponics I'll start there my threat.. from scratch as my plans are..

Cheers all

Will