Building a Micro System is easy with our Do-It-Myself package!

Our package shows you how to build AND operate a stable, durable, and productive 64 square foot backyard aquaponics system in two weekends for less than $700 worth of materials you can buy locally.

Rose with Micro System and cat, 1-1/2 weeks after planting.

The Micro System package includes most of the information on aquaponics our Family Do-It-Myself package does, and is appropriate for someone with limited space or someone who wants to get their feet wet in aquaponics without spending a lot. It’s also perfect for schools because of its low cost. There are 256 growing spaces in an average Micro System raft layout, allowing plenty of space for student projects. It can be put together by a couple of parents who are handy with tools on a weekend.

Our Micro System package is available ONLY AS A DOWNLOAD FROM THIS WEBSITE, for $49.95, and consists of a 67-page PDF file that you print on your printer.

Our Micro Systems with 64 square feet of growbed area are 15% to 300% LARGER than comparable aquaponics “kits” we’ve seen offered on the Internet. Compare the following prices:

• Aquaponicsusa.com’s FGS-2 system with 20 sq ft of growbed area for $3,695.00
• Earthsolutions.com’s “Phoenix” Farm in a Box with 56 sq ft growbed area for $2,995.00
• Aquaponics.com’s (Nelson and Pade) 4T50-2-4×6 system with 48 sq ft growbed area for $5,756.00

You decide if these kits are overpriced, and if our Micro System is the best way to go. Micro Systems are stable, durable, productive, and easy to build and operate.

Click here to purchase these plans

We included the URL’s of these websites so you can check out what’s being offered and compare it to our Micro System. We doubt they will compare their systems to our Micro System, and certainly won’t give you our URL the way we give you theirs. Our Micro System is simply the best, most productive, most affordable small aquaponics system available anywhere. The best thing about it is that you don’t have to depend on “experts” to assemble a “kit” for you, you simply purchase the materials on the materials list from local sources, and assemble them according to the complete step-by-step construction manual.

Our package includes a TON of information about how aquaponics systems work and how to operate them, based on our years of experience actually operating a commercial aquaponics farm; including a construction manual, an operations manual, three sheets of CAD drawings, and a complete materials list. Most of these materials are procured locally, with a few items needing to be mail-ordered from Aquatic EcoSystems in Florida. Ask anyone else you’re considering buying a “kit” from how much of their income comes from growing and selling aquaponic produce, and how much comes from selling their “kits”. We derive almost all of our income from actually growing and selling vegetables and fish.

We took time we really didn’t have from operating our aquaponics farm to build and test our Micro System and write the Micro System package. Why? We were offended by the many sellers on the web who are taking advantage of people’s relative lack of knowledge about aquaponics to sell them overpriced collections of standard tanks, pumps, and piping called “aquaponics kits”, that can usually be purchased locally for a fraction of the cost. If we’d seen even ONE such “kit” that was reasonably priced, that ALSO had realistic claims about how much can be grown with it (the other problem we have with these people), we wouldn’t have felt a need to offer this set of plans.

Our self-taught plans package includes a course manual, a construction manual with CAD drawings and tons of pictures of a system under construction, a complete materials list, and a day-to-day operations manual. We’ve done our very best to make this easy to understand and duplicate what we’ve done.

Click here to see the Table of Contents and Introduction to the Micro System Manual
Click here to see the materials list for the Micro System

Do-It-Myself Aquaponics Training and Construction Package for Micro Systems
Our Do-It-Myself, self-taught course covers all aspects of building and operating a 2-raft, 64 square foot Micro Aquaponics System that can be run off-grid easily using alternate energy sources (of course it can be powered by just plugging it into your house electrical system also). This training package is designed for people who want to build their own small systems to check out aquaponics and get a useful amount of produce at the same time. Average materials and equipment cost for this system is less than $500, time to build is approximately 16 hours; space required is 12 feet by 12 feet.

For those concerned about electrical consumption and energy efficiency, this system operates on 15 Kw/hours of electricity (about $1.80) per month; this is equivalent to a 25 watt lightbulb. It also uses 5 pounds of fish food (about $2.25), and another $5-6 worth of seeds and planting media per month, for a $10 per month total. Your return is from 40-60 pounds of organic produce and 2-3 pounds of fish per month, and at average prices for the produce it pays for itself in three to four months.

Specifics covered are: site selection, system construction and operation, water quality and sources, vegetable and aquatic species qualities and selection, troubleshooting and problem solving of common system problems. Your package includes a course manual, computer-drawn construction plans, a construction manual with tons of pictures, and a day-to-day operations manual.

Click here to purchase these plans

Rose with Micro System three weeks after planting.	Rose with Micro System and cat, 1-1/2 weeks after planting.
Newly Built Micro System	Anyone Can Build One!
Family with Micro System three weeks after planting.	Rose (4 years old) on the screwgun!

Micro System FAQ:
In order to support our Micro System purchasers, we have put together a FAQ specifically for you. We are planning to put a page on this site SOON with a gallery of Micro System construction photos, and any photos of Micro Systems that YOU have built that you email us.

1. What are the Micro System's best applications?

   It's ideal for those concerned about electrical consumption and energy efficiency who are on alternate power. It's ideal for classroom learning situations and small schools with limited funding who want to investigate aquaponics with a productive and stable small system. It's perfect for those with a small family (2-4 persons) who wish to grow a large part of their own produce each month.

2. What does the Micro System cost to run?

   It operates on 15 Kw/hours of electricity (about $1.80) per month; it uses 5 pounds of fish food (about $2.25), and another $5-6 worth of seeds and planting media per month, for a $10 per month total. Your return is from 40-60 pounds of organic produce and 2-3 pounds of fish per month. At average prices for the produce it pays for its cost of plans and construction in three to four months.

3. Do you have to be technically-minded to run a Micro System?

   Not at all. The operations manual provided with the package walks you through operating a Micro System with a checklist. If you simply follow the checklist, it's easy. There are also answers to common Micro System problems that users often have (most often when they didn't entirely read the manual). Working with aquaponics is kind of like math; when you first started working with those numbers (remember, you were only three feet tall?), it was hard adding 3 and 6. Now you do it without thinking about it.

   In practice, it's just feeding the fish, planting and harvesting the vegetables. We don't spend much time thinking about the nitrifying cycle or ammonia levels. Even if we did, those things are simple to measure and understand. The hardest thing we've found about aquaponics is that so many people are interested in it. We had to start giving regular farm tours every Saturday because we had fifteen to twenty people showing up at odd times during the week to see our farm, and so far over 1,000 people have come on these tours since June, 2008! If you have a Micro System in your backyard, get ready for all the curiosity it's going to arouse!

4. What is the most important thing to know about the Micro System?

   That it's not about raising fish! Although the fish in your Micro System will attract the most attention, the fish portion of the operation is costly both in terms of consumables and labor, doesn't produce much fish, and CAN'T be made to produce more fish without spending more money than the additional fish would be worth. Based on our last two years experience with commercial systems, a Micro System in our climate will produce about 2-3% of its total production weight in fish and about 97-98% of the total production weight in vegetables. The fish part of our operation creates a large percentage of the operating costs, for fish food, electricity for aeration, and labor for feeding, breeding, and harvesting the fish; while bringing in a very small income percentage.

   When you try to grow MORE fish in the temperature range we are farming in (70-76 degrees F), with the fish food costs we have ($0.90/pound), the electricity costs we have ($0.44/KWhour), and the labor costs we have ($12/hour or more), EVEN with the price we're getting for our fish ($5/pound) the more fish we try to grow, the MORE money we LOSE on the fish part of the operation. If you ever hear an aquaponics farmer or "consultant" who tells you you can grow "X" amount of fish in the system they design, you have just heard a completely misleading statement; because the amount of fish you can grow in any system is entirely dependent on the system water temperature (plus MANY other factors they often forget to mention).

   A lot of people selling aquaponics system information or "kits" know how important the fish production is to potential operators, and often vastly over-state the amount of fish it is possible to grow with these systems (they all too often over-emphasize the vegetable production as well), in an attempt to appeal to buyers and sell more stuff. If you hear these kinds of claims, ask the sellers to back them up with phone numbers of real users you can call to verify the claimed "fish production" and "vegetable production". You can't ever get something for nothing, or as a famous author once wrote: "TANSTAAFL!"

5. What height is the tank outflow fitting (to the hydroponics troughs) installed at?

   The tank outflow fitting should be installed as close to the top of the tank as is possible given the way your particular tank is made. The return water from the pump fills the fish tank up to the level of this outflow fitting, then it flows OUT and back to the troughs. If you put the fitting 8" up from the bottom of the fish tank, the water will only get 8" deep in the fish tank. You are trying to get the maximum depth of water possible in this tank so your fish will feel comfortable and make lots of fertilizer; fish feel nervous in shallow water. Remember to cover the tank with a net so they don't jump out!

6. What do I put the plants in, what is the potting mix, and how do I sprout them?

   The plants go in 2", 3", or larger diameter net pots. Make a mixture of 60% fine coconut fiber (AKA coir), and 40$ vermiculite (NOT perlite, this is abrasive to the pump and the fish's gills!), soak it with system water, then fill the net pots with it, pack down lightly, and plant your seeds. Net pots, coir, vermiculite, and seeds all can be purchased at garden and nursery supply stores.

   You put the pots with seeds onto a wire mesh table or any flat surface that will drain water off, then water them with a watering can filled with SYSTEM water (that good, nutrient-rich water) so that they stay continually moist (not soaking wet). The seeds don't need any nutrients to germinate, because those needs are supplied by the seed body itself, but as soon as you have a little root and a little leaf, they will benefit from nutrient watering rather than just plain tap water. It may help if you are in a cold climate to construct a little hoop frame over this table and cover it with clear greenhouse plastic; remember to leave gaps at the sides and ends so it can get ventilation and not fry the seeds if it gets warm.

7. Do I need to move the plants to bigger pots when they get bigger?

   No, you plant most things in 2" pots. Use 3" or larger diameter net pots for things like leeks, tomatoes, okra, and things with big stems. You will notice that the roots of these plants in aquaponic systems are far fewer but much thicker than their soil-grown counterparts. We think this is because of the constant nutrient flow past the roots, which allows them plenty of nutrients without expending energy growing a huge root mass to search for nutrients (as happens in soil).

8. What kind of fish food do I use, and how much do I feed them?

   Any floating fish food that is around 1/8' diameter pellets, around 30% protein. We use Rangen 3/5 mm floating catfish food.

9. How do I know when to add iron, calcium carbonate, and potassium carbonate to the system, where do I get them, and why do I need to add them?

   You can get these at garden supply stores, and agricultural supply companies that sell fertilizers and other ag chemicals. The iron is any chelated iron product (may also contain nitrogen, this is OK), and you know that you should add iron to your system when the plants are uniformly yellowing between the veins, old leaves and new leaves both. If you find the old leaves yellowing but NOT the new leaves, that indicates a nitrogen deficiency, which we've never seen in one of these systems in two years of operation. You use calcium and potassium carbonates for adjusting system pH when it gets lower than about 6.4 as indicated by your test strips or pH meter. The calcium carbonate is simply coral sand, ground up very finely like powder (the calcium carbonate you can get that is the rougher consistency of sand does not work as well). Potassium carbonate looks like greyish-white gravel. Mix the calcium carbonate half and half with the potassium carbonate. Add about a half cup of this mixture to a 5-gallon bucket of water, let stand for 1/2 hour, mix well with the water, then dump the whole bucket of mixture into the first trough right where the water flows in from the fish tank.

   Although it's difficult to add too much, only add this one-half cup of potassium/calcium carbonate mixture at a time, then let the system stabilize for a day, then measure pH again. If you find it only went up to 6.7 or so from 6.4, do this addition again, then measure again. If you get your system within the range of pH 6.8 to 7.2, STOP. Depending on your system's conditions, it may take a month to three months until the pH again drops to the point where it needs adjusting.

   The reason you add these three safe, non-toxic, and non-caustic elements to your system is because the only other input to the system is the fish food. Although the fish food has iron, calcium, and potassium in it, the fish use most of these elements for growth. The iron is necessary for the hemoglobin in the fish's blood, which provides the fish the ability to use the oxygen it breathes. The fish use the potassium and calcium from the fish food to make scales, bones, and teeth. As a result, there may be little of these elements left for the plants in the system. When we adjust the PH with these two, they have a second benefit of providing needed calcium and potassium for the plants in the system to use.

10. Can I put my troughs higher than the fish tank, or put the fish tank higher than the troughs, or do I have to have a single big piece of level ground to build the system on?

    You can build your system with the fish tank higher than the troughs. Just make sure that the fish tank outflow is as near as possible to the top of the tank, as mentioned previously. If you put the tank more than 2 feet higher than the troughs, you should consider getting the next size larger water pump than is specified because you will have a higher head and the originally specified pump will pump a lower volume at the higher head.

    You can also put the troughs higher than the fish tank. If you do this, you need to put the center of the outflow fitting about ten inches up from the bottom of the trough, because this sets the height of water in the trough. Put it at the end of the second trough in the water circuit, because the water will be flowing downhill to the fish tank powered by gravity. You put the water pump fitting in the side of the fish tank about 12" up from the bottom, and pump water UP from the fish tank to the first one of the hydroponics troughs, where you can just lead it in over the top edge of the trough at one end. Either is good, both are great, and if putting either your fish tank or your troughs higher solves a site problem for you, then just remember to follow these instructions when doing so.

11. Can I feed my fish extra food so they make more "fertilizer", or can I put twice as much fish in the system so that my plants grow faster and bigger?

    No. With the recommended weight of fish in the system it will have plenty of nutrients. If you feed them more than they will eat, this organic material will sink to the bottom of the tank and decay. If you put twice as much fish in the system, you will also generate more decaying organic material. This decaying material turns into ammonia, which turns into nitrites, and then nitrates. If there is more decaying material than all the bacteria in the system can process, it just ends up on the bottom of the troughs and fish tank, where it goes anaerobic and uses up system oxygen. If taken to an extreme, this will stunt, then kill, all your plants and eventually your fish. So you need to just feed your fish what they will eat, no more; and keep the amount of fish in your tank right around 20 pounds.