Which Aquaponic System For You?
We have four different sizes of aquaponics system construction plans and instruction manuals (what we call the “package”). If you know which size you’re interested in, you can just jump to that page by clicking the links below.If you wish to understand a lot more about how ALL these systems work and which one is the right one for you, please read this whole page:
The Apartment/Condo Systems of 2-1/2 square feet on up to 32 square feet of growing area
The Micro Systems of 64 and 128 square feet
The Family Systems of 256 and 512 square feet
The Commercial Systems of 1,024 and 4,096 square feet, with information on how to design and scale aquaponics systems to be any size from 10 square feet up to 100,000.
Our Aquaponics systems are designed to be built and operated economically by first-time builders and growers. The designs for the systems in our Do-It-Myself plans packages are derived from the organically certified aquaponics systems that comprise our commercial aquaponics farm. We’ll talk about the different systems a little so you can see which fits your needs best.
We state this on each system’s page, but also wanted to include it here: We offer a Lifetime Guarantee on all our Aquaponics Systems Plans Packages: We guarantee a full refund of the purchase price of your Micro System plans IF you have actually used them. If you have built and operated a system and are still not satisfied, we will refund your money in full.
Everyone wants to know “How much fish can I grow?”; so first, a word about fish before we describe the aquaponics systems. After we’d operated our systems for a year and a half, we had good data on how much it cost to raise fish and what they sold for in our local market (by fish, we mean tilapia). Our fish cost between $4.00-4.50 per pound to raise to market size and deliver. We get from $2.50 per pound (wholesale price) to $5 per pound (retail price) for them. This equation is NOT in our favor; we lose money on the fish portion of the operation. The more fish we grew, the more money we lost there. We could have subsidized our fish production from our vegetable income, but this is kind of like robbing Peter to pay Paul.
This equation gets worse in the smaller systems, because our larger commercial systems are more energy-efficient than our small home systems. You can safely figure it costs you $3-4 per pound to raise the fish in a Micro System or Family System on the mainland with NO labor costs included ($5-6 per pound in Hawaii). If you include the value of the vegetables in your equation, you may think you’re making a profit on your system, but all you have done is hidden the loss from the fish in the profit from the vegetables. If you try to grow more fish, it will cost you more money. And it’s OK if you want to grow more fish! Just realize you’re doing it as a hobby for fun, not because you can grow them for less than you can buy them for at the store.
Our systems are designed so that the amount of fish in the system balances out the amount of nutrients required by the plants, with none left over. We call them Low Density (LD) systems because the fish are at a low density compared to some aquaponics systems. Because of this low density of fish, our systems do not require solids settling tanks (some call these clarifiers), fine solids settling tanks (some call these net tanks), degas tanks, or other types of filter tanks . These tanks are often seen in high-density aquaponics systems that operate with much more fish in them.
These high-density systems have such a large amount of fish in them that the plants CANNOT filter all the fish effluent out of the water, and need the extra tanks to take out the fish poop. Both systems work, but ours are much less expensive to build than other types of systems because they have fewer tanks and plumbing. They also operate with a LOT less fish in them than high-density system designs, at a much lower cost for fish food, electricity, and labor. This makes us more money.
There’s only ONE situation when it makes sense to grow more fish than these LD systems need for the vegetables. That’s when your costs for fish food, electricity, labor, and overhead are LESS than what you get for your fish; ergo, you can make a profit! We know just a few places in the world where all the costs are this low but fish prices are still high enough to make money: Thailand, the Phillipines, Vietnam, Honduras, Costa Rica. We have system designs in our Commercial DIY package that allow you to do this, but (please listen well here) the ONLY reason for building such a system in most first-world countries is that you have FREE electricity, FREE fish food, and NEARLY free labor at your location. This is really RARE outside the locations listed, so step carefully here!
If you have free electricity and free fish food at your location, (and PLENTY of them), AND you’ve purchased the plans for a Micro System or Family System from us, we will make this offer: contact us (at training@friendlyaquaponics.com) and we will give you instructions and a FREE set of drawings on how to build or convert your system to grow roughly five times the amount of fish it is currently designed to operate on. You must realize that if you do this, you’ll use five times the electricity AND fish food that these systems use; you’ll need a bigger fish tank and air pumps or blowers five to ten times the size of the ones in the system plans (you CAN’T just use the ones from the regular Micro System, they’re too small), more airstones and airstone tubing, a couple of other filter tanks, and some additional plumbing. To build a Micro System to these specifications, you will have to spend an additional $1,200 or so, on a system that only cost $700 in the first place. To be safe, figure you’ll at least double or triple the original cost of building the system from the estimates we’ve given here, and unless you also increase the size of your hydroponics troughs, you will NOT grow any more vegetables than these systems do. You should be REALLY SURE your fish food and electricity is free before you take this road! And if for some reason you miscalculated, and it costs more to raise the additional fish than you could have just bought them for, please don’t blame us!
Apartment/Condo Aquaponics Systems (for Schools also!)
Indoors: These systems are appropriate for anyone who is limited to growing indoors, or for those who only have limited space outdoors. They are perfect for getting your fingers wet in aquaponics without spending a lot (pun intended!). They can easily be set up in an apartment or condo, on a balcony, inside a garage or outbuilding, inside a spare room, or even a closet. You can use them for the centerpiece of a living room or family room to show off to your friends. Best of all, they produce food! If you have light and heat you can grow vegetables and fish!
Schools: These systems are perfect for schools because of their low cost and the easily-understood instructions and plans for construction and operation that come with the package. They are so affordable and understandable that a sixth-grader can easily use one as a science class or science fair project. They are small enough to be easily and affordably operated indoors in cold weather climates and lighted with artificial lighting (instructions included). Cost for plans AND materials for the biggest of these systems is only $350, making them affordable for all schools. This large school system produces a serious amount of vegetables as well as teaching kids aquaponics (read: chemistry, biology, animal husbandry, plant physiology, math, some physics, and business skills) . Learn More
Purchase the Apartment/Condo Aquaponics Systems plans and manual
Micro Aquaponics System
The Micro System is a perfect backyard system for families or singles, and also is a good economical system to use teaching Aquaponics in the classroom. If you have a large family, or want a little extra produce to trade with friends, you can build the larger of the two Micro Systems. There’s the Micro System 64 (64 square feet of growing area), which fits into a 12-foot by 12-foot area; and the Micro System128 (128 square feet of growing area), which fits into either a 10-foot by 30-foot area or a 12-foot by 20-foot area. This includes room for the fish tank, and walkways between grow troughs and around the outsides of them. Materials for the Micro System 64 cost about $600 on the mainland, and about $900 for the 128 (this is $852 in Hawaii for the 64, $1,275 for the 128). The 128 only costs $350 more than the 64 ($450 in Hawaii), and only uses 8 watts more per month, so it costs less per square foot.
The Micro System 64 uses 40 watts, and the 128 uses 48 watts, which is $3-4 of electricity per month ($12-15 in Hawaii); $2-4 of fish food per month ($4-6 in Hawaii); and $3-4 of seeds and potting media per month ($6-10 in Hawaii) for a monthly cost to operate of $8-12 ($22-35 in Hawaii). The 64 will produce 20-40 pounds of vegetables and 1-2 pounds of fish per month, depending on what varieties of vegetables you grow, how much attention you pay to them, and how much sunlight you get in your location; the production of the 128 is double this. Learn More
Click Here to Purchase Micro Aquaponics System Plans
Family Off-Grid Aquaponics System
The Family System plans package includes the entire Micro System plans package! This feature allows you to build one of the smaller, more affordable Micro Systems first and gain experience and confidence before tackling a larger system. A Micro System will always produce the same amount per square foot as the bigger systems, thus is always useful to have. A Micro System is also small enough to put inside your garage in the winter and run under artificial lighting.
A Family System is much larger than the Micro System, and is a perfect system for a small community of 10-12 people, or for families or singles who want to make a part-time income selling or trading their produce. While it is not big enough to produce the equivalent of one person’s income when used commercially, it is a good intermediate step if you are thinking of doing a commercial operation and want more experience. A 256-square-foot Family system is a good-sized classroom Aquaponics system, as it has enough area for 40 students to each have 25 different plants in the system. If you have a larger community, or want enough produce to be able to sell more, build the larger of the two Family Systems.
Plans for this system comes in two sizes, the Family System 256 (256 square feet of growing area), which fits into a 12-foot by 40-foot area; and the Family System 512 (512 square feet of growing area), which fits into either a 12-foot by 75-foot area or a 30-foot by 40-foot area. These numbers include room for the fish tank, and walkways between grow troughs and around the outsides of them. Materials for the Family System 256 cost about $1,357 on the mainland, and about $1,759 for the 512 (this is $1,899 in Hawaii for the 256, $3,000 for the 512). The 512 only costs $400 more than the 256 ($1,100 in Hawaii), and only uses 15 watts more per month, so it costs less per square foot.
The Family System 256 uses 70 watts, and the 512 uses 85 watts, which is from $5-7 of electricity per month ($19-22 in Hawaii); $4-8 of fish food per month ($8-16 in Hawaii); and $6-8 of seeds and potting media per month ($12-20 in Hawaii) for a monthly cost to operate of $15 for the 256, and $23 for the 512 ($39 for the 256, and $58 for the 512 in Hawaii). The 256 will produce 75-125 pounds of vegetables and 4-7 pounds of fish per month, depending on what varieties of vegetables you grow, how much attention you pay to them, and how much sunlight you get in your location; the production of the 512 is double this. Learn More
Click Here to Purchase The Family Aquaponics System Plans
Commercial Aquaponics System
The Commercial System plans package includes the entire Family System plans package and the entire Micro System plans package! This feature allows you to build one of the smaller, more affordable systems first and gain experience and confidence before tackling a larger system. The smaller systems will always produce the same amount per square foot as the bigger systems, and are always useful to have. The Micro System and smaller systems are small enough to put inside your garage in the winter and run under artificial lighting.
Commercial systems are for those who want to earn their living growing professionally. It is difficult to say what is a “minimum” size system since there are so many variables. We currently have 5,600 square feet of grow trough area supported by 1,200 square feet of plant nursery sprouting tables, and that is still only HALF to ONE-THIRD the size we need to supply our local Costco with just ONE product!
So here are some good general rules-of-thumb for determining what size aquaponics system you need: If you’re planning on selling through farmers markets, a small CSA, or to small local accounts, you need 1,200 square feet up to 2,500 square feet of trough area; if you’re planning on selling wholesale to distributors or produce brokers, you probably need a minimum of 3,000 to 5,000 square feet of trough area OR MORE; if you’re planning on selling a SINGLE produce item to Costco or one of the other “Big Box” stores (Walmart, Sam’s Club, etc), you need a minimum of 12,000 to 20,000 square feet of trough area.
In addition to this, you may need other infrastructure if you’re planning on processing your vegetables. This depends largely on what your local Department of Health requirements are, but a partial list could include: processing building with produce cutting and rinsing area, wash-and-chill sinks, ice machine, refrigerators, walk-in refrigerator(s), storage for boxes, clamshells, and bags used to package produce, scaling area, shrink-wrap and/or heat-sealing machines and area, box assembly area, employee washroom and break areas, loading dock, small forklift or pallet jack(s). This is a small list for a simple operation; things can get much more complex.
Aquaponics systems are scalable IF you know what you’re doing. We include complete instructions on how to scale systems up or down in size with the Commercial plans package; so the two standard system plans included with this package can easily be made larger or smaller to fit your needs. The two sizes of plans are for a 1,024-square foot system, AND a 4,096-square-foot system, with materials lists and construction drawings for both. You can build a 1,024 for about $15,000 worth of materials in Hawaii, a 4,096 for about $15,000 MORE, or $30,000 total. Mainland prices for materials should be 30-40% less, if you do your homework and shop intelligently. These figures are for aquaponics system materials ONLY, and do not include costs of greenhouses, site grading and prep, labor, design work, or other items which can vary hugely from area to area.
The 1,024 uses 200 watts, or $17 of electricity per month ($56 in Hawaii), $64 of fish food per month ($120 in Hawaii); and $25 of seeds and potting media per month ($48-80 in Hawaii) for a monthly cost to operate of $106. The 4,096 uses 650 watts, or $54 of electricity per month ($184 in Hawaii) , $250 of fish food per month ($480 in Hawaii); and $100 of seeds and potting media per month ($96-160 in Hawaii) for a monthly cost to operate of $404. The 1,024 will produce 300-600 pounds of vegetables and 20-25 pounds of fish per month, depending on what varieties of vegetables you grow, how much attention you pay to them, and how much sunlight you get in your location; the production of the 4,096 is four times this. You can use these numbers to extrapolate what larger or smaller systems will cost to run or build, but realize that the larger the system, the more energy-efficient it becomes, and the smaller it is, the opposite is true. Learn More
Click Here to Purchase The Commercial Aquaponics System Plans
Off-Grid Aquaponics Systems
We’re not making any more oil, so these systems have ALL been designed to be as energy-efficient as possible. Because aquaponics is a sustainable food production technology to begin with, we are frequently asked about running our systems off grid. We are all in favor of doing so: I once designed and built electric wind turbines, and have always been an alternate energy advocate. But you should look at complete system costs and your budget, as well as your desire to produce your own energy, before you blindly purchase a windmill or solar panel.
If you elect to do so, realize that you will be adding another SYSTEM to your aquaponics system that you will need to maintain, repair, and troubleshoot when it breaks. You will need to educate yourself enough so that, even if you purchase a turn-key system that someone else installs and maintains, you get the RIGHT system for your needs. If you are going to put together a system yourself, you will need to learn a LOT about the technology and its applications, as well as be very handy with tools and materials.
As an example, the Commercial 4,096 square foot system (if built as a stand-alone system) uses a total of 650 watts. But this is 650 watts 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; ~$2,163 worth at current rates for ~5,694 kilowatt hours per year. If you have good wind or sun at your location AND are also on the grid, you could run this commercial system off a 3 kW grid-tied electric wind turbine, or a grid-tied solar photovoltaic array of about 3.5 kW.
One problem with this is that the windmill system costs ~$18,000, and the PV array system costs ~$35,000. In other words, for an alternate energy system to power an aquaponics system that only costs $30,000 in parts (if you build it yourself), your cost will be from $18-35,000. This is ONLY IF you are connected to the grid and can use grid-tied alternate energy systems (a grid-tied system is one that is located ON the grid, and can use it as a backup). If you’re not on the grid, add another $10,000 or so for a gas or diesel generator, storage batteries, inverter, and charge controller so that you have storage capabilities to get you through non-windy or non-sunny periods.
Smaller aquaponics systems will need alternate energy systems that cost proportionately MORE than this per watt. This is because the principle of economy of scale is working in the wrong direction here: AGAINST you. Economy of scale means that when things get larger, they use less energy to accomplish the same amount of work. A train, for example, will move a ton of cargo a mile on FAR less fuel than a pickup truck will, and a ship will move a ton of cargo a mile for FAR less fuel than the train will. Thus, because the smaller systems are less energy-efficient, the Micro System uses about four times as much energy per square foot of growing area as the Commercial 4,096 square foot system, and needs an alternate energy system that has proportionately more capacity and is more expensive (as compared to the aquaponics system cost). So it’s possible to run these systems off-grid, but expensive. If you’re on-grid, just paying the electric bill can be much cheaper.
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