What got you into aquaponics, and why do you like it.

[Kobus Jooste]

I'm on a quest to try and determine the key characteristics of an aquaponically minded person in order to direct my thoughts around how to promote the concept to people around me.  At a previous show, there was a lot of interest, but from a diverse crowd of people.  The sample size was also a bit small.  If you have some time, can you please respond to these questions below:

1) What about aquaponic production made it attractive to you?

2) What were the deciding factors that made you decide to produce aquaponic crops, or would make you prefer it above other production methods?

3) If you are actively practicing aquaponics now, is it what you expected?  How much more or less effort is it for you, and how does your success / failure rate compare to your initial expectations?

4) Is there anything about aquaponics that you wish you knew before you got involved with it that was either poorly communicated or not discussed during first enquiries?

5) Even though you may enjoy aquaponic production, there could be aspects of it, such as the total cost of the equipment, the time spent on it or the seasonality of production success that are not entirely happy with.  Can you think of anything?

[TCLynx]

HUM.  I expect that the answers you get here are going to be skewed since a huge portion of the people here are addicted to Aquaponics.  Your most useful answers will probably come from people who would rather have bought a BYAP kit or one of Murray's Kits if they were available to them.

 

I think many people who get into this and struggle at creating their own systems would probably be happier buying a kit if they can afford them.

 

Those people like myself who actually love building things and refining things might no be much use to you in our answers.  I perhaps am a bit disappointed at how little time a system takes once it is up and running well.  All that is left is to sit and stare at the water flowing and harvest some food, sprinkle some seeds.

 

1-Automatically watered/fertilized garden that provides a water feature and fish too.

2-Aquaponics is actually only part of my food system, I've got plenty of soil garden and food forest activity going too as well as chickens and ducks.

3-I don't know what I expected when I started.  Once established a system is very little effort.  And I'm still learning how to grow what we will use most and use more of what we grow.  I still have a goal to grow enough toms and peppers at one time to make a batch of salsa to process in the canner and I haven't gotten there quite yet.

4-Can't think of anything I did a huge amount of reading on the BYAP forum before jumping in.

5-Cost of equipment can get high but the main thing I'm uncomfortable with is the commercial fish feed I would like to find something more sustainable and organic that I can afford.

[Homefire]

Kobus wrote:

1) What about aquaponic production made it attractive to you?

 

* It can be low tech, one can begin with minimum resources.

* Its scalable from aquaria size to huge industrial farm size

* It can be done anywhere, light & water provided; underground, a desert, the Moon.

* High productivity for a small footprint.

* There are inumerable synergies and efficiencies oft mentioned; water, fertilizer, low bugs, weeds.

* It is Human's further domestication of  the timeless field-stream system.

* If it continues to evolve it will obey Constructal Law, as litteraly everything that still exists must.  Knowing this may save an aquaponist years of trial and error.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructal_theory 

 

I deeply honor and love plants.  Chlorophyl  producing cells are among our deepest ancestors, hence wisest.