Build or Buy??

[Philip Gauthier]

I am in the process of trying to move from a back yard system to a 6,000sf commercial set up and am struggling with the issue to build my own system or purchases one from and company that will supply you with the whole set up. I am looking to do a raft and media beds setup, I am not really bothered by the construction side of it as I have been a journeyman plumber and carpenter for many years. all though the idea of tech. support on a commercial level would be nice. The commercial system is around $60,000 and I fell that with my skill set and contractor pricing at supply houses I can do it for quit a bit less ( am I correct ) any advice on this would be greatly appreciated as I move forward. Thank You

[Greg McCord]

Hi Philip. I would build it myself if I were you. The savings is well worth it and you could use that savings by either doing more media beds or raft beds that will pay you back more in the end. I also believe there is such a wonderful group you have here as tech support. And its always free. Of course that's just my opinion. If you do decide to do it, take lots of pics and keep us all posted. Regards. Greg McCord

[Rob Torcellini]

I would build for the following reasons: 

1)  save a truckload of money

2) when you build it, you know every part of the system...and can do your own maintenance...especially since you can do your own own plumbing and carpentry work.

3)  I"m a fan of growing into your system... so you could build part of the system and get it up and running.  Then as it gets established, you can continue working on the rest of the system...may working on some design changes as you progress.

cons:  it's not a turn-key system and you have to design it yourself.

My system:  www.youtube.com/web4deb

[Sahib Punjabi]

Hello Philip,

6,000sq ft for $60,000, thus $10.00 per sq foot. What does that all include?

Greenhouses / Cooling & Heating equipment / Fish Tanks / DWC or Media / Pumps / Stocking plus.

While I am in the camp that advocates building your own if you possibly can, you can only make an informed decision if you have all facts at your hand.

God bless

[Zalinda Farms Inc]

We built a similar Raft system.....e-mail me.....i will give you details...<[e-mail]>

[Philip Gauthier]

that price only includes the raft and media system as well as some NFT channels, Tanks, Pumps and plumbing. Email tech support and installation support. Thats why I started thinking about doing my own thing, It would just free up so much at start up that's why I am leaning to build my own. I guess I maybe just needed a little assurance that my train of thought was right. So I thought with the experience here I would see if any one has a great reason to purchases one over build.

[Sahib Punjabi]

OK Philip,

So for 6,000 sq ft of rafts / media beds - if you build then 96 ft long by 4 ft wide & 1 ft deep, you would need 16 troughs for 6,000 sq ft. so liner from Raven (assuming no discounts), would cost you around $5,000 plus shipping. Rafts would be around $40...say max $50 each, so 12x16x$50 is $9,600, say $10,000. I guess that you would need another $10,000 or so for the tanks, pumps, media, hoop house covers+.

Now you do not have to build it all at once...do it in stages. Not only will you save at least 50% of what is being asked, you will learn a vast amount of knowledge. If you look hard enough, you may be able to save a lot more by finding recycled / re-furbished and overstocked materials.

Good luck & God bless 

[Jordan Erickson]

Hi Philip, 

I hope all is well. I wanted to share with you a few thoughts and things that I have noticed about purchasing and building a system...

In my experience of researching aquaponic systems that are available for purchase and the potential to build a system, I found that in some cases I would be able to build a system that is 3-4x's larger (in growing space and fish tank size), and in other cases be able to build the system the same size for 2/3rds of the cost.

The money that is saved in building a system, can be used to make the system larger or can be used to purchase additional essential items for your aquaponic system, such as: fish, fish feed, seeds, seedling trays, water heater, greenhouse, etc. 

I hope this helps.
 

Warm Regards,

Jordan 

[Jonathan Kadish NYC AA Chair]

I am right with you Philip. I have done the training with Nelson & Pade and AES to really understand the concepts of the UVI system. With your skills you could save at least 50-70%. However, I recommend that if you choose to build that you have quite a bit of education first. It wasn't until the 2nd workshop that I felt comfortable enough to spend the money. You really have to know something about the way the system is going to respond to your choices. This include things like fluid dynamics, bio-fouling, heating and cooling, maintenance, redundancy, solids removal, species selection and training to name just a few. You can also go the route of a consultant. Dr Wilson Lennard offers his services and is looking to help us commercial minded people.

[Philip Gauthier]

Jonathan I did plan on attending one of the training weekends at Nelson and Pade, is AES in the Bahamas? Is there one that you preferred?

[E Probst]

Hello Philip.

I was a business man in the jewelry industry and have just sold my own store that I worked for years.

when you asked your question  I was looking in to that same question for myself, so I asked myself, what did I do to get into the jewelry industry and what came to mind was 'baby steps'.

ask yourself some questions.

were do you want to spend your time, looking for new customers or learning about your system?

what does buying a system do for you? (i.e. up and running faster or less cash flow)

ask yourself were you what to be in one year. goals are important!

what do you want to say to your customers.

you are a BRAND and what you do will reflect on your BRAND.

every time you spend money, ask yourself will this bring me more income quickly.

start small, then grow, then expand, then grow to fill your new expanded level.

[Jonathan Kadish NYC AA Chair]

AES (aquatic eco systems) is just outside of Orlando. I have nothing bad to say about Nelson & Pade it is just that they are trying to sell their systems while they are teaching you the basics. John Pade is also an expert in Hydroponics and Controlled Environment Agriculture which is just as important as aquaponic skills if your needing a green house. AES had Dr Lennard and Dr Rakocy so the focus wasn't on selling (to some extent Dr Lennard was selling his consulting). AES is a kick ass company that will help you figure out pump sizing, blowers and what ever else you would need to build a system. For example, they have an on staff engineer that will calculate head loss so you buy the right pump. I definitely learned from both workshops.

[TCLynx]

Sigh,  This is a tricky subject because to date there are actually very few commercial aquaponic systems out there that can claim being in operation and profitable for more than a few years, or at least I should say there are very few that are out there and advertizing the fact.

So, my initial knee jerk reaction is to feel that if you need to ask the question, you are probably already in over your head.  Take one of the training classes available first before you decide.  Perhaps do some extra research into what kind of system and where you will be running it before you even choose which training would be most appropriate for you.  To be reasonable and honest, there are trainings out there that take place in a sub tropical-tropical climate which might not be nearly so useful to someone trying to do Aquaponics In the great white North while the Nelson and Pade classes might not be as useful to some one who gets to do aquaponics in a tropical climate.

Do a lot of business research.  None of the aquaponics trainings can guarantee you will sell your products.  Make sure you have a market to justify your investment.  Now this is probably the biggest point in favor of DIY start small and expand if the market will support it.  Perhaps you should start with something like a Friendlies micro system and expand on that kind of scale.  Of course the type of system appropriate will also depend on the goals and primary products you intend to sell.  If you are mainly wanting to sell a plant product then the Friendlies low density methods are probably more appropriate but if you are aiming to grow fish as a primary product then you may need to add more solids separation and removal which is more along the lines of the UVI methods rather than the Friendlies modifications.

And finally, Aquaponics is still farming, you don't get to do it from your desk, it is not a magic bullet or a get rich quick way of growing food.  It is simply a very (the most) water efficient method of farming both plants and fish by doing it together.

Good Luck