500 Gallon Aquaponics System

These are the plans and design for the 4th version of the aquaponics system that weve made. Its
amazing how much is learned by simply creating aquaponics systems and testing them out.

What is Aquaponics

Basically, its a fish tank that lets you harvest the fish, and uses vegetables to clean up the tank.

1. Pump water to the fish

2. Aerate, circulate, separate solids
3. water falls by gravity to the plants
4. plants clean it, grow healthy, and return it to sump

Fresh organic fish and veggies grown year round in a small area, with 85% less water than
normal farming.

How this Aquaponics System Works

A. Solar hot water heater (thermo siphon design). CPVC pipes on a 48 sheet of plywood, clear
plastic (or glass) lid to trap the heat. Thermodynamics principles lets me put cold water in, and it
will rise as hot water to the output. This needs about 2.5 gallons per minute flow. Too fast and it
doesnt work as intended, too slow and it will literally melt down. Heating water is about $100 a
month if you use other methods. This cost about $150 to build. I could pump it through
underground pipes to heat the entire greenhouse if needed, or to a rabbit hutch, etc. Its hot
water, about 180F (regulated by how fast water goes through it). I may need a way to mix it back
with cold water before it hits the tanks. I might also need a separate pump instead of a valve to
control pressure. If I were in too cold of a climate this wouldnt work the same and Id need
additional heat.

B. Bypass valves for solar hot water heater in warm months. I can close the in/out and open the
bypass and water will not go through the heater at all. Fish and plants need certain temperatures
to reproduce, grow fast, fight disease, and keep metabolism up (eat and poop). Without these
elements, the system grows slower or things die.

C. Backpressure valve for sump aerator. I have a large pump (2000 gallons per hour) in the
sump. But I only need to pump about 500 gallons per hour for the purging of the tanks and
bringining in clean water. I redirect the backpressure by adjusting this valve. Now my pump can
just pump full time, which is better for it. turning a pump on and off reduces its life. Also, this
backpressure is used to really blast air into the water. Traditional air stones only last a few
months. Instead of buying new ones, I did this to aerate the water. Saves electricity,
manufacturing, breakable parts, etc. If I need to, I can also spray this water into the air and let it
fall further. this would allow me to cool the water. I dont think this will be an issue, but its a
simple modification to allow this. Ill have a series of 1/4 holes on a horizontal pipe to shoot jets
all over into the sump and make sure there isnt a solids build up. This aquaponics system design
also allows me to regulate the speed at which the grow beds fill by limiting how much water
goes into the system.

D. Sump pump on a float. 250 gallon tank of clean water, little to no solids. Gravity and cut off
switch combined keep sump from overflowing or burning up. It wont pump out more than it can
take in if I adjust things properly and monitor it daily.

E. Sump pump aerator. Backpressure from the valve above allows some water to continue and
some water to go through an aerator back into the sump. This makes it easy to use a larger pump
and aerates water for fish before it even gets to them. It is hard to have too much oxygen in the
water. All of these aerators help to off gas toxins too.

F. Drain back from grow beds should be clean as it is filtered many times, at least clean enough
for fish to live in. Venturi process injects air for additional aeration with zero maintenance and
pumps, using gravity to aerate water instead.

H. Bell siphon, one per grow bed. All of them drain back to sump tank (EDF area). A bell siphon
is a device that autsiphons water out to the bottom once it reaches the top. No mechanical
parts/motors, just physics and gravity. By using this I can flood beds and then drain them out
repeatedly without pumps or timers. The natural fill and drain cycle is the timer, controlled by
how fast water enters.
I. Grow beds. Gravel inside of a large trough lined with pond liner. You can have up to 2:1 ratio
of water for the grow beds. So, if I had 2 IBC 270 gallon tanks of fish (540g total), I could
support about 8 grow beds that are 8 long x 2 wide x 12deep. The 12 depth is important for
many reasons. It keeps plants healthy by not rotting the roots, shades water so algae doesnt grow
(if water isnt pumped too high before draining), and provides a stratification of the various
elements of fish poop sludge for worms, oxygen and bacteria to clean the water and break down
ammonia into nitrates/nitrites. This is a natural process that takes about 8 months to grow a full
production bacteria colony. The plants in turn, eat up the nitrates, and you get clean water as a
byproduct back to (F). I Need to make sure I can never get into a race condition where the beds
are full, but the sump shuts off because its empty.

J. A valve to each grow bed allows me to control the flow, and thus how fast the tanks flood and
drain. I can grow different types of plants this way because not all plants like the same amounts
of water. Isolation of grow beds also isolates pests and allows me to only damage some of the
crop if Im infested. It gives me more time and ability to manage the crops.

K. This is a gravity fed drain that filters waste from the sand filter before it gets to my grow beds.
This entire tank (LRK) is designed to mechanically separate solids (fish waste) so I have water
that is easier for the worms and plants to break down and so that my pumps stay clean longer. If I
dont manually filter solids, I might fill up my grow beds with more sludge than they can
process, and that would kill everything. By filtering solids like this, I also keep the valves
healthy and clean. If they are not clean, I have to tweak them and purge them often as they clog
up.

L. Sand filter. Gravity pours partially filtered water from the swirl filter into sand in a jar. This
chews up and breaks up remaining solids before it goes on. Maintenance free, cheap, perfect.
Eventually I have to replace sand and possibly the nozzle, but this is very low maintenance.

M. Swirl filter. Mechanical separation of fish waste. The tanks use a siphon (N) that has a T on it
open to the air to prevent a complete siphon. Gravity pushes it through tanks and it sucks up the
waste off of the bottom. The solids go into a cone where they settle to the bottom. I can then
purge this portion every few days and have super rich fertilizer for regular dirt gardens. This is
also a way to get the fish poop out of the system, allowing me to stock more fish than I should be
able to. The input pipe is lower than the output pipe to help solids go down by gravity and swirl
instead of up into the sand filter.

N. SLO is a system of siphoning water from the bottom (and thus getting the solids lifted). A
Tee at the bend ensures that water doesnt autosiphon out past a certain level. The pipe on the
bottom is a 4 way T that has vents cut into it to keep fish from entering, and to spread out the
area of available suction and help prevent dead spots.

O. Fish tanks. IBC containers, food grade 275 gallon each. More water means a more stable
system from temperature chagnes, PH, etc. Im also able to hold about 1 fish for every 2 gallons
safely. I have chosen 2 tanks because a large one is 2x as expensive, but also because I can sort
my stock. One tank could have full grown adults, ready to be harvested, and another tank could
have smaller fish that might get eaten by the larger ones. I could also put a stack of pipes in and
have 3 or 4 breeders for this tank. In addition, this design is highly modular. You can just keep
adding tanks, growbeds (and eventually more sump space) as needed.

P. Hot water return. Hot water is expensive. This is fed from the solar heater array above. A clear
section allows me to make sure its flowing, and not stagnant up top.

Q. Venturi snakes. This is my design/idea. I will inject air (via gravity) at the top and use a
flexible hose at the bottom with a sprayer head. This should move around randomly in the tank
disturbing the bottom and not allowing dead spots while at the same time aerating the entire tank.
This would not be necessary if I had cone bottom tanks, but those cost about $400 -$700 each
and IBC tanks are only $120 each, delivered. The pressure is regulated from the sump
backpressure valve (C). I can control how fast water flows into the entire growbed system by
adjusting (C), and I can individually control turbulence in each tank with (Q and R). Different
aquaculture likes different amounts of water running through it.

R. Backup Aerator. In the event that my sump pump dies, the grow beds will drain and it will fill
up. Plants are fine for a few days without water flowing, unless its 115F outside. However, fish
will die within hours without aeration at any temp because of how dense the fish population will
be. And within days or several hours without filtration of the ammonia. Im not able to filter
ammonia out, but I can purge as much solids as possible still because this pump moves things
through the swirl filter and sand filter. Also, the down spouts will be under pressure as nozzles
that spray into tank, or as venturi aerators. This gives me a chance to swap pumps in case of a
single pump failure with much less danger to fish. Because its pumping mostly clean water
(swirl filter + sand filter), this pump should require very little maintenance. Stopping one of the
pumps for any reason (maintenance or emergency), still aerates the water.

Greenhouse

Everything is up on cinder blocks and 24 as needed to get the proper height. It will go inside of
a greenhouse/shadehouse to regulate temperature and protect against pests (neighbors or cats
have been getting trash into my yard, specifically in the aquaponics).

The greenhouse/shadehouse is designed to have clear plastic or shadecloth as needed, and a

slightly raised gravel floor from the several tons of river rock I purchased for the front yard. We
built it out of aluminum pipes lashed together and then anchored to a brick wall on one side and
the ground on the other.

Care has to be taken that a hot day doesnt suprise us and cook everything inside.

Water Cooling Methods

If needed, I could cool the water by pumping it down underground instead of above ground
(thank you for the idea Mike).

A less labor intensive way that will work for me though is probably to keep the water shaded and
insulated, and to spray the water into the air back into the sump for evaporative cooling. This
evaporative cooling will cost quite a bit of water though, so if it was extremely hot for extended
periods of time, the underground heat sink would be a perfect solution worth the effort. I havent
researched it, but I imagine an array like the solar heater, but angled so hot water goes into the
top and cold water flows down the sump would be what I want. Perhaps something simple like a
snake back and forth through the earth would work too I would just have to be careful of pipe
resistance and make sure drain beds could drain fast enough.

Pricing

I suspect the entire system will be less than $2500 considering all parts, and the hired labor that I
had help me build the greenhouse. I also think it will cut our grocery bill down to $100 a month
total for electricity, stuff we cant grow, and maintenance. In addition, its 100% organic, fresh,
and healthy. I eventually want to sell the fish too for income and the entire project is a business
so it will be a tax write off until it makes a profit. I found I out I need special permits to legally
eat fish that I raise for myself (go figure). Here is a list of some of the components:

$250 150 Tilapia fingerlings + Overnight shipping

$360 3x Food Grade IBC tanks. 275 Gallon each, 250 gallon usuable.
$300 Sump Pump, 2000 GPH, 22 lift, 1.5 amps
$50 Sump shut off switch
$150 estimate on PVC parts, gaskets, valves and glue where needed
$150 solar water heater parts, boards, pipes, glue, special caulk, glass
$250 Greenhouse parts, shadecloth, clear vinyl tarp
$40 Cinderblocks, Misc Lumber
$160 Firestone EPDM Pond Liner 45 Mil 10 x 10 Feet
$200 Lumber for grow beds
$20 55 gallon food grade barrel
$35 secondary pump
$25 pH, Ammonia, Nitrate Test Kits
$100 estimate on gravel
$20 clear vinyl tubing
$250 Labor to dig sump, posts, help build greenhouse
$150 Starter plants, seeds, seaweed extract, spray bottles, etc
$??? Government meddling, or right to exist taxes (licenses, fees, etc to eat tilapia)

That comes out to $2460 approximately before licenses.

Additional Things Id Like.

$300 Backup, hot standby, Sump pump like first one

$35 backup, hot standby, Aerator pump like first one
$750 Off Grid Solar Array (2 panels, inverter, regulator, battery bank for overnight use)
$150 other aquaculture
$200 plants instead of seeds
$350 Backup generator and a weeks fuel just in case
The efficient aquafarmer could spend another $1750 on things to prevent disasters and speed
things along/add variety of crop. I bought the backup pump, and am investigating batteries and a
hot standby switch, but solar is so expensive and its only for if zombies attack so I cant really
justify it.

Maintenance Costs

As Needed Estimate 1-4 days, purge swirl filter

As Needed trade or sell fish/veggies
Daily monitor water levels and temperature
Daily check plants for harvest, pests, health
Daily monitor fish while feeding, look for spots, damage, odd behavior, deaths
Weekly top off evaporated water ($5/month)
Weekly pH, Ammonia, Nitrate tests as needed (10 minutes)
Weekly Sort stock by size, verify density
Monthly clean filters (20 minutes)
Monthly monitor and plan for upcoming crops based on weather changes (1-3 hours)
Monthly Water bill ($4-$5)
Monthly Electricity bill ($8 monthly, .95A/105W pump @ 10.5 per Kw/H 247)
As Needed Fish food can be grown, free, or purchased

Space Used

It all fits in a 6 by 30 space as designed, which is enough for just about any backyard in the US.
I can fit 3 of these and still have a backyard and I have a pretty small back yard.

Chickens and Rabbits

I also plan to have chickens (for eggs) and rabbits (for meat and to sell) inside this system. Their
waste will drop into the tank and be processed just like the fish waste. This will add a variety of
nutrients and minerals as the bacteria breaks it down and make clean up of the animals much
easier while providing additional protein choices that is still a way off though. I also need more
planning, and probably more filtration (a second system). Ill have to be careful to wash greens
first if I do this.

Progress Pictures (updated frequently)

This is a 80 by 30 section.
We used 42 EMT 1/2 conduit pipes to build the framework, 15 wall connectors and 15 female
to female pipe connectors. The ends used a treated 44. Total cost in parts was about $120, but I
paid someone $150 to put it together, so $270. The shade cloth is about $50, and the clear tarp
for the winter was about $80. A small 8x10 greenhouse from harbor freight is almost $750 so
this is a good savings I think, and much more versatile.
The river rock is left over and costs about $32 a ton. The pest guy happened to spray this part of
my pile of river rock, so it became flooring instead. I have several more tons, but it still irritated
me. You can see where the two IBC tanks will go. The current IBC will become a sump.
We used some of the plywood trimmings to make spacers. 2x4 @12 are much cheaper than
buying 12 4x4s I feel confident this can hold the weight of the grow beds. I might of been better
to put the cross braces 16 instead of 24, well see. I messed up a bit though and did things out
of order. It would of been better to put the cross braces in first, then the spacers and second 24.
We had to toenail them in instead of come in through the ends.
We put the 5/8 plywood down (again maybe 3/4 is needed?), then we built the side walls. I could
of saved some money by getting scraps and cut offs from lowes/home depot, but I didnt think of
that until too late. Also, I could of saved a few dollars by using 92 studs instead of 96 as the
cuts worked out to waste 4. Each of the pieces is 9, so it would of fit perfection to cut 10 of
them out of a 92 stud.
Side view of the grow bed.
Justin asked me if he could dig a hole when I told him I was going to hire someone to do it. He
got about half way down into the clay but his hands got blisters (through the gloves), so I made
him stop. He helped me with all of the other assembly, measuring, cutting, etc. We had fun, I
think lol.
Finished grow bed, before it is placed on the 44 posts. The posts will go every 2 feet and raise
the grow bed about 28 off of the ground. The 2x4s on top are to keep the sides from flexing
outwards from the weight of the grow media and water.
It took about a day to measure, cut, assemble 1 complete grow bed, and measure and cut the
parts for the other grow bed. I think it will take about 4 hours or so to assemble it, but Ill save
that for next week.
{ 13 comments read them below or add one }

Sean

Sweet setup! I would caution against warm blooded animal waste in a closed loop
aquaponics setup. Fish are cold blooded and there are very little diseases that can be
transmitted from fish to human this is not the case with chickens and rabbits.

Reply

james

I agree. I will need to be cautious about e coli and the like. I have taken that into account.
In reality, all of our vegetables should be washed and cleaned before eating anyway. For
now its a thought. I dont have chickens or rabbits yet, but I do want them.
Reply

larry

About rabbits. Toured a local organic farm. They have several rabbits in cages raised
about 3 off a concrete floor. They put the bunny balls in a 55g drum to make tea. They
built a solar panel with a recirculating pump (plastic tube on a plywood panel with glass
cover) that heats the resulting tea for several days (a certified organic requirement in FL).
That kills the bacteria and they can then safely add the tea to their drip irrigation water. It
is their main source of fertilizer.

Reply

james

@larry thats a great idea. Killing the bad bacteria by cooking it would work great, and
using solar is brilliant.

Reply

Andrew

I love your idea and your diagram, though the rabbits and chickens would not fare well in
the non AC green house during warm periods. You would need to design a separate
structure with more air flow to prevent heat stroke and disease. Your second structure can
have a permeable floor with a constantly flowing stream to transport fecal matter back
into the system.

Reply

james

I ended up not putting rabbits in and not even using their waste. As others have pointed
out the E. Coli danger is too great without cooking the bacteria first.

Reply

james
I ended up not putting rabbits in and not even using their waste. As others have pointed
out the E. Coli danger is too great without cooking the bacteria first. I learned that
rabbits like it much cooler 60F or even colder if you are breeding for skins too.

Reply

Donald

I am just getting into studying aquaponics and your system looks great. Just a thought on
keeping the water temp under control during the summer. Someone else stated that he
had frozen large soft drink bottles in a freezer and simply dropped them into the fish tank
during the hot part of the day them removed them in the evening and refroze them.

Reply

james

@Donald that is a great, simple idea.

Reply

don

any plant can grow to maturity on fish emulsion (fish poop)

chicken menure is best left to the dirt garden
for some good reading
http://skippysstuff.com/biofiltr.htm
the hardest thing to do is start
and you have that whipped
another thing to raise is (worms ) it will give you good compost from kitchen scraps for
your dirt garden
and guess what fish like to eat
the other thing is are you planing on Tilapia
if not trout like the water a little cooler but they take a little longer to maturity
best of luck

Reply

james
@don thanks, and thats a neat filter for ponds. My first thought about aquaponics was
to convert a stone look jacuzzi into a waterfall and use that as the fish tank for some grow
beds that I had out of site around the corner. An idea like your filter would of allowed me
to do that if I continued. Thank you for sharing your design.

Reply

Brother Richard W. Lewis II

Dear Sir,
My partner Gary Stern and I have been planning and researching for 2 years on
Aquaponics.

We have a site already built in Tucker. We have recently contacted a serious investor.

This is going to be a commercial farm called Rise Above Poverty RAP Farms.

I want to thank you for the great information that you have freely given here.

I have asked a lot of people for assistance and as you know this generation is so worried
about their own and not sharing as King Jesus told us to, they refuse any assistance.

We are currently located in Stone Mountain, GA.

I was very encouraged about your projections on the size of the tanks and beds.

With your information we will be able to enlarge the system sizes considerable.

When you discuss the sand filtering is this instead of the bio filter?

I want to install a 10 gpm pump directly after the fish tank to insure max flow. What do
you think?

Please call me anytime to discuss.

Bro Richard 678-927-0395

Reply

james

Brother Richard Im glad my information has helped, but I caution you about using this
information for commercial systems. My information is geared towards feeding a handful
of people at a time in small backyard systems. I do not have experience in large
commercial systems over 1000 gallons and am unaware of specific challenges those
systems might have.

Sand filters chops up large chunks of solid into finer particles so they can be further
digested by bacteria. The bio filter is a better system that does the same thing.

I think that designing a system around one pump is better because its simpler. Make sure
you have a power backup and a spare pump on hand that is easy to swap out.

Has your two years of research included building and running smaller aquaponics
systems? Youll learn so much from doing it firsthand, and experience is really the best
teacher in aquaponics. If youd like to share pictures of your system Id be happy to write
up a post on RAP Farms.