Building My First Aquaponic System

It feels good to type this, because one of the biggest parts of goal setting and goal achievement is to write them down.

I've been researching aquaponics via Google searches for more than 3 years, but I have not yet built my first system.  I compost with worms and sell my extras on Craigslist for $17 per half pound and $30 per pound. I grow vegetables in above ground beds. I even have a very simply designed deep water hydroponic grow bed made from an 18 gallon Rough Tote plastic container with cheap air stones/bubblers that is beginning to grow it's first bell, banana, jalopeno, and pobalano peppers. But...I don't have an aquaponic system.

Hopefully that will be changing soon.

After finding AquaponicsCommunity.com via a Google search a couple weeks ago, it's rekindled my desire to build an aquaponic system that will grow enough fish to feed my wife and I a weekly meal of catfish and enough vegetables to severely reduce our grocery bill for store bought produce. 

It would have happened sooner if aquaponics design was simpler to understand and more inexpensive to build.  I can probably build a DIY barrel system for under $200 to experiment with.  Or, I can purchase a basic hobby-level system for $1,200 - $1,300 from a few different suppliers that will grow out a few fish each year. Or, I can buy a turn-key purpose-built aquaponics system that will grow a substantial amount of fish for between $3,000 and $4,000; and as a bonus the designers of this system will likely even deliver it to my house and help me set it up. Or, I can take the time to learn more of the in's and outs' of building a system by improvising my own components, my own media, my own beds, fish tanks, etc. and probably make some mistakes along the way, but save $1,300 - $1,800 in the process.

Besides deciding to prioritize spending money on something that may not be as simple as it sounds on paper, my second thru sixth largest obstacles has been convicing my wife that we should spend the money on it, sacrifice space in our backyard, risk a few uncomfortable glances and comments from my neighbors, and risk the HOA police putting the kabosh on the entire system before it really gets going well.

Whew! I'm getting tired typing out the list of all those obstacles that are probably closer to excuses than actual obstacles.

I am a complete novice just beginning the journey, but I have learned one thing for sure...my backyard aquaponics system is not going to build itself some night while I'm sleeping.  I'm going to have to get my hands dirty and step outside my comfort zone a little to turn it into reality.

I guess I've already taken the first several steps in the process this weekend by making the decisions to use a 300 gallon Rubbermaid fish tank stocked with catfish and attempt to camaflouge the set up with some type of bamboo fencing or some type of retention wall made from a concrete composite or stone pieces.

Only 239 more decisions and steps to take on the journey. Wish me luck!

Build an Aquaponic System