Aquaponics Oregon Economical Aquaponics producing Natural Organic Vegetables, Herbs, Plants Without the use of commercial fertilizers. The 40 gallon system and enclosure

Small Economical Aquaponics System This system consists of two 9 Gal Grow tanks, an 9 Gal breeder fish tank and a 40 Gal Main fish tank. This is a fill and drain system using siphons in grow tanks and a water pump in main fish tank. You could also use the third tank as a grow tank by moving them closer together. Setting them next to each other would only take up about inches

Starting our plants, beans, lettuce and parsley I used minnows in the main tank. I set up the system with about 15 minnows to establish the tanks. It took about a month to develop the bacteria needed to break down the fish waste into usable fertilizer for the plants and establish a good fish tank.

Three sided Enclosure I have a 6 foot by 4 foot 3 sided visqueen enclosure to house the Aquaponics system. I have an aquarium heater to heat the water to about 72 degrees and a small oil filled heater set to about 60 degrees that keeps the inside temperature between 60 and 70 degrees. I also have a 120 watt grow light that is on during the day the helps generate heat.

Inside shelf I added two shelves into the inside corners to hold material or plants.

Fully Grown Bean plants These beans were started from seeds and grew very fast and easily and are now after about 2 ½ to 3 months producing beans. Mature Beans

The main fish tank I started with about 15, 1 inch minnows. They are now between 1 ½ to 3 inches in length. They do well in colder climates. I have a 440 gph pump that sends the water up to the grow tanks. The tanks fill to about 2 inches from the top of the tanks and then start a siphon that drains the water back to the fish.

Mature Bean plants Beans, parsley, and lettuce in about 3 months

Fruit of our labor We are now getting beans, lettuce and parsley.

Great System This system is good for a family that just wants to grow small amounts of vegetables, herbs or plants without adding soil or commercial fertilizers. Our system used minnows that supplied enough fertilizer to grow our plants. Trout could be used instead and then you would be able to eat them as well. Our system can be customized to use three - 9 gallon containers next to each other giving you more grow space. This would only take up about 48 inches in width and you could still add a 4 th container for a breeder tank if you wanted. Call us for more details. We have other options. Bigger tanks for fish and crops in the same 6’ by 4’ footprint.