Aquaponics… What it actually is…?
Let us understand it briefly, and then move towards your full guide to the new aquaponics farming business.
Aquaponics is a sustainable method of raising both fish and vegetables. With this kind of indoor farming, you can grow substantially more food with less water, land, and labour in comparison to that of traditional farming.
Aquaponics is basically a system that combines conventional aquaculture (raising fish in tanks) and hydroponics (soilless plant culture). Aquaponics is considered as a resilient farming system that provides wellness and better nutrition.
Step by Step Setup Guide to Aquaponics Farming
Aquaponics is used to sustainably raise a fish and vegetables in a controlled environment, for a family and village along with generating a year round profit in any climatic conditions in a commercial farming venture. This farming can be done anywhere without any use of pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers and is totally safe, easy, and fresh.
Components Required in an Aquaponics System
For starting aquaponics, firstly you must understand the aquaponics system components, their design, location, and setup that will work best according to your space. Aquaponic system design can be modified as per the space, from small indoor aquarium to backyard installations to lager commercial systems. Following are the main components of aquaponics farming system-
1. Aquaponics fish tank- This tank is home of your aquaponics fish, waste will be stored in this and converted to the form of the plants you can use it in. Size of the tank depends upon your choice, need and personal effort. I can be as small as aquarium at your home and as large as you want. You can also custom build a tank or in-ground pond with some time and effort. And number of plants grown depends on this only, more fishes and larger tank means more and larger variety of plants.
2. Aquaponic Grow Beds- These beds will hold your plants and the nitrate rich water. More preferably, darker material grow beds are used, as they prevent light from getting into the roots as it can reduce algae growth. You can consider vertical systems where grow beds are built over each other, or floating beds on the top of the fish tank.
3. Aquaponic Grow Media- It is referred to the substance that the plant’s roots grow through. In traditional system, it is soil and for aquaponics system soil is too heavy, plants in an aquaponics system get their nutrients directly from the nitrate rich water. But to give proper support and structure to the plant, crushed rock, hydroponic clay, aquarium gravel can be used.
4. Bio-filter and Settling Basin- Through this, nitrification bacteria can grow and convert ammonia into nitrates, through which plants’ roots grow. And through settling basin, uneaten food and detached biofilms are collected.
Working of Aquaponics System
In this system, fish naturally produces the nutrients that plants need to grow and survive. Fish are kept in the aquaponics tank and their waste is settled in the bottom, and then it is pumped through the filter to the plants, and grow beds allow plants to absorb nutrients from the fish waste.
One more thing to keep in mind is that, in the starting month of hydroponic setup, you need to check the ammonia level and pH.
After then comes the marketing strategy, operational strategy and financial strategy.
Marketing Strategy
It includes the answers to the following questions-
-
What are some regulatory requirements that will impact your business?
-
Who are your target customers?
-
Where to setup your system for maximum profit?
-
How likely the customers are to buy your product and what you can do for that?
-
Can you grow any particular crop that isn’t easily accessible to your customer?
-
Can you provide fresh grown crops to your customer easily?
Along with all these, you also need to focus on the packing strategy, distributing and promoting approaches of your product.
Considering all of the above written points, your marketing strategy should be made of.
Operational Strategy & Financial Strategy
Your financial strategy must include the calculation of all the start-up expenses and estimated operational expenses, and what are your fixed costs and variable costs, and how much profit will you be able to generate. Financial strategy must also include a five-year plan of your aquaponics farming business, how much will you need to give and how much will you be able to get.
And talking about operational strategy, it includes the basic approach of your farm size, product management, physical and human resources need, and other regulatory requirements.
This is all about the Aquaponics farming business plan. Hope you are in good state to move towards this profitable and healthy farming choice. For more information like this, Keep Visiting…!!
Happy Farming & Happy Aquaponics Farming…!!
