Commercial Aquaponics Training, Save the Planet

[Carol]

This info is from a personal friend, Tim Mann who is providing this training. Aquaponics is the wave of the future when it comes to feeding the people on this planet. Read and enjoy what is possible for all of us.

Commercial Aquaponics Training

October 18th and 19th, 25th and 26th in Honokaa, Hawaii
Four days/32 hours of classroom time and hands-on learning at our farm. (training outline, costs, scholarship information and location attached as a Word .DOC file to this email)

Why Take This Training?

· Eat Well:
Feed your family and friends with the highest-quality, freshest organic food on the planet! When you feed yourself, you are paying yourself retail price for the food. Always feed your family from your farm before you sell to others; it gives you the best financial return for your work, and the freshest food.

· Make Money:
The small commercial system you will learn to build in this course grosses from $6-8,000 per month on operating expenses of $800 per month, and costs under $20,000 to build. This pays off the construction cost of the system in 4 months of growing and puts you in the black in the first year.

Aquaponics is the only cheap way to get rid of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate accumulations by turning them into something you can sell. If you're an aquaculturist, you should know that the vegetables in our aquaponic systems constitute 3/4 of the gross income and the fish 1/4. How's that for income from a biofilter?

· Save The Planet:
This system uses 2/3 less energy than farming in the ground (either conventional OR organic), to produce an equivalent amount of vegetables. Instead of being petrochemical based, the energy is all electrical, which means it can be run from alternate energy systems such as solar panels, wind turbines, and hydro electric. This is the first and only farming system in the world that doesn’t require petrochemical energy. It's also organic. In fact, it doesn't allow the farmer to cheat at all, because any pesticide or chemical applied to the vegetables goes to the fish next and kills them. The fish are the canary in the coal mine and force the farmer to farm organically.

· Save The Planet Again:
With the addition of a catchment tank and a pump, the system supplies all of its own water in any region with more than 50 inches of rain a year. Even if you don’t install the catchment option, the system only uses 1,500 gallons of water for a vegetable production of 1,500 pounds per month. Help conserve valuable water resources.

· For Those Of You Who Are Already Farmers:
There are no weeds. There are no soil pathogens or pests. There is no: tilling, cultivating, fertilizer spreading, compost shredding, manure spreading, plowing cover crops in, irrigating, or tractor shed required. For that matter, there is no tractor, tiller, fertilizer spreader, compost shredder, etc. There is also no dirt needed: it works just as well on pahoehoe lava that was graded flat with a D9 as on fertile soil. Seeding and a large part of harvesting labor can be done sitting in the shade, in a Costco tent, or if you prefer, standing and working at waist level. The only consumable inputs to this farming system are fish food, fish fry from a hatchery, seeds, and potting media.

· It’s Easy and Simple:
My wife Susanne and I have never farmed before (only small home gardens), and are now producing 4,200 pounds of vegetables and 600 pounds of fish a month from the three systems we’ve built in the last year. We’ve looked for why this is “too good to be true”, and in an entire year of operation, we have not found it. This really works.

· Movable Feast/ Movable Farm:
The whole system can be disassembled and moved to a new location. For the first time ever, the farm is movable and not tied to a specific piece of land. This means you don’t need to own the land or even have a traditional long-term lease in order to farm profitably. Although longer term leases are desirable, you could make money even if you had to move the operation every few years. It is much easier to lease a piece of land for 5 years than 25. Owners like to make money off the land, but don’t like long leases that won’t allow them to sell the land if they need to. The short-term lease will allow them to do this and lease the land to you. And in the meantime, you may earn enough off the farm to buy the land it’s on.

Friendly Aquaponics, Inc., Commercial Aquaponics Training

Content:

• You'll learn what I learned at the excellent University of the Virgin Islands 2007 Aquaponics Short Course, which cost a total of $5,000 with travel, lodging and food (see http://rps.uvi.edu/AES/Aquaculture/UVIShortCourse.html). You'll also learn everything my wife Susanne and I learned this past year building and operating three aquaponics systems, a tilapia hatchery and nursery, and a Health Department Certified vegetable processing facility.

• We will show you how we got our aquaponics farm USDA Organic Certified (no small feat!).

• We built our systems for 1/3 the cost that systems built to the UVI specifications would have cost in Hawaii. Because of the way our systems are designed, we use 2/3 less electricity than the UVI systems use. This saves us $7,000 per year. We'll show you how to do this.

• The Basic training includes four days of classroom and field instruction. You are allowed to still photograph and/or audio record anything you wish in the field or classroom, take notes and dictate into a recorder. You are encouraged to ASK QUESTIONS!.

• The Complete training also includes: a "Construction Manual for Aquaponics System" with CAD drawings, piping and wiring schematics; a materials list with pricing and sources to make procuring system components easy; an "Aquaponics Operations Manual" covering day-to-day operation of the system.

Dates and Times:

• The weekends of October 18th and 19th, 25th and 26th. Training hours are from 8 am to 5 pm with a one-hour you-bring-it lunch break. Our farm tour is a recommended first step; see More Information (below). This is the only training we have planned at this time.

Location:

• At North Hawaii Education and Resource Center (NHERC) in Honoka'a, Hawaii, for the classroom segments, and our farm in Honoka'a for the hands-on segments.

Cost:

• $600 for the Basic training if registered before October 4; $750 if registered after.

• $1,200 for the Complete training if registered before October 4; $1,500 after.

• Full-time students or teachers are given a 50% discount.

• 5 (five) scholarships for 50% of the training cost will be given on a first-come, first-served basis to qualified applicants, but not in addition to the student/teacher discount.

More Information:

• There is a $12 two-hour class "Introduction to Aquaponics" on Thursday, October 2nd at NHERC (North Hawaii Education and Research Center) from 6 to 8 pm, with a followup farm tour October 4th from 9 to 11 am. We have free "Introduction to Aquaponics" farm tours every Saturday at 10 am and Friday, October 17th from 5 to 7 pm. Call (808) 775-7745 for directions or to ask questions about the training.

• We are not allowing participants to video the training or portions of the training. Participants videorecording could interrupt or delay the training, making it difficult for others to receive the training. In addition, the material is copyrighted.

• Site-specific system design and consulting are available for a fee to anyone who wishes additional help after taking the training.


Training Outline

I. System Overview and History

A. How To Have Fun And Make Money With Aquaponics
1. System Features
2. System Benefits
3. Energy Implications
4. Summary of Aquaponics' Applications

B. A Short History Of Aquaponics
1. Hobby Systems/Experimentals/Demonstration Systems
2. Consultants, Amateurs, and Academics
3. True Commercial Systems and Producers

II. Components and System Processes

A. Aquaponics Components: Booboos And Brainstorms
1. What Didn't Work and Why (Someone Tried It!)
2. System Sequencing, Sizing, and Proportions
3. Functional Components and Possible Alternates
4. Value Engineering: Reducing Construction And

Operational Costs
5. Alternate Energy Components

B. Higher-Cost Components (Why We Don't Use Them)
1. Rotating Biological Contactor
2. Rotating Drum Microscreen Filter
3. Moving Bed Biofilter With Kaldnes-Type Media
4. Other: Concrete Tanks, Custom Fiberglass Tanks

C. System Processes and Chemistry (Add Water: This Is Really Dry!)
1. Sequence, Flow Direction, and Alternatives
2. (What Happens in the) Rearing Tank
3. " " Clarifier
4. " " Net Tank
5. " " Degas Tank
6. " " Hydroponic Troughs
7. " " Sludge Decomposition Tank
8. " " Overflow And Makeup Water System

D. Water Quality, Reuse, And Discharge
1. Overview: City Water, Ag Water, and Bad Water
2. Measurement Methods
3. High and Low Limits
4. Additions
5. Sludge Use And Precautions
6. System Overflow For Irrigation, Discharge Requirements

III. System Operation and Maintenance

A. System Startup
1. Verify Water Quality And Fill Her Up
2. Get Some Fish: You Need The Fertilizer
3. Do Nothing: The Two-Month Startup
4. Inoculate: The Five-Day Startup
5. The Nitrite Spike And Survivability

B. Daily
1. Feeding/Observation
2. Sampling/Measurements/Recordkeeping
3. Checking/Cleaning

C. Weekly
1. Harvesting Fish/Restocking
2. Harvesting Vegetables/Replanting
3. Additions (Sometimes)

D. Monthly Or Longer
1. Maintenance/Repairs
2. Additions

E. System Catastrophes And Recovery Techniques
1. Water Loss
2. Air Supply Loss
3. Power Loss
4. Earthquake Or Hurricane

IV. Vegetables

A. Plant Selection
1. General Types, What Grows Well
2. Greenhouse or Special Techniques Required
3. Not-So-Well and Why
4. Climates' Effect on System Operation
5. Market Considerations
6. Future Trials Planned

B. Sprouting And Planting Systems
1. Germination And Types Of Seeds
2. Conventional Sprouting On Greenhouse Tables
3. Sprouting Tray System In Aquaponics' Sideflow
4. Sprouting In Aquaponics System Rafts
5. Planting Out
6. Raft Hole Spacing And Cycling Tricks

C. Harvesting and Processing Tips And Tricks
1. Cut-And-Come-Again
2. Remove And Sell Whole
3. Remove And Process
4. Pick Vegetables/Remove Unwanted Growth
5. Value-Added Processing

D. How To Sell Vegetables
1. Do Your Homework: Sell It First Then Grow It
2. Direct-To-Consumer: Farmer's Markets And CSA's
3. To Wholesaler/Distributor
4. To Retailers
5. To Restaurants/Hotels
6. How Big? Size Your Operation Correctly For Your Market

V. Fish And Aquatic Species

A. Aquatic Species In Our Systems
1. Tilapia tilapia sp.
2. Chinese Catfish clarius fuscus
3. Tiger Prawn, Wild Prawn

B. Temperature Ranges And Growth
1. The Relationship Between Feeding, Growth, and Temperature
2. Hotter Is Better For Fish
3. Cooler Is Better For Vegetables
4. What Is Your Ambient? Plan Your System And Market Accordingly

C. Stocking And Grow-Out Strategies And Systems
1. Batch Stocking
2. Continuous Biomass Loading (CBM)
3. Where Do You Get The Fish To Stock With? (Talapia)
4. What If You Don't Have A Hatchery Nearby?

D. Harvesting For Different Stocking Methods And Markets
1. Live Harvesting Versus Dead/Chill Harvesting
2. Purge Tank/ Saltwater Purge Tank
3. Harvesting Batch Stocked System
4. Harvesting Continuous Biomass Loading System

F. How To Sell Fish
1. Whole Fish Direct-To-Consumer: Live-Haul Tank, Chilled
2. Specialty Ethnic Markets
3. To Wholesaler/Distributor
4. To Retailers/Hotels/Restaurants
5. Value-Added Possibilities And Requirements

VI. Regulations And Other Hoops

A. Statutory Requirements
1. Building Department Regulations
2. Health Department Requirements/Wastewater Regulations
2. State Agriculture Department Regulations
3. Processing Requirements For Vegetables
4. Processing Requirements For Fish

B. Organic And Food Safety Certification
1. What Are They? Benefits And Market Preference
2. Organic Certification
3. Food Safety Certification

C. Business Training For The Aquaponics Operator
1. Small Business Courses Available
2. State Extension Agents: Ag And Aquaculture Specialists
3. How To Apply For Loans: If You Need It, You Can't Get It

VII. Future Research And Development Planned

A. Taro In Recirculating Systems
1. Traditional Taro Loi In A Recirculating Aquaponics System
2. Lined Taro Loi In A Recirculating Aquaponics System
3. Organic Taro, Poi, and Luau Leaf
4. Taro Aquaponics Polyculture: Hiwai, Opae, Awa, Taro Patch Snail

B. Taro And Other Crops In Non-Traditional Modified Flow-Through Systems
1. Ag Water Requirements And Precautions
2. General Configuration And Operation Of Systems

C. Third-World Systems
1. Modification Of Techniques To Use Cheap Materials
2. What Staple Plants And Aquatic Species Are Usable
3. Alternatives To Energy-Intensive First-World Techniques

[Peace of Mine]

GREAT INFO, Mahini! I had read of a similar system, so was pre-sold on the concept because it gives such reliable production. Having worked with an in-ground pond system to raise Rainbow Trout, this is so much simpler, more of the factors of production under your control, AND you get the great by-product of the produce.

Now, I have another serious question. COULD YOU VIDEO-TAPE THE SEMINAR AND SELL THE SAME TECHNOLOGY so that more of us would have it who are not in Hawaii???

This is the kind of solid information we need to help us set up optimal communities in many locations.

Consider this: If the "crazies" everyone fears come to visit, why not invite them to dinner and share the bounty? We are all in this together. Some haven't quite gotten that message yet. I can't think of a better way to protect ourselves than to freely share food and techniques with all the neighbors!

Any problems with building codes/zoning, etc. to freely utilize aqua-culture? Or build a Hobbit-House or other earth-style dwelling? (Cob-strawbale-rammed earth - whatever??)

[kungfugrip]

thank you

this post could be the most important one on this entire site.

there is no other way I know about to create more lbs of food in a short time