This document describes an aquaponics system that grows fish and plants together symbiotically. It discusses the inputs needed like fish food, plants that use fish waste as nutrients, and the biological processes where fish produce waste that plants use as fertilizer while plants remove waste from the water and produce oxygen for the fish. It also outlines the components, costs and revenue projections of setting up a small or large scale aquaponics system.

1. Mehulee Sarkar, 4th Year, BSc( Ag.)
BHU

2. ●A system that grows fish and plants
together

4. • Fish meal
• Azolla and duckweed
• Composting worms
• Labor and building materials for construction
• Electricity
• Water
• Fertilizers
• Pesticides
• Labor to plant and harvest
• Labor to wash, pack and deliver

5. Plants
●Light
●Water
●Carbon
Dioxide
●Nitrates
(nutrients)
Fish
● Food
● Clean Water
● Oxygen

6. ●Oxygen and Sugars
through
photosynthesis
●Clean Water

7. ●Waste in the form
of ammonia
●Carbon dioxide
through respiration

8. ● Plants take in carbon dioxide
● Plants produce oxygen, and sugars (plant
biomass) through photosynthesis
● Fish consume sugars and breath in oxygen
● Fish produce carbon dioxide through
respiration
●Complete!

9. 1. Fish eat food
2. Waste is rich in ammonia NH4
3. Ammonia converted to Nitrite NO2 by
nitrosomonas
4. Nitrite converted to Nitrates NO3 by nitrospira
5. Nitrates used by plants a nutrients
6. Plant material eaten by fish
7. Dead plant and animal material decomposes
and releases ammonia also

10. Media Beds
• Media like gravel in 1 feet deep beds
• Plant support
• Solids filtration
• Biofiltration (surface area for bacteria to grow on)
• Simple
• Cheap

12. Deep Water Culture (DWC)
• Fish tank water is sent through several filters
• Solids settling filter
• Suspended solids filter
• Biofilter
• Floating rafts holding plants in net pots
• Filters keep roots from getting clogged

14.  Goldfish
 Koi carps
 Salmon
 Catfish
 Trout
 Tilapia
 Etc.!

16. • Lettuce
• Basil
• Herbs
• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Leafy vegetables
• Fruiting plants
• Ornamentals
• Need special arrangement for root crops, deeper,
wicking

18. Small scale system Large scale system

20. ●Symbiotic relationship between plants and fish
(both thrive due to one another)
●Reduction in waste (polluted fish water is
used)
●90% REDUCTION in water use vs.
conventional farming techniques
●Minimal need for land
●Produces an organic food source

22. ● Small seasonal or perennial ponds.
● Small cage/hapa (fixed with bamboo poles).
● Raft(s) made up of Normal plastic bottles
(recyclable drinking water bottles).
● Belly carved plastic bottles (incorporated into
the raft made above).
● Manual pelletizer/extruder (for feed making).
● Longitudinally split bamboo poles (to be laid with
concave side-up on the pond bottom).

23. ● Fingerlings
● Advanced fry (>5 gm weight) of Magur
and/or Singhi.
● Inoculum of edible aquatic plants (like water
spinach, Ipomea, etc.) from other water bodies in
locality.
● Inoculum of babylon snails from other
bodies.
● Low protein pellet/mashed feed.
● Fertilizers/manures.

24. ● Initial fertilization or manuring followed by
liming to done.
● IMC seeds to be stocked in pond at low
densities.
● Seeds of catfishes to be stocked in the
cage/hapa fixed within the pond.
● Inoculum of live edible aquatic plants to be
transplanted within the cavity of carved plastic
bottles supported by air filled plastic bottle raft –
floating within the ponds.

25. ● Plants to be transplanted in carved bottles in
such a way that the root stay underneath
water while the shoot remains above.
● Babylon snails to be inoculated on the
concave side (cavity) of the split bamboo,
which is then rested on the pond bottom.
● Supplementary feed to be given to the
stocked IMCs following normal aquacultural
procedures.
● The same feed may be given in small
amounts to the catfish in cage.

26. ● A light trap maybe installed in the evening
above the catfish-cage in pond for luring insect
(feed) for the catfishes.
● Periodically babylon snails to be collected from
split-bamboo substrates from pond bottom.
● The collected snails alone or with small
amounts of raw ingredients like rice bran, oil
cakes introduced into the pelletizer for a
compost feed preparation.

27. ● Growing edible aquatic plants to be thinned
(trimmed) from plastic bottle rafts and sold in
local markets almost daily.
● Snails to be harvested periodically and sold to
the local market frequently.
● Fresh inoculums of snails can be re-placed on
the voided bamboo substrates anytime.
● Catfishes to be harvested and sold based on
market price occasionally, thus thinning the
caged stock gradually.

28. ● Low nutrient build up in the system and eco-
friendly.
●Higher return, security through saleable product
diversification – edible aquatic plants, snails
(preferred in poor rural households), catfish and
IMCs.
● More regularized income through frequent sale
of edible aquatic plants and snails.
● Full savings on high protein catfish feed.
● Zero input costs for aquatic plants, snails.

29. Item Quantity Rate(in
dollars)
cost
Fish
production
component
Rearing tanks 2 1440 2880
Net tanks 1 500 500
Clarifiers 3 1000 3000
Fingerlings(140
0 in a box)
2 389 778
Piping-water
(feet)
250 1.50 375
Piping –air 420 1.50 630
Shade cloth 1 530 530
valves 500 500
Fibre glass
water holding
1 625 625

30. Blower 1 1450 1450
Metal heat diffuser 1 80 80
Filter netting 4 30 120
Crib for baby fish 1 155 155
Circulating pump 1 240 240
Water for initial fill-
gallons
16000 .005 80
TOTAL 38318.24
Produce production
component
Hydroponic bed 4 1012 4048
Cups 3 0.09 302
Polystyrene rafts 72 431 1526
Labour and
construction
21.20 25000
Germinating tables 6 20 120
Germinating
trays(100 packs)
2 140 280
Gravel yards 64 28.13 1800
Pond (sq.feet) 1500 0.22 330

31. Greenhouse 2 11103 22160
Seeds and
transplants
200 3 600
Miscellaneous
expenses
6280
Total 64217.80
System total 102536.0
Average cost
per system
51,268.2
Variable cost
Fish
Fingerlings 1450 .28/unit 406

32. Feed {adult}
pounds
333 0.5 170
Harvesting and
processing
1 130 130
Bags and labels 400 0.56 224
Vegetable
variable cost
Seedling
transplant
1600 0.04 64
Coconut coir 7 13.53 94.7
Coarse
vermiculite
1 24 24
Total fish
variable cost
1130
Total vegetable
variable cost
261.46
1391.46

33. ITEM HARVEST QUANTITY PRICE PER
UNIT
MONTHLY
REVENUE
PRODUCE 32 440 PLANTS 4 4693
FISH 4 1000 FISH 6 2000
TOTAL
REVENUE
80320

34. Revenue YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 Year 4 Year 5
Produce 56320 103428 182000 182000 182000
Fish 24000 540000 66000 66000 66000
Total
revenue
80320 15728 248000 248000 248000

35. THANK YOU