Before you get the greenhouse up and the water in the tubs you will need to think out how you want to accomplish building, maintaining and harvesting your Aquaponic Farm.

The following is what you need to consider and plan out carefully for a smooth integration of your system:

  • Location – You either own or rent the place you are living in, and whether it is in an apartment/condo or a ¼ acre lot you need to plan where your system will have the best exposure to the sunlight. If there are no great options, consider bringing your Aquaponics indoors with smaller grow beds and grow lights. Plan carefully in either respect because each brings its own set of questions.
  • Power Source – Because within your system you will need to have monitoring systems, water pumps and if indoors, access to plugins for your lights, (not to mention the heaters and air conditioners needed depending on where you live and the time of year it is) the need to have a consistent power source. Extension cords are a great asset to have, but so is having a solar powered generator with a battery storage system connected to it. Determine what you can use for the long term needs of energy.
  • Water Source – Now beyond the initial fill of the system, this isn’t much more of a concern beyond topping off the levels due to evaporation from time to time. However, for some, water can be an issue. Plan it all out.
  • Temperature High’s and Low’s – Consider where you are at geographically and the extremes of temperature fluctuations. They have a direct bearing on the fish, and the equipment you will need to bring into your system. If you are more tropical in nature the type of fish and system checks are going to be different from those if you live in St. Paul Minnesota, for instance. Nothing worse to have to start over because the type of fish can’t survive the fluctuations your area has.

We’ll get into the actual equipment you need for the system you have planned for in another article at a later date. Nonetheless, give considerable time as you think out the nuances of your system, and what you can do to bring it to a success, as quickly as possible.