You may be wondering what exactly are aquaculture tanks. First time I saw aquaculture it was actually a small fish tank that the water flowed out of the fish tank up into a hydroponic system for growing plants and then back into the tank after the water had been purified.
With overfishing oceans,lakes and streams and the need for more food throughout the world farmers have switched to growing fish, crustaceans and even some plant materials.
Aquaculture tanks are tanks that are used to farm fish and crustaceans, invertebrate animals, such as lobsters under controlled circumstances and in controlled environments. Yellow perch, tilapia, and now even rainbow trout and some bass are being grown using these aquaculture methods.
Aquaculture ecosystems can use above ground pools and ponds, small creeks and any aquatic tools or systems that produce the products they are looking to sell.
More and more farmers are finding aquaculture can be difficult and expensive depending upon what where and why you are farming.
Aquaculture tanks to be made of fiberglass, glass, or even high quality liners, usually reserved for ponds and swimming pools. They are closely monitored and is with yellow perch aquaculture systems.
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They can harvest fish about every 10 weeks which yields about five harvests per year. So with an average of 22,500 fish per tank, multiplied times five, that equals 112,500 fish per tank for a year of harvest.Also you should that aquatic tank farming has a higher rate of return than wild fish management.
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So how can this be helpful for the new organic farmer?
Well some aquatic systems include the use of a small pond who’s water can be used to fertilize your soil in your garden. The challenge is ensuring that your pond remains organic and that there are no contaminants in your pond or the water that replenishes your pond.
This is where production management for your pond or aquaculture tanks is important. Just as with any endeavor is best to learn and understand everything that is entailed to be successful and profitable. This rings true as well will the new addition of your organic farm or garden.
Byproducts of fish metabolism include carbon dioxide, ammonia nitrogen and particulates of dissolved fecal solids.
The fish byproducts will make the water more alkaline. If you recirculate water and ponderous tanks will need to watch the chemistry to ensure that you have proper water quality by eliminating defects of each of those wastespace products.
So with aquaculture tanks, each component must be designed to work in conjunction with all other components of the total system.
Small farms in the past have used ponds and water runoff to help water
- nurture their gardens
- water their crops
- water their animals
I have seen more and more ponds on farms being fenced off with a smaller watering pond just downstream of the larger pond to be used specifically for their animals.
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So if you want to get into aquaculture then the you have to ask yourself… Do I want use ponds or aquaculture tanks?
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My personal preference is the use of ponds and holding tanks with variation in them to not only lower our insurance bill by having a large body of water close by for firefighting. Also this provides available water during times of drought and holding tanks for excess water storage during later years.
If you want to get started in aquaculture my suggestion is to get the following:
- a small fish tank
- very small fiberglass swimming pool
- set up a recirculating pump filtration
then grow some fish see if there’s a market for you in your area and a then make a decision based upon good solid research for your area and your market.
There are many resources available for you, one of which is primary industries and resources SA which can be found at the following link: WWW.PIR.SA.GOV.AU/FACTSHEETS.
If you have any questions we would love to help you with the research we’ve already done in the small experiments as we have done in the past. So please leave the comment or question and we will answer your questions either by e-mail or on another blog post.
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