Free KCC Aquaponics Exploration

SUBHEAD: Food Independence Just Got Easier: Wed Dec 7, and Sat Dec 10 

By Bernie Tsao on 2 December 2011 in Island Breath -
(http://islandbreath.blogspot.com/2011/12/free-kcc-aquaponics-exploration.html)

  
Image above: A large aquaponics setup in Ensenada, Mexcio. From (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.238116163639.137007.220988973639&type=1).  

WHAT:
Discover the secret of the latest cutting edge technology in intensive food production, 'Aquaponics'! Get a tour of a world class small-scale commercial system and a mini-scale home system. Learn about the overall basic theory and historical development of Aquaponics presented by Bernie Tsao.  

WHEN:
Two sessions: Wednesday, December 7th, 2011 @ 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm Saturday, December 10th, 2011 @ 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm  

WHERE:
 Kauai Community College, Trade Tech Building Rm#114  

CONTACT: For more information contact Bernie Tsao (bernie.tsao@gmail.com) or by phone at 808-245-9323 or 808-647-0640.

This is an opportunity for you to sign up in advance to participate in the upcoming Aquaponics training workshops offered through the OCET program at the Kaua'i Community College. These events will introduce the public to a new state-of-the-art technology for backyard food production. It is called “aquaponics” and it combines fish farming with the production of vegetables in a system that can be installed in your backyard or on your lanai. Larger systems are also available for commercial production.

The system is praised by food experts as a method of production that is superior to traditional agriculture because it produces over eight times more food per acre of space, is substantially less labor intensive, and is even producing food that is more nutritious.

Aquaponics is seen as a system that will make a major contribution to solving the world’s food shortage crisis. It is also an idea system to help Kauai, as an isolated pacific island, to reduce it’s 90% dependence on imported foods as they are now skyrocketing in price due to shipping costs and the growing demands of an exploding world population.

 The two free events at KCC will each feature an overview of this cutting edge technology in intensive food production. Each event will include a tour of a small-scale commercial system and a mini-scale home system that have been constructed on the College campus.

Each event will also provide an opportunity to learn about the overall basic theory and historical development of Aquaponics. Bernie Tsao will make the presentation regarding these systems, and he will also conduct the tour of the Aquaponics facility.

He is a graduate of the University of California with a degree in Aquatic Biology and completed additional studies in Mechanical Design and Engineering at Santa Barbara Community College. He launched the Aquaculture Technology

Training program at University of the Nations on Kona, Hawaii and served as director of the program for 11 years. He has trained and led aquaculture development teams in Brazil, Indonesia, Northern Thailand, Cambodia, Kingdom of Tonga, and Fiji and is currently conducting Aquaculture and Aquaponics training programs at Kauai Community College.

He represents the island of Kauai on the Industrial Advisory Committee at the Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture. Interested persons will have the opportunity to pre-register in advance to participate in the upcoming Aquaponics training workshops that will be starting in January at the Kaua'i Community College.

Enrollment in these popular workshops is limited and the opportunity to register will be offered first to those who participate in these free introductory events. The first phase of each event will occur in the Trade Technology Building, Room 114, for a presentation regarding the aquaponics system. The group will then be taken on a tour of the two systems: world-class small-scale commercial system and a mini-scale home system. Refreshments will be served and the public is invited to attend.

Affnan's Aquaponics

SUBHEAD: A simple plumbing system to begin growing edible plants and fish in your yard or greenhouse.  

By Affnan 30 June 2009 for Affnan's Aquaponics -  
(http://affnan-aquaponics.blogspot.com/2009/06/aquaponics-how-to-start.html)


Image above: Photo of Affnan in his yard in Malaysia. From original article.

 [Editor's note: Affnan has an extensive website (www.aquaponicsmalaya.com) and blog (http://affnan-aquaponics.blogspot.com). It's a rich resource for detailed explanation of the systems he has built and improvements he has made to them over time. There are photos, diagrams and videos of how to set up a variety of do-it-yourself systems. We discovered his site on looking for a clear and precise instruction on making a bell valve flush system. His was the best I found, even though English is not his first language. We recommend that you explore his site if you are a beginner looking for instruction on aquaponics and aquaculture. We have tried to clear up some of the difficulties Affnan had with English.]  

How to Begin
I have gotten a lot of queries on how to setup an Aquaponics System asking where, what and how to start. In this post I will try to briefly explain a very simple setup. It's important to start simple so that you learn and progress as time goes by. It is not advisable to start with complex or large system. It is also ridiculous to start with a tiny system, that is only meant for demonstration or a school project. The size of the Fish tank and Grow beds are the two determining factor in aquaponics. In theory the size of grow-bed is directly proportional to the size of fish-tank used. A 1:1 ratio is a rule of thumb, however smaller grow-bed to fish-tank is acceptable but not the other way round because there will be insufficient water available for fish.  

What Tank and Grow Bed size to use?

 
Image above: Simple 100 gallon Aquaponics diagram from Affnan's article with some extra labeling. Click to enlarge. 

 In the illustration above I have recommended a 100 gallon tank and a 2’ x 3’ grow bed. It is best to start with a simple water management system. Shown here the raised grow bed using Bell Valve Flush (see separate post on building Bell Valve http://affnan-aquaponics.blogspot.com/2011/04/mini-siphon-improving-previous-design.html). This is the easiest system to build with the least risk of things going wrong. This system can be easily adapted to use a Timed Flood & Drained systemBell Valve Flush method of water management if you don't want to build a Bell Valve.  

Simplicity to Start
I do not recommend any system with lots of moving parts, or those with a Sump Drain; the reason being the extra pump and parts is just an additional item to fail or need maintenance. It is too much for beginners to worry about. In above diagram, water is fed to the grow bed by using a single pump, estimate about 800 ~ 1200 Liter (200-300 gallons)/hr 14 ~ 20 watt power rating. Note, with a Timed Flood and Drain you can use smaller pump. The water returned to fish tank are by gravity through a pipe with aeration holes to provide oxygen for Fish Tank (see post on Bell Valve). A tiny drip hole is needed in the stand pipe on both these methods to ensure during pump “OFF” operation water are drained slowly, to promote the Aquaponics process.  

Plant Growth Media
Growth medium use normally gravel, roughly 10 ~ 20 mm (3/8"-3/4") in size, not too small and not too big. Small gravel can cause water logging and bigger medium can be difficult to handle while planting small plants. Gravel height should be about 1” above water level, or the stand pipe height initially, with time as the plant grow this water level can be adjusted lower by using a shorter stand pipe.

 Pump Timing
With the Bell Flush system, the recycling pump is switched ON continuously during the day and switched OFF at night (however it can also be run continuously 24/7). Timed Flood and Drain, uses a timer that is readily available. Most people set it at 15 minutes ON and 45 minutes OFF continuously 24/7 (with some changes to cycle during night time). I switch my system OFF at night for power saving and minimize noise, however with the pump OFF its advisable to have an separate small aeration pump running to ensure sufficient oxygen to the Fish Tank.

 What Fish to use? 

 

Image above: Tilapia being harvested from Fish Tank on 11/12/11. From (http://affnan-aquaponics.blogspot.com/2011/11/final-harvest.html).

For those that like ornamental fish, koi is a good choice, common gold fish also another option. These fishes are hardy and able to tolerate varies water condition. For those that want fish for the dinner table (like me), its depend on your area, over here in the hot humid rainy equatorial climate of Malaysia I recommend;

• Barb families
• Perch
• Mansheer
• Gourami
• Tilapia (Red Variety is best)

I don’t recommend Catfish and Snakehead, they are predator fish and also they are air breathers. The air breather like Catfish, Snakehead and Climbing Perch (Puyu) will tolerate extreme water condition, and consequently you will not learn much on how to manage water of an Aquaponics setup. However they are the easiest to get you started. Fish like tilapia are quite hardy, but they still need dissolved oxygen in the water, so using these types of fish will make you conscious of water quality and oxygen content.

 What Plants to use?


Image above: Yams planted in grow-bed have outgrown system in three months. From (http://affnan-aquaponics.blogspot.com/search/label/Aquaponics%20-%20Plant).

 Again depending on your region and whether you are using a Green house or not. Most leafy vegetable are easily grown. There are cases where carrots, beet sand radishes were grown. Tomatoes are a common vegetable for Aquaponics. On plant I leave it to your imagination.

 See also:
Affnan's Aquaponics: Constant Height One Pump System 5/4/10
Affnan's Aquaponics: Single Barrel Aquaponics 11/14/10

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Sea Water Farming

SUBHEAD: Stark contrast to industrial aquaculture, where they throw cheap energy on unsustainable systems to maximize profit.  

By Oyvind Holmstad on 30 March 2011 in Permaculture RI -
(http://permaculture.org.au/2011/03/30/sea-water-farming/#more-5369)

Image above: Closed loop shrimp farm where effluent goes to farmland. Still frame from "Eritria - Part 1" vedio below.

The two videos below are much about scaling up mangrove systems for sustainable sea water farming, done in a true permaculture spirit from which both people and nature benefit. Sadly this is in stark contrast to industrial aquaculture, where they throw cheap energy on unsustainable systems to maximize profit.

Today mangroves are disappearing fast. Thirty-five percent of mangrove ecosystems disappeared between 1980 and 2000, according to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Shrimp farms have been a primary cause of mangrove loss, as well as urbanization and agriculture. This is why the message from The Seawater Foundation is of such an importance, as they show how to change and provide hope for the future.
Video above: "Greating Eritria" Part 1. From (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P1rPnVUME4).

Video above: "Greating Eritria" Part 2. From (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnzIg3XdcjY).

A similar form of sustainable shrimp farming is the Chinese Gei Wai, a shallow fish pond surrounded by bunds. Make sure you get real mangrove prawns on your pizza next time you order a sea food topping!

Mangroves and other coastal ecosystems provide a lot services for humanity, among them is their capacity to capture and store CO2. Carbon sinks along the world’s coast lines, including mangroves, sea grasses, and tidal salt marshes, store massive quantities of carbon for centuries at a time, and could provide an immediate and cost-effective tool to counter the impacts of climate change.

Video above: "WWF Living Planet Report 2010 - Mangroven". From (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7Pw7TGQRMU)

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Kekaha Shrimp Farm Hearing

SUBHEAD: We should not endanger the reefs with the risk of another shrimp farm discharge disaster.  

[IB Publisher's note: Editor Brad Parson's identified that the period for accepting testimony on this issue was extended to December 3rd 2010. The e-mail address for your comments is cleanwaterbranch@doh.hawaii.gov]

By Staff on 21 November 2010 in the Garden Island -  
(http://thegardenisland.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_c3db6c18-f541-11df-a407-001cc4c002e0.html)


Image above: One of several shrimp ponds being prepared in March 2010 for use in Kekaha. Photo by Juan Wilson. 

[IB Editor's note: If Sunrise Capital Incorporated, the operators of the Kekaha shrimp ponds, are given permission to discharge 25 million gallons per day of shrimp effluent into the Pacific Ocean at Kai Wai Ele Stream we will likely have another environmental disaster on the westside reefs the next time there is a shrimp viral epidemic. You can testify in person, by letter or even email. See details below and previous articles on the subject.] 


A public hearing on the proposed draft federal permit for a controversial Kekaha shrimp farm is on Tuesday, the 23rd of November, 2010 at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Waimea Theatre.

An informational meeting regarding the proposed draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for the farm begins at 4 p.m., said Joanna Seto, Engineering Section supervisor of the state Department of Health Clean Water Branch.

The written public-comment period regarding the farm’s proposed NPDES permit closes at 4:30 p.m. that day.

Comments may be submitted via mail or e-mail before that deadline, and all timely submitted statements received by the DOH, including those made at the public hearing, will be retained and considered prior to decision-making, she said.

The e-mail address is cleanwaterbranch@doh.hawaii.gov, and the mailing address is Clean Water Branch, Environmental Management Division, State Department of Health, P.O. Box 3378, Honolulu, HI 96801-3378.

Oral or written statements on the proposed permit may be presented or submitted at the public hearing.

At present the shrimp-pond circulation water effluent is piped to the sedimentation canals system, Seto said.

The shrimp-pond water in the sedimentation basin percolates and evaporates away and is not presently discharged into the ocean, she said.

[IB Editor's note: This last became an issue when the previous shrimp farm operation on this site had a die-off of shrimp due to a virus in 2004. This is not a highly unusual event in shrimp farming. Millions of gallons of deceased shrimp had to be drained into the ocean to clear the site. This had damaging effects on the reefs in Kekaha. It is when things go wrong that there is hell to pay.]
Ground-water testing is not required by the NPDES permit, which regulates discharges to surface waters.

The Solid Waste Permit for the adjacent county Kekaha Landfill requires ground-water monitoring, she said.

Waimea Theatre is on Kaumuali‘i Highway near Waimea High School and the county Waimea swimming pool.

See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: Kekaha Shrimp Pond Discharge 9/3/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Kauai Shrimp Waste Dump 3/19/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Shrimp Effluent Permit 3/12/10
Island Breath: Kauai Shrimp to dump in ocean 8/21/06
Island Breath: Kauai's Crustacean Crisis 4/23/04

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Waiahole Dream

SUBHEAD: Culture and agriculture, through the eyes of one farmer on Oahu's windward side.

 By Kevin O’Leary on 3 March 2010 in Honolulu Weekly -
(http://honoluluweekly.com/feature/2010/03/waiahole-dream)


 
Image above: Small farms in Waiahole Valley on Ohau's Koolau (windward side). From GoogleEarthMaps.

Water runs through Charlie Reppun’s world. It flows through the acres of taro loi that he and his brother Paul work in Waiahole Valley on Oahu’s windward side; it moves water wheels that provide electricity for their off-the grid operation; it somehow even seems to feed Charlie’s irrepressible optimism–which may be the single most important trait a small farmer in Hawaii must possess in 2010.

Meeting up with Reppun is not an easy matter. Phone directions to his acreage ran to half a scribbled page, and this city denizen still managed to end up mostly wandering clueless, eventually crossing a stream over a dubious looking plank and begging a neighbor for help, before being ushered into Charlie’s funky, ’70s-era tin-roof house.

Driving into Waiahole, one passes numerous homemade signs warning that million dollar homes are not welcome, that Waiahole people will fight any developer who tries to mess with their rural lifestyle. From attempts in the 1970s to build a massive marina, condos and 7,000 homes here, to later proposals for golf courses, residents and their allies have rallied around the Poi Factory on the corner of Waiahole Valley Road and Kamehameha Highway, and essentially said “no way.”

In a historic move, much of the acreage held in private hands was purchased by the State in the ’70s, and although it took nearly 20 additional years for actual agreements to be finalized, farmers like the Reppuns now have 50-year ag-leases, at rates that Charlie characterizes as “reasonable.”

Sitting down at his big wooden table, drinking fresh-brewed coffee grown on the property, Reppun gives a nod to the history.

“You know, H-3 was really built to open up Windward to development,” he says. “There was talk of a nuclear power plant in Heeia, a deep-draft harbor for Kahaluu.” Plans scrapped, in favor of what Reppun calls “directed development”–that is, directed to central Oahu and the ‘Ewa plain.

“That’s what the rail project seems to me to be about–urban development along the route,” he says. “But there’s no talk about agricultural development that could be part of the mix.” Reppun is an advocate for the small farmer, but his take on the entire question of food production is broad in scope.

“You say we’re on an island, far from everywhere, but the continent is an island too,” he says. “I’m not so worried about the fact that 85 percent of our food is imported, and what if the ships don’t come–it’s really the urbanization of farmland across the U.S. that worries me. A lifetime on the farm, it seems, has not narrowed Reppun’s focus.

“We get most of our fresh vegetable from California’s Central Valley, which is losing 15,000 acres a year to urbanization… We need to think: is this current system of agriculture, with so few people growing all the food for everybody else, a workable system? I think that if you’re going to have an equitable farming model that works, then way more people need to be involved in food production. The answer may not be with more small farms, but with way more backyard gardening.”

The Department of Hawaiian Homelands recently unveiled a prototype for a backyard aquaponic system, where tilapia and vegetables are raised together in a single small, stand-alone unit–a system UH microbiology professor Harry Ako has called “compact agriculture.” The city could also expand its 10 community gardens, where small plots are provided to the public for a nominal yearly fee.

Reppun worries about Hawaii’s agricultural image generally, and has a suggestion for the State government, an only somewhat tongue-in-cheek proposal for reversing that image and making a statement that would go a long way toward, symbolically at least, promoting self-sufficiency and Hawaiian values.

“Take a look at the State Capitol–there is an immense lawn around that building. Why? Wouldn’t it be an incredible statement if all of that was planted in sweet potatoes and dryland taro? That would be dramatic.”

When Reppun speaks on the subject of food and food production, he sounds as though he is talking about a movement, about being part of something bigger than a single small Oahu farm. His conversation is sprinkled with recommendations of related books and films, like The End of Food by Paul Roberts, Michael Pollan’s books and the 2007 documentary “King Corn.”

On a stroll around the farm, with a perfectly blue sky outlining the Koolau heights behind us, one wonders, does it ever get a little lonely up here? Not really. “We talk to a lot of people,” Reppun explains. “We have a lot of groups coming up here. Next week I have two Kamehameha preschools scheduled, a UH law school class [studying Hawaii water rights law] on Friday, and the entire Punahou 7th grade coming in April.”

And how about all this public attention?

“It’s a good sign–the interest. But also a bad sign–that you have to travel this far to see taro growing. Sometimes it’s almost like we’re becoming a museum. Not a good trend.”

A museum maybe, but one that produces roughly 600 pounds of fresh food a week. Like a lot of small farmers, worldwide, Charlie Reppun’s day-to-day work revolves around a limited piece of the planet. To some, maybe to those of us who live in a big crowded city, his views may seem naïve, his voice lost in the shuffle. This doesn’t seem to bother him.

“The way things are going today, my philosophical inspiration is the book Horton Hears a Who, by Dr. Seuss. Horton hears this entire world, that nobody else believes in–they think he’s full of it. And everybody in this little world has to go around and start making noise, so that they can be heard. And it comes down to this one little kid, who’s been fooling around, not doing anything to help, and the Mayor finds him, and the kid lets out a yelp and suddenly they can be heard. So that’s my philosophy: we need to get enough people on board and then things will change.”

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The Spotless Garden

SUBHEAD: There is something about aquaponics that seems to inspire a quirky blend of entrepreneurialism, environmentalism and survivalism. Image above: Large aquaponics operation at Growing Power in Milwaukee, Wisconson. From (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aquaponics_at_Growing_Power,_Milwaukee.jpg) By Michael Tortorello on 17 February 2010 in New York Times - (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/garden/18aqua.html) THERE’S a “Beyond Thunderdome” quality to Rob Torcellini’s greenhouse. The 10-by-12-foot structure is undistinguished on the outside. He built it from a $700 kit, alongside his family’s Victorian-style farmhouse in Eastford, Connecicut, a former farming town 35 miles east of Hartford. What is going on inside, however, is either a glimpse at the future of food growing or a very strange hobby — possibly both.

There are fish here, for one thing, shivering through the winter, and a jerry-built system of tanks, heaters, pumps, pipes and gravel beds. The greenhouse vents run on a $20 pair of recycled windshield wiper motors, and a thermostat system sends Mr. Torcellini e-mail alerts when the temperature drops below 36 degrees. Some 500 gallons of water fill a pair of food-grade polyethylene drums that he scavenged from a light-industry park.

Mr. Torcellini’s greenhouse wouldn’t look out of place on a wayward space station where pioneers have gone to escape the cannibal gangs back on Earth. But then, in a literal sense, Mr. Torcellini, a 41-year-old I.T. director for an industrial manufacturer, has left earth — that is, dirt — behind.

What feeds his winter crop of lettuce is recirculating water from the 150-gallon fish tank and the waste generated by his 20 jumbo goldfish. Wastewater is what fertilizes the 27 strawberry plants from last summer, too. They occupy little cubbies in a seven-foot-tall PVC pipe. When the temperature begins to climb in the spring, he will plant the rest of the gravel containers with beans, peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers — all the things many other gardeners grow outside.

In here, though, the yields are otherworldly. “We actually kept a tally of how many cherry tomatoes we grew,” Mr. Torcellini said of last summer’s crop. “And from one plant, it was 347.” A trio of cucumber plants threw off 175 cukes.

If that kind of bounty sounds hard to believe, Mr. Torcellini has a YouTube channel to demonstrate it. “There’s alternate ways of growing food,” he said. “I don’t want to push it down people’s throats, but if someone’s interested, I’d like to show them you can do this with cheap parts and a little bit of Yankee ingenuity.”

It’s all part of a home experiment he is conducting in a form of year-round, sustainable agriculture called aquaponics — a neologism that combines hydroponics (or water-based planting) and aquaculture (fish cultivation) — which has recently attracted a zealous following of kitchen gardeners, futurists, tinkerers and practical environmentalists.

And Australians — a lot of Australians.

In Australia, where gardeners have grappled with droughts for a decade, aquaponics is particularly appealing because it requires 80 to 90 percent less water than traditional growing methods. (The movement’s antipodean think tank is a Web site called Backyard Aquaponics, where readers can learn how, say, to turn a swimming pool into a fish pond.)

In the United States, aquaponics is in its fingerling stage, yet it seems to be increasing in popularity. Rebecca Nelson, 45, half of the company Nelson &Pade, publishes the Aquaponics Journal and sells aquaponics systems in Montello, Wisconsin, While she refused to disclose exact sales figures, Ms. Nelson said that subscriptions have doubled every year for the last five years, and now number in the thousands. Having worked in the industry since 1997, leading workshops and consulting with academics, she estimates that there may be 800 to 1,200 aquaponics set-ups in American homes and yards and perhaps another 1,000 bubbling away in school science classrooms.

One of Ms. Nelson’s industry colleagues, Sylvia Bernstein, who helped develop a mass-market hydroponic product called the AeroGarden, recently turned her attention to aquaponics. She has started her own YouTube channel and a blog (aquaponicgardening.wordpress.com) and is teaching aquaponics at the Denver Botanic Gardens. She said she has done market research that suggests the technology may appeal to a half-dozen consumer types, including those seeking fresh winter herbs; gadget-happy gardeners; and high-income parents and their science-fair kids. But primarily, she envisions aquaponics as catnip for “the LOHAS market,” she said. “That means Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability — the green crowd.”

It’s worth mentioning that most of those categories would appear to describe the 47-year-old Ms. Bernstein. She built her first aquaponics system with her 15-year-old son on a concrete pad outside her remodeled 1970s-era Boulder, Colo., home. And she has since set up quarters in a 240-square-foot greenhouse. While she boasted about picking fresh basil the other day for a risotto, she has lately been preoccupied with exotic fish. Having tired of tilapia and trout, Ms. Bernstein is now introducing pacu, a thin, silvery import from South America that she called “a vegetarian piranha.”

Aquaponics is addictive, Ms. Bernstein believes, and it has a way of becoming a full-time pursuit. “If you spend some time on Backyard Aquaponics,” she said, “people start with this little 100-gallon backyard system. But it never stays that way. Next thing, they’ll say, the tilapia were really cool, but I want to grow trout.”

Interested in aquaponics, but not ready to make it a life calling? No problem. An Atlanta company called Earth Solutions now sells kits online, on Amazon.com and the Home Depot’s Web site. Called Farm in a Box, they range in price from $268 to $3,000, and come with pipes, pumps, frames and fittings. David Epstein, 50, the osteopath and entrepreneur who invented Farm in a Box, reports that the company has sold several hundred units since the product went on sale last March.

Dr. Dave, as he likes to be called, created Farm in a Box after studying a do-it-yourself manual written by Travis W. Hughey — a creative debt that bothers Mr. Hughey not a bit.

Mr. Hughey, 49, is not just another proselytizer for aquaponics but, in his words, an “agri-missionary” who hopes to help feed the developing world. His free step-by-step plans have been downloaded more than 15,000 times since he started his site, Faith and Sustainable Technologies (fastonline.org), in 2007.

Mr. Hughey credits researchers at North Carolina State University for building the prototype that started the modern aquaponics movement some 25 years ago. By comparison, he came to aquaponics with little more than an unfinished biology degree at Oral Roberts University and a background in yacht repair, a career that required him to be “a jack of all trades, and a master of every one of them.”

The low-tech, low-cost design for his “Barrel-Ponics Manual” can be built out of three 55-gallon barrels, a pump, a wooden frame and some off-the-shelf hardware. One barrel, which sits on the ground, holds the fish. A second — split in half and filled with gravel — holds the plants. The final barrel, a storage or flush tank, perches above the other two like a toilet tank. The effluent-rich water that flows from one receptacle to the next is the life of the system, flooding the plants with nutrients and then trickling back into the fish tank.

From these rudiments, all manner of aquaponics systems can be built. Mr. Hughey has nine of them going in a demonstration greenhouse outside the double-wide mobile home he shares with his wife and two daughters in Andrews, S.C. He has grown everything from radishes to a papaya tree in those barrels. Of course, his family could also eat the tilapia swimming around the 1,000-gallon in-ground plastic tank. But he’s saving them to use as brood stock.

Mr. Hughey figures that other aquanauts will need to buy fingerlings from somewhere. He’s starting to sell assembled Barrel-Ponics kits, too, for $495, plus shipping.

This winter, he has begun construction on a pair of 1,200-square-foot aquaponics greenhouses to raise produce for the local natural foods market. Each one will take 80 barrel halves, 9 tons of gravel and a 3,000-gallon tilapia tank. The power for the pumps and heaters will come from a “hand-built” biodiesel generator. Mr. Hughey already has the fuel sitting in the yard: 12,000 gallons of vegetable oil that passed its expiration date.

He isn’t exactly stocking up for the end times. But with the way the economy is going, he said, it might not be a bad idea to have a backup plan to feed his family and neighbors. “I’m trying to make this place as self-reliant as possible,” he said. “But ultimately, self-reliance isn’t possible unless it’s profitable.”

There is something about aquaponics that seems to inspire this quirky blend of entrepreneurialism, environmentalism and survivalism. Even a mainstream businesswoman like Ms. Bernstein points to the water shortages in farming areas like the Central Valley in California — “to say nothing of Africa,” she added.

Jack Rowland can imagine a day when aquaponics set-ups could be built into new apartment complexes and be fed by municipal waste and geothermal power. In the meantime, he has started his own 1,200-gallon tilapia hatchery in his family’s unfinished basement in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., about 10 miles south of Poughkeepsie. He houses the fish in black cattle troughs, which have proved to be sturdy and nontoxic. A stock tank heater keeps the water at a comfortable 75 degrees.

Tilapia will tolerate crowding and will feast on your table scraps. (“They’re the ultimate garbage disposal unit,” Mr. Rowland said.) But, being tropical by nature, they die in the cold.

One of the pools is called the Dinner Tank. It is here that Mr. Rowland condemns his tilapia to a five-day fast before they make their way to the frying pan or the broiler. Tilapia, he said, do not deserve their bad reputation among cooks as the white bread of the waterways — mealy, pale and bland — but “you have to purge them or they taste gamey.”

“Most of the tilapia sold here was harvested months ago in China,” he said. “It’s like eating a fresh tomato versus what you buy in the grocery store.”

This summer, he hopes to transfer his operation from a spot next to the washer and dryer to a 50-foot-long hoop greenhouse. But he’s going about the project carefully. This attention to detail will most likely comfort Mr. Rowland’s neighbors: in his day job, Mr. Rowland, 57, is an outage planner for the Indian Point nuclear power plant.

Though Mr. Rowland spends perhaps an hour a night in the basement, looking for floaters and new spawn, he knows that no system is fail-safe. Pumps break, heaters go haywire. The art of aquaponics is one of trial and error.

“My mentor in the tilapia world told me I really wouldn’t be a master of tilapia until I killed at least a million fish,” he said. “I’m not there yet.”

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