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Calculate Your Annual
Production of Fish and Vegetables
 You
can quickly calculate your production of fish and plants
using the following information. The description of
each system in the catalog includes the quantity and volume
of the fish tanks and the number of plant sites. Refer
to the individual system page for these numbers.
Fish:
Lettuce/Herbs:
The seeds are germinated and the seedlings are grown on a
separate nursery table. Once the seedlings are about 2
weeks old, they are transplanted into the aquaponic system.
In full production, you will have a plant in each plant
space. Fast growing crops, such as lettuce and herbs,
will remain in the system for just 2-4 weeks, depending on
the plant and the environmental conditions such as light,
temperature and ventilation. Using average natural
light, a lettuce plant (from the seedling stage) will
generally take about 4 weeks to mature. So, each
individual plant site, should produce an average of 12
lettuce plants/year with natural light. If you
multiply the number of plant sites times 12, you will get
your annual production of lettuce grown in aquaponics under
natural light.
High intensity light
dramatically increase production by providing a full 16
hours of uninterrupted light per day. The lights do
not run full time, only when there isn't enough natural
light. Typically, they are used to extend the
morning and afternoon light levels and supplement during
cloudy weather.
With 16 hours/day of light
(achievable with high intensity lights) you should produce
an average of 18-22 plants in each plant site per year.
If you multiply the number of plant sites times 18, you will
get your annual production of lettuce grown in aquaponics
with supplemental high intensity lights. As you will
see, the lights can seriously increase your production.
In a commercial system, the increased income from the higher
production will far exceed the cost of the electricity to
run the lights.
Tomatoes, cucumbers, melons
and other fruiting crops.
These crops each take more space than a lettuce or herb
plant and the are more challenging in aquaponics.
Typically, 4-6 plants spaces are dedicated to one fruiting
crop. The production of each fruiting crop will vary
by variety. Determine the production level of the
variety you are growing, multiply that by the number of
plant spaces and then divide that by 5. This is the
volume you will harvest from your total crop with batch
culture. Multiply this times the number of plantings
per year, and you get the annual production.
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