I did a lot of research on Aquaponics and decided against it for my family as we simply do not eat enough fish to make it a viable solution for our food needs. However, I have a friend who successfully had two tanks going in her Michigan basement (she just moved to South Dakota) and her successes are what turned me on to the idea in the first place. Her family exclusively used tilapia in their tank, and grew a variety of herbs and vegetables.
Primarily she grew lettuces, tomatoes and basils. Plants that require an acid environment won’t do that well as most aquaponic systems thrive with a more neutral PH of 4.0 – 5.0. My friend invested in a variety of books and guides, but after setting up her tanks the investment cost was around $1000. However, they found that over time it was working very cost effectively in feeding her family.
I’ll be interested to hear from her in how the tanks are doing in South Dakota. They rented a trailer and drove them there, so the transition in climates and temperature control should be interesting.
