- Apr 14, 2013
- 146
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A Short Overview
Greetings BYC Community
A lot of you guys know us because of our Blue/Black Cross Ostriches. We took the year off to reorganize our breeding operations. And while we were at it, we went ahead and got involved with Blue Tilapia. So before we get to pricing, I want to tell you why we did it so that you can possibly relate what we did to what your goals are. In short, we wanted to supply fresh meat to our local market AND our own dinner plate.
We live in a rural part of Alabama on a nice farm. But we didn't need a farm to breed and grow out Tilapia!!! We started with an indoor 110 gallon aquarium and purchased "Brood Stock" from 3 different farms. After the first female started carrying eggs, we went to our local farm supply and building supply stores and purchased what we needed for 3, 350 gallon stock tanks, a 15'x30' hoop house, pond filter, a lot of 6 inch and 1 inch pvc, various adapters, and 2 55g gallon barrels. A lot of people as why we didn't go with IBCs. And then we went to eBay and shopped for bulk bio filter material, a couple of bucket heaters from Harbor Freight, and a plug in thermostat that flips power on and off for the heaters.
I'll post pictures later. But the end result is a fish making machine. The water from the three stock tank is pumped back to the 55 gallon tanks. The first tank contains the bio filter material and acts as a pre-filter for solids so that the pond filter doesn't have to work so hard. Then the bio filtered water is fed by overflow to the second 55 gallon drum. This is where the pond filter does its thing. Both barrels have bucket heaters connected to a thermostat. Even in the winter, the water stays at a consistent 79 degrees. The water is pumped out of the second 55 gallon barrel.
The pump's output has an adapter 4 additional connections. These pump to feeder lines which are connected to the inside of the 6 inch pvc pipe. That pipe has 2' holes punched into it at the top ever 12 inches to hold 2" net pots. This allows us to raise 100% organic produce year around. The heated naturally fertilized water is delivered to the root systems of the plants and then gravity feeds back to the stock tanks. The system is 100% expandable. It is limited only by the size of the pumps you use. Need a higher nitrogen level in your water? Change your filter media to something more course Very simple. Very symbiotic. Another thing we do is grow out thousands of ramshorn snails. Start with 100, you'll have 10,000 in 3 months or less lol! The tilapia LOVE them. Duckweed is another self perpetuating food supply to consider.
The bottom line is that you can get moving for less than $2,000 out of pocket with the ability to produce thousands of fish per year. That's less than the price of a Black Angus Cow/Calf pair
Live Blue Tilapia Prices
Fry (.25" - 1"): $2.00 each, minimum of 25
Fingerlings (1" - 3.5") $5.00 each, minimum of 10
Broodstock (4" - 6") $10.00 each, minimum of 5
Step by Step Plans with Illustrations and Pictures to build your own expandable aquaponics farm: $25.00 via Paypal, delivered electronically in a printable PDF. I include email support and all the advice and help you need to make this happen.
Shipping and Receiving the Fish: We ship in genuine (not Chinese knock offs) breather bags. This allows us to ship during mild temps in a Styrofoam lined priority mail box which dramatically reduces the rate you pay for shipping. We purge our fish prior to shipping. To acclimate the new fish to their home, DO NOT FLOAT THE BAG. Instead, empty the bag in a clean 3 - 5 gallon bucket with an airstone. Every 10 minutes add 2 cups of your tank water to the water the fish came in. Do this for an hour. Once this is complete, move the fish to your tank. They are good to go.
Greetings BYC Community
A lot of you guys know us because of our Blue/Black Cross Ostriches. We took the year off to reorganize our breeding operations. And while we were at it, we went ahead and got involved with Blue Tilapia. So before we get to pricing, I want to tell you why we did it so that you can possibly relate what we did to what your goals are. In short, we wanted to supply fresh meat to our local market AND our own dinner plate. We live in a rural part of Alabama on a nice farm. But we didn't need a farm to breed and grow out Tilapia!!! We started with an indoor 110 gallon aquarium and purchased "Brood Stock" from 3 different farms. After the first female started carrying eggs, we went to our local farm supply and building supply stores and purchased what we needed for 3, 350 gallon stock tanks, a 15'x30' hoop house, pond filter, a lot of 6 inch and 1 inch pvc, various adapters, and 2 55g gallon barrels. A lot of people as why we didn't go with IBCs. And then we went to eBay and shopped for bulk bio filter material, a couple of bucket heaters from Harbor Freight, and a plug in thermostat that flips power on and off for the heaters.
I'll post pictures later. But the end result is a fish making machine. The water from the three stock tank is pumped back to the 55 gallon tanks. The first tank contains the bio filter material and acts as a pre-filter for solids so that the pond filter doesn't have to work so hard. Then the bio filtered water is fed by overflow to the second 55 gallon drum. This is where the pond filter does its thing. Both barrels have bucket heaters connected to a thermostat. Even in the winter, the water stays at a consistent 79 degrees. The water is pumped out of the second 55 gallon barrel.
The pump's output has an adapter 4 additional connections. These pump to feeder lines which are connected to the inside of the 6 inch pvc pipe. That pipe has 2' holes punched into it at the top ever 12 inches to hold 2" net pots. This allows us to raise 100% organic produce year around. The heated naturally fertilized water is delivered to the root systems of the plants and then gravity feeds back to the stock tanks. The system is 100% expandable. It is limited only by the size of the pumps you use. Need a higher nitrogen level in your water? Change your filter media to something more course
Very simple. Very symbiotic. Another thing we do is grow out thousands of ramshorn snails. Start with 100, you'll have 10,000 in 3 months or less lol! The tilapia LOVE them. Duckweed is another self perpetuating food supply to consider.The bottom line is that you can get moving for less than $2,000 out of pocket with the ability to produce thousands of fish per year. That's less than the price of a Black Angus Cow/Calf pair
Live Blue Tilapia Prices
Fry (.25" - 1"): $2.00 each, minimum of 25
Fingerlings (1" - 3.5") $5.00 each, minimum of 10
Broodstock (4" - 6") $10.00 each, minimum of 5
Step by Step Plans with Illustrations and Pictures to build your own expandable aquaponics farm: $25.00 via Paypal, delivered electronically in a printable PDF. I include email support and all the advice and help you need to make this happen.
Shipping and Receiving the Fish: We ship in genuine (not Chinese knock offs) breather bags. This allows us to ship during mild temps in a Styrofoam lined priority mail box which dramatically reduces the rate you pay for shipping. We purge our fish prior to shipping. To acclimate the new fish to their home, DO NOT FLOAT THE BAG. Instead, empty the bag in a clean 3 - 5 gallon bucket with an airstone. Every 10 minutes add 2 cups of your tank water to the water the fish came in. Do this for an hour. Once this is complete, move the fish to your tank. They are good to go.
