Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait Grow-out Warehouse

Hey guys I'm back again with a question!
I have an open warehouse in Georgia with several hundred square feet. It's completely indoors with heat and everything which got me thinking. I would like to start some type of aquaculture, seeing as the oceans and rivers can no longer sustain the growing human population. SO I got two ideas.
1: Grow food fish and sell them to retailers.
While this sounds like a good idea I think my warehouse could only handle about 6-8 really large water containers comftorably. And the fact that they will be food fish makes it harder with inspectors having to check up on you every now and then. Not that it's dirty or un-safe just another thing to think about.
My second idea.
Raise trophy fish, I.E. bass, bluegill, catfish, you name it and then sell them to fisheries or pond owners to help jump start or add quality genes to their pond. I know raising large fish takes time and money but I feel like there is money to be made here.
Tell me what you guys think! I'm open for any suggestions or ideas.
Thank You.
Brett

Just my opinion but I think it will cost you more then you can turn profit on. Heat, electric, tanks, pumps, filter. I have 2 400 gallon tanks that I raise my own BG in for my pond. It takes alot of time and work.

Try aquaponics. You will get a double crop of veggies and fish.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qZPwBPAqks

I agree with frigginchi. I would research Aquaponics but not rush into anything. There are some good books on the subject. I know one grower that makes more on the vegetables and herbs than the fish, and uses the fish primarily for the nutrients. You can actually grow a denser crop of plants than you would conventional ground crops using the nitrates and other nutrients the fish produce. An added benefit it the plants utilize the nitrates and the water going back to the fish is lower in nitrates which is what the fish prefer.

Here's a good website:

http://www.aquaponicshq.com/

The owner of the website has a good online book.

Yours truly is a mod there.

Hey Chi, That video has been out for some time now. Any Updates! On how things are going? Etc...

My project is going good. Last years Tilapia are at about 2 lbs right now I am growing salad greens. I am going to harvest the Tilapia this year because I don't want to heat the tank anymore. I finally got bullheads, they grew from 2 inch long to 6-8 inch long in 3 months.

I agree... you just have to figure lighting and electric. People will pay good $ for organic vegies.

Yeah i looked at some aquaponics videos. Thanks for the feedback guys I'll let you know if I try out Aquaponics.

A while back, there was a local news story about a company renovating old automotive factories in Detroit and converting them into Aquaponics facilities. We have quite a few old shut down factories in Michigan.

Keep in mind that it depends on the feed you use if you can truly call the plants "organic."