Portable Farms® Aquaponics Systems Backyard OR Commercial

GROW FOOD IN YOUR BACKYARD OR GROW COMMERCIALLY

Portable Farms® Aquaponics Systems Course©
Join the Portable Farms® Family and install your own aquaponics system.
Learn how to install and operate your own aquaponics system. CLICK HERE to learn more.

Aquaponics with Portable Farms® Aquaponics Systems 

 EMAIL us if you want the solar version of the Portable Farms® Kit.  It’s the same price.

CLICK HERE TO READ Portable Farms® Aquaponics Systems Online Course© that includes a Portable Farms® Kit.

In addition to the our aquaponic’s course (which includes a Portable Farms® Kit) here is the list of supplies you will need to build a backyard aquaponics system: READ ON . . .

  • Greenhouse: Must be able to keep the interior temperature between 40 and 104° F. The costs are dependent on your choice of size and design.
  • The wooden or concrete floor/slab
  • Insulated stem wall to set the greenhouse on top of for more height
  • Fish tank – sometimes known of as a livestock watering trough
  • Lumber for the Grow Table – 2×4’s, 2×6’s, plywood, etc.
  • PVC pipe and fittings
  • Miscellaneous – 10 to 12% of total cost of supplies listed above

SOLAR POWERED Portable Farms® Aquaponics System

CLICK HERE to read article and view more images of this farm.

This new Portable Farms® Aquaponics System (above) is fully solar powered. This new Portable Farms® Aquaponics System has one grow tray that is 6’x16’ (96 sq ft of grow space) which feeds four people FOREVER. 

  • We have incorporated all that we have learned into this sleek new state-of-the-art aquaponics system which is an upgraded version of all the systems we have ever designed or built and it is an efficient and beautiful system that is easy-top-operate and FULLY run on one single solar panel (off back left side of photo on outside of lanai).

One Portable Farms® Kit provides you with the technology to build one Portable Farms® Aquaponics System that feeds eight people FOREVER. One Portable Farms® Grow Table requires less than ten-minutes of care per day to plant, harvest and feed the fish.

    • There have been over 300 different varieties of seeds and plants that have been tested that can be grown in a Portable Farms® Aquaponics System. CLICK HERE to see foods we recommend growing in Portable Farms®.
    • The major food groups that are not recommended for Portable Farms are root vegetables (carrots, potatoes, onions, etc.) and corn, wheat, soy or rice. Perennial plants (strawberries, blackberries, asparagus, etc.) are not recommended because the plants are dormant nine months per year and do not produce harvest-able food year round.
    • Aquaponics is easier and more productive for year round growing than traditional gardening or agriculture and uses 95% less water. Portable Farms® Aquaponics Systems also use lower levels of electricity and less labor than any other aquaponics system in the world.
If video is not visible, please UNBLOCK your browser to allow YouTube to play.
View a 2-minute video clip of the interior of 16 x 33′ Portable Farms® Aquaponics Systems – This small 16 x 33′ Portable Farms® Aquaponics Systems (in above video) feeds ten people the table vegetables and protein (tilapia) the food they need for optimal health – forever in 528 sq ft total space and 264 square ft grow space. This YouTube video has been viewed more than 70,000 times.

Commercial Aquaponics Systems

For more information about Commercial Aquaponics: CLICK HERE.

Portable Farms® Aquaponics Systems grow vegetables and fish to feed 240 people in a 10,000 square foot greenhouse (30m x 30m).
Feed 1,000 people in four-10,000 square foot greenhouses on one acre (929 square meters).  One acre of aquaponics creates a minimum of twelve new jobs.
  • One acre of land can accommodate 120 Portable Farms® Aquaponics Systems.
  • These modules are installed in four separate greenhouses housing 30 modules each.
  • Each module is 5′ wide and 40′ feet long with 200′ of grow table space.
  • These 120 modules grow 320,000 vegetables and 92,000 pounds of fish.
    This food will feed 960 people which is enough food for them to remain healthy FOREVER. Plus, it only takes 12 people to operate a full acre.
  • Note: Aquaponics does NOT GROW wheat, corn, rice, rye, soy or most beans but it DOES GROW most lettuces and table greens such as kale, Swiss chard, bok choi and several blooming plants such as tomatoes, peppers, peas, green beans, cucumbers and peas, and of course, fresh-water-warm-water fish (tilapia or catfish).

Please contact us (below) and let us answer your questions!

View Comments

  • I am a Catfish Farmer in Nigeria. I currently have a farm with capacity to produce about 2,500 kg of catfish MONTHLY with effect from October 2023. I believe instead of "wasting" waste water from the farm, it can be utilised for Aquaponic farming .

    How do I incorporate Aquaponic System in the farm?

    • Michael,

      Set up the Grow Tables or simply run the water into fields where you have planted vegetables.

  • I have a controlled space, about 600 sq. ft, in a structure on my property that I want to put aquaponics into. There is NO sun light there....what type of grow lights do you recommend?

    • Tim: You will need 18 hours of grow lights per day but no more than 18 hours. You have a wide choice of grow lights you can use ranging from T-8 fluorescent tubes or red/blue LED lights. I hope this helps.
      Phyllis Davis, President, PFAS LLC

  • Hello there,

    Does the commercial Aquaponics GOLD book cover Aquaponics GOLD? Or do we need to get two books? Thank you.

    Best regards,

    • The two books are very different. The Aquaponics Gold covers elements related to growing food and caring for the fish. The Commercial Aquaponics Gold book outlines the considerations for growing food in a commercial business.

  • I'm looking to setup an aquaponics system that I can haul around in hopes of becoming a nomadic farmer. How do I do this?

  • I'm interested to set up one or more projects in Dubai.

    Would this work in such a hot climate? Or it is too expensive to keep it cool enough?

    many thanks,
    Martin

    • Martin,

      The key, as stated in various places on the website, is to have the installation in a 'climatically adapted structure'. In the hot, dry climates, and everywhere else, this means insuring the interior temperatures stay between 5 and 40C. Several installations in that part of the world are underground and use solar energy to power this building.

      Colle

  • I really am intrigued and moved by Portable Farms. I am a Idaho City HotShot Wild Land Fire Fighter and at the end of this fire season I'd like to take a tour and get an agricultural movement started to feed everyone I can with organic produce. In October I will be traveling through the north west and then over to HI. I am collecting information and technology to help my movement to enlighten individuals to eat well.

  • Hello awasom team !
    I am producing sprouts and microgrerens do you think i could use aquaponic to grow them?
    I grow sun flower and all sorts of peas, wheatgrass, buckwheat and more
    as for the sprouts i am growing alfalfa red clover radish etc.
    also, because sprouts and micro greens take up less space than mature plants and veggies i was wondering if you could have an estimate on the size of the system i would need to produce 500 kilograms in one shot ?
    thank you for everything
    Miri

    • Miri,

      Thank you for the kind words. Sprouts and microgreens are out of our area of expertise. Several people have use aquaponics for growing them, but we have not gone into that arena. Therefore we have no idea about sizing an installation to produce on that scale. Sorry.

      Colle

    • James,

      We feed the tilapia a commercial tilapia/catfish chow. Tilapia are herbivores and if you start when they are very young they will eat duckweed and most vegetable matter chopped very finely. They do not like fuzzy leaves like tomato or squash leaves. They will also eat coffee grounds, but this makes the water dark.

      Colle Davis - Inventor

  • I have done some digging on your website and even used the search bar and could not find the answer to my question so I apologize in advance if I'm asking you for information that is elsewhere.

    To give some context to my questions: I live in Northern MN so I'm looking at doing an indoor aquaponics system in our basement for stable year-round food production for 5 people. (which from what I gathered means 125 sq ft of table growing space.

    A couple questions:

    1. For a 125 sq ft grow table system, How big should the Tilapia tank be? and how many Tilapia are necessary for that type of set-up to maximize the growth potential of the Tilapia?

    Thanks in Advance.

    • Tait,

      Thank you for your inquiry. The Portable Farms® Aquaponics Systems has those specifications covered in the AU Class. We have very specific formulas to insure your success.

      Colle Davis - Inventor

      We trust this helps.

      Colle Davis - Inventor

  • Your system uses a flood and drain gravel bed rather than a float bed. I've been told that the gravel bed is harder to keep clean with repeated plantings, roots that are left behind when plants are harvested, and a "gunk" build up in the gravel. Do you find that to be true and, if not, what do you do to keep it from happening? Is it necessary to periodically replace the stone in the gravel beds? Thanks.

    • portfarms The Real Person! Author portfarms acts as a real person and verified as not a bot. Passed all tests against spam bots. Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. The Real Person! Author portfarms acts as a real person and verified as not a bot. Passed all tests against spam bots. Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. says:
      2014-03-13 at 11:25 am

      Richard:
      We don't replace the bed in the gravel - ever. Occasionally, we will remove an area of gravel to rinse after harvesting a very large plant to rinse out the roots and detritus (for example a large tomato plant which have extensive root systems), but then we put that same gravel back into our grow trays. I hope that answers your question! - Phyllis Davis

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