Aqua Farm Ties Fish Tanks To Greenhouse

Aqua Farm Ties Fish Tanks To Greenhouse 27-3-8 Fish and greenhouse plants make a good combination on Tom and Paula Speraneo's S&S Aqua Farm. The Speraneos raise tilapia, a firm white-fleshed fish that produces an amazing pound of filet from a pound of feed. Along the way, it also produces a large amount of high nitrate fish waste. Getting rid of fish waste and aerating ponds usually requires a lot of expensive equipment. The Speraneos decided to filter the fish tank water through hydroponic growing beds to clean the water. Bacteria in the gravel-filled growing beds break down the waste into nutrients for the high-value organic produce planted in the beds. "We sell live fish for $3 per pound and produce for up to $6 per pound," says Tom Speraneo. "The hydroponic beds produce 23 to 27 lbs. of produce for every pound of fish we sell." Tom and Paula started out in 1991 with a salvaged 550-gal. tank and three homemade growing beds. The unit was housed in a greenhouse enclosure on the south side of their home. Every ounce of feed and nutrients that went into the system or came out was measured and recorded. A year of experimenting and accurate record keeping gave them the data to qualify for a Small Business Administration loan. In 1992, they built a 50 by 80-ft. greenhouse with six commercial 1,000-gal. fish tanks that produce 1,000 lbs. of tilapia each month. Each tank is linked to 4 to 6 growing beds and forms what Speraneo refers to as a "node". Simplicity is the key to the Aqua Farm system. Simple Sears sump pumps move water between the fish tanks and growing beds. After trying expensive aeration blowers in the fish tanks, the Speraneo's daughter suggested simply capping the pipe from the pump and drilling holes in them. The resulting water spray sufficiently aerates the tanks. It also creates a counter-clockwise current that drops fish solids to the tank bottom where they are pumped out and into the growing beds to feed a wide variety of plants. "We have grown over 400 different kinds of plants, everything from strawberries to dwarf bananas and dwarf New Guinea impatiens," says Speraneo. "We discovered people pay more for flowers than food. We can take a bed of impatiens plants, add 75ó worth of potting soil and pot and sell it for $10." Today S&S Aqua Farm sells fish, plants and plans. Speraneo has helped set up 119 installations around the world. He estimates there are around 750 sites based on his plans in existence from Canada to the Canary Islands and Australia to Russia. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, S&S AQUA FARM, 8386 County Road 8820, West Plains, Mo. 65775 (ph 417 256-5124; email: snsaquasys@townsqr.com; website: www.townsqr.com/snsaqua).

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