Grow Food When There’s Snow Outside And Make Money Doing It With The Commercial Aquaponics DIY Package PLUS Commercial Greenhouse package!
This is the Commercial Aquaponics DIY package ($195) combined with the Commercial Aquaponic Greenhouse package for a total of only $295. The Commercial Aquaponics Greenhouse package is EVERYTHING we know about building energy-efficient greenhouses for aquaponics yourself.
(Below) Susanne playing with icicles on one of our Generation 2 Aquaponic Greenhouses in the snow in Wisconsin, January 2017. It was 5 pm on one of our Commercial Aquaponics Training days; the outside air was -12 degrees (plus some wind chill), air temp inside was 74 degrees, water temp 72. We lightweights from Hawaii just weren’t prepared for weather like this; but this greenhouse was!
The Friendly Family Aquaponic Greenhouse grows 11.85 times as many plants as our competitor’s aquaponics system designs per square foot of greenhouse floor area, at one-seventh the cost per plant space! Why is this a big deal? Because their costs don’t even include the greenhouse and its heating and cooling systems, and ours do! (Click here for MORE technical information about the Aquaponic Greenhouse, its components, and its integrated aquaponic system).
Click here to purchase the Commercial Aquaponics DIY package PLUS the Commercial Aquaponic Solar Greenhouse package: $295
Click here to learn how to get a greenhouse for a fraction of its cost new!
(Below) Showing a large (about 600 square feet) Family-style aquaponics system in a greenhouse.
To help ensure your success with commercial aquaponics, we supply complete, paid technical support via email and phone . No one else in the business can offer this, simply because they don’t farm; they sell equipment and greenhouses for a living. As a result, their information is not as complete, nor based on actual experience doing commercial aquaponics farming for 13 years, as ours is! Details on our “Support” page.
In 2010-2011, Susanne developed an awesome deepwater raft plant nursery system for accelerating plant growth that puts 3.5 times as many plants per square foot of raft area into the system as “a well-known university’s” or “a well-known aquaponics consultant’s” systems do. Combined with our design for the Chinese-style Solar Greenhouse, this aquaponics technology puts 11.85 times as many plants into the aquaponic greenhouse per square foot of greenhouse floor space (this is different than raft area). Because it’s not the square footage of greenhouse that makes you money, but the number of plants it holds (and turns out each week), what’s most important is how many plants the greenhouse holds per square foot. It’s simple: ours hold almost 12 times as many as theirs do per square foot of greenhouse space!
(Below) The smallest Family size aquaponic greenhouse.
Click here to purchase the Commercial Aquaponics DIY package PLUS the Commercial Aquaponic Solar Greenhouse package: $295
Click here for a complete list of “What You Get” as part of the Commercial Aquaponics DIY package.
Click here to see “What You Get” included in the DIY Commercial Aquaponic Solar Greenhouse package, and for more technical information
Please click here to see the long list of “What You Learn” as part of this course (they’re similar but different).
This is a video of the largest commercial aquaponics operation (TBOK) in the world (built by one of our students) in action in China:
Here’s the approximate production from the size largest sizes of Commercial Aquaponic Greenhouse:
- The 608 square foot greenhouse, with a footprint of 19 feet by 32 feet, holds 3,203 plants in 328 square feet of raft area and 64 square feet of sprouting table area, for a total plant density of 5.4 plants per square foot of greenhouse floor area. Plant production of 35-115 pounds of vegetables per week; fish production of 4-5 pounds per week.
- The 1,216 square foot greenhouse, with a footprint of 19 feet by 64 feet, holds 6,510 plants in 672 square feet of raft area and 128 square feet of sprouting table area, for a total plant density of 5.5 plants per square foot of greenhouse floor area. Plant production of 70-235 pounds of vegetables per week; fish production of 8-10 pounds per week.
- The 1,824 square foot greenhouse, with a footprint of 19 feet by 96 feet, holds 10,075 plants in 1,065 square feet of raft area and 192 square feet of sprouting table area, for a total plant density of 5.67 plants per square foot of greenhouse floor area. Plant production of 105-375 pounds of vegetables per week; fish production of 12-15 pounds per week.
- The 3,472 square foot greenhouse, with a footprint of 36 feet by 96 feet, holds 19,038 plants in 2,161 square feet of raft area and 300 square feet of sprouting table area, for a total plant density of 5.48 plants per square foot of greenhouse floor area. Plant production of 340 to 1,000 pounds of vegetables per week; fish production of 20-30 pounds per week.
- The 4,629 square foot greenhouse, with a footprint of 36 feet by 128 feet, holds 24,213 plants in 2,784 square feet of raft area and 368 square feet of sprouting table area, for a total plant density of 5.23 plants per square foot of greenhouse floor area. Plant production of 460 to 1,400 pounds of vegetables per week; fish production of 30-45 pounds per week.
- The 6,944 square foot greenhouse, with a footprint of 36 feet by 192 feet, holds 38,076 plants in 4,322 square feet of raft area and 600 square feet of sprouting table area, for a total plant density of 5.48 plants per square foot of greenhouse floor area. Plant production of 700-2,100 pounds of vegetables per week; fish production of 40-60 pounds per week.
(Below) Tim teaching the aquaponics class inside the greenhouse; a previous photo shows Susanne playing with icicles outside the same greenhouse in the snow. This was January 2017 in Wisconsin, and it was 5 pm. The outside air was -12 degrees (plus some wind chill), air temp inside was 74 degrees, water temp 72. 
The best way to get an energy-efficient family-scale aquaponic greenhouse is to build one yourself using our DIY manuals and plans package. It includes six different sizes of Commercial Aquaponic Greenhouse from 608 to 6,944 square feet in size. Materials to build these greenhouse (including the aquaponics system!) will cost from $9,500 to $108,500 on the mainland, depending on the size you select and materials costs in your area. If you are also interested in our Commercial Aquaponics DIY package, you can purchase it at the same time as this package for a 50% discount.
Designed with integrated aquaponics systems (they’re NOT just conventional greenhouses with fish tanks and troughs stuck in them, which is what you get from others) they are the most energy-efficient and productive growing structures the world has ever seen. If built well, and according to the plans, they are durable 30-year-plus structures just like a house is.
They are designed for extreme climates: they will continue growing year-round whether you have snow outside or 105-degree heat. They are efficiently insulated structures. They incorporate 3 sources of largely passive solar heating for wintertime use, as well as 3 different methods for low-energy summertime cooling using largely passive methods.
(Below) Basil and tomatoes in the first Family Aquaponic Greenhouse, showing planting densities, some greenhouse structure, and raft troughs.
Although our Chinese-style greenhouse designs are perfect for extreme climates and we’d love to see you build one; we will also be the first to say they may be overkill for your climate. Because affordable construction is so critical to the success of any aquaponics operation, and we want to give you as many greenhouse options as possible, our Commercial Aquaponic Greenhouse manual includes information on how to build less expensive, energy-efficient greenhouses that are not only appropriate for your climate, but also for your budget.
For example: there is a whole manual section devoted to purchasing used greenhouses, disassembling them, bringing them home, then reassembling them in the Chinese configuration: oriented long direction East-West, with heavily insulated North and end walls, insulation under and around the troughs and fish tank, and energy-efficient passive solar heating and geothermal cooling technologies. If you follow these simple instructions, you can end up with a nearly new (yet still incredibly energy-efficient) greenhouse for pennies on the dollar.
Here’s a testimonial about how economically you can get involved in greenhouse aquaponics by following the instructions in our greenhouse manual:
“Hi Tim, My son, Carl and I attended the training in Texas this year. Just to give you an update. The Sunday after the training, I was coming home from the church I pastor and passed by a co-op that has several greenhouses out front that seemed not to be in use anymore. I drove through to check them out and they were not in use.
A couple of months later, well, we are now the owners of the 7 greenhouses and all that comes with them! We were able to purchase all 7 for $2800. My son and I begin deconstructing them on Thursday.
I’m attaching a couple of photos for you to look at them. They have propane heaters, roll up sides, boxes and lights for electricity, fiberglass front and rear walls, and a lot of odds and ends that I believe will come in handy.
I am so glad we listened when you spoke on ways to find greenhouses without spending a fortune. It has been tempting to just “jump in” but I’m glad we waited.
Thank you and many blessings, Rob Rolison ”
FYI, the average cost of those seven greenhouses if purchased new from a greenhouse company would be around $9,500 each, or a total of $65,500. Rob and his son saved $62,000 by using the instructions in our greenhouse manual.
Mark and Fran Krause’s 2,400-square foot Generation 2 Aquaponic Greenhouse in the snow in Horicon, Wisconsin, January 2017. Outside air was -12 degrees (plus some wind chill), air temp inside was 74 degrees, water temp 72. We lightweights from Hawaii just weren’t prepared for weather like this; but this greenhouse was!
We’ve been doing CAD design work professionally for 25 years, and so, the 7 “D”-sized architectural sheets of CAD greenhouse construction plans that come with your package meet Building Department requirements in most jurisdictions; although they may need to be stamped by a local architect or engineer.
When you purchase this plans package you also receive the four sheets of CAD construction plans (and materials lists for the aquaponics systems inside) for the smaller “Micro” greenhouse series of 200, 300, and 400 square feet at no additional cost, as well as the plans for our larger Commercial Greenhouses from 608 square feet up to 6,944 square feet in size. This allows you to build a small, economical greenhouse as a “trial horse” at a low cost before investing a large amount in a bigger greenhouse. This is advantageous since you always figure out improvements when you build the first one, and this will create savings when building your larger installation.
This complete DIY Family Aquaponic Greenhouse package includes our 196-page Aquaponics Technology manual; this publication includes everything we know about growing produce aquaponically, and is everything you need to know to be successful growing in your greenhouse.
Randy Campbell’s 200-square foot Generation 2 Micro Aquaponic Greenhouse in the snow in Tennessee, Winter 2012-13. Outside air was 24 degrees (plus some wind chill), air temp inside was 74 degrees, water temp 72. I turned into an icicle because I was the only one stupid enough to be outside standing in freezing sleet taking this photo (I never knew what “sleet” meant before this!)
Study Plans: the sample PDF plan sheets below can be printed on a 36-inch by 24-inch Architectural “D”-size sheet of bond at your local Office Max or Staples if you wish to see a plan sheet at full-size.
Click here to see a “study” floor plan for the 19-foot wide, 3-trough Family Aquaponic Greenhouse.
Click here to purchase the Commercial Aquaponics DIY package PLUS the Commercial Aquaponic Solar Greenhouse package: $295
Click here for a complete list of “What You Get” as part of the Commercial Aquaponics DIY package.
Click here to see “What You Get” included in the DIY Family Aquaponic Solar Greenhouse package, and for more technical information
Please click here to see the long list of “What You Learn” as part of this course (they’re similar but different).
Click here to view Friendly Aquaponic’s slideshow for our “Aquaponic Solar Greenhouse”
Susanne with the newly-covered Hawaii Aquaponic Solar Greenhouse (Family 608 square foot size), January 30, 2012