Richard bray

Who am I building this system for?
Are you building it to educate yourself, or to educate others? Are you building it to feed yourself, or to feed others? Do you have to meet the expectations of someone else, or do you have complete control over the design?
What am I going to grow?
An educational system should either grow a variety to demonstrate how to grow multiple crops, or a solitary crop to demonstrate how to grow things commercially. A personal system is dependent on what you like to eat, and how much. Profitable systems should grow what the market wants to buy, but only within the scope of what is cost effective.
When will it need to be operating?
A system needs time to build up the necessary ecosystem that helps fifiter water and provide nutrients. Once that cycle is complete, you can begin actively growing fish and plants. At this point you have two choices: harvest the plants and fish at the same time, and shut down the system for a period of time, or keep restocking fish and plants to run the system continually.
Where will it be operating?
This needs to take all aspects of your location into account; start big, and then focus on your specific location. What climate zone are you in? Will your system be inside or outside? Will it be small or large? Will it be in full sun, part shade, or under artificial lights? Is it windy? Will you need to add a water heater during the winter months?
19
Why aquaponics?
Aquaponics is the most mentally-involved growing system. Physical labor is reduced to transplanting, testing the water, harvesting, and checking your fish, so it’s one of the least demanding production methods on a physical level.
However, there are many different ways to grow your own produce. Why does an aquaponic system fulfill your growing needs more than a traditional garden or a hydroponic system? Determine what makes an aquaponic system the best solution for your growing goals.
Once you can answer these questions, you should have a well-rounded list of expectations that your system should meet. These expectations will help you design your system.