Learn how to start an aquaponic farming business by pulling profits with plants, fish, and a good business plan.
“If you’re wanting to grow food that’s nutritionally dense and reliable, aquaponics is it,” says Alex Van Zandt, owner of Gunni Gal, a 2,400-square-foot aquaponics greenhouse in Gunnison Valley, Colorado. She focuses on growing herbs and leafy greens year-round to sell in her community.
Aquaponics uses a combination of hydroponics (growing plants in a soilless environment) and aquaculture (raising fish in a controlled environment). Once the tanks and growing trays are set up, feeding the fish is the main task, while their waste fertilizes the plants.
Aquaponics can produce a yield 20 times as large as that of field crops in the same amount of space while using only 10 percent of the water. Greens and herbs are well-suited for aquaponic growing and allow for a fast turnover, increasing the profitability of the aquaponics system.

Despite many of these benefits, some farmers may be hesitant to make the switch. “If you begin something new like aquaponics, you won’t be getting all of that naturally filtered information like you have with traditional farming,” says Van Zandt. “It’s going to be a steep learning curve because you’re creating an ecosystem, not just manipulating one that already exists.”
Choosing Your Aquaponics Fish
In the U.S., tilapia are the most widely used and adaptable fish in aquaponics systems. They grow quickly in a wide range of water conditions and reach 1-1/2 pounds in nine months. However, smaller farms and hobby setups might benefit from considering other freshwater fish.
“We started with tilapia, but up here at our new farm, we’ve mixed goldfish and koi with tilapia for our smaller systems because they’re a bit more acclimatized for this area,” says Matthew Braud, co-owner of Hollow House Farms in Furlong, Pennsylvania. To make a profit from tilapia, you’ll need someone to descale and fillet the freshly caught fish, as well as clientele ready to eat it. Both farms have slowly moved away from tilapia, unable to find a local market for it.
As another alternative, Braud has partnered with his local game commission to add young native fish to the aquaponics system that they’ll use to stock the creeks around the farm and local area. This way, the system can utilize the fish to grow vegetables and herbs while maintaining a steady outlet for them as they mature. Selling ornamental goldfish and koi could be another option to build revenue.
To Van Zandt, the hardest part of getting started in aquaponics is figuring out the fish aspect of the system: learning about water quality and what it means to test for indicators, such as ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites, and what to do with the results. “It’s better to get a premade system and just read the directions,” says Van Zandt. Start small and purchase a kit to get acquainted with the process. As you learn more, you can begin manipulating the system to be exactly how you want it.
Productivity in an Aquaponics System
“We’re just another piece in the wheel to help offset the food-shortage problem and help create more of a food-production system that can be reliable and targeted to a specific location,” says Braud.

Braud has 2-by-4-foot floating rafts in a 20-by-50-foot area that can each hold 36 heads of lettuce or similar leafy crops on a conveyor belt. Each week, he harvests the closest rows, plants germinated seedlings, and then rotates the trays. If the heads aren’t large enough, he consolidates them and waits another week to harvest.
Each of his seedlings is planted in a plug of 99 percent peat and 1 percent elastic polymer in order for it to keep its shape in the water, but alternatives to peat include coconut coir, lava rock, and clay aggregate pellets. If harvesting slows down at any point, Braud can simply keep the seedlings in the germination trays for a few extra weeks without much consequence.
Aquaponics as a Business
For those interested in creating an aquaponics business, Braud recommends a 30-by-100-foot greenhouse for a full-scale operation. However, Van Zandt says to “consider the amount of time and effort you want to put into it. If you don’t want to put a lot of effort into it, then start off with a 35-gallon aquarium and a couple of fish. See if you can keep them alive first, and if you can, move to the next step.”
“The problem for many people starting out is that they don’t have a place to sell their produce, so the crops stay in the system for a while,” says Braud. “Start small and build up to full production. By the time you’re there, you’ll have a home for your products.” Giving samples to chefs and promising them a reliable product is a great method of finding customers for your aquaponics farm. While Braud and his wife, Lisa, sell at farmers markets and to local restaurants, Van Zandt has another full-time job and only sells to local organic and health-food stores.
While there may be big competition initially, Braud recommends sticking with it. One major advantage for aquaponics systems is their ability to grow fresh produce year-round. “Right when [traditional farmers] cut off is when we take over all of their customers,” Braud says. “So, if you can last a year at market and sell at a winter market, you’re good.” As people experience the long shelf life and diverse variety of food produced in the aquaponics system, they’ll become lifelong customers.

Sustainability of the Aquaponics System
“We’re organic by nature and sustainable by design,” says Braud. While not Certified Organic, Braud works to create a circular system on his farm. The filters get hosed off into a storage tank, and the water is reused in a drip irrigation system for in-ground plants. According to him, “the only water we lose is due to evaporation.”
“With aquaponics, I can grow [my crops] year-round because I’m growing inside,” Van Zandt says. “You’re thinking about how you can expand and grow more year-round, while honoring the natural cycles of the Earth and making the best use of the land.”
Kenny Coogan lives on a permaculture landscape and runs a carnivorous plant nursery. His educational TV series Florida’s Flora and Fauna with Conservationist Kenny Coogan will come out summer of 2025. Listen to him co-host the “Mother Earth News and Friends.”
Originally published in the August/September 2025 issue of MOTHER EARTH NEWS and regularly vetted for accuracy.