Practical Aquaponics and Integrated Aquaculture Technology
Murray Hallam is probably the best-known face in the world-wide Aquaponics movement. Murray is by nature an innovator and in his Research & Development facility has perfected many new methodologies for commercial farm Aquaponic systems.
At Practical Aquaponics, we have a range of information suitable for the novice to the expert. Browse our blog, register for our Aquaponics Courses, Workshops and Seminars or buy kits, books, DVDs and many other aquaponics necessities in our shop.
Proven and tested, there are hundreds of our kits in operation in every state of Australia and we have exported our kits to the USA, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Nassau. The wonderful thing about Aquaponics is that almost anyone can participate and get to grow some clean, healthy vegetables and fish.
Everything you could possibly need to set up an Aquaponics farm or home system is found in our online store. Whether you are looking to do Aquaponics in Brisbane, Perth, or anywhere in between, we’ve got you covered with the best range of products Australia-wide.
Our Aquaponics Photo Gallery is constantly growing to include images from Murray's Global Aquaponic Trips, Commercial and Home Systems, Greenhouse Tours, Master Classes and of course the all-important produce in the Practical Aquaponics section.
Our Blog contains a wealth of information spanning a wide range of Aquaponic topics, from general news to some of the well-kept secrets to success. This is a must view area for everyone interested in Aquaponics from the budding beginner to the seasoned aquaponics farmer.
Practical Aquaponics > Blog > General News
Guest post by ECO Films.New DVD coming out soon.
We’re proud to announce in collaboration with Murray Hallam a new instructional DVD we’re currently editing on small scale commercial aquaponics called “Aquaponics for Profit” which should be out later this year.There are two main types of aquaponics systems, floating raft and gravel bed media systems. Combing the two has always been fraught with some difficulty with the way the plumbing and engineering is designed. Additionally, the balancing of nutrient distribution for the raft and media sections to ensure the different plant types nutrient needs are met. Floating raft systems operate on continual flow, meaning the water recirculates through the system on consistent basis. Gravel grow-bed media systems are often run on a “flood and drain” method using auto-siphons and even timers to drain the water from the beds at intervals and regularly dump the water into the fish tank or sump.FloMediaFor many people combining the two methods was always a problem. Some people use more than one pump to split the systems into two. Murray Hallam says he’s figured out a way to solve the issue elegantly with a new aquaponics method to combine both systems that he calls FloMedia.Hidden inside two new greenhouses on his property in Brisbane, Australia Murray has been building his FloMedia Aquaponics system. The whole system has been cleverly designed to run off one small pump.Operating costs and less for the growers and nutrient supply to the plants is increased because of the addition of gravel media bed systems that store a lot of the nutrient.The media component becomes a very efficient nutrient bank.
This new approach will allow small scale growers interested in marketing their produce the ability to grow just about any crop they want. In the past floating raft works best with leafy greens such as lettuce and herbs such as basil. With the addition of gravel media, the option to grow climbing plants such as tomatoes and heavy nitrogen feeders are now possible, even fruit trees can be grown.
Murray is a true innovator.
When we arrived with our cameras, Murray appeared out of his main green house looking like he had just climbed out of a chimney flue, looking a bit like Santa Claus minus his red suit but covered in soot.He seemed quite upset because his new greenhouse rocket powered fuel heater was burning timber at too fast a rate.Murray was sure if done correctly the heater should work all night rather than the hour and a half as he was getting from his invention at the moment. He was adamant that he would crack it eventually and be able to grow warm water fish all year round through our mild winters.
He led us into his two new hoop greenhouses that will be the basis for his FloMedia setup. Along one side at waist level were his new gravel grow-beds. A row of different tomato species were pumping out various tomatoes. Murray informed us that he was trialling new varieties of tomatoes to find out which sort grows best in his climate.
Coming back from the US where he taught two back to back workshops in commercial aquaponics and speaking with restauranteurs and chefs, it became apparent that there was a demand in boutique produce that could be grown exclusively for a small client base.
Murray felt that aquaponics could fill that niche market in securing a premium price for a premium product. Not all plants will grow in your local environment he tells us and trialing a range of produce before you launch your brand requires discipline and perseverance.
Murray is big on seed-saving. He says he learnt a lot from listening to Penn and Cord Parmenter’s techniques in growing food at high altitude in the mountains of Colorado. Their innovative use of passive solar greenhouses made a big impression on him when it comes to selecting plants for their seeds and over 3 to 5 generations building your seed bank to increase the quality of your produce.
Murray explains his FloMedia setup. A jangle of pipes lead to a big sump. “This is the melting pot of the system.” he says enthusiastically as he explains how the water is distributed.
“Its just one small pump that runs all this.” he waves to the other greenhouse, “We’ll soon have this whole system hooked up to FloMedia.”
Murray has all his floating raft and gravel media bed system at waist level. Most people place them on the ground to keep construction costs down.
Why raise all the beds we ask?
Murray reply’s “Have you ever tried gardening on your knees?”
“Its back-breaking work.” he says.
“I build systems that are comfortable to work in. The only negative thing is that you need a step ladder to harvest all the tomatoes!”
So how much of this system will be explained in his new DVD?
“The lot.” he says. “I’ll show you every step. How the plumbing is set up. How I’ve organized FloMedia to work successfully. How all the tanks are setup and how the nutrient is processed and distributed. How to build the grow-beds inexpensively out of timber. How to line the beds with food grade plastic. How to make the floating rafts. How to start grow seedlings. All the dimensions will be on a pdf file. We’ll cover marketing and you’ll even see me harvesting and selling the produce and sharing the cost benefit analysis.” he says.
How big a system you intend to make is based on your budget and how quickly you want to expand your system.
Murray is a firm believer in localized food production. This DVD is well suited to anyone interested in building their own a small scale aquaponics system on either their farm or small rural acreage who are interested in providing clean fresh healthy food to their local community.
We don’t like to repeat the same information in our DVDs so if you are new to aquaponics and want to get started in a small scale commercial system, it is imperative that you understand the basics first before purchasing this DVD title.
As usual in our DVDs, we try to pack a lot of detail into them with lots of tips and great examples how to get the most out of your system.
The “Aquaponics for Profit” DVD will be out later in the year.
Posted By Murray Hallam on 12th June 2012
Updated : 5th June 2019 | Words : 1150 | Views : 3450 | Comments : 15
skip_previousPrevious Topic | All Topics | Next Topicskip_next
Hi Sir Murray, This is baylon, i bought all of your DVD's, when i can i get the new released of "aquaponics for profit"? regards, baylon
Posted By baylon on Tuesday 6th November 2012 @ 05:59:59
Hi Baylon,That will be some months away as yet. We are needing to shoot some more farms to include in the DVD and I need to make another trip to the USA to do that. It will be an excellent DVD when finished.
Posted By Murray on Tuesday 6th November 2012 @ 05:59:59
Hi Murray Really interested in Aquaponics and am reading everything I can and busily watching the DVD's. When will your next 4 day seminar on Aquaponics for profit in Australia be?(wasn't able to make the August one) Also very much looking foward to the new DVD
Posted By Diane Exell on Saturday 28th July 2012 @ 14:27:24
Hi Diane,It will be in new year some time before we run another 4 day seminar here in Australia. Keep an eye on our site for the announcement. The DVD will be a couple of months yet. We still have some farm shots to do. Waiting for the lettuce and tomatoes to grow.
Posted By Murray on Saturday 28th July 2012 @ 14:27:24
For someone who is just looking into hydroponics, what learning material do you suggest to start with? Thanks Chris
Posted By Chris on Monday 23rd July 2012 @ 05:13:43
Hi Chris, do you mean Aquaponics? If so see here
Posted By Murray on Monday 23rd July 2012 @ 05:13:43
Hi Murray I am looking forward to buying this DVD when it comes out. I have recently agreed to purchase 2 x 6000L fiberglass tanks. They are long skinny tanks about 1.2m x 1.2m x 6m. I got a really good deal on them secondhand. Really solid with a built in steel frame. I actually need to get a crane to move them into place. I am going to team each of these tanks up with 10 x grow beds which will be the tops of the IBC's I have cut down to make my wicking garden beds. Each grow bed is approx 1.2m x 1m x 30cm deep so will hold about 25cm of clay balls. So each 6000L tank will have approx 3000L of grow bed volume. I guess I could add another 10 grow beds to each tank to hit a one to one grow bed to tank volume ratio. I will set up with that in mind. My goal is to grow herbs and greens for the local cafes and supermarkets which currently find the quality of goods lacking due to the long trucking distances out to our regional town. I am very interested in your DVD to find out a bit more about Aquaponics for profit. I really want to use clay ball media - but a recent investigation into price to fill 20 of these IBC top grow beds revealed I would need about $3600 worth of clay balls (at $30 per 50L bag) to fill the 20 x 300L grow beds. Ouch. But I still think this is probably the best way to do it. I really like working with the clay balls in my balcony system - so easy to plant into and harvest from and the water quality is always excellent. The other option is to go with floating raft which would be much cheaper to set up but I would need to set up filters etc I guess. Do you have a release date for the DVD yet Murray?
Posted By Hamish Gale on Monday 23rd July 2012 @ 01:41:05
Hi Hamish,Good plan there, but the cost of the clay balls..#@$*&...Looks like Hydroton is no longer AVBL I can do a good price for you if you like. DVD will be a while yet, we have more than half of the scenes filmed and edited but there are some important aspects that we are yet to find the exact things we need to film. I cannot see it happening before November....sorry. I watched your latest you tube clip of your build. Looks good.DWC is the way to go in combination with some media beds. Leafy greens grow so well in DWC
Posted By Murray on Monday 23rd July 2012 @ 01:41:05
Do you have an email sign up list for when it comes out or an early bird members get it first? :)
Posted By Craig Mullins on Saturday 7th July 2012 @ 23:57:02
Hi Craig, No, the email list goes out to everyone at the same time.
Posted By Murray on Saturday 7th July 2012 @ 23:57:02
I'm really interested in Aquaponics for Profit. Matter of fact I was just searching for this very topic online and I'm glad to see that on top of the DIY home aquaponics Murray is putting out this DVD. We are interested in aquaponics for our family & for profit. Also looking to use it to help the needy too. If you have a release date please post it & keep up the good work.
Posted By Steve on Monday 25th June 2012 @ 03:14:21
Hi Steve,The release date is still a few months away. But keep an eye on our site. There is a lot of work involved in getting all the scenes filmed and so on.
Posted By Murray on Monday 25th June 2012 @ 03:14:21
I've, just recently, been interested in aquaponics, so have been sucking up all info about it. This (and other) DVDs on the subject are, to my mind, the best way of getting that info and gaining knowlege on the subject. However, these DVDs dont seem to be readily available "to the masses" as it were. How come these arent on the likes of Amazon sites? Its frustrating to be the other side of the world, and find the only outlet IS the other side of the world. Yes i know they can be mailed worldwide, but still. Easier and quicker availability would be great Paul
Posted By Paul Egremont on Monday 18th June 2012 @ 08:06:27
Good point Paul.We have just made Aquaponics Secrets"" available for on-line viewing here http://practicalaquaponics.com/blog/?page_id=34If you have a good internet connectionaand you know how you can download it onto your own computer for your own use.
Posted By Murray on Monday 18th June 2012 @ 08:06:27
(This name will display online)
Display Email
Display Phone
Learn About Aquaponics : Post Topic Aquaponics Made Easy : Post Topic Aquaponics Secrets : Post Topic Aquaponics Systems : Post Topic CHOP System : Post Topic Floating Raft System DWC : Post Topic Commercial Aquaponics : Post Topic Fish Talk : Post Topic Tech Talk : Post Topic General News : Post Topic Workshops & Field Days : Post Topic
We have just received our "Certificate of Accreditation" as a "Chemical Free farm. Very exciting bu . . .
Posted By Practical Aquaponics on 26th September 2018
Views : 65513 | Comments : 0
Food Security Do you have enough to eat? Can you easily get more? Is food scarce where you live? Or . . .
Views : 62684 | Comments : 0
It is so easy to maintain the spinners. Aquaponics GroPockets-Spinner from Murray Hallam on Vimeo . . .
Posted By Murray Hallam on 31st August 2015
Views : 61555 | Comments : 0
GroPocket. This is fitted to a standard 100mm (4") PVC pipe to make a very functional GroTower. Gro . . .
Posted By Murray Hallam on 7th August 2015
Views : 69172 | Comments : 28
The question has been asked countless times and I guess will continue to be. Why do Aquaponics and . . .
Posted By Murray Hallam on 19th April 2015
Views : 63731 | Comments : 23
more
Feed Four People Year-round With The Indy 23 Aquaponic System! Build Your Own, Using This Step-by-step Instruction Set. ...
from $395.00 buy online
If You're Working On An Aquaponics Project (or Thinking Of It), A One-hour Consultation With Murray Hallam Can Help Clear Up Some Of The Questions You ...
from $170.00 buy online
The King Of Media Bed Water-outlet Controllers! The Auto Siphon (bell Siphon) Controls The Flood-and-drain Cycle Of Your Media Beds. An Easy, Troubl ...
from $99.90 buy online
For all things Aquaponics ... Practical Aquaponics is your number #1 choice for products and information. Give us a call or drop us an email about your farm project today.