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Designing an aquaponics system, start to finish

By Anthony Tanaka · Akari Farms

I built a free tool to design aquaponics systems, and I finally sat down (in my greenhouse, reading off a script, because I am not a natural on camera) to show exactly how it works. Here's the walkthrough.

Planning an aquaponics system is the part almost nobody enjoys. You are trying to picture how a fish tank, a grow bed, pipes, and a pump all fit together in a space you have, for the crops you want, before you have spent any money. Most people sketch it on paper, guess, buy parts, and rebuild.

The Aquaponics Studio Builder is the tool I wished I had when I started. It is free, it runs in your browser, and it takes the guesswork out of the planning stage. In the video I build a small backyard system from a blank canvas. Here is what it walks through:

Drag and drop the layout. Place a fish tank, grow beds, and pipes on a visual canvas and arrange them for your space.
Choose fish and crops. Assign your species and plants, and the tool helps you check that the system is balanced.
Get a real parts list. It generates a complete parts list with sourcing, plus a seed list based on what you planted.
Preview it in 3D. See your whole system in three dimensions before you build a single thing.

Why I made it free

I think more people should be able to grow their own food without it feeling out of reach. A planning tool should not be the thing standing between someone and their first system. So the Studio Builder is free, needs no account, and it is going to stay that way. If it saves you one wrong pump or one rebuild, it did its job.

Try it, and tell me what is missing

The best part of putting this out into the world is hearing what people actually want from it. If you give it a try, I would love to know what you would add or change. I read every message.

Design your own system with the free Aquaponics Studio Builder. No account, no cost.

Try the Studio Builder Watch on YouTube Facebook group