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Aquaponics Fish To Plant Ratio Calculator

Work out aquaponics fish to plant ratio instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Aquaponics Fish To Plant Ratio Calculator

Aquaponic systems are balanced on feed input, not fish numbers: media-bed systems support roughly 40-80 grams of feed per square metre of bed per day for leafy crops. Feed rate also implies fish biomass, since fish are fed about 1.5% of body weight daily, and biomass divided by stocking density gives the tank volume.

Formulas

Feed-rate balance

Grow bed area = daily feed (g) / feed rate (g/m2/day)

Fish side

Biomass (kg) = feed (g) / 0.015 / 1000; tank volume = biomass / stocking density

Worked example

With the default values below, Aquaponics Fish To Plant Ratio Calculator returns Grow Bed Area Supported of 8.33. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Daily Fish Feedminimum 0 g/day
500 g/day
Feed Rate Per m2 Of Grow Bedminimum 1 g/m2/day
60 g/m2/day
Grow Bed Media Depthminimum 0.05 m
0.3 m
Fish Stocking Densityminimum 0.1 kg/m3
20 kg/m3

Results

Grow Bed Area Supported
8.33
Media Volume Required
2.500
Implied Fish Biomass
33.33
Fish Tank Volume
1.667

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Feed-rate balance
  3. 3Fish side
  4. 4Grow Bed Area Supported= 8.33
  5. 5Media Volume Required= 2.500
  6. 6Implied Fish Biomass= 33.33
  7. 7Fish Tank Volume= 1.667

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why balance on feed rather than fish weight?

Nutrients entering the system come from feed. Two tanks with the same fish weight but different feeding rates supply very different nutrient loads to the plants.

What if plants show nitrogen deficiency?

Either increase feed input or reduce bed area. Persistent deficiency in a balanced system usually points to insufficient biofilter surface or low pH suppressing nitrification.

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