Aquaponics books that are both easy to understand and detailed enough are not always the easiest to come by! This is especially true if you want to build a backyard system as a beginner. We scoured the web trying to find the best of the best aquaponics books to share with you.
We looked at how popular each book was along with both the positive and negative reviews received for each of the aquaponics books we looked at. We hope that our book summaries and reviews will help you choose the best books to help you in your journey to setting up, maintaining and growing your own DIY system!
Here are 7 of the most popular aquaponics books we could find…
- Aquaponic Gardening: A Step-by-Step Guide to Raising Vegetables and Fish Together
- Aquaponics for Beginners: How to Build your own Aquaponic Garden that will Grow Organic Vegetables
- Beginner’s Guide to Aquaponics: Step-by-Step Systems for Plants and Fish
- Aquaponic Design Plans and Everything You Need to Know: From Backyard to Profitable Business
- Aquaponic Gardening: Discover the Dual Benefits of Raising Fish and Plants Together (Idiot’s Guides)
- Aquaponics: From Beginner to Expert: Hydroponics & Aquaponics Double Book Bundle
- Aquaponics: How to Build Your Own Aquaponic System
- BONUS: Aquaponics 4 You: Step-By-Step – How To Build Your Own Aquaponics System
Aquaponic Gardening: A Step-By-Step Guide to Raising Vegetables and Fish Together
Author: Sylvia Bernstein
Year Published: 2011
Pages: 257
Aquaponic Gardening: A Step-by-Step Guide to Raising Vegetables and Fish Together is one of the most purchased and reviewed aquaponics books on Amazon at the time of writing. It describes itself as a complete DIY manual focusing on giving the backyard farmer and beginner all the tools they need to create their own small system.
This aquaponics book is broken down into four sections:
- Section 1: An Introduction to Aquaponics – What is aquaponics, the global perspective, and home food production.
- Section 2: The Plan – Before you start, system location and environment, system design.
- Section 3: 3: The Hardware – Grow beds and fish tanks, plumbing, grow media, water.
- Section 4: The Software – Fish, plants, bacteria, and worms.
- Section 5: The Integrated System – Cycling, system maintenance.
Of all the aquaponics books we looked at, this one definitely had the most feedback and reviews. Although the book has a great rating of 4.5 stars, it also has a number of negative reviews. The general consensus among the negative reviews is that the book is more of an overview of aquaponics rather than a step-by-step guide. A number of reviewers noted that almost everything in the book can be learned by a few Google searches and that there is a lot of fluff and even a bit of self-promotion. Many said that people who have experience with aquaponics systems and farming won’t find much value in it.
Learn More: What Is Aquaponics & How Does Aquaponics Work
Aquaponics for Beginners: How to Build your own Aquaponic Garden that will Grow Organic Vegetables
Author: Nick Brooke
Year Published: 2018
Pages: 308
Nick Brooke admits that he didn’t know very much about hydroponics or fish farming a few years ago. However, the aquaponics bug bit him in a big way and since then he has devoted himself to everything and anything aquaponics!
He promises that the information provided in his book will help you to create your own DIY system, taking into account your available space, time and budget. Nick hopes his book will be the ultimate go-to guide so he revises, updates, and improves his aquaponics books continually.
Aquaponics For Beginners includes the following information:
- Why aquaponics?
- What you will need.
- Calculating the biological surface area of your system.
- Step by Step guide to creating your own system (9 steps you should take to start your own aquaponics system).
- Which fish to use (the best fish to include in your system as well as how to troubleshoot fish diseases).
- Preferred plants.
- Organic pest control.
- Common problems.
- Advanced techniques (18 techniques you can use to level up your DIY system).
- System design plans (9 design plans to help you set up your system for best results).
- And more….
The reviews for Aquaponics For Beginners are mostly positive, very positive actually! Most reviewers say that they found it very helpful and a lot better than many of the other aquaponics books that they have read. There were a few negative reviews but these seem to be more limited to editing errors and most of these reviews lack real information on why they didn’t find the book helpful.
Beginner’s Guide to Aquaponics: Step-by-Step Systems for Plants and Fish
Author: Seth Connell
Year Published: 2020
Pages: 154
Seth Connell is the founder of Anything Aquaponics. He trained on commercial aquaponics farms in Hawaii and completed multiple certifications programs. Seth teaches urban agriculture and works as a consultant for a number of aquaponics farms and nonprofit organizations.
Seth’s book, The Beginner’s Guide to Aquaponics: Step-By-Step Systems for Plants and Fish includes:
- Step-by-step guidance – System design plans, checklists, and charts for fish and plants.
- Cost analysis – Effectively plan your system, with price estimates, to help you stay within your budget and timeline so that you know what to expect and plan for as you set up your DIY system.
- Troubleshooting – Seth promises expert advice when dealing with any problems that come up while building and maintaining your system.
This aquaponics book has also received great reviews. It is described as very well written, detailed, easy to follow, and easy to understand. Most reviewers said that this book is a great help to beginners especially, as it explains exactly what is involved in setting up a good backyard aquaponic system. As of writing, The Beginner’s Guide to Aquaponics had zero 1-star reviews and only one 2-star review (out of 145 total reviews).
Learn More: The Best Fish For Small Aquaponics Systems
Aquaponic Design Plans and Everything You Need to Know: From Backyard to Profitable Business
Author: David H Dudley
Year Published: 2017
Pages: 630
Aquaponics Design Plans & Everything You Need To Know is a 600+ page book that promises to be user-friendly and very comprehensive at the same time. It promises not only to help you set up a great aquaponics system but also goes into detail on how you can start a profitable business.
Aquaponic Design Plans and Everything You Need to Know includes the following sections:
- Part 1: Aquaponics fundamentals – Benefits, history, different types of systems.
- Part 2: Plants and Fish – Keys to success for your vegetables, plants, and crops. Plus everything you need to know about your fish and what to feed them.
- Part 3: Components – equipment, plumbing, fish tanks, growing media for plants, pumps, filtration, greenhouses, etc.
- Part 4: NET & DWC Design and Layout – The design and layout of Nutrient Film Technique and Deep Water Culture / Raft Systems aquaponics systems.
- Part 5: Flood-And-Drain System Design and Layout – System instructions, procedures, design plans, and construction details.
- Part 6: Operation and maintenance – Starting, maintaining, and troubleshooting your DIY system, water quality, fish breeding and reproduction, and greenhouse energy management.
- Part 7: Making Money and earning a profit from aquaponics – Everything from creating a successful business to marketing and selling your vegetables and fish.
- Part 8: Appendices – Helpful resources, references, etc.
At the time of writing this article, this aquaponics book had only received one 1-star rating (out of 130 reviews). This particular reviewer noted that they found the book to be more of an introduction to aquaponics rather than an in-depth guide. However, most of the other reviews received were very good. And most of them noted that this book is an excellent resource, especially for beginners and that it is clear, concise and well written.
Aquaponic Gardening: Discover the Dual Benefits of Raising Fish and Plants Together (Idiot’s Guides)
Author: Meg Stout
Year Published: 2013
Pages: 352
Aquaponic Gardening: Discover the Dual Benefits of Raising Fish and Plants Together (Idiot’s Guide), calls itself the comprehensive guide to aquaponic farming. It covers everything from choosing the type of setup you want, to selecting your vegetables and fish, to maintaining your system. There are step-by-step plans which include photos for planning and building the right system for your needs.
Of the negative reviews received for this aquaponics book, the most notable were that there aren’t many pictures and illustrations to go with the DIY instructions which can make the book difficult to follow. Even some of the 4-star reviews had similar complaints. Many reviewers also said that the book was quite basic and it left many questions unanswered.
Aquaponics: From Beginner to Expert – Hydroponics & Aquaponics Double Book Bundle
Author: William Walsworth
Year Published: 2016
Pages: 258
William Walsworth describes himself as a passionate biologist who is an expert in sustainable living. His book bundle includes guides for both aquaponic systems as well as hydroponic systems. He says that both of his books have been written specifically from a beginner’s perspective so they are easy to understand and follow.
Aquaponics: From Beginner to Expert includes the following:
- A blueprint that shows you exactly how to build a successful aquaponics or hydroponics system.
- Designs that detail how you can set up your system according to your needs.
- The benefits for using aquaponics or hydroponics systems for growing vegetables and fish.
- Tips and tricks to optimize your system design.
- Common mistakes to avoid when setting up and maintaining your DIY systems.
The reviews are very mixed for this aquaponics book. Many reviewers said that both the books are very small with only very basic information. A few said that they were disappointed because they expected more information, especially from a DIY perspective. On the other hand, the positive reviews were all very positive and seemed to contradict the negative reviews! Many of the 5-star reviewers praised the author for the great information in both the books and how both aquaponics books were easy to follow.
Aquaponics: How to Build Your Own Aquaponic System
Author: Celine Walker
Published: 2020
Pages: 56
Celine Walker describes herself as a gardener, chef and best-selling author who covers varied topics from nutrition and diet to beekeeping. But is she an expert when it comes to aquaponics?
Aquaponics: How to Build Your Own Aquaponic System covers:
- Who can be successful?
- Essentials for plant growth.
- Water.
- Location.
- A growing method that the author says is infallible
- Commercial success.
The reviews for this aquaponics book are very mixed with the general consensus being that the book really is just a very basic overview of aquaponics and is meant for people with very little or no experience at all.
One big common complaint was that, even though the book is titled “How to Build Your Own Aquaponic System”, there isn’t much information on how to actually build anything – a few buyers felt that the title was very misleading and they were disappointed in their purchase. Positive reviewers noted that the book does give a good overview of aquaponics and it does have some useful information if you are just getting started.
Bonus: Aquaponics 4 You
Author: John Fay
Year Published: Ongoing
Pages: Digital Product Including Video
Guarantee: 60 Day 100% Money-Back Guarantee
John Fay is a certified organic farmer who describes himself as an aquaponics and survival expert. His course promises 10 times more plants when building and using his system. It comes with both video and written instructions on how you can easily set up your own DIY system.
Aquaponics 4 You includes:
- Step-by-step video instructions.
- An eBook that contains diagrams, explanations, and instructions on exactly how to set up your system.
- All the information you need to ensure that your vegetables, plants, and fish thrive.
- 60 Day 100% money-back guarantee.
- Extra bonuses:
- Organic Gardening For Beginners
- Herbs for Health and Home
- A Guide to Flower Gardening
- Worm Farming – The Worlds Best Compost
- Guide To Organic Cooking
- Eating Healthy
Besides the excellent reviews on the Aquaponics 4 You website, we couldn’t really find any other reliable reviews online. This might be because Aquaponics 4 You comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee that is backed by an independent payment processor (Clickbank). So any unhappy buyers simply would request a refund and move on.
Here is a teaser snippet for Aquaponics 4 You:
If you would like more info on the Aquaponics 4 You system, click here!
Conclusion
There are quite a few aquaponics books out there that promise a lot but ultimately fall short of their promises. With the step-by-step video instructions in the Aquaponics 4 You system, it may be easier to follow along with the instructor instead of trying to figure stuff out on your own, especially if you are a beginner.
We would love to hear your thoughts! Have you bought any of the aquaponics books that we reviewed? If so, which ones have you bought and how would you rate them?
Are there any aquaponics books that we have missed? Let us know and we will update our article!
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