In 2010, while sitting in the LAX terminal en route to Australia, Michigan State University (MSU) junior Josh Graybiel (also a 2007 graduate of Harbor Springs High School) began talking to a fellow traveler who hailed from the Caribbean. The man explained that he worked in the field of aquaponics, a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics. Graybiel, who was working on his BS in fisheries and wildlife, was naturally intrigued.
After his chance meeting with the stranger, Graybiel spent much of his 13- hour flight thinking about the field of aquaponics. By the time he reached Deakin University in Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia, for his semester abroad, his interest was sparked, and encouraged.
“I met a student named Jango, who had a lot of good ideas. We got assigned to a group project together,” Graybiel said. “He had an aquaponics set up going at his house and that was the first time I was really introduced to it. Australia is big into conserving water and being as efficient as possible.”
Upon returning to MSU, Graybiel put his research on aquaponics aside, but said it continued to linger in the back of his mind.
“I was still thinking about the aquaculture, but then I had an assignment to research and present a unique aquaculture design of some sort,” Graybiel said. “That’s when I presented a multi-trophic aquaculture design that was really aquaponics. Australia gave me the background, then my teacher, Amber Peters, gave us the assignment in class and it really stuck.”
Graybiel continued learning more and more about aquaculture when he work at the Oden Fish Hatchery last summer, giving tours as an interpreter.
“The manager of the fish hatchery gave me a huge book with aquaponics-type research that had been done, and that really started me in the right direction,” Graybiel said.
He attended the First Annual Aquaponics Association Conference in Orlando, Florida in September of 2011.
“That had a lot of great support and great people who were very open with their information. It’s kind of a lifestyle for people who really enjoy it,” Graybiel said.
Moving forward with his plan to pursue his own aquaponics setup, Graybiel wrote a business grant for one of his senior classes which outlined a business start-up for a sustainable aquaponics setup.
The idea for an aquaponics business kicked into action when his friend, and fellow Harbor Springs graduate, Teddy Griffin called him with an opportunity to put his goal into action.
“Teddy gave me a call in December and said he had been thinking about what I’m doing, and found out his school, Loyola University, was doing an adventure capitalist business plan competition,” Graybiel said. “It was due in March so I had some time. I was just graduating from State and I had somewhat started on a business plan in the grant writing class.”
From there, Graybiel said it was all about solidifying his plan and working it out on paper. The best place to do to put inspiration into an actual plan for the future, he decided, was Marquette, Michigan.
“I moved up to Marquette and decided to work on it up there, which was a good place to be, a lot of good people to see,” Graybiel said. “There was the Peter White Library, which gave me countless hours to concentrate. It is so cool watching snow come in and fog come off the bay. It was just such a great place, so I felt even if I didn’t win, I was able to hang out there for a while.”
The countless hours of hard work and dedication indeed paid off, however, when Graybiel and Griffin took first place in the competition, earning $5,000 to put their business plan into action.
“I don’t know how many people entered the competition but I believe there were five finalists, and most of the plans were centered around sustainability,” Graybiel said.
Shortly thereafter, Graybiel was introduced to Mari Schumaker, director of the Community Schools programs and Performing Arts Center for Harbor Springs Schools, and also, owner of the Red School Farm. Schumaker offered him a work exchange for some room in her greenhouse.
“She really helped provide a great opportunity for me to get this going,” Graybiel said, of Schumaker’s offer.
By the end of April, 2012, he was busy building five 4x16x1-foot deep grow beds, one named for each of the Great Lakes, digging out a tank for the yellow perch and setting up a pump system for the operation.
“Basically, when you’re looking at an aquaponics system, what you have is fish in a fish tank, and the water that they’re living in is pumped out into a grow bed of some sort,” Graybiel said. “The design can change within an aquaponics system, but I’m working with a floating raft system, so basically, there are raft boards with holes in them that I have put plants into and the water reaches the roots there. The plants clean the water, filtering the nutrients from the water, and then it is drained back into the fishtank and the fish have clean water.”
“What is going on in the water is something else. It is a biological filter; there is bacteria converting ammonia and it is going through a nitrification cycle and the final step is nitrate. In order for that to happen, a natural balance has to stabilize a colony of beneficial bacteria.”
It took about a month for the filter to become able to colonize and convert the ammonia into nitrate. Graybiel is growing leafy greens such as lettuce, kale and other herbs due to the fact that they need alot of nitrate.
“What I am looking forward to is seeing how long I can just be in a greenhouse, because as the ground gets colder you can’t plant seeds,” Graybiel said. “But the water should stay warm, because water at capacity doesn’t change temperatures that quickly. I have about 4,000 gallons of water in my system so I’m hoping that will be able to stay warm for a while.”
Graybiel explained each failure should in turn be a success in the long run, as the learning process adds experience.
His main goal is building a model to work from to show the system’s success economically, environmentally and socially in the first year. He also adds that it is a good skill that he will have with him for the rest of his life.
The second half of the system is raising fish that will eventually be processed and sold to markets or restaurants. Most systems of this sort use tilapia due to their resilience, but he has chosen yellow perch because of both ties to the area and popularity in the local restaurant industry. He said yellow perch are very fickle and tough to raise, but he’s enjoying the task.
“The reason I chose yellow perch is because I can have them in water that is below 50-degrees and they still be ok, but tilapia can’t go below 65 or 70,” Graybiel said. “Really, if I am providing local produce I would like to have a fish that is really iconic to fish frys in the area.”
Graybiel obtained an aquaculture license for this project so he can raise and sell fish, as long as it is processed at a certified location such as Bliss Gardens Community Kitchen.
Grabiel has also been speaking with Rob Sarrine of Traverse City about working with the ‘food hub’ in progress.
“Rob Sarrine is really trying to create a food hub down in Traverse City, and that has potential for people interested in aquaponics to learn and even to just see large scale farming,” Graybiel said. “I can definitely see there being an education part and a consulting part to this in the future.”
“There are a lot of great people out there doing a lot of great work, trying to create a local michigan economy,” Graybiel said.
“I believe aquaponics can help service a unique market where you can efficiently grow produce without any inputs of fertilizer.” Graybiel said. “It’s just a natural symbiotic relationship that is created between fish and plants. The more you can create symbiosis like that the better you can shape designs.”
Graybiel will be at the Harbor Springs Farmers Market on Wednesday, August 8 and Saturday, August 11 selling leafy greens grown in his unique aquaponics system. Stop by to try them for yourself and get more information on Freshwater Farm. Graybiel can also be reached by email at mifreshwaterfarm@gmail.com or by visiting his facebook page at www.facebook.com/farmfreshwater.