What fish farm can your budget build?
Move the budget slider or tell us what tanks you already have. See a complete first-cycle estimate — fish, feed, filtration load and running costs — before requesting a quote.
Early planning estimate · Not a final quotation or loan approvalDesign your farm
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2 m diameter × 1.2 m high — about 3,770 L at the rim; this model uses 3,142 L at a provisional 1.0 m water depth.
At 5,000 L working capacity, 500 kg of harvested catfish equals 100 kg/m³. Exact upgraded-tank dimensions, base support and oxygen/filtration capacities require confirmation.Adjust production and price assumptions
SANDS new catfish package: one tank UGX 5,000,000; two or more UGX 3,500,000 per tank, including initial fingerlings and one starter bag each. The 25 kg starter-bag size is only an example. Stocking covers mortality for the intended harvest. Survival, starter weight, FCR, working depth and safe filtration capacity need checking. Repeat-cycle fingerlings are provisionally valued at UGX 500/fish; feed is UGX 2,500/kg.
Suggested setup
Based on the figures you selected:
500 harvest fish × 1 kg means 500 kg across 3,142 working litres (159.1 kg/m³). This target is NOT approval to stock. A SANDS site assessment must verify oxygen transfer, pump duty, biofilter ammonia-removal capacity, solids/CO₂ removal, backup power and water quality before a financing proposal can become a final quotation.
Where the money goes
SANDS package prices: UGX 5,000,000 for one tank, or UGX 3,500,000 per tank for two or more. The package includes tanks, one shared 50,000 L/h, 500 W pump for up to six tanks, mechanical/biological filtration valued at UGX 600,000 per tank, aeration, installation, mortality-adjusted fingerlings and one starter feed bag per tank. The starter bag is assumed 25 kg until confirmed. Backup power, electricity, extra feed, testing/support, water and contingency are listed separately. For 5,000 L tanks, the calculated package total includes ONLY a quoted extra materials charge if supplied; until then it is a minimum, NOT a complete price. The technical suitability of 500 kg harvest per tank remains unverified.
Estimated unallocated budget: UGX 3,148,935
What your filtration must handle
One 50,000 L/h, 500 W pump is shared between up to six SANDS tanks at the same UGX 1.5m equipment price. Water goes through a distribution manifold; excess nominal capacity may recirculate via the final filtration/aeration stage. The bypass must not short-circuit waste treatment, and does not itself certify oxygen delivery. All flow figures require measurement at operating head. Planning factors: 2% peak-day feeding rate, 40 g TAN/kg feed, 0.6 kg O₂/kg feed, and a 1.25× tank-volume/hour circulation screen. SANDS must size the solids filter, biofilter media, oxygenation, CO₂ removal and backup power for the actual site.
Fresh water supply and daily exchange
Same tanks — compare 20% and 50% new-water exchange
Water can come from NWSC/piped supply, borehole or another reliable source. Its quality must be tested, and storage or flow reliability verified. Entering a daily available amount lets the planner screen it against new-water demand. This does not prove suitability of the water chemistry or biosecurity.
Choosing 50% instead of 20% adds 943 L/day and 169,668 L per season at the same tank size. The incremental water-source charge would be UNPRICED (enter UGX per 1,000 L above); treatment, water pumping and discharge charges may be additional. The 50,000 L/hour shared RAS pump only circulates existing system water; it does not provide this new supply. Extra filtration does not guarantee the 500 kg/tank harvest: check biofilter TAN capacity, solids capture, oxygen transfer and CO₂ removal.
First harvest: did I recover my startup investment?
This calculation subtracts the complete first-season farm purchase (including all tanks, pump and filtration supplied in the package), plus additional feed, electricity, support, water testing, estimated water charges and contingency.
A negative amount means the farmer has NOT recovered the startup investment. A positive amount means modeled first-season cash receipts exceed ALL entered costs, not that SANDS guarantees profit. Actual water-source expense, labour, transport, harvesting and engineering compliance costs must still be verified and entered where not already included. Loan financing costs are not yet modeled.
Investment recovery & payback
Payback is the number of complete 180-day production cycles until cumulative cash flow turns positive. The first season counts the inclusive package and only additional feed; later seasons must purchase new fingerlings and ALL feed. Includes a 10% allowance and excludes loan interest, tax, land, significant repairs and unpriced costs. Feed conversion and stocking density remain unverified.
Season-by-season recovery (expected case)
The cumulative figure includes the original purchase price in Season 1. Later seasons are charged for new fingerlings, full feed and other recurring costs. Positive cumulative cash first appears when the investment has been recovered. Assumes equivalent uninterrupted seasons with a full harvest each time.
What if survival, feed conversion or selling price change?
Conservative: lower survival, higher FCR and selling price 10% lower. Optimistic: slightly higher survival, better FCR and selling price 10% higher. These are illustrative sensitivities, not validated probabilities or guarantees.
- Water supply type not selected. Source may be piped, borehole or other reliable clean water; verify at site.
- Available NEW water per day not verified. For the selected exchange, demonstrate at least 629 L/day of reliable source-water capacity plus top-up for cleaning and evaporation.
- Labour, fish harvesting, delivery/marketing, maintenance and other farm expenses have NOT been priced. Add realistic per-cycle costs before treating the payback figures as usable for lending.
- Daily 20%-or-higher fresh water replacement is included as a quantity, but water acquisition/discharge costs are UNPRICED (UGX 0/1,000 L). Add the true water cost or own-source pumping/treatment expense.
- Daily new-water exchange is additional to internal recirculation; approximately the same volume must be drained or discharged to hold the water level constant.
- One nominal 50,000 L/h, 500 W pump costing UGX 1.5m is included in the SANDS catfish package for up to six tanks. Actual flow at head, bypass flow, distribution and oxygenation must be verified.
- SANDS catfish package includes the pump, tank, aerator, UGX 600,000 per-tank filtration, piping/install, initial fingerlings, and one starter feed bag per tank. These are not charged twice.
- Starter feed bag weight 25 kg per tank is an UNCONFIRMED example. Confirm actual bag size and fingerling count included in the package.
- Nominal flow not directed to grow-out tanks (46,072 L/h) is assumed routed to the aerating/filter return. This bypass is not guaranteed additional dissolved oxygen and must not short-circuit treatment.
- SANDS reports 300 W for each shared circulation pump and 40 W for each aerator. This estimate assumes one aerator per tank; confirm whether aerators are actually shared, and verify actual power draw. Backup power UGX 1,200,000, support, testing and contingency remain unconfirmed allowances.
- HIGH-INTENSITY DESIGN: 159 kg/m3 expected harvest biomass. This is a proposed output target only. SANDS must verify aeration/oxygen transfer, filtration TAN removal, solids, CO2 stripping, backup and water-quality monitoring. No stocking approval is implied.
- Catfish project targets 500 fish HARVESTED per standard working-volume tank, with extra fish stocked for mortality at the selected survival rate.
- 1.0 m working water depth is provisional; confirm actual tank water level.
- Fingerling starting weight (25 g), FCR, survival, cycle length, feed allowance and TAN factors still need confirmation.
- First-cycle receipts do not recover installation plus running costs; equipment is a multi-cycle investment.
- SANDS must validate oxygen, solids removal, TAN conversion, CO2 stripping, water availability, power and actual site costs before stocking.
Turn your estimate into a funding proposal
Generate a personalised PDF you can download, print or send to a bank, investor, farmer group or other potential funder. Your assumptions, fish plan, cost breakdown, filtration screening, risk cases and payback analysis are included automatically.
Download an example proposal (PDF)
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Send my farm plan to SANDS
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Help us improve this pilot
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Send feedback to SANDS on WhatsApp →Your selections are sent to WhatsApp only if you open the request. No Equity Bank application or loan approval is submitted from this page. Equipment and electricity assumptions need confirmed quotations. A loan product would be added only after a bank partnership is agreed.