Availability of high salinity water.
A source of at least 70 ppt is essential. Sources can be:
evaporation ponds in saltfarms. Run-off water from crystallization areas is disrecommended for toxicity reasons.
highly saline water from fishponds in late summer.
Sufficient water depth.
At least 30–40 cm depth is necessary to prevent too high temperatures.
Regular water intake possibility.
Once every week or two weeks, without hampering operation of non-Artemia ponds.
Seepage and leakage free ponds.
To be able to maintain salinity and waterdepth.
Pollution and contamination free water.
Agricultural pesticides can bio-accumulate in produced cysts, thus making their hatched naupliae toxic for cultured species.
Since high salinity water is needed it is logical to look for sites with saltfarm facilities. Ordinary fishponds, not neighbouring to saltfarms, are unsuitable since high salinity will have to be reached through time-consuming evaporation. Consequently three kinds of sites to consider are:
saltfarms Deep evaporation ponds or modified shallow evaporation ponds.
fishponds next to a saltfarm with possibility to draw brine from the evaporation ponds of the saltfarm.
Newly to develop plots of land situated in a suitable climatic type. To be developed as combination of evaporation area and Artemia ponds with the first area providing brine to Artemia ponds.
In the Philippines, saltfarms using the evaporation pond system are to be found in Pangasinan, Bulacan, Bataan, Metro-Manila (Las Piñas and Parañaque), Cavite, Iloilo, Mindoro Occidental, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Cebu, Misamis Oriental, Zamboanga, and South Cotabato.
Not all these areas have climatic type 1 weather, which is the climate with the longest dry season. The longer the dry season the better for cyst production. Following the IRRI agroclimatic map, duration of the dry season in the different saltfarm areas is as follows:
| Zamboanga | ) | more than 6 dry months* |
| S. Cotabato | ) | |
| Pangasinan | ) | 5–6 dry months* |
| Bataan | ) | |
| Bulacan | ) | |
| Metro Manila | ) | |
| Cavite | ) | |
| Iloilo | ) | 2–4 dry months* |
| Mindoro Occ. | ) | |
| Negros Occ. | ) | |
| Negros Or. | ) | |
| Bohol | ) | |
| Cebu | ) | |
| Misamis Or. | ) | |
Because of the traditional lay-out of most saltfarms (shallow evaporation ponds), a lot of saltfarm areas offer not-directly suitable Artemia ponds and will consequently need modification or development. Directly suitable ponds were found in Bohol, Negros Oriental, Iloilo and Pangasinan.
