Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi all again
I finally got my tanks a 5000l to collect water and a faulty 3000l to cut down for a fish tank
Here is my dilema I dont know if I should burry the tank and use a pump which I allready purchased and let gravity take its cause or half burry it and set it with a sump under the grow bed wich soon as I get a bit more financial I intend to get from BA I also got an 100lpm air pump to add to it Ill include some links to my pics of the tanks and the area where Im setting it up
also Ill put a link to my autopot set up in the small glass house(10mm policarb)
hope some one can give me some ideas at the moment my head is going in all directions

Tanks link http://picasaweb.google.com.au/GabrielS ... Tiq_fV_AE#


glasshouse and autopot Link http://picasaweb.google.com.au/GabrielS ... lasshouse#

Updated autopot link http://picasaweb.google.com.au/GabrielS ... yMwbnM3AE#

Thanks Guys

Simplest is to bury the tank, and let gravity drain the water back.

Or you leave the tank right up on the surface and do a CHIFT PIST system with only one pump and you get a sump.

You will probably want to make sure the autopots are getting filtered water or clogging could be an issue.

Thanks TCLynx
I like the Idea how do you calculate the size of the sump tank

Thanks again Gabriel

To calculate size of sump tank will kinda depend on a few things. Mostly how much grow bed volume you will have.
If you are going to go traditional timer operation with so special valves (like the spider) then you need to figure enough water to flood all your grow beds at once plus some % so your pump can continue to operate. I generally advise you need 50% of the total grow bed volume in order to have enough to flood the grow beds and then I like to add several inches of depth so the pump can operate and I have a little leeway to set up an automatic top up float valve installed above the pump running dry level but below the normal sump low water level.
For a system with about a 2:1 gravel beds to fish tank, the sump should be about the same size as the fish tank.

If you want a much smaller sump tank, but still like the CHIFT PIST idea, you might look at an indexing valve like Rupe has for sale. This isn't quite a standard utilization of the indexing valve though. I have one running on a CHIFT PIST system but it isn't quite a simple set up. It might work using the pump on a timer feeding the fish tank which feeds the valve but I have not yet tried to do it that way so don't know how well it would work that way.

Thanks TCLynx
It is very interesting now I have to work out where Im going to put itand if It's not possible Ill have to keep digging

Thanks Gabriel