Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

searching brings up a million threads and it's not listed in the FAQ Forum Use Acronyms
so what is a SLO?????

it's a Solids Lift Overflow..

thanks
that made my search a lot easier!
found this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=8973&hilit=slo

A SLO=Solids Lifting Overflow
is the drain formerly known as a "Venturi Drain" and probably still known as that in some aquaculture facilities.


Here is some history
http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=148811#p148811
http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4127&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=venturi+drain+slo

What size should the pipe be in the second diagram?

90mm is said to be best but Ive seen them down to about 50mm and still be effective.

50mm is the minimum... otherwise you can't get the flow out of the tank... unless you downsize, or throttle the pump flow in...

And that can be dtremental in terms of tank turnover...

90 all the way!

I have used a 1" or 25 mm and it drained 4 grow beds just fine. ( My grow beds are Ibc's ). I have switched to a 3" which is 76 mm and it is a lot more than enough. I can't believe you guys are using 90mm which is huge 3.5". I bet a 90 mm would drain 15 grow beds easily. And btw this is with a 2k gallon per hour pump 7500 liters.

Here is a pic of the 1" or 25 mm slo



And it handled all 4 of these grow beds running off siphons for many months.



And here is the new slo using the 3" pipe.

That sounds like a stand pipe which most people will use 20 or 25mm pipe for.

No it is a slo it is what drained that IBC into my fish tank. It has a pick up that runs along the bottom.

A SLO normally delivers water from a fish tank to a growbed not the other way round. Are we talking about the same thing?

A slow is just a way to move water from one tank to another, and one that sucks from the bottom. My grow beds are not the lowest part of my system so my slo delivers water from one of my fish tank IBC's to my big tank that is buried in the ground. Where my pump sits and sends the water to my highest things which are my grow beds. A slo does not have to send water to a grow bed. A slo is a solids lifting overflow and that is exactly what is in the pic. The direction of the water is irrelevant on whether or not it is a slo. As long as it moves solids out of your tank it is a slow.

Interesting. Your water still looks nice and clear.

I am using 40mm working just fine