Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

please excuse me if this has come up somewhere else but i have not quite got the grasp of this computer thing yet and i may have already posted this question . I am having trouble understanding how to irrigate different grow beds from a chift pist system. I understand the basic principle that water overflows from the fish tank into the grow beds then into the sump then is pumped back into fish tank( AP 101 ) but how do i regulate which grow bed i am filling under just gravity feeding from the over flow????

Your sump should be big enough to hold the water needed to completely flood all the grow beds at once and you adjust the flow rate at each GB with a tap (ie one overflow pipe which connects to all GBs), or you run a continously running system and use autosiphons.

If you can't get this to work then you need a sequencing valve which can fill alternating GBs, some people have tried to make their own but the "spider valve" sold by "Rupert of Oz" http://www.freshbynature.com.au/

But I am not sure if they will work in CHIFT PIST as they require pressure (or rather a break in pressure) to trigger the valve.

Hope this helps

I just Have Taps Running on mine, ATM i am only running 19mm Poly Until i Upgrade my SLO's But im only fisheless cycling so i dont really need it yet.

But i will be using 25mm PVC With a Tap At each bed. Might take a while to get the flows right as with a Grav fed system the changes you make in flows dont happen straight away i spend a whole afternoon when i was playing with getting the flow right on my Single Bed and Bell Siphon Just playing with it and letting it cycle a few times and adjusting etc...

Havnt officially got my 2nd Bed online yet still Washing my gravel but iv played with flow rates.


i also have a tap on the Return in my sump & at the FT (As my Pump is Currently too Big For my system the Tap in sump is on Flat Out and about 2/3rds shut at the tank) to regulate the amount of flow that fills my FT as this is also Critical to how much flow u have into your beds unless u have another overflow from ur FT to ur ST or ur tank will overflow.

Tricky Timly process but i love tinkering so much that i love changing my plumbing so iv got somthing to do hahahahah

Enjoy!

i dont have enough water in my fish tank to irrigate all beds at once so need a system that waters individual beds in turn.
my 2 ft hold approx 600 ltrs each, GB's hold approx the same amount and sump for ,the mean time, holds 250 ltrs.

You will Need to Sequence Fill your GB's Somehow, or Get a Bigger Sump, in a Chift Pist System your Sump needs to Hold More than your GB's

Could you possibly Bury one of your Ft as a Sump??? Maybe use 600l Sump, 600L FT, and ur 250l parallel to Fish tank as a Fingerling Nursery or a Yabby tank or somthing??? Giving you a lot more Sump Room to Fill ur beds up!

If your GB's are 600l Volume then they will take Roughly (off memory) 40% of that in water 40% of 600 = 240l x 2 = 480l of fill approx

Having a 600l Sump would be Nice for that size System for proportions can always Throw another FT in later down the track

Just my ideas and throrys as to how i am basing my system from what i have picked up trolling this forum

Enjoy!

thanks for your input m3tal do you think i would be better off if i used one of my 600 ltr ft as a sump, that would give me 600 ltr FT 1200 ltr GB and 600 ltr sump would that be enough to flood and drain all grower beds at once, therefore not have to worry about irrigating individual grower beds?

That would be about perfect as the 1200L of GB would need ~600L of water to flood them depending on the density of your gravel/media.

thanks simo' i have been worrying about my set up. I am on a cement slab in glass house so i dont have a lot of area and i would like to get it right the first time.

Yerp Seems All Nice and Proportionate to me, Not like you Lose any Water Volume Either just a Small Shift on plumbing.

If you Could Put your 250l Tank 150mm Higher (the Top Surfaces) Than your 600l Ft Then Run an SLO (Solids Lifting Overflow) From the 250 into the 600, Then run an SLO From the 600l to the Growbeds, Setup some Siphons in you GB's That Run into your Sump then Pump your Sump Back to The 250l Tank.

This way you will be sure both FT's Whole Volume will cycle, and it would allow you to Use the smaller tank as a Nice Place for new fish or Sickish fish ETC as the water is Nice and Filtered, then bigger Dirtier Fish in the 600L as that go's Straight to your beds for filtration.

thanks guys, The plan is to start set up this weekend so i'll try and post some photos next week.

haha "i would like to get it right the first time"

I think you'd be one of the first if you manage that, rundog

Haha iv done it right the first time 5 times now and ov only been ap'n for a few weeks

Glad to hear your on a mission rundog lookforward too seeing updates and progress