Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Yes, I have some trouble with the siphons. Technically they don't empty underwater, the lateral pipe they empty into slopes down to dump into the DWC below the water line. But strange things happen when multiple siphons are firing at the same time, and water backs up into the lateral, etc. I may post some photos soon and ask for a little help, though it's not a serious problem - sometimes a GB(s) will fill more than normal before draining. Overflows become important if this gets serious or if drains get clogged with roots! I'm considering a loop siphon trial or maybe parallel drains instead of my "all into one" approach.

Aeration! Grrr. I lost over 100 4-6" catfish when I went out of town one week. A confluence of variables, and backup aeration had been near the top of my list for so long. I'm still developing this but currently I use an 18 watt air pump for both an 800 gal tank and a 275 gal IBC. I got rid of the air stones since they restrict flow and the fine bubbles don't disturb the surface very much. I have a 5/16 open hose bubbling in the center of the round 800 tank, and an open 1/4 in the IBC. It makes for aggressive bubbles and stirs the surface very well. I haven't checked the DO lately but it's on my to-do list. I'm considering using ONLY the power heads for aeration. I currently have one that points upward and creates a great surface disturbance using only 6 watts of power AND it helps keep the water moving.

I'm also in a very grid stable area having had like one power outage in 10 years for 15 minutes. Then since my AP system they did some upgrades. Now I've had 3 - 4 outages in the past two years with two lasting over 4 hours. Depending on stocking, you can lose a lot of fish in an hour. Just sayin, be ready for the worst now.

The greenhouse looks awesome, you will have great success. Good luck with your plans!!

Thanks I was very lucky and got the greenhouse for free and the bricks came from an 17th century house!

Why do you have them emptying under the surface? Is it not a good idea to disturb the surface of a dwc?
It's pretty typical alright I'll swear by our grid right up until the point I get ap up and running! I'll put it on the list!

Disturbing the surface is fine. I have the drains empty under the surface because 1, the bottom of my GBs is even with (or just a few inches above) the top of my DWCs and 2, I started with duckweed in the DWCs and the surface dump is good for aeration, but bad for calm duckweed. It still grows but gets churned into the water, flows thru the plumbing, etc. Now I have a raft in the first DWC and duckweed in only the 2nd, but there is still reason #1 - stacking too many things in a minimal vertical arrangement.