Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I don't have "air holes", but might do an experiment at some time and see it makes any difference?




Sorry about the audio quality, but you can hear the air being drawn into the drain.



Scott

[edit] Audio on the YT version is worse than the original -- but you get the idea anyway?

Nice work Bunson

I have my standpipes the same except with a 25x40 adaptor for the same reasons + extra water flow. I don't see as many bubbles as your's but my drains run to the fish tank not drop down directly like your's

I knew I could get extra flow and thought with extra turbulence would add more air and now you've shown how much you can get.
More is always better

Cheers

A vertical drop is "best" but so long as you have the water maintaining speed it shouldn't matter too much about any horizontal distance (within reason) so, if you cannot drop straight down into the FT, try using a slightly larger diameter pipe for any horizontal sections to reduce the speed loss due to friction.



Scott

After a little experimentation, this certainly doesn't work in my setup -- all that happens is that water sprays out the holes! This might be good for breaking some surface tension but my system performs better and more quietly without the holes.

I am going to guess that if you have the drain-end above the surface of the water, there is no resistive pressure so air is drawn in through holes in the drain piping, but, if your water has to "press" against a depth of water like I have in my setup this increases pressure inside the drain so that any holes are just a place for the water to escape under that pressure.


Scott

One of my 20 trout died today. Water is normal. Slime and scales were all good, gills were a good colour, internal organs all appeared normal, but usually(?) its anus and entire digestive tract were jammed with food/waste; seems it died from acute constipation? The waste was quite slimy and pungent, but "normally" dark in colour. Has anyone seen this before?

Added 27 Mar 2012: 25g 120mm (approx)
Died 19 Jun 2012: 180g 210mm

This fish was also the smallest in the pond; I recently up-sized from 3mm to 5mm pellets??

Thats strange Bunson... no havnt heard of that one

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/disease ... pation.php

cheers

I went outside to make sure everything was OK as it is forecast to rain this afternoon. I thought I'd give the trout a small feed as they didn't seem too keen on eating this morning. I noticed one trout was swimming lethargically near the surface; I could in fact touch the fish and it seemed to be bumping into the side of the FT. I grabbed my net and scooped out the fish for a quick examination; it didn't seem to mind being handled which is odd in its own right, there didn't appear to be anything wrong so I gave a gentle squeeze to see if its digestive tract was blocked and it wasn't. I dropped the fish back into the water and watched it swim upside-down and bump into the side, bottom and pump. Obviously this wasn't normal so I scooped the fish out for another look and couldn't see any more evidence of anything wrong than I did before, so I lowered the fish into the FT by placing my hand into the water and felt that familiar tingle. One, two, three, four..... fifty times in the second.... yup, another pump had lost its insulation and was electrifying the water, only mildly for me but it obviously wasn't good for that fish, or the next one I spotted already dead on the floor of the FT.

I quickly switched off the pump and made up a resuscitation tank for the injured fish. I switched over to the backup pump in the FT which only provides aeration and water movement for the fish and doesn't pump water into the GBs but it's not hot today so a few hours without water isn't going to do the plants any harm.

Luckily I live close to BYAP, so I dropped in and purchased another pump. I got home to find the poorly fish had expired in the resuscitation tank I installed the new pump and reverted to "normal operations" by switching off the backup pump. Casualties so far: 2. 17 trout still swimming, but for how long?

Lessons learnt: Always have a backup!

I am pi55ed though as this is the second of these PondMax PU4500D - Ultra Series - submersible dirty water pumps to have failed through low insulation and electrifying the water in three years. Each pump is supposed to have a three year warranty and this pump was only about 18-24 months old (?). I really hope I can find the receipt and paperwork to return this for a refund, and hope the BYAP re-badged Resun 3000lph replacement lasts longer.

Lesson learnt: Need better paperwork storage to more easily find receipts in this mess I call my office!

I am very quickly going off the idea of 240V submersible pumps. The first time a pump failed, I found out by sticking my hand into the water. Luckily then the electrical short could only be considered leakage, not enough to trip the safety switch in the power meter but large enough to still be felt through the skin; this was the same for the second instance, except I got see injured fish first (but didn't actually know it was injured, it could have been ill). If either of these instances had been a "larger" leak and still not trigger the safety switch (which are not foolproof in their own right) then someone (me) could be injured or worse if they ever stuck their hand into a tank full of mains-power electrified water.

Lesson learnt: ALWAYS flick the water the back of a finger before submersing your hand in to the tank. Always, or end up dead.

WANTED
An electrically-savvy person to develop a sensor (ammeter?) which can be located in the FT which will switch off pumps and other electrical devices and isolate power, and sound an alarm in the event of another insulation failure/earth leakage in a pump or device,

and/or

the make and model of a reliable, long lasting low voltage submersible pump,

and/or

the make and model of a reliable, long lasting, low power external pump (for consideration).


Scott

P.S. Added 27 Mar 2012: 25g 120mm (approx)
Died 06 July 2012: 243g and 250g, both about 240mm

I like the laguna range scotty.

Hi Scott, interesting read - sorry to hear about your fish ... and pump. I also have a pondMax but the 8000 model. I get from time to time a tingle in the fingers when planting or submersing my hand in the water. Not so often now its winter (no idea why that is) but it still does occur. Mine however is intermittent and no dead fish - hmm except for that one last month.

Not real keen in replacing the pump after only a year but don't want to kill any fish or myself or others.

is there a warranty issue here? for the pump not the fish

Someone once told me (old-wives tale?) that you get a tingle, almost pricking sensation, when you stick your hand into cold water. I never believed it, especially since I've tested the theory whilst swimming at the foot of a glacier in Patagonia, scuba diving in Ireland (10C in summer!) and many years spent at sea, sailing and in the Navy. This was more than a tingle as you could feel each peak in the amplitude of the AC power. (Want to know why it's called 50 Hertz power? Because, when you stick your hand in the water, 50 times each second it hurts!)

Warranties are only good if you can find the paperwork!

[Edit: Addendum]
Paperwork found. Pump and paperwork submitted to BYAP, who has to wait until the distributor is on-site again before I'll know if I get a warranty refund, or warranty replacement.

Some silver lining to the premature deaths of two fish (and one pump)...

The replacement BYAP S-3000lph pump is rated at 60W but according to my power meter is only drawing 33W (the old pump was rated at something higher but drew 67W) so my running costs have just halved!

Another silver lining, I have fish for breakfast tomorrow morning! (We're planning on going out for dinner tonight, weather dependent.)


Scott

got any pics of the fish scotty?

Would an RCD trip if the water was electrified as you have described? I'm just wondering if this is a potential problem, as I have a Pondmax8000.

Ahhhhh, you live in a house that's a few years old I imagine rather than a fairly new one? This is nothing to do with the pump, people often get a similar thing in some houses in the shower when they touch the tap. Ask an electrician, and get an electrician in to test your wiring.

I've heard this a number of times from people and asked my friend who's an electrician and another thats an electrical engineer and they said it's something to do with the earthing within the house wiring..

I just found this online too..



It won't trip an RCD because they trip on current going from active to earth... This is getting a little out of my depth, but if you do a bit of searching on line I think you'll find that this is what it is.... Actually nothing to do with the pump at all I think... I think...