Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Don't be like that Rupe .....anyway by the way the weather is over here I may just need Barra or silvers anyway

Just ribbin' ya Gnash... I can't talk... I've got two unfinished projects in my backyard....

Only two...you are doing well by last count I have five...well 6 inc the AP system

Do i have to wait another week or 2 to get my next gnash fix.
hubby

Yep.... waiting with baited breath........ Nice work Gnash...

Maybe a wait...

OK.....now a question, I know 40mm pipe would be better for the water delivery lines...but I have 25mm as it suited my budget....
The question is, will this be ok or not, and if not is there evidence supporting this?....and I mean real evidence...like burnt out/dammaged pumps etc.

OMG
You have been busy, looks great Gnash!

I can go the other way....

All my piping from pump to GBs is 40mm, including the piping in the GBs, and I haven't had any problems

Or run the 40mm as a "backbone"... then step down to 25mm (via a tee) to distribute to the grow beds... like I do ala "Holmes-A-Court"...



and the "Shoalhaven" jobs...

Fair call Guys......maybe 40mm to the indexer (which will be placed central between the conical GB and the NFT table) then 25mm from there...as the indexer is 25mm.
Decision made now to make it happen

I've forgotton nearly all my chemical engineering, but I'll try to give a basic outline of pipe size.
All pipes have pressure losses due to friction. Larger pipes have less pipe surface when compared to cross sectional area, so for any given length of pipe, a larger pipe with have less pressure drop due to friction than a smaller pipe. All fittings, valves, bends etc also reduce pressure, and again, the larger the pipe the lower the pressure drop.
Correctly sizing pipes is important because the pump you use must be able to pump the water to the correct height at the required volume. It is easier to add pressure loss with a valve than it is to try and reduce pressure loss.
There is some evidence that running pumps with a constricted outlet (eg undersized pipes) will damage it in the long term, but this is better left to people in the industry.
Try this site to see the effect of different pipe sizes. Use a standard 100ft distance and change the pipe size between calculations:
http://www.irrigationtutorials.com/faq/ ... ulator.htm

Needless to say I found this after posting:

http://www.huntermac.com.au/popuppages/ ... pvc_12.pdf

it's all on one page and in SI units!

Thanks bythebrook

big diff with the style of pump and the size , small pipe higher the pressure that is needed to deliver the flow rate.
spider valve will not cut it.
spider valve very good design for flow without restriction.
I am only going of memory that you will be getting one.
the larger volume of water the larger the pipe 40mm

Not sure what you mean Netab.... the aquaponics valve was designed for the low flow rates typically found with most pumps utilised in AP systems...

There is no need to "restrict" the flow into the inlet port of the valve.... you just select the appropriate sized valve.... and if need be step down into the grow beds...

Any "restriction" of flow at the grow bed end from the valve outlets will have virtually no effect on the valve operation....

Utilising a high volume pump, or wrongly sized model... due perhaps to increased pressure through restriction.... can be rectified by utilising a "high flow" valve stem... or up-sizing the inlet size of the valve accordingly....