Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

this is (TMHO) the only place in an AP system where a valve comes in handy
you could easily manufacture a cheap one yourself
if you dispose of two more or less tightly fitting tubes
drill two holes in them
aligning the holes will allow for faster draining
disaligning them will slow draining

frank

This is what I thought Kenny did... I forget if it was him, I can't find the post.
he drilled a big hole in a stand pipe, then got an off cut, and cut it axially so it could be persuaded to go over the other pipe, this created a gap through which (when aligned) the water could flow.

Something like this:

Heres photos of my stand pipes 1 =6 mm hole been running 2 years no problem

I'd post some photos of mine. But I only took photos of the first ones. And after getting a lot of gravel sucked into the ft I find the new ones I make are a lot better.

welcome JT

for a number of reasons I'll be watching this thread carefully

thanks all....

added all the good ideas to my growing list of things to do...

I noticed fish&food you had a pipe coming thru your liner... how did you seal it?

thanks
JT

An important thing about standpipes that you might need to adjust. Make sure you install them in a manner that will allow you to pull it out and add more holes or cover up holes or replace the standpipe. If it is perminantely installed into a bed full of gravel with only enough space to get your hand down in by it and you can't remove it for the modification, it could be a problem. It is kinda difficult to drill holes in pipe in place within the grow bed.

also, I have found I just rotate the surround and this trims the roots off,
unplugs the holes and sends offcuts to the sump.
If you can't do this then you will need to mechanically remove the roots
and a plug n waste setup.
then you can plug the bed to keep it flooded or vary the height by adjusting the standpipe

Hell yeah, been there done that

It's all part of the fun

On all sealing jobs i use sellys roof and gutter silicone its a neutral cure silicone hope this helps

+1

I should buy shares in selleys

Thanks for all the input from everyone...

I have read way to many msgs but learned alot... now just have to put the info into practical usage

I have narrowed down my design to the pics...

because my GH is existing, I have to make it fit and work with as little modification as possible ...you can see that the south wall leans into the working area, so I am limited to what I can do....

I am going to use an external pump, only because I dont want it burred under the GB to a point that I cannot get to it in case it needs to be repaired or replaced.... I will make sure the pump is watertight and cannot leak any oils or other substances ...

the FT will hold 392 Gallons - 1440 L

the first GB is 3' x 16' x 1' (.9144m x 4.87m x .30m) which will hold 359 Gallons (1359L) with a 50/50 ration of water to gravel - GB = 180 gallons (681L)

My 4 - 55 gallon (208L) sump barrels will hold 220 gallons (832L)

so when the GB is full I will have about 40 gallons (151L) left in the sump barrels

the three floating squares are future GB expansion... I am leaving a couple feet between them so I can reach anywhere in the Main GB. I will probably have to put a second pump on these and time it to F&D after the main GB... since I wouldnt have enough water in the sump barrels for all of it...This would add much more airation to the FT over a longer period of time....and will probably be a little more hassel..

the small blue hanging thing you see by the right door will be an isolation tank...

I will probably start out with adjustable stand pipes and see how that goes....

I am purchasing building items over the winter and hope to start construction by mid spring - as soon as I can get all the existing plants outside...

So this is my system.... if anyone has ideas to make it better, (not harder to implement) I am all ears Keep in mind, that I am limited to space...and want to maximize the design, so every inch counts...

thanks again for all the good ideas and suggestions..

JT

wow thats impressive

Very nice drawings, helps a lot with visualizing your constraints.

Maybe set the barrels vertical to fit more in there? You might regret only having a 40 gallon margin later.

If the squares could be higher than the FT level they could be flooded with water on the way from the sump to to the FT, rather than water from the FT to the sump. If it were water from the sump clear of solids then instead of gravel beds they could be towers, planted walls, NFT gutters, or other.

Again nice sketches!

+1 on the small sump regret factor...
also, timing has a habit of getting out of sync... so relying on pumping to separate beds is a recipe for HSM one day.

Being that you're already digging you could put the barrels vertically.
Or, being that you're burying your sump, you could bury it outside the GH, this way it's still nicely insulated by the earth, and you just need a nice lid.
Perhaps you could go all out, keep your 4 barrels, bury an IBC outside, thereby over doubling your sump, and, if it's more convenient then, you could put a submersible pump into the IBC, where it's readily accessible.