Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Wow Ell, I see your point about the trapped air. I never even noticed it, but I shall endeavor to correct. The nice thing about transparent tubing is that you can diagnose more easily.

I have re-done the input tubing. Input to the GB is now 0.5inches, and output is .375inches. That is the largest input I can go with this pump.

I ran some tests with me holding the end of the auto-siphon to have a slight upturn--a la 'dual exhaust auto-siphons'. That really seemed to help. The siphon would dribble a bit and then kick in reverse-style. From the upturn back up to the loop. Kinda neat.

The regrettable thing, is that it is not 'Pond Season' here. Which means that it is harder to find plumbing parts that I need. (Maybe I just shop at the wrong stores??) I have ordered some elbows, but I think I will run down to one of the mega-stores tomorrow. If I find what I need, it never hurts to have extra parts around.

Asitis, as soon as Ell sends me the holesaw, I will cut. I'm not frustrated at all with the challenges. I have great support here, and I can see progress.

janet why not do a pipe in pipe or a goose neck thay work really good. i have never use one of these types but i think you should try to eliminate elbows in a siphon as they restrict alot of flow.

Hi CG,
My biggest problem with pipe-in-pipe is that I cannot attach anything inside the GB. The pre-formed drain is threaded such that things attach only to the outside. I was trying to do a goose-neck outside the tank, but had to severly reduce the diameter since I have such small pumps (and small beds). Actually, the way I want to use the elbow, it won't be that much different from a miniature gooseneck.

Woohoo!
I'm sorry I can't help on auto-syphon issues but I did buy a hole saw today and will lend it to you when you're ready to start drilling holes in the floor

Well, I thought I posted this yesterday....certainly must have been eaten by the computer.

So here in the US, the Thanksgiving holiday will be on Thursday. We gather with family and have a grand feast with such goodies as roast turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. One of the traditions is to take the wishbone from the turkey and use it to make a wish. Two people hold each end of the wishbone and break it. The person with the larger half gets their wish.

So why the discourse on obscure US traditions?

Introducing...the Wishbone (Make a Wish) Auto-Siphon (TM). I have now had several successful tests. The trick was figuring out that I actually need very little backpressure, so submerging the end of the siphon to the bottom of the tank was just too much. I still have some tinkering to do (does the tinkering ever stop??), but I feel very comfortable that it will work.

--Janet.

U forgot to use a paper clip

Is the top pipe sealed?

Why of course it's sealed, Steve. With good old Duct Tape. Does that count instead of the paperclip?

Happy Thanksgiving Janet. I will miss it here in El Salvador. It's just another day. We are putting a BIG chicken in the preassure cooker on Thursday though.

I like the ad-hoc support system for the tubing;) Is that a gum extruded elastic fastener?

No, the ad-hoc support system is serially-connected units of extruded steel encased in a flat polymer structure.

When I get my new 3/8inch barb elbows I will re-construct in a more permanent manner. I just really needed to be able to adjust things easily while proto-typing. I will try to use a paperclip in the next version.

haha.... I am having the hardest time with my auto siphon I will enlist Les's help if he's around this weekend to figure out what I am doing wrong. Glad to see you working so fervently on your project. Where's the fish?

Hi Mike,
I took the first part of this week off so I could work on the project, plus some other stuff around the house, plus Christmas shopping.

Two goldfish are hiding at the back of the main tub during construction. They come out during my breaks and to get some food. The rest are still slumbering in the pond outside. They can come in once I'm convinced that I have cycled up OK.

My wasabi plants are in a mixing bowl on the kitchen counter. I really want to get them into the growbed, but I don't want to plant them until I am sure that I can safely run the pump for an extended period of time.

Important things I learned about auto-siphons: 1) inflow must be greater than outflow to get them to start up. 2) trapped air bubbles are bad, 3) don't leave an unanchored siphon unattended unless you like mopping.

Well the #1 thing I was doing wrong is inflow was not sufficient. Don't know how I'm going to solve that one.
#2 I probably have trapped air.
#3 Is about the only thing I am probbaly doing right;)

go get some tilapia!

#1 is definitely #1, if you don't have that right it won't ever work. If the bed fills up fast enough any kind of siphon would probably do the job. Once a given pump and grow bed volume and siphon are working well together I think that the pump/growbed/siphon unit should be replicated, rather trying to figure the magic combination anew...

Make a wish siphon = hee hee

Hey Mike I have one more post than you!