Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Ok

i have been searching around here for hours working out of people's systems and advice on how to run a chift-pist SLO system.

Going to run a 1100ish LT Tank into 2 x Bathtub GB's (approx 300l/ea) then bell syphon them into 400ish lt sump.

Now I am guessing with a 300lt GB filled with Drainage Gravel it will take around 120l of water before it kicks the syphon on and drains Hence Dumping 120l of water into my sump. x by 2 means 240l of water to fill my beds and drain which means if i start my sump with 350l in it, and the FT full any water pumped from the sump to the tank go's into the GB's and my sump shouldnt run dry there for not needing a float switch straight away.

My Next Theory i need to get it How much flow does a SLO Pipe Need to actually take the solids up and out of the tank?????

Not sure what size threaded Coupling fittings i will be able to get but hoping to run 50mm PVC for the SLO out to 25mm to feed my GB's.

i am hoping to get away with a small pump to start things off and as i progress with more GB's i will obviously need more pumps or a bigger one. would somthing like a 2250l/ph Pond pump do the trick?? Runs at 36watts with a 2.1m head (i will be running approx 1300mm head on it and my sump will be Right next to my FT so it will be straight up and back in. will Make an Airator for the return line that runs across the mid of the tank with some 6mm holes in it.

and somthing around a 200lph Air Pump with a Couple of 12in Air Stones in my FT and one in my ST.

Hoping that someone can clairfy iv done my Homework and everything is adequate enough for the system i am planning.

Here is a Basic Paintshop sketch of my plan....

Looks good to me. I would suggest two overflows - one for solids removal and one as skimmer.

Make the Plumbing for the SLO drain out of the fish tank as big as you reasonably can. I would say minimum of 50mm and if you can manage the next size larger it might be a good idea. Also don't put the SLO drain too near the top rim of the fish tank, ya want a little big of free board above the water line.

If you are planning on expanding, you might want to put in a bigger sump tank, will be far more difficult to expand if you have too small a sump in a location difficult to modify (under a functioning grow bed.)

Yep, definitely as large as possible on the piping, and that pump sounds fine...

Hi M3

It looks like you are using an IBC for a fish tank, if so then the best bet for your outlet is a bulkhead fitting (the black thing on top of the IBC in the link below, there are better pictures of them in here but I cant find one at the moment). I used a 40mil model from Bunnings and 40mil piping for my SLO and growbed supply piping, going down to 25 mil into each growbed.

Check your private email

I would definitely go bigger then 40mm bulkhead. At least 50mm if not larger. They block up if they are two small. I have a 40mm and a 25mm from one tank to the other. They cannot handle 100L/min when my sump pump fires up even with what appears to be plenty of room in the tank above the outlet.

An alternative to the bulkhead fitting is using the tap on the IBC. Just a thought.

My 40mil SLO has been running in my IBC system for 2 years without issue

I am using a 6000 litre per hour Laguna pump that I calculated at my head pumps approximately 2000 litres an hour (33 litres a minute). That is twice the volume of the fish tank each hour, which is plenty. At that rate a 40mil SLO is pretty much working at capacity and draws very well, keeps the tank spotless.

I am using syphons at the moment but if I chose to do a timed flood and drain the current configuration would also work. It would take about 15 minutes to fill all my grow beds.

Hope that helps

yup, biggerer is betterer

Hi all,
if I can confirm what some of you are saying please.

The bulkhead fitting is the blackfitting which sits in the IBC wall and seals and connects to the SLO pipe work inside and outside the IBC?

Dale

Bulkhead fittings are generally fittings that go through the hole in a flat part of a tank and have gaskets and a nut threads on to seal the fitting to the tank wall and stop it from leaking around the outside of the fitting and the tank.

Another option instead of a bulkhead fitting that is appropriate in some situations is a uniseal.

and the pipe work fits into these using glues?
Dale

Been to B to try and buy the fittings. Don't seem to have the larger sizes as I only saw 40 mm fittings whilst I want 90 mm fittings. Where do you all buy your plumbing?

Der in the 90 mm fitting section ask one of there blokes

You can glue them or use aquarium silicon. Smear a bit of silicon around the pipe and then push it into the fitting. Makes it a lot easier to pull apart if you want to reconfigure things later.