Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi,

How hard is it to extend the cables for float switches?

I want the pump to sit at the bottom of the tank so I need to extend the float switch cable to be able to have that.

Has anyone got any advice? I have had a look through previous postings but couldn't find much.

Thanks

Simon

will you be relying on the float to be the on/off?

Psychochook,
Remember that if the pump is on the very bottom, you can accidentally pump -all- the water out. If it is raised a bit, you can only accidentally pump -most- of the water out. The fish might like option B better. Just a thought.

You can't really extend the float lead, I tried, but the lead with an extension in it was moretrouble than what it was worth.. But there is another option to get the pump on the bottom of the tank, just have to find it....


Found it......

Simon, if you check out the following link you will find float switches.
http://practicalstuff.razza.org/night/p ... ml#switacc
All you need to do is take it to an electrician friend and get him to wire it into a piggyback plug. So the float switch is plugged into the power point, then the pump is plugged into that..

You can see an example in the following link too, a little more expensive though... Most pond shops have similar things..
http://www.creativefountains.com.au/Wor ... itches.htm

Been a lot said by you on your site (relayed to here) about this site and it's supposed ban on you and Gary and your products Murray... guess maybe this site isn't as bad as you'd like to portray it as hey Muzz....

From when I was on your site (before you banned me for criticising an attack on a member) you had a stated "no commercial advertising" policy....

Yet again (from what's been reported) you make constant reference to your products in post after post.... and unashamedly advertise yourself and products here......

I don't have a problem with anyone persuing a business interest Murray....

But jezz mate... you've got to be the biggest hypocite I've ever seen... and to turn around and slag this site and members off on your own "commercial" site/forum is just another example of your gutless hippocracy.

IMHO ...

And then, apparantly, after having logged in here the other day, you went and posted three new threads, directly listed on this forum a few hours before... in one you even pretended a neighbours kid had passed the information on to you !!!!!!!!

Hell....is Murray that bad


Edit:
Crikey, just checked the price of one

Gee..... Rupert, getting a bit carried away there old mate......"Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story" You are behaving a bit like a "Silly old Fart"
And Les, check the prices on the other websites for the same product....you will find I am the lowest price. I sell heaps of them.
And yes Rupert, I still come to this site to take a look, I have a great regard for many contributors on this site. And believe it or not Rupert I have a great regard for Joel...and yourself, in your more rational moments.
This site is one of the great sites.

Muzza.
Opps...Sorry shouldn't use Muzza as my handle, Rupert will think I copied that from this site.

Kind regards to you all,
Murray

Ok,

Firstly, sorry for making 2 postings re: extending float switches. I created one then went to look at in the forum and couldn't find it so I posted another assuming that the first had not worked. Now it appears that it had worked and that maybe, if I had simply scrolled down past the stickies then I would have seen it. Administrators feel free to remove the other posting (http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum ... php?t=1807) if you want.

Secondly, Rupert, please do not hijack my posting! If you have some sort of dispute with someone else then create a new post and refer back to the one that is giving you grief. I do not want to get involved in any dispute that you may have with another person or with the policies and rules with this forum. I just want peoples help. The problem with whenever someone hijacks a posting, other people who may feel that they can give some assistance to my problem will shy away just in case they get caught up in the argument. As is apparent in the later postings, all I end up getting is other people making puerile responses to your comments, and I end up with no help.

Ok, 'nuff said, back to my problem.

I am not interested in purchasing another float switch when I already have one attached to the pump.I was thinking about cutting it close to the pump and adding cable to it. I know that there will be problems with making it water tight but I still think it will be worth it. I want it near the bottom of the tank so it will collect some of the solid waste and distribute it onto the grow beds. EB, you said that it was more trouble than it was worth. I seem to remember a reference in the Backyard Aquaponics book that said that you can get a heat-sealing sleeve (can't find the section so going from memory) but it was too rigid. Do you remember where you got it? I am planning on having the extension closer to the pump so that it will not be involved in the flexing to turn the pump on or off (if that makes any sense). What other problems did you encounter?

I also not a good point by Janet re emptying the tanks. Something to consider....

I think one of my problems relates to my tank being narrow and tall. I really want the pump down near the bottom to pick up the solid wastes, but also to ensure that there is good recirculation to remove the Ammonia.

Thanks

Simon

i have a ida for a way of pumping water from the bottom, without any way of the pump being able to drain the tank past a certin level. i putting all the parts together now, ill post pics later today maybe.......

Now then boys... back to your boxes! You have both had a chance to air your
views and such. let us get back to the topic of this thread which is that of float switches
( and to be fair I wont edit any of what has been written here )

sounds interesting mate - ;ooking forward to seeing what you have done

OK, what about putting the pump up a bit on bricks, and extending the intake to reach down to the bottom? On my current pump, the intake is not extendable, but I have had pumps in the past that you could attach a hose to both input and output. (I suppose if it were this easy, you'd have done it already. It doesn't hurt to ask the obvious, though.)

Simon - heat shrink sleeves are available from most hardware stores and also from places like Tandy and Dick Smith. I've used these when wiring stuff for my backup power outage unit, which is 12volts. It is a whole different matter when playing with 240 volts. We don't want you dead - so either use a sparky or find an alternative to rewiring the current float switch.

that is kinda what im doing, but the pump will not be in the water. if you just run a hose to the bottom, you can still drain the tank. has to be a way to break the suction if the water drops below a certin level. here are some pics of what im doing,
http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/vie ... &start=195

phycochook,
Heat shrink tubing is the stuff to use. If you PM me your address I'll post you a piece.
Murray