Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

HI guys

kinda new to aquaponics just started researching and building my first system,

its going to be a simple enough flood and drain system with the fish tank below 4 grow beds,
fish tank will hold about 3000L
the pump will be continuous running.
the height of the bottom of fish tanks (dug into the ground) and the top of the grow bed will be about 5'5'' to 6',

while looking for pumps that will do the job and price playing a big part in it i was wondering if either of these pumps look like they would be suitable to the task,

http://www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/3000- ... -pump.html

http://www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/3500l ... -pump.html

http://www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/pond/ ... -pump.html


Thank you all for helping out a newbie

The last pump is the only one of the three that has a chance of working for you. The L/hr rating is with no lift - listed as Height Max in the specifications. The last one has a max height (lift) of 14' but when it hits that height, it's running less than half the full volume per hour.

The head height is from the top of the water where the pump is to the highest point you are pumping. You want to pump the volume of the fish tank about once per hour at whatever your head height winds up being. Most pumps have a chart or graph that shows the volume they can pump at a given head height. It's good to have a bit extra capacity because they sometimes overestimate what their product can do. The other thing to consider is the running costs of the pump - many times a more efficient pump will pay for the difference in cost within a year or two. Just look at the watts on the pump and the cost per kilowatt through your electric company.

1. Never ever buy a pump that doesn't come with a flow curve.
2. Cheap pumps make for expensive operation
3. Static head is not necessaily the highest point to which the water is pumped.

This thread has three diagrams that show three different static heads.

http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22066&p=460174&hilit=head#p460174