Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Life is complex: my fish have ich (they LOVE the salt: really responding well) and I can't find "ich" or "itch" or "ick" on the forum search for the definitive answers (but I found enough under salt and parasites). I'm not sure where the kids put the lamprey they found in the creek, but I think it is hiding in system 3.5.....cute little buggers (the lampreys) as long as they are not bothering the fish. One squash plant has all male blossoms. And I want to get system 4 going before the mice chew holes in the liner I've bought, but it is big and deserves more thought and my thoughts are going in circles.

On top of all that I spent an hour today messing with an autosiphon in system 2 that has spent two days never breaking suction, leaving my beds empty and cucumbers wilting. My mods to fix that yesterday made the water level rise just a bit too much before triggering: most of my water has now irrigated surrounding flowering weeds, to the honeybees' delight.

Enough round-and-round in my head: the time has come to see what you folks have found to be THE most reliable drain system: autosiphon, flush valve, electrically operated valve, none (timed pump and slow drain?), sump pump in growbed(?), or whatever. Does anyone have a system they are really happy with over a reasonable trial period? Any drawbacks to systems you've tried? I want simple and reliable: something that adds to my peace of mind rather than nudging my sanity farther toward the precipice....at least 6months mean-time-between-failure (or adjustment or cleaning) would be really nice. Any consensus? Thanks!

Flood and drain works really well for me, pump turns on fills the beds and drains.
The only hassle I've had is adjusting taps so all beds fill evenly, but then it's not really a hassle when you have a G&T in the other hand

Loop siphon has worked without a drama for me. Had one mishap when tomato roots blocked the drain to the loop but fortunately GB just overflowed to the pond. (an I now have a bit of bent wire hanging near in case it happens again)

Bell siphon's have worked flawlesly for me once tuned. I don't suppose this is helping you much .

I think at the end of the day you have just got to decide on one and run with it. just my 2c

And remember ,a less than perfect decision, will not cost you your children and is easily modified to another style.

So to summarise: they all work well

Any system of draining is great, to be totally reliable (ie no water loss) they ALL need an overflow in the bed. At some stage something will get blocked.

So just build whatever sort of drain you like (bell siphons just sound cool ), as long as the bed has an overflow, the system will be 99% reliable.

None of my beds have overflow pipework, so occasionally I get an overflow the top of the bed. I can live with this. Usually from the kids putting some hydroton where they shouldnt.

OK, I see a couple votes for loop siphon and one for bell siphon. So, all so far like versions of the autosiphon.



Hmmm....my definition of reliable is tighter: that it will flood and drain without getting stuck on flood, drain, or anything in between for several weeks or months. I can handle HSM, but I don't want a friend or neighbor to have to deal with it or, worse, not even noticing the problem and letting it go for days or weeks while we are away.

That pressure-release trigger for a bell siphon in DD's link (viewtopic.php?f=8&t=129&p=7802&hilit=bell+siphon#p7802) looks interesting.....maybe I should try experimenting.

No! Not more playing with water!

Ok, you will need to have 6 pumps, all hooked up to individual timers, running on seperate circuits, all with their own battery backup, this should make it reliable

The most reliable drain would have to be a short drilled standpipe, pumps running 15 min on, 1 hour off. Every system will still need to be checked though, maybe long absences are better suited to a hydro setup?

So, six pumps eh? Wait a minute...."you're mocking me, aren't you." Blast you reasonable people to Heck!

Yes, yes, I know! I want it all! Simplicity, reliability, fish, plants, adding to ecosystem complexity rather than wiping out the 99% we aren't focussed on, making a difference! I dream of trapping rainwater and making an oasis here rather than sucking the aquifer dry. Fruit trees and berries rather than dry scrub. Frogs, toads, snakes, birds, and bugs instead of a few spiders. Nutrient circulation on location rather than running off to destroy the oceans. I'll probably live long enough to see the extinction of all shellfish and if you think that does not UPSET me think again. I won't succeed in slowing humanity's race to its own extinction, accompanied by much of earth's biosphere, but I'm going to keep on dreaming the impossible dream: that we can. Maybe we can make a difference. At least I'll try to dream of a life where I contribute in some small way to the world's survival and renewal rather than to it's destruction.

Please forgive my madness. Most of it is a manic act, just having fun.

Thanks, amigo!

The dream is good and many here share that.
Can we change the world???,,,well we most certainly can make steps in that direction.Look at thepeople here,,some arenearself sufficient,,others justhavea fewgoldfish and pick the oddlettuce but AP has got all those people "thinking" of greater self sufficiency and having a lesser impact on Mother Earth,,,it's a start.

In my experience timers have not been reliable, otherwise I'd not have suggested bell siphon (other than to take the piss ). If set up properly, repecting the flow parameters for the size and type of siphon built, then bell siphons are IMHO very reliable and extremely simple. Problem is that sometimes a few hours of stuffing around can proceed getting the siphon to this point. Once you have one working though - they are easily replicatable to suit the flow prameters that the siphon is suited to.

Hey Everyone,

I'm new there fore i don't have any credibility, However, i have 2 grow beds one cascading into the next with loop siphons, the top grow bed is constantly filling. the pump is slower than the drain (duh) and the second drain is faster than the first. the second bed drains fine because it runs out of water when the first bed stops draining.
So on to what you really want to know...

I placed coffee cans over the drain pipes, poked lots of holes in them for air and water movement. that keeps most junk from clogging the hose. i found that the key to having a siphon that works consistently is a large circular loop with the draining end open to the air and directly under the highest point in the loop.

I hypothesis the addition of a timer that would pause for one minute out of ever 5 would ensure total reliability. I am also considering replacing the can with one of those mesh wire coffee filters, i think that would keep most all debris from returning to the fish tank. But in my cascading system would starve the plants in the second bed of their poop.

So a loop siphon with a top overflow pipe will warn of blockage OBO? Is there a way to stop roots growing in the lower outlet pipe? This seems to be the main cause.