Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello everyone

I'm currently planning my new setup, I'm having a bit of trouble deciding how to plumb the inlet manifolds to my grow beds and the outlets of my grow beds.

I've attached a pic of how I plan on plumbing the system.
It is going to be a chift pist flood and drain system.

My concern is where I should locate the pipe that feeds the manifold for the inlet and the same for the outlet.

Oh and I also plan on having more grow beds I just couldn't be bothered drawing them.

Cheers

Fil

Looks just fine to me Filip

What size pipe do most people use for there grow bed inlets? I'm thinking of stepping down from 50mm from the tanks to 40mm just because it's cheaper.

Depends on your pump, I use 25mm.
40 should be fine.
As for connections, just pump it in over the top.
for outlets, use a tank outlet (not cheap, but good) big plastic fitting with rubber washers... I'll post a pic if you need one.

I and a lot who have seen my system use 90 mm then down to 50 mm with great success mizzie is running 15 grow beds with this method

It would be nice to know how much water you want to move

Design is good, put an elbow on the lines that go from the pump into the tank - this will make the water swirl, and keep the fish swimming, circulating the water well.

Put a T-piece on the entry to the growbeds, this distributes the solids a bit better, giving them more time to break down. Also aerates a bit more.

If your planning on having more growbeds, I'd run one set from one tank, and the other set from the other tank. This will enable you to use smaller (cheaper) pipework. 40 or 50mm is the minimum size for gravity feeding growbeds, smaller pipework suffers from algae blockages over time.

Step down to 25 or 19mm pipework from the manifold, depending on your flow rate.

My advice (though I don't have a nice spiffy layout like yours, my system is a bit hodge podge) on any gravity feed plumbing, go with the larger pipe. Perhaps it costs a bit more now, but the larger pipe still costs less than buying the smaller pipe and fittings and then later upgrading to the larger pipe and fittings.

However remember to install screens, grills or grates on the inlets and overflows from the fish tank into the grow beds or smaller fish will go on the water slide only to find there is no pool at the end.

Otherwise your plumbing layout looks pretty good to me, above advice from others looks good too. You might need valves at each grow bed to balance the flows to the grow beds.

I've found for gravity feed plumbing, I often don't need to glue it unless it is buried or in a heavily stressed position. If it doesn't leak, I usually don't glue it, that way I can take it apart to clean up or re-do things if I like.

Pipes under pressure from the pump are another matter. Those usually need glue. Always use the appropriate size pipe for your pump going any smaller will cause more wear on your pump, going any larger is probably pointless.

+1
OMG I hate gravity feed. My calcs said I needed 50mm, maybe 75mm, but I'd been having SO much trouble when I stupidly used 25mm for gravity flow, that I went bunta and bought 150mm... oddly, there is never a flow problem with the 150

Thanks for the advice guys.

I take it that your not using pressure pipe in 150mm kuda.

Now that you guys mention it I have noticed algae growing in the 20mm tubes I have on my other system.

Will be starting a system thread soon.

Cheers

Fil

Pressure pipe's too expensive filip.
We don't produce anywhere near the pressure to require pressure pipe
however beware stormwater... the design is said to be 'sandwiched' of 3 layers. you can see them when you look at the end of the pipe.
The middle layer is reported to be toxic, carcinogenic or something else not nice for AP. It's a pain sealing the ends, so don't buy it if you can get away with it.

That why I use pressure pipe all the way mate. My wallet is always empty now.

Stormwater's different to drainwater... afaik drainwater pipe's fine to use...

DWV all the way!, even the pump lines. We use such a low pressure it does not matter.

So now at the age of 45 after drinking rainwater for the last 20 years unfiltered through stormwater PVC pipe I find I now find I have been poisioning myself, figures
Ill have to give up the thought of living to 100 years old

Bree