Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

"float" should read "flout" in my previous post, of course

frank

I wonder what the blue box is above the fish tank

Thats an isolation tank, 30 gallons

I presume the small box at the foot of the standpipe back to the fish tank is the (exterior) pump

Yes it's my existing pump

if that is the case, you will need a foot valve on the suction side or a check valve on the output side else the pump (if not working continuously) must be primed each time it starts, which is not evident: not all pumps can do this you need a self priming one

the pump I have is a self-priming one.. so no problem there...

an exterior pump needs (expensive) connections to be able to disconnect it for maintenance

I do have to hardwire this pump, but I only need to add a plug to the end of the wire so I can plug it into a timer.... if something goes wrong, I just unplug it....


may I launch a maybe revolutionary idea I have been brooding on for some time?
say you would have some spare level in your fish tank
and you would locate a "float" in that spare level in a wire cage so the fish have no access to it

run the pump continuously (no priming issues, constant aeration of the fish tank by the pump's flow) water level in the tank rises until the float kicks in
the "float" Fast Fills your growbeds the growbeds Slow Drain into the sump
FFSD is achieved the cage stops the float from dropping past horizontal level so it kicks out leaves you with CHIFT from there on. no risk of draining the fish tank below this level
the pump running continuously slowly raises the level back to where the "float" kicks in
the sequence starts again

this would mean you need a (much) smaller pump as it must be smaller than the slow drain lest the "float" kicks back in before drain is completed the greater the difference, the lesser the frequency of Fast Floods

... or am I missing something?

Since there are no priming issues and my ST has more than enough water to fill all the GB's, im not sure I would need to set more items to try and adjust. Having one pump, one timer is pretty simple. The way I see this working is... the pump comes on, fills the FT to overflow, the overflow gets split out to two feed pipes to the GB's, I will use ball valves to regulate the flow to get the large and small GB's to fill in the same time frame. at that time the pump shuts off, the GB's drain back to the ST, the roots have time to dry a little before the next cycle

I guess I should have stated my pump info and as well as the air pump info before...

thanks

JT

If Chift Pist works on the basis of "overflow" of the standpipe.... I'm wondering whether a "fast fill" is actually acheivable.... not that it really matters as ultimately the growbeds will only fill while the "timer" is activating the pump.... whether it does so slowly or quickly is somewhat immeterial IMO....

If you were running the sump pump continuously... to overflow the chift pist standpipe... then IMO a fast drain might be more appropriate.... but that would involve siphons...

Not sure I understand the reasoning behind having a float activated fill of the growbeds... with Chift Pist???....

And just how would the water be distributed to the growbeds using a "float" ... by activating a pump??? .... why have chift pist then??? ...

Why not just set the FT pump by timer (acheives fast fill and slow drain).... and the sump pump by float level....

Im missing something here...

im only planning on using a large gpm self priming pump.... which gets its water directly from the ST... and pumps it directly into the FT, a most direct route.... Im not certain where a float switch would be necessary in the ST, if the single pump is on a timer....

just asking the more info I have the better the system will be

thanks
JT

I corrected the word "float" by "flout"
sorry, my mistake
it is a floating outlet,
a fast draining device
comparable to a siphon
see
http://www.rissyplastics.com/flout/about.html

frank

I'm not so sure why a float switch was suggested....

But if you were running a timer with the sump pump & Chift Pist... not needed IMO...

The other model (I suggested) is the standard approach (not chift pist).... of a FT pump using a timer... and a sump pump activated by float....

Obviously this uses two pumps.... Chift Pist with a single pump is the way to go... either continuously... or by timer.....

Other than sump capacity... or more possibly (in your case) growbed capcicity... I'd just pump continuously....

Ahhh ... OK Frank... a flout..... in which case then the Chift Pist.... is actually more a standard standpipe overflow... for emergency purposes... when the flout isn't working or the inflow is too great for the flout to keep up??????

In which case... why not just incorporate pipes into the fish tank ... that overflow directly to the growbeds.... doing away with the need for a "flout" mechanism....

and a standpipe set to a higher level for "overflow"....main reason would be solids lifting/disposal.... I suppose....

let me repeat, this time with the correct word:

may I launch a maybe revolutionary idea I have been brooding on for some time?

say you would have some spare level in your fish tank

and you would locate a "flout" in that spare level in a wire cage so the fish have no access to it
(or in a closed cage with a pipe to the bottom to suck the solids from the bottom)

run the pump continuously (no priming issues, constant aeration of the fish tank by the pump's flow)

water level in the tank rises until the "flout" kicks in
the "flout" Fast Fills your growbeds
the growbeds Slow Drain into the sump
FFSD is achieved

the cage stops the "flout" from dropping past horizontal level so it kicks out

leaves you with CHIFT from there on.
no risk of draining the fish tank below this level

the pump running continuously slowly raises the level back to where the "flout" kicks in
the sequence starts again

this would mean you need a (much) smaller pump
as it must be smaller than the slow drain lest the "float" kicks back in before drain is completed

the greater the difference, the lesser the frequency of Fast Floods

... or am I missing something?

(sh**, I should have patented this idea and become filthy rich )

comments please

frank

Frank i get your drift but most who run chift have a pipe going all the way to the bottom of the ft to remove solides in your idea how are you planning to do that, just useing an airlift pump to stir up the ft leads to mirky water one of our members mizzie successfully runs 15 grow beds chift pist with one pump

I get your drift... and reasons why F&F.... but I'm struggling to understand your proposal Frank....

What do you mean by "spare level"..... and why (apart from the solids issue) use a combination of flout(s) and chift pist????....

For a "first design".... I reckon keep it as simple as possible....

have the flout not in a wire cage but in a closed cage with a pipe running to the bottom of the fish tank
no airlift needed
no air stones needed
no siphons needed

couldn't be simpler

frank

But why use the flout the same amount of water is beeing used with a flout just another thing to go wrong show me wheres the advantage of filling the bed quickly
dont say with a small pump you save money you will find running a small pump for 15 min say pumps 500litres and running a larger pump like mine 28000 an hr for 2 min will give approxametley the same power reading my large pump costs about $35.00 a year to run
i would rather spend an exter $10.00 a year and make it simple

I think I understand. The flout drains a set level of the FT into the GBs. Then it slowly fill again and repeats. Do these flouts ever fail. If you have the overflow going to the GB's it could be a fail safe for the flout not working. Reminds me of the first barrelponics with the drink bottle slowly filling and releasing a set amount of water. The idea could work but I'd want to try it myself before recommending it to someone starting out. A lot more variables eg movable flout level for added GB's. And I see that it would limit the amount you can expand.

a sequencer would solve that
have to think out a mechanical one

frank