Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

had to do it all in the rain again but i got the big poly tank reset and leveled and its so sweet to get it finally in correctly

not being able to see the levels bubble i had to cut a stick as a guide and i used that. i got the UPS driver that made a delivery here today to put level on tank and check it. all is good

i also got my inlet hole bored into tank and greenhouse frame for my SLO to pass thru.

so some good daily progress

Doing well by the sounds Johnny
One job down and the finish is getting closer
I was going to suggest a water level with a coloured liquid
like cordial or some such thing...
(water level being a clear vinyl tube)
But you have got it sussed, good man!

after some major and minor setbacks i now have sump tank installed its another behlen poly tank a pr-62 350 gal. 6'x 24" round tank. 200 dollars including tax

i thought i could just put it in the old hole from where i moved the 9' poly tank. but i still had much digging as the sump tank needed more depth. but its in and i think its level

also got my SLO piped in and brought inlet thru the GH wall.

i also got about half of the 3" sch.40 pvc drain line attached and the plumbing parts for the rest of it except i forgot caps while at the hardware store. i always always forget something even if i make list and check it

now i am at a quandry as to how to split the water flow to the GB runs without having to climb over or crawl under my piping for the second run of beds

im not using any glue as its not pressure and what i have been able to check has not leaked.

i hope all is well for you all too. john

Congrats on making progress. Sounds good.

As far as plumbing, you can get it out of the way if you drop it to the ground or even bury it as long as you make sure to leave air-escape paths. Without these, the water left in the low point can trap a bubble of air in a section of pipe. If you have a 6" long bubble trying to go down a pipe you will need an extra 6" of head to push it down and will probably overflow your fishtank. Note: this is less of an issue with greatly oversized pipes, but the best method of avoiding it is to add an open vertical pipe where the bubble would get trapped to let it escape.

Even better, figure out a layout that allows for gently sloped tubes and still gives you access. Feel free to sketch your planned layout, photograph it, and post it. We are never short on ideas while it is raining outside....

thanks H, i think i understand what you are saying. let me see if i describe it more precisely as i doubt i can draw it and my old camera (batteries) is acting up , so i cant take pic today
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the FT is outside of GH and SLO feed pipe enters. GB is half quonset hut shape with long shallow GB running east/west nearest south wall (the curved side of GH) that run is no prob as i can just run from feed line with T all the way down the 2 shallow GB

the door for GH is on east end same as FT and water inlet. i started the poly tote GB run, inward a bit to allow an access walk to the long shallow GB mentioned above. the 2 runs of GB are about 30 inches apart.

this is the problem , piping to the poly tote GB run (which will be the middle run when the 3rd set finally gets added sometime down the raod.

im pumping from the sump to FT then gravity to GB's and grav drain back to sump

so if i T from my inlet to the shallow GB's and then on other side of T drop down and run under ground and then back up to poly tote GB, i just leave extra long standpipe above the FT level?

do i have this right? it will still flow when sump fills FT?

i sure wish i had not played hooky from school when the teacher was discussing hydro dynamics

im working on getting cam working and take pics if i can brother. i sure am grateful.

and im glad its raining, i know you guys need it. i did 2 days worth of digging in the rain and it was not too bad until the cold came along with it

thanks H

The rain here is needed badly, but not as badly as down under: we still have grass (lawns, people!).

If I follow your description correctly, you have the FT and door at one end, two growbeds along greenhouse walls (no walking space between beds and walls), and plan to put a third GB in the center, leaving two walkways. I'm not sure where your sump is.

If I were plumbing this I would run pipe from FT, into GH, along one side of the GH to the far end, then along the far end with a pipe taking water to each GB. The line to and from the sump tank can follow the same route back. You will not be able to get around the far end of the GBs as plumbing will be in the way, but it should work. It should also be fairly easy to run the pipe level or slightly downhill as the growbed edge will act as a guide.

For a long run like this big pipes are your friend: the friction of little ones will quickly lead to clogging and overflow. You can have short sections (like the outlet from FT) smaller diameter, but most of the pipe should be larger than you think you need. It also works well to occasionally stick a hose into the outlet from the fish tank and flush out the bacterial slime...amazing stuff.

well i got the antique to work once more and here is a few pics that might help show what im trying to do.


SLO entering the GH

i can easily make the run on the shallow GB the ones i having probs with are blue totes in bottom of pic



here is the 2 runs of GB looking east to west. please pardon the clutter

so you suggest i make the pipe run all the way to west end and then bring it back east for the poly tote GB's?

as always much thanks for the guidance. johnny

FT East end


Sump on West end. looks more like a bomb crater and the new 350 gallon tank looks really tiny down in that big hole hahaha




i can testify there is a lot more dirt laying there than this pic comunicates

ima getting there...

This is very helpful and pretty much what I had pictured. Good description!

The top edge of the growbeds has to be at least three inches (and six would be safer) below the top edge of the fish tank to get gravity flow. If at all possible the pipe should never dip below the top edge of the growbeds. I can't tell exact heights from your picture....


Exactly.

EEK in that picture it looks like the top edge of the grow beds are higher than the pipe comming from the fish tank, if that is the case, you may have some trouble getting things to work right.

The fish tank water level needs to get higher than whatever you are expecting it to drain to in order for the water to flow.

looks like i will be lowering GB's or raising FT

i dont know if i want to lower GB's any shorter
as my woman cannot bend over without great pain since her lower back fusion surgery


maybe i can use soil packed truck tires and raise the FT? at least i already have the dirt to fill them with

but im sure going to need more fall for my supply lines and drains, thats for sure...

What size pipe is that SLO? it looks a bit small to me in the picture. Perhaps you should list the pipe sizes for us again.

I hate to have to trying to raise and re-level that fish tank but I think you do need a bit more height there.

Just a note, concrete blocks up on end like that, you really loose most of the strength and stability by not using them the way they were designed to be used.

Since you mention dirt filled tires, as supports, I think of that as one of the few appropriate uses of them. If you don't have the concrete blocks to allow you to support the grow beds with them placed the other way..... Then perhaps if you have a free supply of appropriate tires and the dirt to pack them with, that might be an option that would also give you some added thermal mass in the greenhouse.

TCL - SLO downtube is 3/4 and inlet is 1 inch
drain line is 3 inch and thats as far as i have gotten on pipe

i really dont want to disturb the fish again after losing my big koi. i think ill try to remove 1 block from each stand and also the remove the lumber and just use solid single blocks to support the tote GB's

that will give me 8 inches on shallow bed side and 12 inches on totes for added fall

that will be much much simpler than trying to pack and level 11 truck tires to raise FT
by myself

FWIW the SLO drain I have for a ~300 GPH continuous pump is 2". You have a lot more water capacity and so the pumps will likely be larger than mine, you may want 3" pipe all around, except for the individual drains for the GBs. Also, if you remove the little pipe extension on top of the SLO tee the tee will work as an emergency overflow in case the bottom of the SLO gets blocked! Wish I had your tanks!