Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Skimming this page I get the impression that some things don't seem to change

I thinks its just what happens when free speech rules

here is another simple suggestion to protect your pumps against running (completely) dry:
but use at your own appreciation and risk
for me it has worked fine so far:
make sure the axis of the pump is positioned horizontally, not vertically
that way never all water is pumped out thus the impeller assembly never runs dry
and the motor always stays half submerged which so far has shown to be enough for cooling

so far I have not used the above mentioned switches in AP as I run my pumps continuously
which means I have no need for switching on/off with regard to the level in the sump
I have previously explained why and how:
my pumps direct the water towards a collector gutter which leads to the growbeds (this is not novel)
but this collector also continuously overflows back to the fish tank (this is novel)
thus ensuring continuous aeration (I install cascades wherever possible, but these can be much improved)
and continuous removal of solids
the fish tank overflows to the sump
but this charged water flows through a biofilter (which in one case is a floating bead filter, in another a "wet" growbed in which I grow watercress)
thus continuous biofiltration is also ensured

my need is for protecting the pumps against running dry and I do this by positioning the axis horizontally

I have installed hundreds of these switches in sometimes very contaminated water conditions:
crates from meat factories contain pieces of meat, fat, grease, sometimes even bones

my other need is for compensating water lost by evaporation and consumption by plants

thus the switches will be installed in the sumps for this purpose:
when the level reaches a minimum (some cm above the pump axis), a solenoid valve will be opened to add a minimal amount of water, say 2 to 5 cm
(try to achieve this with zip ties )
by this and the horizontal positioning, the pumps will be doubly protected against running dry

but right now I am very occupied with the lake: building permits, environment permits, etc...
so there will be little time for further experiments

frank
http://www.aquaponics.eu/

I got a bad pump for you

Aqua one / Pond one Piranha series ( 3000 ) have had 2 break on me
the first one lasted 36 hrs continous running
the second one lasted 2 months of continous running

the impellors break in them and they then need a new impeller ( if they lasted 12 months for the impeller them maybe ok ... they do come with a 3 year warranty and only draw 57watt to run and you have to clean the pump weekly they collect a lot of stuff on them and in them when running


and the new pump Aqua one / Pond One Stingray 4000
pumps 3800ltrhr and has been working for 24 hrs so far with no problems
draws 54watt and can handle up to 8mm soilds
and doesnt have a foam filter and is still clean even though the tank was very dirty when it went it and the water is now clean and clear

I'm just at the "Choosing a Pump" stage for my system - http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum ... 38#p186738

Thought I'd post my pump choice on here too as I haven't seen anyone mention them:

I need a min flow of about 5,500 at around a 2m head (allowing some friction losses). Have done a bit of research, and found - surprise, surprise - that the most energy efficient pump is also the most expensive! So what I've done is look at the five-year cost of buying and running the pumps (assuming they'll last that long!)

Looking at the 5-year cost, the most-efficient pump now becomes the most cost-effective:

So, for a single pump, I'm looking at an Oase Aquamax Eco 12000 for 290 quid - http://www.water-garden.co.uk/pump_aquamax-promax.php - 12000 lph Max, Max Head 5.2m, 7200 lph at a 2m head, and only 130 watts. Five-year cost about 730 quid vs 844 quid for an Ebara Optima or 836 for a Messner EcoX 10000 - http://www.pumpexpress.co.uk/acatalog/pond_pumps_koi_pumps.html which is probably my current second choice

Anyone know anything about Oase? seem to be German made, bit of a warranty (may be extra cost).

I'm very keen on the electrical consumption, because I'm certainly not predicting big falls in our electricity costs over the next 5 years :-)

Oase are very good. They have a great reputation on koi forums. Cant go wrong with that power consumption either.

Andrew

As far as I am aware the Oase Aquamax Eco's are a good pump they rate with the Messners. I personally have no experience with the Oase but they seem to get good ratings on other forums. I have an old Messner (well actually MeBner,same thing) they are excellent in terms of reliability.

Bugger that was quick OBO

the oase pump seems to be pretty good if the data are correct:

Oase Aquamax Eco 12000 2.000 m 120.0 l/min 7200 l/hr 130 watt-hr 0.200 kg/cm² 40 watt-hr 30.77% 55 l/w 180 l/w

direct link to Oase:
http://www.oase-livingwater.com/

they don't mention the performances

but there are far better pumps:

W. LIM CORPORATION
WAVE I 1.524 m 233.0 l/min 13980 l/hr 93 watt-hr 0.152 kg/cm² 59 watt-hr 63.64% 150 l/w 236 l/w
WAVE I 3.048 m 160.0 l/min 9600 l/hr 93 watt-hr 0.305 kg/cm² 81 watt-hr 87.40% 103 l/w 118 l/w
WAVE I 4.572 m 34.0 l/min 2040 l/hr 93 watt-hr 0.457 kg/cm² 26 watt-hr 27.86% 22 l/w 79 l/w
http://www.wlimproducts.com/products/7051/index.php

they also make a cost calculation similar to yours:
http://www.wlimproducts.com/techsupport/t106/index.php

If you wish I can send you a copy of my Excel calculators:
filter biomedia, pump performance, planting surface, average fish weight, daily feed rates, etc...

just send me your mail address: frank@aquaponics.eu
http://www.aquaponics.eu

greetings

Frank

The wave pumps look excellent! Why are they so hard to find retail?

Thanks guys,

I can't find any details on where to buy the Wave pumps unfortunately.

But Chappo tipped me off to the Jebao, so I had a good look at those and they floated straight to the top of the list. Their called the Stowasis Tornado in the UK, I can get one for sub-100 quid and it's only 694 pounds for purchase and power combined over 5 years.

however this forum is a wonderful thing!

Doing some searches to see if anyone has had any problems with the Jebao I came across Stuart's comparison of the Laguna Powerjet Max Flo. I can get those in the UK, and from running the figures, I have a new winner:

I can get a Laguna Powerjet Max Flo 11000 for only 125 quid, which will do 8240 lph at 2m, and uses only 125w, so, by my cals, It'll use less than 1kWh / Day, and so total cost over 5 years is only 494 pounds.
http://www.worldofwater.co.uk/index.php?cat=Powerjet_Max-Flo

I've seen a few people using these, but no mention of any catastrophic moments as yet - so they must be ok

Interestingly, I looked at the Max Flo 9000 as well, as it would do the flow required, but it wasn't as efficient.

you must absolutely all buy this pump:
laguna max-flo 2200 0.500 m 1740.0 l/min 104400 l/hr 32 watt-hr 0.050 kg/cm² 145 watt-hr 453.13% 3263 l/w 720 l/w

it will not consume but produce electricity

seriously, there must be something wrong with those data

frank

this is the manufacturer:
http://www.lagunaponds.com/
but no pump performance data are available on the site

frank

found this in my older calculations:
laguna 11000 0.600 m 170.0 l/min 10200 l/hr 125 watt-hr 0.060 kg/cm² 17 watt-hr 13.60% 82 l/w 600 l/w

frank

oooops, forgot to convert l/hr in l/min
my apologies
here is the complete performance table:

laguna 11000 0.500 m 170.5 l/min 10230 l/hr 125 watt-hr 0.050 kg/cm² 14 watt-hr 11.37% 82 l/w 720 l/w
laguna 11000 1.000 m 162.2 l/min 9730 l/hr 125 watt-hr 0.100 kg/cm² 27 watt-hr 21.62% 78 l/w 360 l/w
laguna 11000 1.500 m 152.0 l/min 9120 l/hr 125 watt-hr 0.150 kg/cm² 38 watt-hr 30.40% 73 l/w 240 l/w
laguna 11000 2.000 m 137.3 l/min 8240 l/hr 125 watt-hr 0.200 kg/cm² 46 watt-hr 36.62% 66 l/w 180 l/w
laguna 11000 3.000 m 110.0 l/min 6600 l/hr 125 watt-hr 0.300 kg/cm² 55 watt-hr 44.00% 53 l/w 120 l/w

very good performance indeed

frank