Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

unless your flow is enormous I agree with TCL, because they're easy to get a hold of over here, I use 1" stand pipe and 2" bell.
It works, but I feel it would work better if they were smaller.

My barrel system uses 13mm (1/2") inner siphon tubes. I needed too much flow to run 19mm (3/4") siphons.

what's your bellsize OB?

How are you managing CHIFT with the pump in the fish tank? The fish tank level is going to fluctuate as the pump draws water up to the header tank.

I'm kinda confused here. If your system is going to be fish tank at the lowest point with the pump in it and then a header tank up high and then 4 half barrels, I don't see any way for your pump and fish to survive if that fish tank is simply another barrel. It will take most of the fish tank water to flood the grow beds and I don't think you can count on the grow beds draining at the perfect speed to counterbalance the pump filling the top tank. Then if the power were to cut out just as the siphon kicks in, the fish tank is gonna overflow. Then when the power comes back on, the fish and pump are gonna find them selves very short on water when the top tank siphon is getting ready to kick in and the fish/pump will run dry before the growbeds drain.

You might be able to manage if you turn the tank down in the ground into a sump tank and leave the pump there. Then that top tank can turn into a fish tank (don't install the bell siphon there, just a SLO drain or venturi drain to feed to the grow beds) the install the siphons on the grow beds. Simplest would be loop siphons on each grow bed. This set up would allow the level to fluctuate in the sump tank and keep the level constant in the fish tank

50mm

Well I guess I have some more to think about here. Erg. I was thinking I would need a big stand pipe because I am flooding all four beds with one siphon from the resevior. I am copying a system I looked at in person here in Hawaii and I guess his flow back into the fish tank was about what he was taking out with the pump. I am not sure if I can do the same.

Would a 3" bell work on a 1.5" stand pipe?

I think I once had a 3" bell on a 1 or 1 1/2" stand pipe. I eventually changed that bed over to loop siphon though as it always had problems.

You might think about making a FLOUT or using a flush valve like the barrel ponics system if you really intend on having a header tank. I'm still not understanding how you are going to keep from running your fish tank dry though. Tell me if I got this right.
You will have a 55 gallon barrel sunk in the ground as your fish tank and the pump will be in the fish tank?
The pump pumps up to that 55 gallon barrel on the stand (that is your header tank with the bell siphon or whatever)?
That header tank drains fast to flood the 4 half barrels?
The four half barrels will then drain slowly back into the fish tank while the pump is re-filling the header tank?

Is that the plan? If so, the fish tank is not big enough and the fish and pump will have very little/no water during part of the cycle. Add one more barrel to the fish tank level and it might work.

Yep that is my plan. So if I add another 55gallon fish tank and put it next to the other one and connect them with like a one inch pipe at the highest level I might be able to make this happen? I have just been thinking that I need the large siphon to really fill those beds. The system I saw only had two beds.

Is there a reason that you want the header tank tank?

If you put 2-3 fish tanks you only need to pump to the grow beds and let them drain, much less work for the pump to do.

CHIFT - PIST has become popular because it has several advantages. The fish are safer as they basically can't lose water but with a pump in the fish tank a break in the water flow system can see the pump empty the fish tank. Also the fish tank water is full of solids that have to go through the pump but if the pump is in a sump it contains clean water that has been filtered by the grow beds.

If you put a header tank you use more energy to pump the extra height and have none of the benefits of clean water pumping and protected water level for the fish. However you could put two 55g tanks together, join them about 3/4 height put the fish in one, put the pump in the other, pump to the grow bed and drain to the fish, this would at least give you the water level protection for the fish.

Hey so I took all the advice and got my system up and running. Thanks everyone for all the help. It does need some improvements but over all it is working. Now i have a new set of questions! My system is starting and stoping with the auto bell siphon however I may be able to get it to break better. It seems to trickle for a while after it "breaks". Also I am hopeing to increase the rate of flow when it is draining the header tank. I have the stand pipe very tall and it drains the entire header tank and I do have enough volume to fill the gbs however if I can get it to drain a little faster it will help. I am draining from the gbs to the fish tanks with 1/2" pipe and that seems to be working fine. ok pictures.

The base of the bell. 3"

1.in the header tank
2. Stand pipe base

more

interesting looking system....I was wondering what growing medium you are using ???

That looks like a Travis Hughey Barrelponics system on steroids... Sure what you originally saw wasn't like this: http://www.fastonline.org/ ? He has fish in bottom, GBs in middle and reservoir/raft set up on the top. That is what I built for my first system and it is growing well now that it is established...

Might check his free .pdf manual for flushing ideas... http://www.fastonline.org/content/view/15/29/

Keep up the good work.

CB