Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Yes you did say yesterday about your ammonia and pH, I think you lost some fish as well.

Well I planted the seedlings and seeds on 23/06/09. You could it is almost a month now. Probably got quicker growth in the ground.

Do you get quite a bit of sediments at the bottom of your tank? Is your pump able to suck them up to the growbeds? I seem to have sediments settle at the bottom of the tank and I am not sure why the pump does not suck them up to the growbeds. Seems like it lacks sucking power. Put my hand over it, and did not really feel any sucking power but it sucks a dead fish to it pretty alright. But you still could easily move the fish away with a net.

As far as I know, the pump seems to be working alright, it is moving water but probably lacks suction.

Sounds to me as though the pump is faulty or has something partially blocking it...

Have you pulled the cover off and had a look???

I pulled the cover off to have a look, seems alright but that was in the dark. I intend to pull the pump out this weekend for a better check of the impellor and the outlet port for any foreign matter. Then again it might be the suction capacity of the pump. I was told that I might have put in too many elbows, which cuts down the flowrate of the pump. Less output equates to less suction.

The elbows etc... might lead to diminished flow... but the amount of suction felt when you place your hand over the pump inlet shouldn't be diminished...

And the pump supplied with the 2 or 3 bed BYAP systems is more than adequate in most configurations...

Pull the pump apart... if there's nothing apparantly wrong... then perhaps check the outlet pipe isn't blocked by something where it joins to the pump...

P.s ... post a pic of the outlet connection(s) please...

Ivan something I thought of after PM, another silly question, but have you taken the sponge filter out of the pump if it came with one, as they are useless and block up in 10 minutes, sorry if it is a basic question

Managed to find some time this morning, my pump setup.

Checked the impellor, looks fine. I also remove the pipe from the outlet port and there appears to be no blockages. Could see the impellor from the top of the port. Also did flush the piping also in case there was any foreign matter.

On a whole, looks alright. Also did run the pump with just the piping as shown with the photo. Still do not feel much suction on my hand, but water is obviously being pushed out.

This is what the dead fishes yesterday look like this morning.

pump looks fine Ivan they don't suck much, but with GB's filling in 6 minutes I would suggest it is working to capacity with your set up

in the second photo theres 4 items the botton right thing is a flow control valve try turning it to the left and then turn it to the right and see the difference

Salt! Now!
Get a pump with "part spiral" impeller blades.
Do what FF said. It is a MAX/MIN flow control.
Try and by-pass all your elbows and other 25mm fittings with a flex hose until you figure things out.
Cheers Ian K

What are your current water test results Ivan....

I don't believe your fish deaths are totally related to the pump...

With a 6min fill for the growbed... and a 15on/45off cycle... and pics of your water... I just don't see anything there that suggests that the pump is totally to blame...

F&F, I have turned dial to MAX. Verified it with the back cover off that at MAX, it is fully open.

Ian, Salted.

Rupe, results are pH - 7.8, Amm 0, Nitrite 0.
Did quite a few water changes due to dead fishes. Rain also helped out. No more dead fishes tonight but the fishes seem to be gathering on one side of the tank again. Not sure if they are still sick or sleeping?

I get your point, I agree that the pump is not totally to be blamed. Probably the designer. I have the pump sucking from one side and the drains coming back on the other side except it is probably within the same semi-circle. If you can picture it, there is one side of the semicircle that does not get much agitation, hence the sediments, be it food, crap, etc, seems to settle on that semicircle side. Might be able to do some modification either to the drains or get some extra flow from the pump outlet to "blow" the crap towards the pump when it starts its cycle.

Ok just a thought when it goes wrong you look at all possabilities

F&F, don't get me wrong. Your comments/advise are much appreciated. I was merely reporting that I have done what you were talking about earlier today, after I put the pump back together again.

Did turning the dial to max make any difference... or was it already set to "max"??

Looking at your test results... pictures of your water... I can't really see anything wrong with your system...

The fact that the growbeds fill in 6 mins and then overflow for the remainder of the 15 min on cycle.... is within acceptable parameters...

Even if the flow was faster... it would only mean that the remainder of the on cycle would overflow the standpipe for longer...

The timer cycle would still remain the same.... the growbed would still fill... the volume of water turned over each hour might be increased somewhat... but enough to significantly impact on the actual bio-filtration...

Your problems can only be related to other factors IMO...

While your circulation may not be drawing the "sediment" out of the tank consistantly... your water looks alright and your tests are fine...

If the sediment is building up and your water parameters go, or have gone "south" .... then perhaps you do need to give the tank a bit of a stir occasionally...

Or perhaps adjust your amount of feed... how many fish (again)... and how much have you been feeding them?