Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

HDP, sweet set up you got there, can't wait to see it running and full of plants.
+1 This seems to be the most common arrangement. Angle it to get a nice whirlpool action, plus a venturi to add O2.
I've just done this on my little system (got rid of the NFT, sump now plumbed straight to FT).
It can build up a bit of momentum due to the small diameter of my FT and good pump flow.
The goldies look like they get puffed out from swimming against the current and stop to relax and get taken for a ride . Bet they can't wait for the 15 min to be up so they can have a rest . Then 45 min later it's on again

Anything that lets air in to break the siphon would work, either TCL's or Hippy's methods. I tend to like Hippy's (with high riser on top of T as described) as it will have no extra stream of water. A third and simpler method would be to cut off the down leg of pipe inside the fishtank just below the fitting so the siphon sucks air and breaks at a much higher level.

Hi all
Thought it was time to show the update photos again (sorry for being a bit slack in that department ). I have been very busy over the past couple of weeks and with work getting in the way there has just not been enough hours to go around.
The GB stands were finished and painted and the unpaved areas under the GB's and around the FT were covered with gravel. GB's are in and water tested.







More to come

I have gone for the standard flood and drain stand pipe with the centre drain pipe being 40mm and the suround 100mm. The faucet couplings that I have used to go through the GB have a 6mm hole drilled as low as possible and I have drilled a couple of additional 6mm holes in the 40mm drain riser to maintain a reasonable drain time.

[img:*now Paul, stop that*]http://i460.photobucket.com/albums/qq321/MDP_013/P8160440.jpg[/img:*now Paul, stop that*]

[img:*now Paul, stop that*]http://i460.photobucket.com/albums/qq321/MDP_013/P8160441.jpg[/img:*now Paul, stop that*]

[img:*now Paul, stop that*]http://i460.photobucket.com/albums/qq321/MDP_013/P8160437.jpg[/img:*now Paul, stop that*]

Not to sure what has happened to the photo's above but I will re-post shortly ?????

As you can see in the Pics I have chosen to go with a mix of Pea Gravel and Expanded Clay for the GB's. The GB's are 500L each and have roughly 60% Gravel / 40% Expanded Clay. This decision was based mainly on cost but I was reasonably confident this was practical based on comments read here on the forum.

The shade cloth was next job on the list which I have decided to run just on the top and ends for now and see how that goes for this summer. I am contemplating changing to the fully enclosed plastic in time for our next winter.

I have fixed the shade cloth to the frame using the clips made from the leftover 40mm polly pipe. I have clipped it all in place and will now leave it for a while to stretch and give a little as the weather starts to warm up. I can then go around it re-tension and fix each clip with a self tapping screw to secure it.

You even smoothed out the edges of the clip. I am impressed. What did you use to smooth is out??

Well the story is getting close to the end now with the introduction of some green to the beds
I opted to go with seedlings for the first run of plantings mostly due to impatience on my behalf
It is a fishless system at the moment and I would like to hear peoples opinions on the best way to keep things ticking along prior to the introduction of Barra fingerlings next month.
The water clarity has taken a bit of a belting from the filling of the grow beds with the gravel and Hydroton and there is also a green algae tinge to it. I have made up shadecloth covers for both the FT and the ST so I hope this helps with the algae issue and I think the disscolouration from the gravel will just settle in time.

Hi Ivansng
They are all 50mm long with a 20mm slot taken out. I used a hand held 5" grinder with a cutting disc on it for all of this work. Surprisingly I still have all my finger tips in one piece as well Once the main cutting and shaping was complete I just ran over them with a bit of sandpaper for the last of the rough edges.

I almost forgot
Thanks to the people who responded to my siphoning question. I played around with about 6 different options before I ended up exstending the leg lower into the FT but I also fitted one of those hinged flaps one the end of the line (the ones that are on the end of the floor waste to stop the rodents getting back in .... you know what I mean )
This flap arrangement breaks the siphon so I was also able to fit a venturi to the line for a nice stream of bubbles in the system

Overall very impressive. Looks like you have used shadecloth. For next winter, are you going to have some plastic sheet so that it becomes a hot house??

That is the plan at this stage Ivan. I am not sure if I could get away with leaving the shade cloth in place and pull the plastic over the top. The shade cloth may make it too dark for the winter sun .