Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

You're also not going to be filtering your water... other than in the growpipes... and I'm concerned that they could form some blockages around the entry point/ends...

Perhaps you could go some way to mitigating these potential problems....

By reintroducing the "bio-filter" tower from your first sketch... this would provide a means of regulating the flow into your growpipes... i.e the standpipe can be dimensioned to suit... and would provide some primary solids filtration before the pipes...

I have in my possession 4 pipes that are 8 inch diameter and 14 feet long.

If you run a perforated pipe at the bottom of the tubes all the way down that might help to avoid any overflows/blockages at any points along them.

I think the latest sketch would be a decent start depending on the fish load of course. Beyond that plan for more filtration to be added later.

What volume in gallons and liters is each pipe then? (have to go play Halo kids are out of school or I'd get the numbers haha)

If I did the math right... yeah right. If I used the correct calculator...

One 8" diameter tube 13.5 ft long = 32 gallons or 121 Liters

So, my FT is approx 150 gallons (568 L)
my total ST capacity is approx 64 gallons (121 L)
my GBs (assuming gravel is 60% and water is 40%) would hold approx 25 gallons (94 L)

I am a far cry from a mathematician, so I reserve the right to be completely wrong.

Have you read through the Basic Info and Useful Info sections of the forum yet?
In the Useful info section there is a thread with a bunch of diagrams that could be useful to look over.
And please read http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2218. The first couple seasons he did pipes with gravel in them, it might help you to know what problems he ran into.

I would recommend having the fish tank overflow into some sort of media filled grow bed or filter and that could drain into a sump or perhaps even pump directly out of that filter or whatever up to your grow tubes that can then drain back to the fish tank. Instead of putting media in those pipes, I would simply use them as NFT or DWC pipes.
I expect you will be far happier if you do something like this. I don't think pipes should be filled with gravel unless you are talking really really huge pipes (like 18 inch or more.)

NFT pipes are far easier to support than a pipe filled with gravel.

Yes, I have looked at the diagrams in that thread. I thought I was following what I had "learned" over there, but your experience with this points out where I haven't really "learned" that much. I appreciate your patience with my noob enthusiasm.

Thanks for the direction and advise.

I broke ground today. I'm going to do a two tube NFT system to start with. I'll tend to it and be planning a flood and drain system this summer. I just can't let the spring and summer get here without having SOMETHING.

Thanks for all the tips. Pics coming soon.

A few pics...

I am buying some barrels so here is my concept drawing. I just want to make sure I have all the concepts of the CHIFT PIST system accurate. Thanks for your advice.

I got my first system up and running this weekend. It works nicely. We'll see if the plants like it

Here's a few more. I also put some tomatoes in the ground to compare the growth rate to the AP system.

3 days in after planting and I'm pleased with how things are looking for the most part.

In the middle of the day when the sun is right overhead my strawberry plants start to get a little wimpy. They don't have roots down in the tubes yet. I'm hoping that when they do they will be better. For now I'm pouring water from the FT over the gravel in the net pots. That perks them back up.

The Kale and Thyme are looking very good, but the Arugula is very wimpy. I don't think it is the right kind of plant for this.

Tomatoes are very happy so far.

I made some modifications to the bio-filter that helps control things a bit.

Before: I had a lot of water spilling over the top of the filter tube. This was ok in my concept, but it cause a lot of water to be lost because the wind would blow it out of the tank. This design also put all the solids in the bottom of the filter tube.

After: Now water is controlled in the tube, I get just enough trickling through the media to keep the tube full, but not spill over. The overflow get's put back in the FT closer to the water level so no water loss. This also creates lots of bubbles. Solids now either sit on top of the media or goes back into the FT.

Notes:

1.I have some roots now peeking through the gravel. This is a good sign to me.

2. Mid-day sun is too hot. I need shade directly overhead.

3. For the last two nights we had a concern of frost so I was able to pull the little grow baskets out of the system and bring them indoors for the night. This won't be as easy once I get a lot of root growth. Hopefully that was the last frost scare of this Spring.

Nine days in and I have one red strawberry! I also have some pretty good proof that my biofilter is doing it's job.

Ammonia = 0
Nitrites = 0
Nitrates = 20

I ordered some shade cloth yesterday to put overhead to cut down on midday heat. I'm looking forward to getting that installed.