Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey everyone. Thanks for reading this.

I've been trying for about a week to get my Bell Siphon working.

I will post pictures tomorrow but, I have a 1.5" drain pipe going to my bulkhead fitting with a 2" Sleve with a PVC cap and the "air tight" air hose (I hope this makes sense - I'm not sure on terminology).

I've measured the sleve to end up about 3/4" longer than the drain pipe. I've cut the bottom in 1/2" increments in the sleve to allow the water up but, it doesn't seem to start the siphon.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Thefishingangler

Maybe you dont have enough Inward Flow into the Grow Bed, I noticed theres a fine line between Enough flow to start the Siphon and then there being too much to Stop it

Try Adding some water from a bucket when its running out to see if that kicks it in, if so i reckon u need some more flow, adjust it up and keep playing!!

Enjoy!

Thanks M3tal.

My GB is 4'X8'X1.5'. I don't think a bucket would do it. I can tell you however, that I have raised the water level higher than the siphon and the water just dribbles down the inner drain. If I lift the sleve off the drain it really starts to suck only when the sleve is 2" above the top of the drain pipe.

Am I missing something?

Thefishingangler

where it comes out the bottom is it Directly Falling into your FT/ST you may need an elbow on the bottom to back the water up a bit or even possibly a Trap to help it start, give it like 1ft Fall into an 90Degree elbow then another 6 inches of pipe on the end of that.

all my Siphons are only 3/4in so they start easy..... im sure if u look into the bell siphon threads they have a lot in info on differnt methods of starting them

My drain goes into a 90 degree elbow. I was able to get my earlier, smaller diameter PVC drain pipe to start without any problems but, due to a leak, had to enlarge the drain due to a leak. Maybe I should reduce it down??

Id Give anything a try

I'll post pictures tomorrow. If I reduce the drain to 1" I'd have to create another sleve at 1.5" right?

WHen u say sleeve you mean the Adapter on the end to make the Venturi???

Just build an Affnan siphon and save your self all the guess work.

+1 Affnan siphon works for me without a problem... no holding water for back pressure....

only adjustment Ive had to make is the height of the standpipe... to get the exact GB flood height

I did find that if the exit pipe is down in the ST water, then the siphon will stop prematurely,
but keep draining, so by bringing up the exit pipe up higher, I can extend the siphoning length

jT

I would thinnk with a 4'X8'X1.5' GB, that a 1.5 inch syphon is a little small. I would use a FLOUT.

Hi all.

My biggest problem is that fittings are not available here in my area. I couldn't even get a 1.5" PVC cap here.

1.5 hours accross the border to the US and there is everything. Unfortunatlely, on my last trip I didn't pickup this fitting so I'm going to need you're help.

Questions.

1. What is the actual fitting called? I would imagine that it's a 1.5" to ??
2. Does my 2" sleve need to be changed out? To what size?

The fittings are so cheap but, it's really bugging me for the 3 hour round trip to pickup $3 worth of fittings. "She who must be obeyed" is starting to get upset at all the time invested into this (2 months now) without seeing any results.

Thanks in advance everyone. I did actually get my 1" drain siphoning properly if it weren't for my leak. I have my system in my garage so it's pretty easy to notice (mouldy type smell)

Thefishingangler

I don't understand why you would drive an hour and a half to get fittings. Google shows three Home Depots near Mississuaga. Surely the prices cannot be higher then the gas and time you spend running state side.

Make sure the cap pushed onto the top of the bell is sealed properly, I would run a bead of silicon around it to make sure. Also +1 for using Affnan due to the large grow bed, consider the rate of water rising within the bed. Get the water flowing over the standpipe then hold the bell over the top until you feel the syphon starting, then slowly lower the bell.

As DJT and Simo suggest build yourself an Affnan siphon while I didn't experienced problems with the Bell siphons I have recently swapped them for Affnans and they are starting to siphon with approx half the amount of water.