Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi John,

Try putting an extension on the end into the sump (keep it below water level) then will equalise at water level instead of top of sump.

Not sure what you mean exactly Chainsaw... but the problem is the water return from the beds is piped under the slab and then up and over into the sump...

Not sure how I could keep the level below the level of the top of the sump... which it isn't anyway.... more like about halfway up.... it's just that the fall over the distance is sufficient to equalise at that level....

It's not a huge problem.... just one without an easy solution that I can see....

Put a piece of pipe on the return to sump (ensure below water level), then that should act as a syphon. So, instead of it cutting out at the hight of sump it will cut out at the hight of the sump water level. This shoul then be enough to get the remaining water out of the GB.

If have trouble getting syphon to stop, come back to me for a fix.

You mean like a "u" bend???

watch out with that idea you might end up with an air lock so the water wont flow at all, not saying it will but this has happened to me

Yeh, my thought was to turn it into a siphon so it sucks the water through - but I don't know whether that's possible given the setup.

Humm... suppose I could turn the furtherest growbed standpipe into a siphon... I'll fiddle when I get some time...

Not the Bed with a siphon rupe but actually turning the end of the drain line to the sump into a "siphon" to drain out the drain line below the level of the bottom of your end grow bed. But yes, there is a danger of air lock.

Try a couple elbows on the pipe where the water returns from that line of grow beds into the sump. Instead of having it aim straight down below the water line (since the water line fluctuates there would bee too good a chance of the water escaping from the line and then the water level coming back up and causing the air lock.) So what I'm suggesting is essentially one end of a no holes overflow. Just make it lower than the bottom of the problem low grow bed. However, there is still risk of air building up and causing the air lock situation so I don't know if this is a really good option. You would probably be better off putting some bricks under the legs of the end grow beds.

Or simply recommend that the end beds that don't drain all the way are for the water loving and bog plants and put the most water thirsty stuff there so that they always have a reserve.

Good Luck.

Not sure I can do what's being suggested... the growbed lines return up through the concrete slab...



But, as you can see then run out from the slab and elbow back down the greenhouse... (elbowing off to each growbed)...

I'm not talking about changing anything that is down below grade or concrete. Simply adding a few little bits and elbows where that drain line actually is draining into the sump tank.

I'm assuming the current piping is actually going up and over the lip of the sump tank yes? Just add a few little bits and elbows and such that you create kinda one side of a no-holes-overflow down inside the sump tank below the height of the end grow bed. Tricky part will be priming it or getting all the air out so it will be able to siphon down below the level of that end grow bed so it can drain all the way. Again, might not be worth the trouble but it probably also wouldn't take you more than 20 minutes to test out the idea if you have a few elbows and bits of the right size next time you are there.

But as warned before, there is always the danger of air lock stopping the drain from working and that would be bad.

Dig a hole beside the slab and put the sump there.

Yep..




Now that I can do TCL.... just couldn't quite grasp how to implement the siphon concept...

As I say... it's not a major problem... at worst, the end growbed just becomes a "semi" continuously flooded bed... and can be planted accordingly... (as you suggested, and as I had already proposed to the client)

how about puting in some tank flages ( bulkheads ) 100-150 down from the top of the tank, that should lower your drain hight enough for the GB to drain

Not enough of a problem to warrant cutting holes in the tank Tea20... but the suggestion has been filed for future reference...

I wouldn't worry about it. OBO's GBs don't fully drain and I think that as long as the new flood water mixes with the old it shouldn't be a problem. Since the ratio of old to new water is about 1:2 should be fine. My experience with adding bits of pipe and small insignificant adjustments is that it has unintended consequences that create more problems.