Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

As a followup, I rang up the guy in question (John Simmons) and he would be most pleased if people tried it. The exact approach is to get a silicone caulking nozzle and a T, and put the silicone nozzle pointing along the T with the incoming water doing a 90 degree turn. He has an innovation patent which he will email me in the new year, and he wants people to try it and to improve things. If anyone wants more details he said he's happy for people to ring him (I'll email his phone no if anyone wants to talk).

He calls it the Simmo Venturi (but I'm pretty sure he's not the same Simmo . He plans to sell a complete system including backflow valve and pressure activated autoswitch for farm use sometime.

njh,
Geyser pumps were originally designed to pump sewage/sludge. They are attractive to 'Ell because he wants to pump fish poo off the bottom of his tank. They are attractive to me because I can move water and aerate water with one device that won't break down or clog up with poo or bits of debris.

Also, given this particular group of people, geyser pumps are attractive because they're there. Some of us just like to tinker.

Please do put up a diagram of your friend's device. Chances are good that someone here (probably 'Ell) will build one. After all, he's the one who puts car lock actuators in his system!!

janet: shall do!

(I understand the 'because it's there' attitude, that's why I joined this forum!

njh, love the input,
my understanding is that the "tap water" is external to the system and is then mixed with the system water (via the "T" in venturi style) and then all is returned to the tank - or none is returned to the tank, correct?

Yeah, the thought was that you will need to add a small amount of water, so if the venturi provides enough force for the addition rate the whole system might be powered using just a ball valve controlled venturi,

Fair enough, what I am trying to do is clean the bottom of the tank using "the pump" - simply suck up the gunk off the bottom, put it through a sieve/filter (fish net) and let the water return to the tank (10 minutes work/month tops), others just want to aerate/lift a volume of water and there are probably more applications that haven't been thought of yet.

My main concern is adding tap water (chlorinated) straight into the tank - or removing some of my lovely nuted water although Monya uses something similar (device connected to tap etc....) - oh well, needs more thought me thinks

I add my water thru the venturi vacuumer thingy as it sucks the poo I put the outflow into the growbeds. Keep the poo in the system. I have given up worrying about chlorine. The fish haven't protested so far, and as my tap water is 7.2 and my rainwater is 6.8, my top ups come from the rain tank, and the tap is used for the vacuuming.

humph! suppose you don't wash your gravel now either

Standards are slipping

Oh, I top my tank up with tap water all the time

7500L today went straight into the tank

Getting this "geyser" a little more sussed out, it is an advantage to have the air entering the chamber from beneath rather than injected into the top as per the link supplied earlier.

With air being injected from the top, the air pump has to be able to overcome the pressure build-up in the chamber and add more air – if air enters from underneath, this pressure build-up on the pump is eliminated.

There - that should get this topic back on track for at least one post

not sure where a "post" fits in here EKB .... can you draw a diagram lol

That makes sense, 'Ell. Can't wait to get my air pump.

Man ... I can't wait to see a sketch of this + more photos ... + a video ... + a personal demo at my home .. (Beer and barbie will be included!)

I am still trying to figure out how this thing works! Is that a valve at the bottom?

Here's a Pic and a narrative.

There are no moving parts, no valves, nothing. The shaping of the pump is what does the work. Immerse the pump. Deeper is better. Place an airstone below it. Air is captured under the outer bell. It displaces the water slowly, but that isn't the pumping part of this. When the air gets low enough to reach the hole in the side of the central riser, it is explosively released from the bell into the riser. This propels all of the riser tube water upward above the big bubble. So this thing makes spurts of water and air.