Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi LKB,

There's no way that you'd get enough water through a smart valve to fill a grow bed.....but then that's not the way they work anyway.

Smart valves function by allowing a measured quantity of nutrient into a growing container which is then used up by the plants before a fresh lot of nutrient is allowed into the pot.

LKB.....since Steve's given you the job of coming up with a "smart"-type solution I can give you a broken smart valve to play with.....on Sunday.

Gary

Looking at what Les has done with the acctuators and watching the "smart valve" animation on the autopot site I'm sure Les could duplicate something similar to "flood and drain" a grow bed at the very least

it wouldn't need to fill it suer quick, just fill it and not re-fill it until it emptied

Ah, perhaps there's an autosyphon approach for this?

IMHO .. autosiphon is the bees knees!

Flood and drain .. the sysem is perfect if it is balanced ...

Balancing it .. is what takes a while ..

get this right and auto siphon IMHO is the way to go!



This auto pot thing is a different kettle of fish .. it takes a little nutrient water out .. when the level is at ground zero .. replenishes .. but does not recirculate ...

I have no prob with tapping into a flood and drain system via use of the smart valve to keep a load of tomatoes friuting...

I want to learn more about this "smart valve" and figure a way that we could build such a thing from easily available materials ....

But flood and drain auto siphon .. it does it for me!

Now if I can get thing 100 % air driven .. then I think it is cracked!

I would love to run a flood and drain auto siphon system using airlift as the only energy input ...

I KNOW this is possible!

I was suggesting that it may be possible to build an autosyphon that floods a grow bed, but then does no introduce any more water until the growbed is emptied. Something akin to an airlock that forms in looped pipe.

Sounds like you are the man for the job njh - let us know when you have it perfected.

Yeah, let us know when it's good njh. I want one, too!!

Am i missing something?

isnt everyones autosyphon letting water in until it fills and then not letting any more in until it empties? or have i missed somethign crucial?

I was under the impression that an autosyphon let water out when the tank was full rather than let water in when the tank was empty.

I have a sketch of an idea which I think just might work. Unfortunately, it's currently only 999999:1, with more refinement we may be able to get it to exactly a million to one.

Anyway, the advantage of demand side control rather than supply side is that you can put this same device in a whole set of tanks all taken from one single supply tank whose level is maintained with a single float valve.

Corrects, but by virtue of the large out flow, the level will drop to empty before re-filling.

sort o the same, but i see here i went wrong.

Personally i prefer a short drain time as it doesn not alow the DO to drop.

Actually, mine is a quick fill quick empty. will go out and time it later, but just now it seemed like <1 minute fill approx 30sec drain

I thought mine was fast taking around 7 minutes/cycle

Sorry to go back to the smart pot but today spent 4 hrs with the inventer at garden world springvale very interesting person he is thinking of setting up an aquaponics set up he is pumping nuetrient water 100 meters under ground to supply a wall of flowers [very impressive] he has tomato hanging in a trellis in the roof dew mellons to [bumped bloody head on one he is only short he say har har you big bloke] after seeing his set up i think you could combine with aqua easley any body living close should visit

Sounds fantastic.

Check it out www.autopot.com.au