Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

So, I finally got my first IBC. Cut it, and wraped the bottom in panda film to help heat the water during day and protect the plastic. Going to add some half blue barrels once i get better at making bell siphons.
Right now it doesn't have media in it since i have gone thru 4 different bell siphons...Ordered Uniseals to allow more water into the bell at the bottom.

To do:
Install uniseals and new bell siphon
Rinse grow media
Plant seeds
Cycle system
Add fish
....expand...



Any one know approximately what the flow rate for a bell siphon with 1/2 in drain and 2 in bell? And will 7-8in be ok for my grow bed?

Nice, keep us posted. I used the Afnan siphon instead of the bell siphon and all mine work perfect first time.

Neat looking system Sterfire and plenty of room to expand by the look of it

yep go the affnan mate, easy to build and worked first time

Heres the link if your interested,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmxsI5ZRLA4

like this, do that :-)

I am trying to convince the wife to let me use the other side of the fence that is covered in wood chips, its currently be occupied by 3 lazy dogs as their sun bathing area. Its the north wall of our property and gets full sun year round...



If i could find half those parts at a local store, i prob would try it, I cant even find a bulk head fitting for a decent price that works with standard PVC sizes....I hate that USA still is using standard measurements still. We passed a law back in the 70s to kick start USA getting in the metric band wagon.

Ah that's crap mate, I reckon even if you had similar size pipes etc it would still work, as long as you cn create the funnel affect inside the bell it should work. I didn't have any drain pipes at all fitted originally and it still worked, and I used a mix of pressure and normal PVC on one and it worked fine. The other option is to try the coke or should I say soda bottle siphon.

I cut the top off of a juice bottle and put it over top of the stand pipe, worked perfectly. Gave me a good idea of how fast the drain is supposed to work.



Its not a size issue or converting the sizes, I have no idea where to find bulk head fittings and the reducer i found was muck bulkier. I bet i could make a reducer by heating and expanding it over a glass coke bottle.

I am planning on expanding to something like this.



I think i will need a little bit more GB space before fish grow to full size.

hmm, photo didnt upload, will check that when i get back home today.

try electric pvc couplings for your bulkhead fittings

If you are in America yes use Electrical Bulk head fitting they are the bee's knee..

I bought a Kit for a moving media filter and the bulk head fitting are electrical bulk head's.. Male and Female.. They go to at least 3" and maybe even bigger.. here in OZ we go to 65mm and they are expensive..

Juergen

Hi sterfire

Welcome to the forum!!

Your IBC has come up a treat, I personally messed around with syphons for 6 months or so but ended up pulling them out and have ran CF ever since. Cant beat it for reliability IMO.

Keep up the good work mate

Well, i figured redrawing in MS paint would be faster at work (slow today) then re-uploading from home computer.

This will be stage 2


Its a basic CHIFT PIST system, with the addition to the duckweed tank. I will be using 3/4in rushed/screen gravel (yeah, shovel work). I will use standard bell siphon ( once i get mine working right ) on the first GB, but will use others as experiments on different designs. I want to make the duckweed tank experience as little turbulence as possible for best results.

Stage 3 will add in 55 drums cut in half for dwarf/semi-dwarf fruit trees and larger bush plants, and some strawberry towers.

After that, who knows....

Not to sure of your return line's, as in they might not be big enough to handle the flow..

especially from the Duckweed to the sump.. You could also in theory lose a lot of water if the duckweed overflows..

Juergen