Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Your system has two halves? Each half has about 4150Liters of water?

2 x 1000L IBC (will probably only have about 900L in each, but lets call it 2000L)
2 x 1/2 IBC GB, may contain up to about 250L each = 500L
2 X small troughs + 1 large trough (using dimensions given) = 180L
water in pipes, say 320L (keeps numbers nice)
TOTAL : 3000L of water in each half of the system.

Each half will require its own pump (My 4500lph draws 67W @ about 19cents per kWh * 24 hours = 30 cents per day)


Bed time.... ZZZzzz...

2 x 1000L IBC = 1800L
2 x 1/2 IBC GB = 300L assuming the remaining volume after displacement is 1/3 capacity
2 X small troughs at 26.5cmX61cmX244cm each = 788.852L
Large trough at stated dimensions 26.5cmX61X488 = 788.852L
TOTAL : 3677.7L of water not including pipes.

Also I have since changed my return trough to extend further to the FT since it would've been unused space which I showed via sketchup but never updated the numbers to 26.5cmX61X640cm which is 1034.56L an additional 245.71liters.
3923.408liters + piping which I rounded but you made me feel obligated to calculate. 55.591liters
Grand total 3978.999 liters damn I exaggerated with my estimate

Not sure why you felt inclined to double check my math Excluding my updated trough size your math was still off by 725 liters and I appropriately took off the 11.684cm height in each FT and 66% volume from the GB's.

Okay now off the math aspect I am not a fan of that common drain set up. My overflow seems fine to me and I'm not sure how that is better. If there is something wrong with the plumbing I'd have to take down the whole thing to get to it when mine has isolated overflows which are easy to get to and routinely clean.

The manifold I'm working on now. I can drill into a large pvc but trying to find something I can connect to it. I think I'll use a hydroponic ebb/flow fitting just have to find out what size PVC diameter I can put my hand into to screw in the internal part haha.

I was thinking, the feed from pump to manifold is probably going to be an inch piping, would using 1/2" tubing from the manifold to GB's be good?

Also for the engineering aspect, does the length of the manifold matter? I'd just as happily make it as short as possible. I'm thinking a 90cm length.

That's what you get doing mental gymnastics after 01:00am after spending a few consecutive days in front of the computer doing some horrible programming jobs.

You can run the main drain along the side of the GBs if you like; mine is just a concept.

I had 25mm risers out of a 90mm manifold with rubber grommets, a dab of silicone. The delivery from the pump to the manifold was through 25mm and a series of reducers to get to 90mm.

Larger diameter pipes have less resistance to flow than small pipes and are less likely to clog, however, larger fittings cost more and look more industrial.

There is a minimum size (the length should be greater than 'x' (some multiplier) of the diameter, but 'x' is too small to be concerned with for now). You could make a 90mm manifold 300mm long and it would still do the job.

Oh and 19cents per kW/h??... My silly American ass complains about 5.8cents per kW/h probably the same as the outcry we have here about paying ~0.93cents per liter for petrol haha. Then again the economies are so different I don't know the economic differences between Aus/US just US and UK

I just realized I slipped into inches >.< lol I will make the change. I always hated our system of made up measurements that don't correlate with other measurements.

Manifold location plus the trellis arches I added for aesthetics/function ^_^

Cut/past from here http://peer.tamu.edu/curriculum_modules ... istory.htm

"The United States was an important participant in the Convention of the meter held in Paris in 1875. Following its signing of the Metric Convention on May 10, 1875, the nation received its prototypes of the standard meter bar and standard kilogram in 1893. These became the nation's official fundamental standards for length and mass. In 1901 the U.S. NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS was established for the purpose of serving the worlds of science and technology. Despite its efforts, little progress was made toward a wider U.S. acceptance of metric units. "

"As the final quarter of the 20th century approaches, only the United States, Liberia, and Burma remain uncommitted to the mandatory use of the metric system in daily life. "

We have the metric system thanks to the usa, most probably?

cheers

+1 for history lesson ^_^

Do you think the solids will build up in the in the manifold setup? could you raise the manifold to the height of the GB so the solids will drain out.

We also pay just over 40cents per day in delivery charges. I've noticed recent media reports that we can expect our price to soon increase further by just under 25%. Lucky we have some solar panels and are frugal with our electricity use.

Depending on how much water pressure you've got going into the manifold, I'd suggest to have the manifold as high as possible, so you minimise the restrictive flow of the risers. As mentioned before, I'd be delivering water from the FT into both GBs, not passing all the water through one GB which then flows through the second. Its advisable to balance the filtration load between the GBs, not having one do all the work.

If the water arrives through the bottom of the manifold, when the pump is switched off the water will flush back through the pump and pump suction. There is enough flow through the manifold that solids don't build up inside, but prudence mandates a threaded end cap which can be easily removed to facilitate period cleaning and maintenance.

I know my sketchup makes everything look big but putting mine on the ground the risers are only 74cms I don't think that'll be a problem pressure wise.

Good idea on the threaded end cap, I tried making everything easily accessible and small for routine maintenance.

Pressure isn't the issue, until we make it an issue; the flow is the thing we are wanting to maximize. If your risers are 74cm or whatever length required to get over the top of the GB, these will have less flow (and higher pressure) than a riser say 10cm in vertical length.