Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

It has been a weekend full of highs and lows. And a lot of work and ProgressProgressProgess.

All days long measuring pipes, cutting, cleaning, sawing, trial fitting adjusting glueing, cursing and smiling. Pfoeie.

The biggest bummer was a couple of drain pipes which lowered in the sockets after being glued. Completely stuck half way and a small leakeage.

The biggest up was a not leaking DIY bulkhead seal of the fish tank. Home made "quality", surprisingly functioning like a a pro. Looking forward to see its endurance.

We are now testing without any media and on the small pump stolen from the pond ponincs. Gravel washing should start this week. Somewhere.

@mark, thanks. What kind of a system are you running?

Hi Hoeve

Well done on the progress and good luck with that pipework

My system... Well my system is imaginary at the moment and getting more elaborate by the minute or at least with each system I read about! I intend to get a small indoor system up and running by the autumn to play with. Hopefully I can get an outdoor system together for next spring. I'm heavily in to renewable energy and energy conservation so I would ideally like to include as much of these technologies in a set-up as possible. I'd like to include passive solar heating and solar/wind power in a greenhouse to keep things going through winter if possible. Also intend investigating geo-thermal for basic air heating/cooling with possible heat recovery. Will look for as much 12v equipment as I can find.

As I say, elaborate and probably over-ambitious but if a bit of experimenting gets closer to truly self-sufficient, off-grid, sustainable aquaponics then surely we are all winners.

Succes gewenst

Mark -

Noticed something last evening, some color difference at the rim of the end of the pipe. Looking more closely it suddenly struck me that the big pipes we have used were of a layered type. Some foamlike structure in the middle.

We were concerned with the materials used and asked many questions to various sources about the type of PVC before constructing. PVC-U was the way to go, so we implied it. Unknowning however that that were different types of construction. So Taking the PVC-U sewerpiping and gluing it nicely into the system.

The middle foamlike structure is made of recycled pvc, origins and contents unknown. I guess we have to tear it all out and start from scratch, or abandon the entire project completely. We're at a loss at the moment.

Damn, taking about energy saving and sustainability.

OK, the mental dip has passed . Finding out we've been so ingorant to have used the wrong type of pipe was a slap in the face. Picked ourselves up again and, in fact, just returned from the second PVC run.

All piping is now pressure pipe for potable water. All couplings are pressure type as well. Not all potable water approved, as the bigger diameters are not available even in the Pro-harwarestore, but being used in the horticulture all around. So good for food production.

For all the dutchies out there, use KIWA approved piping instead of the KOMO certified. Or use KOMO, and than tear it all out and use KIWA like we did .

We're not glueing anymore, but will use silicone kit suitable for aquaria for demounting purposes.

All in all plenty lessons learned, and an experience not easely forgotten. It will make a nice anekdote in the near future during teaparties.

to save on a coupling just heat up the end of the pipe and push over. Tight connection with no coupling and its all pressure pipe.easy

Sent from Brett's Galaxy using Tapatalk

All right thanks, just taken a look at your system, it looks great. Keep it going.

We did it!! We are official part of the community.

A picture speaks a thousand words, sweat and tears .



Poehee.

OK here the latest, All gravel washed, 2.5 grow beds of it. We used hydroton for the remainder 1.5 growbed. The choice for this particular arrangement was a combination of being a little bit cheated by the gravel supplier, much heavy brain thoughts in my head, stepping beyond the planned budget(again ), and hydroton softly calling us from the local garden shop.

All plumbing has been mounted using aquarium kit without anti-fungus, and has been flushed for a couple of hours before the final filling of water.

We started to cycle fishless, First plants and seeds are in. Milestone after milestone, AND we managed to get the system operational in time for the season .

Here's a pic of the system just getting the final water.



By the way, I don't understand what all you ozzies are doing with white pipes. They look so, ahm, clinical. We used a very nice dark industrial grey, which blends in ever so smoothly with the back-ground. Being the only color in which potable water approved pipes are available here has nothing to do with it .

OK so still on the agenda is; scoring some ammonium/a, fixing the pipes to the stand, prepare some affnann siphons, complain to the pump supplier their pump only delivers 550 l/h at 1.5 meters height instead of 1000l/h as promised, make decking on the tanks, ponder on preparation for the winter, try to lower the excaping sound of falling water in the sump(next to the neightbours summer sitting area) and lots of more things. Oh yeah some fish eventually...

Hehaa.

Very nice.

Ik volg je met véél interesse.

Hi Hoeve

Looks great! Even if your beds don't match in colour. Is the gravel smooth? Lots of people seem to use hydroton over gravel to make planting easier, especially if the gravel is sharp. I'm considering hydroton over lava rock/scoria, which is what I thought you were using.

I'm pleased that you got over your earlier problems and carried on with your plans. What fish are you thinking of having? You still planning on trout?

Will be good to watch your progress whilst I plan mine. Good luck with the details you have to finish off and again well done.

regards

Thanks guys.

@ Fonz, what are your plans, I'm curious.

the beds may be of different color now, but they will be all green within the next month . We've chucked seeds in to the rim of the GB all according the well known feast or famine principal.

The gravel is pretty smooth, no worries there.

I have learned something today. We got a 45w pump, (ecofish pond eco 3500) which was meant to do 1000 l/h at 1.5 metres. It did not, max was 550 l/h. Which is not enough for the 900 liters FT 1 hour water exchange goal. So after a discussion with the pump supplier today we exchanged it with wallets closed for a little bit more expensive 35 w pump(aquaforte ecomax), better brand, higher efficiency, flow to be 2000 l/h at 1.5 metres.

It did not.

After fitting I started the pump, heard the filling of the pipe and ... no water . It did not even reach the 1.5 metres.

So again back to the supplier , and again we exchanged this time for a 60 w pump(Kinshi professional pond pump) of an even more better brand, higher efficieny, flow to be an astounding 3000 l/h at 1.5 metres. No extra cash needed.

This one does pump, flow is about 1650 l/h at the height.

Flow is now almost double I need so expansion immediately springs to mind. We will cycle with the bigger flow, and then forget about siphons, but trow in a 30 mins on/of timer instead. When we ad more to the system, siphons it is. Surplus flow straight fom the ST.

So we've learned that pump curves mean absolutely bogussquat in pond pump country. Except when divided by two. Then some are reasonably accurate. And we've learned that because of this, we need to drive around a lot more, but get a bigger, better pump for the same price eventually. Which is a plus(small one).

Ah, the things we learn...

Hi Hoeve
I'm new to the world of aquaponics, but been around pond pumps for some time. In my experience, you are right - the pump curves need to be taken with a serious pinch of salt. Also, your pump will loose some efficiency over a short period of time due to wear and build-up. Cleaning it often helps, but some of the pumps I've had are never as good as the first few weeks of operation, so give it some time.

When I was dimensioning the pipes, it was difficult to get an idea of what a 1000 l/h flow would look like with say 75 mm pipe. So, for all newbies out there with the same starting up question, here is a picture of the curent flow, being 1650 l/h approx. Pipe is 75 mm pressure pipe, straight by modest slope to the GB's. The bulkhead is a little bit less from halfway under water.



So I concluded 75 mm is a bit overdimensioned for constant flow to the beds. I came across 90 mm backbone supply a lot on this forum, I presume this is used more in the timered pump operation. All FT water exchanged within 15 mins does need some adequate dimensions. Looking at the pic I think 75 mm is also sufficient for this in my particular setting.

Hoeve,

My plans are depending on what kind of new house we will get. At this moment still looking around but when we've found a nice place an AP system will be there soon.

I know about the problems with the pumps. All the pumps you've mentioned are build for using in a pond and those kind of pumps aren't really powerful in heights. Next time look for a real pump designed for pumping water to bigger heights like aquariumpumps. My choice (especially in Europe) will always be Eheim.

I used to pump water from an Eheim 1260 pump (2.400 l/h, 1.500 l/h at 2 mtr.) through a 25 mm. pipe to 9 aquariums. Worked for more than 15 years without any problems and I always had the same pressure.

OK, cool, next time we're going to get a real pump! Eheim it is.

The flow's I mentioned were all with 40 mm pipe.