Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Well, it works consistently. I have yet to have one fail. Frankly I thought I was building it just like Les so it kind of surprised me that others would have a problem. with that length below the Gb, it drws the water down fast enough to cause the siphon to break. Also the end of the pipe can be under water and still work as well.

This must be why the air pipe is not needed. My only concern with this length thing is whether the drop from my grow beds to my tank will be enough - I don't want to add further height to my already high up grow-beds. I don't want the pipe to be in the water because I wouldn't get the aeration that I get with a waterfall.

Good to see that it works so well for you though - of course people need to adapt sizes depending upon what sort of inflow they are using.

VB - just add the air break if in doubt, then you needn't worry. Once these things run correctly they are awful hard to screw up.

DT - nice tutorial mate, very straightforward.

I agree - kept is very simple, will be a great resource for people being introduced to this type of autosyphon.

Outstanding photo series, DT. Maybe we should really move this to the main Auto-siphon thread. Hey, Mods?? Just change the gap left here to a link to there?

VB, I'm not sure if that lower extension must be that precise length, but I can see that it would create a good strong siphon due to the length the water falls. I know others have solid siphons without it, but that extension may be part of the reason DT is able to build these things with such apparent ease. Hmmm.

Les, what are your thoughts?

Will agree with this also, I now feel the need to rush out and build one

well done

I was using sweep elbows made for running wiring through pvc. They don't seem to work as well. Only thing I can think si that in the begining of the cycle the splashing of the water hitting the ag.es creates a vacuum sooner. I now either use the 45 degree elbows or heat the pvc and bend a curv in it. The wrinkles caus some purbulence which works ok too. I tried an 90 degree elbow and got nowhere with that.

Thanks for the kudos. It was fun to put together. I am in the process of making a manual to distribute with the systems I am making for the community. That was my first of many drafts. I will probably be starting a Spanish language forum unless I can get someone else to do it.

Hi El. Thanks for the interest. I am using 1 inch pipe and have a pump that is probably pumping at 80 to a 100 gallons per hour. Maybe slower since it is pumping up 3 feet. I will also play with the slope. Do I need crenations?

HN

First class job!

absolutely. The water cannot enter the stand pipe if the crenelations are not there. Otherwise the pipe is either sitting flat on the bottom of the growbed or flat on the top of the stand pipe. The water has to have a way to get under the siphon pipe and into the standpipe in enough volume to provoke a vacuum.

DT, have you tried maximizing and minimizing flow?

It would be interesting to see how sensitive your design is to low flow and high flow regards siphon make and break. In other words it would be interesting to see the maximum and minimum flow rate limits of this version.

With my small siphons, they work really well (100 %) when set up correctly. But if flow rate changes a little they can fail - usually on filling the growbed. ie. the flow rate limits are a little tight and I needed to take a little time to set them up correctly. However I am using small bore tube and very short pipes so this is to be expected.

When I come to build build taller growbeds I will certainly be following your instructions.

Thanks for the vids Johnnie.....you have an australian accent......

Michael,

Glad ya enjoyed the videos.

I am an expat migrant from the UK. Now I am an Australian with a bit of an English accent rather than a Pommie with a bit of an Australian accent.

Some of the lingo / accent has rubbed off in my 20 years or so living in WA.

Nice tutorial DT, I think this is a good start for anyone who wants to try building one. This has several things going for it: 1. No sharp elbows or bends to constrict the flow. 2. The tubs are not overly large so should have a good height change rate to help the siphon start. 3. The drain extends downward long enough to use the water's inertia to start the siphon/keep the siphon going. 4. The drain pipe ends soon enough that the inertia of the water already in the pipe won't keep the siphon going despite it drawing air.

Alright. I gave up on the auto-siphon. I really hate giving up like that but I did. I'll have another go at it later in time.

In the mean time I have converted to a flood and drain. The pump is on for 20 minutes and off for 50. The drain pipe has drain hole drilled small from the bottom and gets bigger as you go up. So the GB floods then slowly drains.

I am anticipating problems with the drain hole becoming clogged so I 'll have to deal with that. I guess I have to run the system for 3 weeks before I put in plants. *sigh*. that damn P word.

Thanks all for the help!