Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey guys,

Im in the planning stages of my 3rd system. I have 100mm pressure pipe but the fittings are going to cost me a hell of a lot of money

I have heaps of 50mm piping and fittings i was wondering would having 2x 50mm SLO and 2x 50mm feeding the GBs. Is there any difference between a 100mm SLO and a 2x 50mm SLOs?

100mm pipe has 4 times of cross section area of 50mm, roughly.
so to replace 100mm pipe you need 4 50mm pipe.

Cheaper... and more efficient.... to use 1 x 100mm...

as the others have said, 100mm carries 4x the water of a 50mm pipe. it really depends how much water you need to move around.

Here is the flow rate thingy someone kindly gave me when I was trying to figure this out. I used a double barrel 50mm slo on my 4000 liter tank. Has not given me trouble but if I was to do it again I'd go with the 100mm single pipe. But then again I'd do lots differently....

http://flexpvc.com/WaterFlowBasedOnPipeSize.shtml

LOL thanks guys, i didnt know that a doubling of the pipe size equalled 4x water movement!

Guys if that is the case i was thinking of setting it up like this.

Would this be sufficient or should i have 100mm for each FT? I am thinking about having 3000L filtration. I am thinking of having it on CF as i will only have a 1000L sump.

I will be pumping to both FTs at the same time too.

Zman,

You said you already have some 100mm pressure pipe; yes, the fittings for these can be prohibitively expensive, so, price check on using 100mm DWV instead. As DWV is not pressure rated, it doesn't need to be as strong as pressure pipe, so the parts are a lot cheaper, HOWEVER, be very aware from the start that it is almost impossible to connect DWV to pressure rated piping as the pipe sizing is completely different, so once you start with DWV you must continue it through to completion. This doesn't mean that your entire AP project has to use only pressure pipe or DWV, but each "side" of the system must e.g. the GB drains to the ST must be one type, the pumped delivery from the ST to the FT can be different because you wont connect the pumped piping to the GB drain piping.

It may be cheaper for you to save the pressure pipe for another project and just buy new DWV for your SLOs and GB delivery for this project?


Hope that makes sense? (I haven't had any coffee yet!)


Scott

BTW: DWV = Drain, waste and vent.

Agreed, and since pressure rating isn't an issue here, uniseals might be an option. They are much cheaper than bulkhead/tank outlet fittings, and I believe are available for 100mm DWV.

I have the 100mm uniseals already

That's great, but are they the correct size uniseals for 100mm DWV pipe? Although both the ID (101mm) and holesaw size (127mm) are the same for both products, since there is a 5mm difference between 100mm PVC pipe OD and 100mm DWV pipe OD, a different uniseal should be used to instal them.



ID: Inside diameter
OD: Outside diameter

Thanks PLJ i have to see which one i have then.

For the pipe that feeds the GB do i need to step it down to the 25mm ball valves that i have or would a uniseal in the 100mm pipe suffice?

Ok this is gonna be kinda off the topic since I'm talking about a different size and I only use the 4" or 100mm pipe in my really big systems.
But anyway, it might trigger some ideas or send you to the big box store to see what odd fittings might fit in odd ways.

Here in the US, I've found that the couplers of the 3" SD (sewer and drain) pipe will fit the regular 3" Uniseal (basically the outside of the fittings for the 3" SD pipe is the same size as the outside of the 3" pressure pipe) so I use the SD pipe for my 3" SLO drains but the 3" pipe is not available everywhere. My plumbing supply house jumps from 2" up to 4" and doesn't carry the 3" stuff. I've played tricks using the rubber couplers or flexible couplers to connect from the outside of a 3" SD fitting to whatever so that allows for a tricky way to get from one type of pipe to another.

Anyway, I don't know if that trick will work much for other types or sizes of pipe but I thought I'd share.

I would step it down to 25mm ball valves. I used to have uniseals in the side of my 90mm pipe but they began to leak after about 12 months and a child trying to climb up the pipe.

I now have a T piece at each bed with a cap on it. I then use my holesaw to cut a hole in the cap, insert the uniseal and then the smaller pipe/ball valve. Much more reliable.

+1



This is also one of the ways to combine DWV and pressure PVC on one "side" of a system; the Uniseal is the translation device. If the pressure is very low, you might be able to get away with using silicone, but safe is safer!

Found the pic of what I was explaining above:

Old system:


New system: