Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Not as cheap as Timbo got it though!

I can get my hands on some pipe (round) pretty cheaply and I've been looking for an excuse to buy a welder

Jayendra:

* Yes the screws are galvanized. They are really only there to hold the barrels in places. they also have 45x90 timber supports under them.

* I don't think you have to use bell siphons. I just did cause there was plenty of info on them.

* The aerator was originally designed as a silencer for the overflow from the bilge pump. The water comes out of the bilge pump in 25mm pipe that i have drilled a stack of approx. 20mm holes in. It is then sleeved in a piece of 70mm drain pipe and held in place using compressed scotch pads. i then drilled a small hole (4mm) just below the scotch pad level and it now sucks in heaps of air and bubbles nicely.

I will try and draw a picture and scan it in.



BullwinkleII:

* Clear plastic pipe was only used as i had it laying around. Would algae build up make a huge difference to flow rate of siphon? I can easily change it if needs be.

* 90mm storm drain does go all the way back to the sump. Again because i had the pipe laying around and thought it would look a bit neater than having each individual siphon go back to the sump.

port_huon:

My pipe is only aluminum and it is holding the weight just fine. Tested it by putting planks on it and getting a few mates to climb up and 'bounce' their weight around.

It looks thick enough to deal with the scum that forms, but your could always paint it if it became a problem.

It should be fine. The only reason I mentioned it because once I had a no holes, bridge siphon connecting two containers and I had clear plastic at the top of the pipe to check where bubbles would collect. That way I could see if a problem was forming, Except that after a few weeks I could no longer see anything.

Good to hear. Is the timber cladding made from 19mm decking boards? Looks like it.

At the moment I'm costing out the various options so anything I don't have to buy (pipe for stands) helps.

Faye:

Where did you get your pumps from and what type are they. i am having issues trying to find a pump that is able to be run continuously. You have me thinking about pumps now :p

There's a shop link at the top of this page.

BYAP sells some good pumps.

I have one from them, and it'sis excellent, and moves a lot of water for it's wattage.

I jumped in here, because the BYAP people never push their products, so it's up to the customers

lol, thanks Bullwinklell, ill shoot over and have a look-see

Anyone know how i calculate what head i need on my pump? The one i have now is a submersible unit. My rise is 1.6m and my run is 1.3m.

Some pumps have a graph that tells you the flow at different heights.

The change in flow rate tends to be non-linear, so if there's no graph, you cant just halve the head and double the flow or anything simple like that.

If your buying from BYAP they will probably be able to tell you based on what they use.

If you're buying from somewhere random online, make sure they sell stuff that's suitable. I bought a pump once that was advertised as an outdoor fountain pump, that only had a 1m long cord. Pumps become less useful when the extension cord join is underwater

Lots of people get a bit more pump than they need, and just divert any excess back into the FT as extra aeration. That way there's room for expansion. But you can always add a sequencer if you add grow beds to share the water first to one, then another in turn.

Sorry I seem to be just adding questions rather than supplying answers.

I run something like this in an IBC based system

http://backyardaquaponicsshop.com/shop/byap-s3000/

And divert quite a bit of water directly back into the sump as added aeration, and so I have room to expand.

Are you pumping higher than you need to? 1.6m for an IBC based system seem a lot.

Swapped the pump out yesterday for an 80W, 4200L/Hr unit from the local aquarium suppliers. Been running for about 24hrs now and it seems to be going well. not as quiet as the sump pump but it uses a fraction of the power so i'm happy.

The 1.6m rise height is from the bottom of my ST (submersible pump) to the top of my FT (raised for gravity feed and deeper ST).


Is there a rough guide as to how long a system takes to cycle in? i have been running mine now for nearly 2 weeks and i still don't have any change in my levels except that my PH has gone from 7.8 to 8.0...

The time it takes is temperature dependant.

Warmer weather speeds it up.

It can help if you get some bacteria from another system.


Re pH - Adelaide water comes out of the tap at a pH of around 7 at my house, but then rises to over 8 after a day or so. I think it's treated with CO2, so it leaves the water eventually. I have to treat my top-up water with pool acid.

Are you still seeing small amounts of ammonia?

My system was started at roughly the same time of year as yours, and I have some test graphs in the first few pages of my system thread that might give you an idea of cycling times. Ignore the fish deaths, as they turned out to be from a poisonous bush that I put my fish tank under.

Put a pond heater in the FT and ST yesterday to try and boost cycle time. Now sitting at 22degC. Ammonia still sitting at 0.25 (same as first test a week ago). Nitrites and nitrates havent moved either. Been running now for two weeks. Couldnt understand the dates on your graphs Bullwinklell. From start-up to first change how long was it? 4 days?

Yeah sorry, I was thinking I had better graphs. This the one I was talking about...

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=7290&start=45#p230869

But I'm not sure how helpful that one is either. I might have posted it somewhere else.

From what I remember you can expect it to take a little over a month