Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi Marc, I would be using one of your tanks as a sump and running the one pump 24/7 as a constant flood. Pumping from the sump to the fish tank then using a SLO to feed the grow beds and drums which would all be in parrallel. I would also have a diversion pipe after the SLO. What I try to do is size my pump so as the flow is greater than the growbeds can handle giving you redandacy for future expansions. The excess water backs up and overflows through the diversion pipe back to the sump. The diversion pipe should be sized to handle full flow if all GB's are isolated.

This is basically how I run my system with the exception of the filtration after the fish tank which allows me to run more fish and the pond which sits below my sump. I believe in keeping things simple but i WISH I had given myself more space.

NEXT TIME!!!

Good Luck

Thanks Bunson, Werdna and Muz for your very interesting and informative advice which when thinking about it is probably the way to go. The problem is I asked the question way too late. I already have 5 of the 6 beds in as well as 6 of the barrels all operating. I guess that is the price you pay for expanding an existing system.
For me a CHIFT PIST system will require a tank to be higher than the beds and that is not possible. In hindsight with all I know now I should have reversed my layout which would have allowed this to work almost perfectly (but would have caused minor problems as it is much more shadier on the other side as well as exposed to the very strong westerlies we get - all solvable. Also the roof of the greenhouse slopes up hill limiting growing space ie the area above where the tanks are now to the roof is about 2m but the area above the beds is 3m - which is why the 2 tanks and GB1,2&3 are where they are. If the beds were in the lower area, ie opposite to what I currently have the area above them may only have been 1m).
One tank is already buried in the ground which would make a great sump tank. But I don't want to separate the tanks ie one in and one out (if I did they would be separated by 15 metres and the height from the water of the sump tank to the top of the other tank could come close to 2m which will increase pumping costs). I am trying to keep the footprint and impact on our lovely bush block as minimal as possible so keeping it compact is preferable to SWMBO

I think i will work up the plan you guys have suggested and if I ever have to clean the beds out and if a few trees die I will adopt your proposal and move my beds down hill, build a wind break and hope SWMBO does not notice.

I think Muz summed it up brilliantly

I think most of us can relate to that when expanding!

Actually, it's the price for inadequate planning (with pencil and paper) BEFORE turning the first sod

Yup, next time!

Mate! - cascade your tanks, add some filtration above GB's - maybe a correctly sized RFF and problem solved.

Problem is our systems keep evolving. Just a little change here and there.............May be another tank Hey Marc

That's how mine is at the moment

Currently 1x 5000lt "sump with pump" with 3 crops/year of perch stocked , 1x 2000 lt tank with 1 growbed draining into that containing marron cascading into the "sump" , 2x 1000lt tanks with 3 BYAP growbeds draining into each of them stocked with trout in the winter and Barra/others in the warmer months cascading into the "sump"
I find it to be simple with 1 pump , fairly stable with a large volumn of water , easily managed with plenty of nutes all year round.
Although I plan to upsize the 1000 lt tanks , do away with the bloody marron , stock the smaller tanks with perch so I can harvest 1 tank every 3 years (doing away with runts) , and stock the sump with trout/warm water species.
Unlike Bunsun my plans keep bloody changing

Yeah mine too, and you guys aren't making it any easier. Always nice to learn from others mistakes instead of my own.
I'm sinking 2 ibc's 5 ft deep tomorrow, excavator at 7. Flexibility seems to be the key and having an option to split a system opens more opportunities for the inevitable expansion.