Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Some shots of the grow beds:

Some shots of the plumbing:


Heaps of aeration from the drainage and spray bar:

I have a question for the veterans.. Will the noise and vibrations from my submersible pump bother the trout? I have a Laguna which is apparently quieter than some, but I have also read that trout are extremely sensitive to noise and vibrations. I was hoping to give the fish as stress free environment as I possibly can.

Looking at my design, is there any way of pumping from another tank? It would have to be a sump deeper than the base of the FT right? How much deeper would it need to be to get adequate pressure to suck up the crap from the bottom?

Thanks!

It just has to be lower than your grow beds.

How would the dirty water from the base of the fish tank, which is dug 700mm into the earth, be drawn into the grow beds if I had a sump tank lower than the grow beds but higher than fish tank?

Fish swimming stir it up?

SLO

OK, thanks. I created this diagram which shows my existing setup incorporating SLO. Would this work?

I can't make a hole through the side of the fish tank easily, so I'd like to take the piping over the edge. Will there be enough pressure to pull it over?

I gather the exit should be the height of my desired water level in the main tank?

I would have to make the second tank large enough to hold the required amount of water to fill the grow beds and then some right? As the water flows back from the grow beds back into the main tank, the water will rise and the SLO will kick in again?

Hmm .. wish I'd thought of this before gluing the pipes.

Actually, it would need to be a full siphon to get over the edge of the fish tank right? There would be no pressure due to the open T, or maybe if the open section is high enough it would still suck? Might have to see if I can get a bulk head through the wall without causing too much damage.. problem is the liner is well and truly in place now.

Siphon:

Your second image is called a water bridge. Water bridges can be tricky, if you get air inside them they can fail and you will have a flooded/overflowing tank. Therte are ways to prevent this but I think first we need to step back and ask why you want to add another tank.. there may be better options.

yeah you're right siphon won't work with a T.

In your second picture the pump will just keep pumping and sucking the fish tank out if your not careful

Actually it's to do with the trouts well being. I've read that trout are extremely sensitive to sound and vibrations, and I get a fair bit of both from my submersible pump .. I know they are basically caged in, but if I can minimise the stress it would be good.

jayendra: Once the grow beds were full, the overflow would go back to the fish tank .. so as long as a pipe didn't spring a leak, then there should always be water in there. What Charlie mentioned about air in the siphon has ruled it out for me anyway, I don't want the additional complexity in the system, standard SLO would be preferable.

Ok, so it sound and vibration your concerned about.

Simple answer... dont be concerned.

The noise of returning water, pump and aerators are all common in AP systems and the fish are fine with it. You have a neat system there, Id leave it the way it is.

You can make the slo at the height you want in the fish tank with a side exit (as you've regrettably said), but that pipe can enter the sump at any level