Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

So I spent part of the evening lastnight putting my vision of my AP system to paper. Using Visio, I came up with this.

Some points I am still considering:

- A mature system is capable of supporting 2:1 grow bed/fish tank ratio and thus I may not need a future expansion of a second large fish tank.

- Placement of the Sump - The ground has a slight slope from the house to where the picture places the sump (very slight) so not sure if I really need a pump but am headed that direction anyway

- Sump capacity - I am thinking of increasing the capacity from 550-gallon to that equal to grow bed current and future capacity. This means 1600-gallon minimum (100-gal x 16) which will bypass the need to add a second sump later on.

- Where to grow duckweed - it's own bed or in the sump tank.

Any input from anyone would be much appreciated.

Looks great. You haven't said how you plan on running the system. The sump size depends on how you are pumping the water. If you use Constant Flood (in other words pumping 24/7 without siphons) then the water level in the sump growbeds and fishtank will stay the same (excepting evaporation and you changing standpipe length) and the sump can be smaller than if you used timed flood and drain or siphons. You can use constant flood no matter where the pump is so it works in either case below.


Method 1
I would be trying to set this up without the second pump that's in the fish tank (just using the sump and it's pump). I'd be using CHIFT PIST (Constant Height in Fish Tank, Pump in Sump Tank) where the fish tank just overflows into the growbeds using a Solids Lifting Overflow (SLO).

Method 2
Now if the Fish Tank is to low to do away with the pump, then I'd consider doing away with the sump and using Constant Flood from the Fish Tank (which is where the pump would be in this case). I'd probably add an auto top up valve to top off the fish tank for losses from evaporation.

I'd probably use some sort of float valve arrangement for the bananas, grapes and the berries but not have them be recirculating unless it's simple to do. This would effectively be drain to waste so you would get fresh water from the top up valve again to compensate.

If you used Constant Flood, you could add the other growbeds without adding another Fish Tank but I'd add one anyway

One way or the other, you'll have a really neat system when you're done.

I planned on method one you listed but, I am not sure if the slope of the ground would prevent the overflow into the grow beds. That is why I was thinking it wouldn't hurt add one additional pump to the fish tank. The cost is negligible to ensure the constant flow rate. The auto-syphon will be installed in each grow bed.

I believe it will take some experimenting with the set up to determine what will work with the slope. Originally I wasn't going to run a sump but I opted to just to aid in eventual evaporation.

I have read a couple strategies on implementing sumps. The first was to have it equal the capacity of the grow beds. Another was to have it equal the fish tank. In an interesting strategy I read on this site (If memory serves me) someone hooked up a sump with a float valve that pushed water from the sump to the fish tank when the sump reached a certain level. Brilliant!

I feel it is far easier on the system to add the sump tank in the beginning rather than later so the system only needs to cycle and stabilize once instead of adding a sump tank later and have to worry about possible imbalances it introduces when it is added. I want to do it right the first time and then just worry about daily maintenance.

The banana trees will be grown in 55-gallon barrels cut in half. I will eventually build the custom grow beds for the berries and grape vines. The grape vines will be trellised to grow over the top of the fish tank(s) and thus eventually provide the additional shade they need. I know I listed gojo-berries but it may end up passion fruit or both.

What do you think?

Having the second pump sort of defeats part of the purpose of running CHIFT PIST which is to eliminate the possibility of pumping out the fish tank. What happens if your pump in the sump stops pumping but your fish tank pump keeps operating? You also must somehow compensate if one pump discharges more than the other. These are not major issues and can be solved but I'd probably figure a way to make it work without. Even though the cost of the pump is not significant the cost of running it can run up over time so having one less can save you a few hundred over the years.

As far as implementing sumps, everyone is different but I figure that the sump must be able to hold all the water that could potentially drain into it from the growbeds and the pipe plus any extra top up water so you don't have to keep going out with a garden hose all the time. Having some capacity to catch the rain water that falls in your system is nice as well. Unfortunately with the Fishtank having a pump much of that water could also wind up going to the sump.


We've found that it's pretty much impossible to synchronize siphons so in your system you have to figure on all the growbed siphons flushing at the same time - Looks like you probably realized this based on the current sump size.

Each growbed is 4 X 8 so 32 square ft and I'll assume 1 ft deep. 7.48 gallons per cubic foot x 32 = 239.36 gallons per growbed. I'm just going to assume 40 percent of the full growbed will be water, it will give you a bit of a buffer (you should check this because I think the amount that drains is now thought to less than this). Basically using the 40 percent figure, each growbed could drain a maximum of approx 96 gallons to your sump. If your pipes go down and then back up to the sump not much will drain from your pipes to the sump during a power outage. That's the way I would setup the returns to the sump (If possible, I would incorporate a cleanout fitting just in case they need cleaning).

For 8 growbeds you'd need about 800 gallons of sump without figuring in the excess capacity to reduce topping up or anything having to do with the bananas etc....



I think you wind up with a much neater system if everythings figured in from the begining and you don't have to deal with rerouting much of the piping. I wouldn't expect much in the way of problems if you had to add one though. Just make certain the tank is clean and rinsed plus don't expect the system to handle large amounts of treated water all at once, make it gradual.

And this is why I joined this community. A lot of very intelligent folks here. I have a tendency to over-think things and it is refreshing to have input that can shoot holes in my concepts and processes. It may prevent me from spending unnecessarily or adding parts that may be redundant.

I will initially try to forgo the FT pump but have it on hand just in case it doesn't flow efficiently without one.

It would be awesome if I ended up not needing it. Less energy requirements means easier time adapting a solar energy system into the works (less cost).

Anyone have any recommendations on submersible pumps? Going to look over in the hardware section but thought maybe someone has some idea of which brands to avoid.

I like the laguna maxflo pumps. They have been reliable, can handle solids and are more efficient than most. If you're wanting to run the pump off solar though, I'd see what those already doing this are using.

Cheers

The lagunas are great as Scotty mentioned. Another good one is the Rio Hyperflow range, Ive been running the HF26 for about 6 months now and Im quite impressed, these are the pumps troutman uses too.

Don't forget the photo's AM. some of us don't read so well, but we like to look at pictures

Yes sir. I am of like mind sometimes. There are days I just don't feel like reading a wall of text. I am actually video documenting the activities.

Thanks fellas, for the heads up. I read every page on the pumps thread. That one fella seems to know his pumps. I did visit the Rio site last night. Laguna seems to be another popular brand, though a couple did have issues with impeller blades breaking or units not working.

Made my first video. Quality isn't great but it will give me a record of the adventure. Should make for a good chuckle.

Whew! Hard to watch all that shade cover hit the ground when I know how hot Central Texas can get. Good work though

No kidding! Those trees truly kept that side of the house shaded but will add a roof vent to equalize the attic heat dissipation. I am still torn whether to completely remove the remaining tree. It will grow back out so will have to stay vigilant in keeping it trimmed back. Once the system is in place it will be precarious at best to bring that tree completely down.

I am building the grow beds and removing the chain-link fence today. Also putting in a short run privacy fence at the corner of the house to re-enclose the backyard. It is already 101-degrees out and I still have a long day of work ahead of me. Will see how much I can actually get done today. Let the games begin!