Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

1- 200 gallon sump, 1 -225 gallon FT, appx 250 cu ft GB, a radial flow filter at FT, a Little Giant - F20-2700 - Wet Rotor Pond Pump - 2772 GPH, 1 " piping with ball valves to adjust, bell siphons in GB's, 4-5 vertical towers(zip type) with a future 32 sq ft. FRS? Thinking of CHOP system. Starting with 40 tilapia, various sizes, and a few guppies/mosquito fish in sump. Any suggestion or feedback would be appreciated for this first timer. greenhouse is almost done and shade cloth is ordered. that pump is 147watt consumption and less if gated down, 2 year warranty. Plan on adding aeration as well. Am I missing anything? volcanic rock for media, may have 1 bed with hydroton for comparison.

A few more ????- Should I use 1 1/2" pipe for the plumbing in the previous system? I can reduce down to 1" for the grow beds, if need be. The pump is going to be a 35GPM (2100 GPH). In irrigation, which I'm familiar with, when FPS (velocity) is an issue, we would use 2". But since there is very little pressure in these, I'm thinking 1 1/2 would be adequate. I need someone with practical experience to chime in. I know that bigger is usually better in piping, but don't want to spend more then I need to. Thanks. Got a lot of digging done today, will finish the deep part with small excavator Monday. Then I can start setting up tanks and grow beds! Shade cloth is ordered and should put finishing touches on shade/greenhouse after AP system is up.