Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

But will the 4500 PondMax run 7x IBC GB's and the extra components the OP wants to run as well EB?

7 x IBC GB's
8 x 3m NFT channels
16 x separate pots

...plus all the associated plumbing.

They run our three bed systems without any problems at all, which are the equivalent of 6 IBC beds, and if he's running it continuously which I imagine is the plan... Then yes, should be perfect..

It's true, this pump is a workhorse, I've seen them badly abused in the bottom of festy ponds etc and they crank on

2 year warranty too

Yes well if the plan is to expand a one fish tank IBC system to that extent I would be suggesting more fish tanks... And preferable more systems, that's just pushing things beyond what they need to be pushed..

Thank you all for your advice!

@Yavimaya: Thanks for the tip. Would this be because the filter retards the flow rate too significantly?

@Ronmaggi: We did have a look through that thread and a few people had smaller units fail within ~2 years. We're not tied to a brand at all just looking for something with a reasonable watt usage that will cover our system. Reading through this forum suggested that we should expect between 10-20% flow capacity loss [each] for the addition of the swirl filter and venturi aeration.

Another pump brand people talk about a lot is Jebao. The brand has mixed reviews on the life times of the pumps and it sounds like their flow rate decays quite rapidly with increased head height - however - people are saying to get a larger capacity version (e.g.: 8000/10000) and we can still win on a per watt basis.

@Mr Damage & tom77: Thank you for that link and the advice. Did not realise that a DW variant, the description for the pump suggested it was fine with gravel filtration (what I thought the grow beds were doing). Thanks for the tip on the pump specifically, we will definitely go larger!

@Charlie: Thanks. Again we're not really tied to the CHOP 2 design (Even though we have already ordered some large Uniseals at around $10 ea. we haven't started cutting anything yet ) it just seemed to be what was suggested, for example: http://aquaponics.net.au/blog/archives/1151.

CHIFT PIST does sound like a simpler alternative especially if as Yavimaya suggests we could not use a swirl filter with the aerator. Might have gotten a bit confused about the placement of the filter - didn't realise it mattered. For CHOP2 it looks like the fish tank has a SLO which goes back into the sump and in order to stop solid fish waste going back into the fish tank you would have your filter between the pump and the tank.

If we eliminated the filter altogether and dumped the SLO directly over the grow beds in CHIFT PIST wouldn't we then be risking the fish and plants? http://aquaponics.com/media/docs/articl ... ponics.pdf for example says that the solids build up and produce ammonia which would off our fish :/

If you run the SLO from the FT directly into the GBs then they act as the filter for the water that returns to the sump which then returns that cleaner sump water to the FT (in CHIFT PIST) which equals happy fish. The most important part is to have enough media in your GBs for the amount of fish waste being dumped into them by the SLO... doesnt hurt to have distribution pipes around the inside of the Gbs to distribute fish waster more evenly .. but not essential

Thanks tom

We ended up purchasing the Aquapro 6000 DW yesterday to be safe. Will look to getting another one with a battery back when we're ready to get the fish. Thanks again for all the advice guys

Just getting a bit confused about how we would eliminate the filter for the lettuce channels. As suggested we changed the design to be more like CHIFT-PIST but wouldn't we still need to filter water to stop solids getting into the channels?

The channels could come off of the drainage from the grow beds but then we would need to do a continuous flow? (Would probably need to raise the FT as well)

I've put a rough sketch of what we were planning below - does it look about right or are we way off base?

Don't appear to be able to edit the post above, just changed the diagram a little to be a little more clear (I hope) of what we were planning. As above, the image is too big to attach directly:



http://i1053.photobucket.com/albums/s47 ... /Basic.png

Just resize the picture to 800 x 600. Then it will attach with no problem.

Not wanting to rain on your parade and I am sorry I didn't see this thread earlier.

I think the pump you have will work fine but it will use more electricity than others. Efficiency is not the only criteria by which you should select a pump because reliability is more important. Purchase price comes into but a cheap pump that is inefficient can cost you more over the long term.



You will see a few people around here singing the praises of Laguna pumps. These two graphs show that this is often justified but not always.

The power ratings for these pumps are:

Aquapro 4000c 75w
Laguna 4000 55w
Laguna 5000 65w
Laguna 7500 75w
Aquapor 6000DW 95w

As you can see for all the Laguna pumps except the 4000 you get more bang for your watt. Whether that translates to more bang for you buck depends on how expensive your electricity is.

@Ronmaggi: Thanks, I'll try to redo the image tonight if I get home early so it'll fit in 800x600 without horrible text/font sizing. FWIW with those plans as well would initially be starting with 20L pails for filters but we have been looking for 2nd hand food grade 44 gal drums to use later.

@Stuart: Unfortunately we already bought the Aquapro but when we get fish I'll be looking to get a back up pump and aerator so I'll keep that in mind - can switch them around for efficiency. Hoping to get the system up this weekend so we'll get a better feel for the pump flow/sizing then as well

Are those pump curves measured Stuart or theoretical? They look measured, which is pretty interesting. I worked out the other day that in pure energy it would take about 3 W to pump 1000L/h 1m, so was shocked when the pump is rated at 30 odd W, though that agrees with your 10-15% efficiency numbers.

Interesting that they all seem to have their peak efficiency at the same head.

This might be a bit better but its a long image without loosing text