Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Like most things, you get what you pay for. Laguna is a great brand.

I am Stuart

I haven't heard of the Messner before so I'll look them up but the Oase pumps are brilliant but seriously expensive (maybe not for you though). In Australia and I think the US the laguna range is pretty much the best on offer if you factor in price and longevity.

Laguna pumps are not cheap but they are very good quality, very efficient and hence very good value. The Oase pumps are extra efficient for some applications but not others so while they may be better quality they are not always a better buy since they are significantly more expensive than the Lagunas.

You never hear people complain about problems with their Lagunas. The cheap off brands however...

Look at the watts those cheap pumps use and you'll see that the Laguna will pay for itself in a couple of years or less. Typically the Laguna pumps are very efficient compared to most other pumps and cheaper to operate because of this and their durability. You may find others that are about as efficient and some are good pumps so I can't tell you there isn't a better bargain but the Laguna pumps are generally worth the price.

OK, thank all of YOU very much, I start my system sonn, maby even this week. I would like to share some photos, when i will have some results, so it could be last thing you could tell me (i mean you want to see that? and if, where upload those photos). Besides that i really would like to talk with You about "something bigger" i want to built, but I will start a new topic in a proper time.

Quick question about the pump sizing. The hourly rated flow (taking into consideration the head loss due to pipe size and fluid height) being equal to fish tank size; Is this for the sake of adequate aeration of the fish tank? My intention is to run the pump continuously with a recirc line going to the pump and just enough flow to flood and drain the growing bed using a bell siphon. The bed will likely see less flow per hour than the size of the fish tank but overall I want to ensure adequate aeration in the tank. I'm starting very small with a 13 gallon fish tank and a 7 gallon grow bed (IKEA Frame setup). Once I know I can keep plants and fish alive, I hope to expand into my basement.

Great topic this one as I'm currently researching all the parts I'm going to need.

By the looks of things the Laguna pumps look like the way to go.

I have a few questions about pumps:

1. Will the Laguna Max-Flo 600 be overkill for a 500L FT (1 growbed above FT)?

http://www.lagunaponds.com/en_us/laguna-max-flo-600-waterfall-filter-pump/

2. What recommendations are there for a back-up pump?

3. Where are the best (ie cheapest, reliable) places in Australia - specifically Victoria - to get pumps and other plumbing parts?

That depends on how far above the FT. Consider the "worst case" i.e. the maximum static head is the vertical height of the GB inlet from the lowest water level in the FT. To find the dynamic head, you need to add on the friction factor (as height) for the flow through all the piping and fittings you need to get the water from the pump to the GB. Factor in any additional losses on the suction side of the pump, if required. This will give you a "height" which you then compare to the performance curve of the pump and the duty cycle; always round up. The Max-Flo 600 moves 2400L of water per hour at zero head, with a maximum head of 1.8 m and 32W, which is a lot of water moving horizontally but it's performance must drop off pretty quickly. Compare that with, say a PondMate 2400lph pump with head of 2.3m but at a cost of 40W. If your total head was 1.5m, you might be better off with the PM instead of the Laguna? All this is moot though, because first you need to have an idea of the total head then you can start looking for suitable pumps. Stuart Chignell has got some posts somewhere on this forum on pump and pipe sizing...


Depends on what your objectives are, stock density, how much system monitoring you intend to do and how quickly you can get to the system and rectify issues. In the event of a water pump failing, many backyard systems will simply employ an air pump to keep the fish alive until such time as the water flow situation can be rectified. You can get air AC/DC pumps which give up to ten hours of air running on battery. Some people have backup power supplies and employ a second water and/or air pump; some people run two pumps in parallel so that if one pump (mechanically) fails the other will support a reduced load (but then what do they do if the power goes out?)


Shop around. I haven't seen one place which is consistently cheaper for every product.

Thanks for once again another thorough reply. After doing some calculations - really rough - I am thinking this will be about right:

GB directly above FT - Static head should be no more than 1m.

Shouldn't have anymore than 2.5m of 25mm PVC from pump to grow bed. A few bends and maybe one junction to have some water returned to FT to create aeration.

I think the Dynamic head should be around 0.2m.

Total head around 1.2m

Looking at his page:

http://www.creativepumps.com.au/zpumps/product_comp_chart/pumps_pcc/pump_comparison_2001_3000.htm

Pondmate could be the way to go like you said.

It's all coming together.

Cheers.

OK... but now the duty cycle, let's pretend you're looking at either the 1500 or 2400 models:

The 1500 will give approximately 600lph at 1.2m and the 2400 will give approximately 1500lph at 1.2m.

If you ran the 1500 continuously (CF) at a cost of 20W per hour, you'd be turning over all the water in the system and probably wouldn't need any additional aeration (except for backup). You could cycle the 2400, 20 mins on 40 mins off to move a similar quantity of water in the duty cycle for a cost of about 13W, but 40 mins is a long time without additional air for some fish in some conditions so you'd probably want to supplement some air using, say a 10W AC/DC air pump, so without using fancy relays and exotic timers you'd probably leave the air running continuously for a total cost of 23W per hour. (Most "simple" timers are in steps of 15 minutes, so you'd have to decide to run the pump for 15 mins or 30 mins anyway, and account for the cost and other issues.)

Each method has it's merits and drawbacks...

Also consider future expansion, different needs for different species of fish etc. The list goes on...

BTW: I don't have any preferences or otherwise towards or away from PondMate -- I just happened to have seen an old PondMate box in the shed today (the two pumps I have in service at the moment are "Resun" purchased locally from the shop formerly known as BYAP (Resun pumps are allegedly re-badged for Aquapro, PondMax, Hozelock, Pondmaster, Pondmate and probably more!)

I will probably go for the 2500lph in case there is room for expansion later on.

I was hoping to do F&D cycle. Looking at 15 on 45 off.

During the 45min off cycle - when the growbed is slowly draining, is it necessary to have another pump?

I'm looking at solar pumps or even aeration rocks. Is that the way to go?

Cheers.

After a bit more reading, looks like the Laguna gets a lot of good votes.

Could get the 4000lph with 2.0m head @ 55W = $200.

How's that sound?

Personally, I reckon it's a bit of overkill; you'll want to be throttling it back or diverting the excess flow which is just a waste of energy and money.

You only need enough pressure to lift the volume of water to the required height and to keep the water moving at a velocity to keep solids in suspension.

For example, in my system I've got a 1000L FT, head of about 1m and my "small" 3000lph pump still delivers "too much water" (for a siphon without redesigning the drain) but works really well with a 15/45 duty; it has more than sufficient capacity for a system triple the size. I could have selected a smaller pump, had one been available at the time of purchase.


I'd recommend having at least an air pump... It will only take a hot day at the end of the growing season when the fish are at their largest and the feed is maxed out, the DO is low due to temperature and the fish are most at risk... HSM!

You don't need a blower, its a fish tank not a spa!

A rule of thumb is for an air pump capable of delivering the same capacity of the FT at the depth of the FT. Hailea make OK air pumps, the 10W AC108 model works ok to depths of about 1.2m, but can be a bit noisy, cheap and reasonably reliable.

There's lots of posts on using solar panels, batteries, DC devices, batteries and battery management systems, inverters etc...

Starting to figure it all out.

Pump wise:

Pondmate 2400lph looks pretty good.

Hailea ACO 9602 Aquarium Air Pump
http://theaquariumshop.com.au/shopexd.asp?id=851&name=Hailea%20ACO%209602%20Aquarium%20Air%20Pump

Looking good so far?

Any need for a tee and a swing valve between the pump and GB to allow any water to flow back into the FT in case the pump delivers too much water?

Looks like I'm almost ready for a trip to Bunnings. Can't wait.

Cheers.