Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I forgot to add the SLO piping would be a 2" gravity fed. The system is timed flood and drain 15 on 45 off. I will be pumping 1125gal in that 15min window. I am able to divert more or less flow if needed. Of that approximately half will go though this SLO, I will have 2. So approximately 563gal per hour. I read somewhere on this forum. That DWC work best at a 5 to 10gal an hr. (I believe it was from TCL, on the Chattem Farms thread) What flow rates, have you had your best results at? Are the barrels in the right order? Too many? Too few? Too much or not enough flow? Does the flow need to be constant?

Am I too late to caution you about that Cast Iron Pump?????
1, metal and aquaponic water don't mix unless you are talking about stainless steel or titanium. A cast iron pump is going to corrode. Also if the pump has any seals and lubricant, you are risking killing your fish when it fails.
Aquaponic Solids are rarely really solid as long as you have a cover keeping debris out of your tanks. Fish poop is less solid than pudding so you really don't need a solids handling pump, just a pump with a grate to keep the stray leaves out of it.

How many gallons per hour are you needing to move? There are far more energy efficient pumps for most possible aquaponic systems. I've run systems with over 600 gallons of media beds on less than 100 watts total (that was 50 watts for my water pump and 35 watts for an air pump on a 300 gallon fish tank.)

Just have to pick the appropriate pump for the situation. Also it is usually helpful to spend a little extra on the pump in the first place and get an energy efficient pump.

Thanks TCLynx I was hoping you would grace my thread one of these days. As some of your videos are the reason I now have this Aquaponic disease, LOL. Unfortunately I have already purchased said pump. Although if it will be harmful to the system I guess, I have no choice but to replace it. I have a 1800gal fish tank, coupled with approximately 400gal of media beds, (mostly CF) and 840gal of DWC. For a total of 1240gal grow room. I will be stocking light until I can build on. What pump would you suggest? 3 1/2ft head to 6ft depending on how empty my sumps are at the time. Are there any other problems that seem to stick out? Also do you have any thoughts on my latest question? As I am going to be building the final 3 beds and possibly the bio/swirl filter next week, God willing. I have precious limited time to change anything.

Decided to run my system media beds more CF than F&D. As it is easier that way to incorporate the DWC part of the system. Instead of having a 15min surge through them then 45min with no flow. I still have no answer on my pre filter design for the DWC beds. Hopefully running water through them constantly will allow them to work better. Unless there is a better (cheap) design that can allow a lot of the solids to be broken down so they are not removed from the system.

Would it be wiser to run 2 pumps in this instance? 1 for the media beds and the other for the DWC beds? To control flow. Being that as pointed out by TCLynx, I have to change my choice of pumps anyway. All when I though I had my design pinned down.

Now I am confused The more I read different threads and rethink my choices the more confused I get. At this point I have several unchangeable variables to deal with.
1800gal FT (6814lt)
550gal ST (2082lt) 4ft (1.2 meter) head to FT
400gal MB (1514lt)
840gal DWC 4693lt)

I had already purchased and plumbed a 4500gal/hr (17034lt/hr) which I have been informed should not be used. Almost out of money, and can not afford another mistake. Looking in the good pump bad pump section I can see the best brands to look at. But I do not know how much difference in flow rate is required between the MB's and the DWC's. If it will make the system run better I will buy 2 smaller pumps instead of 1 larger one. The MB's of a SLO in the FT, and the DWC's off a pump in the ST. Any redesign ideas would be appreciated. Especially weather I should run the MB and DWC inline or off separate pumps with separate filtration. This is just a small backyard system intended on supplementing my growing family. With plans to build on so I can fully stock the FT When money allows.

Hi floridafishin, sorry missed all your questions lately sorry.

Ok, so personally I would concentrate at this stage getting your media beds up and running. Get it all plumbed up, get it cycling and planted out. During that process you will learn a lot on how its going to operate and you can iron out any piping and flow issues. Adding the DWC component to an existing and operation media system will be much easier than trying to get it all to work from the start, and you will get a head start on your overall system.

In regards to pump choice I would go for something that will be big enough to accompany your entire finished system. A good ball park figure is a pump that will turn over your system water volume once per hour.

When your happy with that you can move onto the DWC. There are a multitude of ways you can incorporate this but keep in mind that it will require pre-filtering as wastes will clog plant roots and starve them from 02 and nutrient uptake. So having said that you need to decide how to pre-filter. I can only offer opinions as there are a few ways and Im unsure what way is best.

You could do a 2 stage drum filter. First being a solids settler like swirl or RFF which then flows into a more finer filter like drum full of netting, shade cloth or matala pads etc and then onto the DWC. there are many variations to this.

Or, you could drain your media beds into the DWC and then back to sump. In this case you would need your DWC lower than the GBs. You also may find you need some finer filtering between.

Pre-filtering does require labour, whether its cleaning or mineralising wastes and re-introducing etc. Like you say this is a backyard system to feed the family and so I would suggest not making it too technical. If you can I would run from Gb's to DWC and then back to sump. You can always add additional filtering if plants are struggling.

That being said, those options do require more fittings and plumbing etc so having your media beds up and running you can add as funds become available. So get those media beds running, step back and grow some fish and plants. Tackle the rest as you go.

Glaring possible problems, did I see a buried sump tank? We are in FL and buried tanks if they are not kept nearly full to grade level tend to float out of the ground during a heavy rain event. This sucks if it happens to you.

Charlie's comments are good. Get it plumbed up as a basic media bed system to start.

Yes a separate pump off the sump tank for the DWC is a good viable idea. Keeping in mind that it won't need to be a very big pump. This can have the extra filtering added later as needed.

Those extra barrels will come in handy, don't feel you need to use them all up right away.

As to a pump. If you can return the other pump and get some money back it would be good. If not, maybe you use it till you can afford a more appropriate pump then swap this out as a backup.
As to where to get pumps and what kind to get. I can't reach the catalogs right now to look for models for you (nursing baby so typing is even tricky) but I'm impressed by the energy efficiency of the Laguna pumps and if you need an even bigger pump the HyDrive pumps that Aquatic Eco Systems might be worth a look.
I'm using an Aquaforce pump on one of my systems and it has an impressive flow at 7 or 8 foot head.

Thanks for the advise Charlie. I can use all I can get at this time.

Yes ma'am, you did see ST's a little over 3/4 buried to help with getting the vertical distance required to be able to gravity feed the system that was supposed to all be inline. FT -> MB -> DWC -> ST. Especially since my FT is only 32in high. I was trying to keep my pump head height at an absolute minimum, for efficiencies sake. And may have misjudged, by giving myself a very narrow window to work with. In hindsight this is doable, but not necessarily smart for a first system. Especially one of this size. In order to keep the sumps in place (especially during our rainy season). I have moved away from the timed F&D, and am now leaning towards CF and F&D with siphons (bell or loop). As per your comment on the second pump off the ST. What type of flow have you found works best for your DWC? I ask this so that I can start researching for the smaller pump, As I believe that you had quoted 5 - 10gal/hr on the Chattem farms thread. But do not know if it needs to be scaled up or down depending on DWC parameters. By the way congrats on the little one. We have our second coming in 2 months or less. Hence why I am trying to hurry and get this built. Thanks for taking the time to help me.

Anybody with some real life experience seeing the difference between lava rock and gravel. My barrel beds are going to be filled with Lava rock (Scoria) that I have already purchased. 3 cu yards of it. But by the advise I have been getting I will have to run another MB 4ft x 10ft x 1ft (1.2m x 3.04m x .3m) to have enough filtration. I have read that the BSA of Lava rock (scoria), thus more filtration. But in real life, is there a noticeable difference. I ask because, except for Squatch, and a few others. Most of the MB pics on here have gravel. Which would be ALOT easier on the checkbook. Also does anybody know where I can get good gravel around Orlando. I bought my lava rock from Landscape Depot. But their gravel fizzed in vinegar, like I dropped an Alka-Seltzer in a soda bottle.

Relieved that my sumps stayed in the ground where they belong through our stormy day yesterday. TC had me worried all day at work. Visions floating through my head of a popped up ST and collapsed hole. Ruined piping, well you get the point. I was so relieved go get home and see everything intact. Although in this 1 event I see just how much you need to cover your system. 3 1/2 in of rain yesterday alone. That much water could really throw off my water quality. So building again this weekend. I did my first water test about 3hrs after the rain. Now I just have to search on here to see where I am in the cycling process. Unless someone wants to be nice and just inform me (hint,hint)

After new suggestions I have decided to tweak my build in progress. Here is a revised design, open to critique. Hopefully this one is deemed better.

Disregard the last part of the legend as the grid background of the pic did not show up. So for scale here are some sizes. Divided MB is 8 1/2 barrels. 2 Long MB are 4x10x1ft (1.21x3.04x.3m). ST is 2 buried 275gal (1040lt) IBC's. Interconnected DWC's are all 4x8x1ft (1.21x2.43x.3m). For a main pump I have decided on a Laguna Max Flo 2400. DWC pump not sure yet but in the 800gph (3028lt) to give a leisurely 6gpm (22lt) down each side.