Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

1 GB has a uniseal that looks bad. I only have 8 inches clearance but it appears to have a crack in the plastic I can't tell how bad the repair will be without emptying the media. It was actually really easy to find once I started moving footing bricks. But just to be safe I checked the sump and other 5 beds for piece of mind. I did find one other bed with a very small leak that I will probably ignore after your advice above.

Once I get a closer look at the problem with that weak point I will try to decide if it can be fixed with a o-ring rubber washer type solution or if I will need to replace the bulkhead etc.

Now I just need to move 400LT of media some place for a moment... some people loss their marbles... I'm losing my clay pellets.

Silicon? There is also a waterproof plastic epoxy that can be applied too wet/damp areas. We use it on pumps sometimes when people don't want to pay for a replumb. It holds up surprisingly well. Had a few for several years and still not leaking. Especially under low pressure, like a GB.

Toilet ring wax.

+1 Ron. Good idea, no or low pressure- it should work well. Maybe keep an extra one around for repairs?

We ended up moving all the media and took the entire bed out and added a second rubber washer (now on both sides) on the bulkhead all the media is back in place and we even managed to keep the lava rock on the bottom and the clay on top thanks to some help from the boss lady.

I'm still not entirely confident that I've found any other leaks but I do know the sump remained at its height when the entire system was shut down for a few hours to test for leaks in the ST so I'm just really happy its not that part due to the effort involved to replace it. Anything else will be simple by comparison.

Pond,

Glad to hear it looks like everything turned out well in the end.

I made a little video update to show off our latest work with the filter plumbing (still not water tested) but we are waiting for the main pump for the FT still. Anyway here is the idea....




Also the aeration system is just now getting set up. I think I need to order some check valves even though I have it running through PVC, but this was my early testing mostly for sound volume concerns.


Sonic P-45 Noise-Free Air Pumps
Model P-45
LPM 45
Pressure (Kpa) 35

The only personal endorsement I have at this stage is that its not very loud. I will know more once its powering the FT and ST as well.

Honestly I already wish I had sized it larger and run air stones inside the filter barrels as well.

That's pretty much the same layout as I'm using for my RAS...just larger pipe. You might want to reverse the shade cloth entry/exit. If the cloth clogs it will overflow easily. If you have it enter the bottom, it will just slow down the flow to the DWC. You could also have an overflow 1" above the current entry, drain it back to the RFF maybe. Also, before you fill it, add a 1" uniseal in the bottom of the RFF, then use 2 -45's to make a sweep and run it up so you can have a ball valve that you can sit a 5 gallon bucket under. You may need to dig a small pit for the bucket depending on height, but it doesn't look like it. Looking good man! You could obviously do these later, but it's easier now.

Great stuff as always PS!

Chris, there is a clean out valve on the bottom left of the RFF...you can see watering bucket under it in the video thumbnail. I think that is what you're talking about?

As for the filter barrel and material clogging the output, especially if its has gravity force behind it... after what you wrote I came up with a potential idea.

I have some plastic milk crates that I believe will make excellent guards/filters for the filter material to not get sucked into the output valve. I was thinking about placing one around the output pipe or even using additional lava rock around that milk crate and output pipe barrier.

I built a "pondless fountain" last year that way.

Plastic milk crate would work to hold the filter off the outlet. Then just keep an eye on solids after your density gets higher, and you should be golden. I like the pondless waterfalls. We sell a few each year to people who want the waterfall but not the maintenance of a pond. If I ever get around to it, I have some propane burners to make a fire/water feature on my pool deck. They're very cool!

I love stuff like that.... that reminds me my propane grill stopped working and I need to work on that stupid thing we haven't grilled much with all the holiday stuff going on. I think I need to replace the old fuel lines or at least clean them up.

Pond,

Replace. Especially if they are rubber. Propane is nothing to mess with.

This was the cause of the mystery leak. I probably caused this damage when removing the pvc at some point.

Chris, that is probably because its exactly what you told me to do way back on the bottom of page 1 & 2 on this thread

Once Ron seconded the idea I had to go along with it, the man is a frick'n pirate you simply can't challenge that.