Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Use a submersible water pump.

Answer to title of thread:

My suggestion is don't try and do it.

Answer to question 1

It depends.

Answer to question 2

Yes but...


To get 2m of lift you would need about 20m deep submerged pipe. Possible but your air pump is probably not going to be able to pump to that depth.

Air lifts can be good but their application is pretty limited.

Buy a water pump.

hi

I am aware that a water pump would be better but it would mean plastic and metal 24 hours a day in the nutritive solution.

That is not an option cause i plan to eat my plants and it is relatively recongnise that plastic molecul create cancers.

I would only use glass tubing. but before i need to do a test with plastic to see if it works. it ca be slw as long as some water drips 1.5 m over the reservoir.

have you heard of an air lift pump able to buble up to 1.5 m?

you have at the very least, peaked my curiosity.
your saying that you want a 2m airlift, I am pre assuming that is 2m of head height?
i.e 2m above the top of the water height of the fish tank/reservoir?

I mucked about with airlifts quite a bit, and was able to make a substantially powerful one,
However, i have to warn you that there is a great deal of force generated inside the lift pipes.
Enough that the vibration was substantial, and enough force that the pipes needed to be secured together.
Glass lift pipes would have to have quite thick walls or they risk simply shattering especially a 2m tall pipe.

But if you are serious, then i suggest you research airlifts built by Kent Wallace on the Koi forums, It is where i learned, and have a look at how he produces huge head and water flow.

I hope then you realise that Glass, will be outright deadly at that force and height.

My airlift ran at 4800ltr/hr, would literally throw itself backward as the water was forced out.
It would force water out around a foot from the pipe outlet, and was a violent bit of kit.
In the end I had to fit opposing outlet pipes to keep it from misbehaving and even then it tried to twist itself inside out.

Research Kent is my advice to you,

hi what is the adress of the koi forum is it and abreviation? there seems to be several koi forum.

Im surprise to hear that something vibrates.. it is just water buble that lifts water in a colum. the air comes from a air pump.
here is the king of thing im trying to do first in plastic then in glass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKtB1YKoMxk

maybe you had better sketch up a diagram of your intended system.

include details such as intended water flow/tank size and growbed size.

That is a very very small amount of water exiting that pipe in the video, and i am very far from convinced.

The air exiting the airline doesn't remain a constant shape, it changes as the pressure decreased the higher it goes, it distorts and reshapes.
now imagine several thousand air bubbles looking for space bouncing off each other and the sides of the pipe. now also consider the 'shockwave' of the bubble as it races upward as it lifts the water in front of it.

I suggest you build a simple pvc one, and when it is running, look inside it, and wrap your hand around it, you can easily see and feel the force it makes.

also, please give us an idea of the options you have for glass pipes sizes and lenghts.

A geyser pump would do it but not terribly efficiently.

"That is not an option cause i plan to eat my plants and it is relatively recongnise that plastic molecul create cancers."

I am mildly curious how you obtain your drinking water.

are you going to be using bamboo pipes and a manual airpump with leather bellows?

good luck steering clear of plastic and metal in aquaponics.

Unless you can design your system with very small head then airlifts are no go. Its possible, you could have the water cascade down by gravity and move back up in various airlift steps from growbed to growbed or fish tank to fish tank.

Yep!...

...or the chemicals your new carpet gives off.

...or the proven carcinogenic effect of concrete in new houses and buildings.

...or the chemicals the interior of your car gives off, especially when new, or exposed to high temps.

...or the chemicals given off by plastic drink and food containers.

...or the pesticides, chemicals, preservatives etc, in any produce you buy and consume... every day.

...or simply the pollutants in the everyday air you breath.

...or the electro magnetic radiation you are exposed to every minute of your life... everywhere... TV's, cordless and mobile phones, household electrical wiring, Wi-Fi, your work place etc, etc.

In the scheme of things, the amount and type of plastic used in any submersible pump, and the associated piping, and whatever miniscule, immeasurable amount would actually end up in the plants... is the least of your concerns IMO.

HIevery one

, i know my project has a high standard

DRAWING :

Plant grow in a clay pot full of expanded clay balls.
water full of nutiment reservoir is on bottom and no fish is included its hydroponic.
the blue rectangle represents culumn (plastic for testing then borosilicate or galss if possible).
each clay pot has about the size of a wine bottle cut in half

inner diameter could be rom 1 to 8 millimeters and the thickness of the glass could be from 1 to 2 millimeters . could the pressure or vivbration be so high that it breack glass?
my air pump is a fish tank one entry level with adjustable pressure .

For the water i could use tap water or maybe source water if i can .

airpump never touch water the only thing that will touch water is glass and clay. no bambou no metal no plastic.

As for
In the scheme of things, the amount and type of plastic used in any submersible pump, and the associated piping, and whatever miniscule, immeasurable amount would actually end up in the plants...
If you have any studie supporting it please let me know.

Did someone tried some pumping in thoses inner diameter ?

I really think you need to do some research on air pumps.

Otherwise this thread is just going to be a string of negative posts.

It is possible to use an air pump to lift water for the drawing you have provided but how would I explain how to do it to someone who doesn't have any knowledge on how airlift pumps work or physics in general

I'm pretty sure the air line will be made from plastic/rubber too

Hi there backyardlover

How much water are you trying to move per second or per minute ?

Are you concerned about the algae growth in a transparent tube?

Is energy usage a concern?

Just wondering

Hi
Only slightly off topic.
After reading the earlier posts on this thread I dropped an air stone down a short length of 32mm pipe with a 90* bend on the top. I was amazed by the force generated. The pipe gyrated all over the place. I then anchored the bottom with a weight. The 90* bend is now just below the surface. The flow is great. What fun!
Oh yes the fish love it.
Thank you