Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

@JayMen - You might have to change your copper fittings to another material, it is ok if water only passed through it once, but long time contact will crash your system. Search the forum for more information.

Regards

@Curious - If you are referring to the hose fittings, these are actually brass. Will brass leach copper or zinc into the water, or is it otherwise harmful? I looked around but didn't find an obvious answer, although I've seen a few suggestions to replace the brass with a different material.

This shouldn't have surprised me but the pump uses up the battery much faster than the solar charger can charge it back up. That said, I'm thinking my options are A) get a smaller pump, B) get larger or more batteries, or C) put a timer in place. I'm leaning toward the timer and this is what I have in mind:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YQVCF4I/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3VY55BNBCWNY5&coliid=I11ZBWVOGBXSFT

The pump takes about 22 seconds to move one gallon, so if I'm figuring this correctly it will take about 21 minutes to move 55 gallons (the size of my fish tank). I'm overestimating on purpose since the flow rate will go down with the battery's charge.

My next steps are 1) see how long the pump can run on a single battery charge, and 2) see how long it takes to charge the battery back to full levels. If I can get the FT pumped out on a single charge and recharge the battery all within an hour then I think I'll be fine.

I got some additional batteries in and have hooked them up in a temporary parallel configuration to see whether this gives me the battery runtime I need. There's still the question as to whether I'll be able to charge them back up in time for the next cycle. If I can run the pump for 22 minutes each hour then I'll be set. If not then I'll either have to get additional solar chargers or go back to an AC adapter and keep the batteries as a failover.

My runtime has gone from about 13 minutes on a single battery to over an hour with two. I'm not sure how to explain this, but I'm guessing the charge wasn't what I thought on the first battery.

83 minutes!!! I'm really at a loss to explain a difference of 70 minutes by adding one more of the same type of battery in parallel. Maybe that first battery really was bad, I don't know. I completely drained them both just in case "battery memory" is still an issue with lead acid modules, and I'll do the same to the other one tomorrow.

have you considered using a solar power pump?
it would only run during the day but thats all you need i think

I didn't realize these all-in-one units existed -- thanks. I'm not sure I understand the use you're suggesting, though. Do you mean to use the solar powered pump in addition to a battery powered system (i.e.: use the batteries during the dark hours), or to plan on only pumping during the day?

I apologize if that question is dumb but, while I know the FT's water has to be cycled once per hour, I'm not quite sure if that's meant literally or is just an average over a certain number of hours. I'm quite possibly overthinking this.

you shoudl get some more advise from experienced members but ive grown heaps of hydroponics outdoors using solar powered pumps- the hotter the day the brighter the sun the harder they pump

i know ppl in colder climates dont run thier gb at night and even afnan in malaysia doesnt so i would assume it would be fine for your situation

they cost about $10 off ebay or aliexpress with a panel and pump (buy 2 because they do break and you'll need to replace it right away)

the only issue you could have is oxygen- if u dont have an airpump u might need one

The good: I finally figured out how to wire and program the timer (online instructions were much better than what came in the box). I came to the conclusion it is necessary because A) I don't have the batteries to sustain 24/7 pumping, and B) my pump isn't designed for full time operation anyway.

The bad (1): I want to get an AC adapter to go from 110v to 12vDC with sufficient amperage (I'm still trying to figure that out), but I haven't yet figured out what I need to act as a failover switch so that the batteries will kick in if the electricity goes out. I've seen some schematics and found a few names ("relay switch"?) to investigate, but the logic isn't sinking in just yet.

The bad (2): The pH level and ammonia are both higher than what my API test kit can measure. I know it's supposed to take a couple or three weeks to start coming down and it's only been a few days, but I'm getting nervous wondering whether one factor is exacerbating the other.

About 1 or 2 and a half weeks ago I finally got over my distaste of using hummonia. Truth be known, I got impatient -- bad when working with AP, I know. So, not reading the instructions, I began "dosing" with great enthusiasm. Needless to say, my ammonia levels rapidly joined my pH levels up in the stratosphere. Now my nitrites are also off the chart but my pH is finally measurable, even if it's near the top range of the High pH test. The bag of cypress mulch I put in may also be helping lower the pH, but I'm about to take the mulch out and just pick up some muriatic acid ($7 or so for a gallon from a local hardware store chain). However, I'll give it a week or so before using the acid just to see what effect the nitrification process has on the pH. I'll also start testing for nitrates again.

you can also add a trickle charger on a timer, set to come on once or twice a night. This is what I've done since my axial flus wind turbine seized up over a year ago. Most gel cell batteries don't want to be completely discharged.

Here come the nitrates, and the pH is now measurable (even if it is only via the High pH kit). According to Rensselaer (http://www.rpi.edu/dept/chem-eng/Biotech-Environ/Environmental/nitrification.html) the nitrification process tends to lower the pH. Assuming that's the case I'm going to let it go for a while longer before I add muriatic acid.

I've also unwittingly wound up with a good environment for the nitrification to take place. The best temperatures are listed as 77-86° F (25-30° C) on the Bio-Con Labs web site (http://www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts.html), and our temperatures have been close (about 71-91°). I've also been periodically running the pump anyway with the thought that this would help get the bacteria "rooted" on the GB brick fragments, and the drainage from the GBs to the FT aerates the water, increasing the O2.

Well, a little bit of progress to report. The nitrites (not shown) are still maxed out but the pH and ammonia levels are now beginning to drop. Also, I finally got a start on the PVC hoop greenhouse. Before I put the plastic sheeting on I'm going to cover the PVC with duct tape. I've read that, for some reason, the PVC and plastic sheeting don't work well in direct contact with each other and the sheeting tends to wear out more quickly, but separating them with duct tape remedies the problem.

The current challenge is the electrical system (again). I decided on a UPS but, after I ordered it, I finally got through to my pump's manufacturer and found that, on start, the pump can draw as many as 20 amps. The UPS is only rated for 10. I'll try it and see what happens.