Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

So what is cf I don't know that one? And when I get home I'll try raising it .5 in and see I'll also pull the media guard and add a lot more holes I only have like 15 or so right now I'll also notch the bottom of the bell, make the top of the notch where I want the water level isnt that right?

CF=Constant flow. The height of your standpipe dictates the height of the water level in your grow bed. On the bell, you just want slits/holes on the bottom to allow water into the bell so that it floods at the same time as your bed. You should shoot for 1 inch below to top of your media(gravel, clay balls, etc.) This is to inhibit algae growth and avoid getting the stems of the plants wet which can help prevent pythium.

Ben, in this case and in most cases here it means Constant Flood. Occasionally it can mean Constant Flow which is not the same thing and just means you're pumping all the time and the water is always flowing. The water is always flowing in a Constant Flood system but Constant Flow is a broader term that encompasses Constant Flood and many situations that would not be considered Constant Flood (like a system with siphons for example or a system where water drained straight from the grow bed without flooding). Usually I use the full word before I use the abbreviation but I had done so earlier in the thread and thought I could get away with it



I think it's missing a few hundred signatures Sleepe

Ah you guys are great, so to add a lip to the stand pipe you mean an out word lip like from 2 in to 3 in pipe? Or a inward like 2in to 1.5?

And I work in tech where everything is short for something that has 5 meanings.

An outward flare.

I was moving the rock to put the guard back after I put some more more holes in it. I got back in but in doing so I must have nicked the pond liner. What is the best way to repair it?

That hurts . I'm not certain what kind of pond liner you have but I've not had to do this so you'll have to look around the forum a bit if you don't get an answer from someone else. I did find this online but it may not be available locally and I'm not sure what it's made of - http://www.homedepot.com/p/Total-Pond-Pond-Liner-Repair-Patch-Kit-A16552/202522815

Yeah bad luck I have I have some scrap bits from when I tried it so I'll use wood glue and silicone to put it down,also my bell cap didn't stay very tight I put water in it and flied it and it leaked so would that be why I couldn't get a siphon to start? I did also get the lip piece so I can try that to.

Possibly but I can't be sure.

So things have been good i got the flare to the stand pipe and fixed the leak i also sealed up the bell and added notches to it .I tried it all today and i still couldnt get it to siphon correctly. When water goes into the bell it just wants to float up and not sink also should the stand pipe and the bell be the same height? minus the cap of the bell? if so i guess i need to cut my stand pipe to account for the flare on top.

I added support under the middle of the grow bed today my jack out of my prius is all i had and it worked well enough after a few slip ups i added 2 cinder block supports under the middle and straightened up one of the outside ones. Here is a pic of my media guard and stand pipe i added a small hole to the stand pipe to slow drain if power loss.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1Py2S ... sp=sharing

No, the standpipe should be an 1/2 - 1 inch below the top of the pipe used for the bell(the cap will add more height). Make sure the bell can fit flush to the bottom of the media bed - it has to fit flush as possible for the vacuum to form. If there is media under the bell lip then that can cause it not to form the suction needed to fire it off. Can you post a pic of your bell?

Also a big part of the siphon working correctly is the pipe layout under the bed. Can you posts pictures of the piping? It helps to have a 45 degree angle in the piping at the end to allow the air to gulp back up the tube and break the siphon. Your other option is to add a siphon break tube to the top of your bell - this ensures the siphon will break regardless of piping choices.

Ok here are some pics, So currently my standpipe with a lip on top is 9 1/4th in tall and the bell is 9 1/2 inches, What do i need to cut and what do i need to cut it down to? also the bulkhead stops the bell from sitting flush on the pond liner. I have the rocks 1 ft deep if that helps any.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1Py2S ... sp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1Py2S ... sp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1Py2S ... sp=sharing

I used to have one of the pop bottle siphons float up but it would still work so having the bell sit flush on the bottom may help but it isn't an absolute necessity.

What size is the pipe bringing the water into the grow bed? Is it going full out or just part way open? I'm thinking that outflow pipe is so large in relation to the inflow, that the inflow can't bring enough water in to create the suction.

If this is the case, the only cure I can think of is to reduce the drain pipe size after it enters the bed, from 2" to 1" and then widen it as before at the top of the stand pipe. It may not work because the narrow section of pipe won't be very long. If you leave enough inside the bed for a pipe to pipe connector you can always switch the whole run back to 2" and run Constant Flood.

well i have a 1 1/2 in vinyl supply line and a 2 in drain line, and i have a ball vaulve on the supply line but its wide open for testing right now and as to my other post what height do i need the bell and stand pipe to be?

Stand pipe should be above your media bed by a couple of inches - it's primary role is to keep the media away from the bell.

I've used this design in the past and it works flawlessly. You may need to upsize things for your flow rates but I haven't had many problems with this siphon on a 400+ gallon system(2 60 gallon grow beds):

http://365aquaponics.blogspot.com/2011/ ... -list.html