Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I am trying to design an aquarium with a separate filter and vertical towers above the aquarium.Its a project for a group of neighbours who live in a 3 storey apartment block, which has a dead space stairwell measuring 140 cm x 80 cm.
The aquariumwill be 200l.It will have a separate filter of expanded clay, and 3 vertical towers suspended over the aquarium.
The vertical towers are 3.2 cm diameter, 1 metre high. 10 plants/ tower(see pic below).
The aquarium will be 25 cm off the floor.

I originally planned to install the pump in the aquarium. It will split and pump up to the filter and the 3 v.t.s.
The filter is 60l and 70 cm off the ground. The v.t.s are suspended max 2m off the ground.
How do I calculate how much water will be pumped out of the aquarium intothe expanded clay filter of 60l and the 3 v.t.s (1m x 3.2cm), suspended max 2 m above the ground?
I imagine the solution will be to install a partition in the aquarium which will serve as the sump. The partition will have drill holes so that as the water returns to the aquarium, it can pass into the sump, which will house the pump.
The water level isnt a problem as long as the pump keeps running. Should it stop, though, all the excess water will return by gravity to the aquarium, thence onto the sump.


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Why do you feel like you need to split the aquarium to make a sump? 3.2cm pipe to grow plants in? That might have problems getting clogged with roots.

Your main issue having a fairly vertical system will be the head you are pumping to, for example, a fairly standard 1000L/h pump might have no flow at 2m, while a 3000L/h can fave a flow of less than 1000L at 2m head.

3.2cm is ideal for transferring seedlings to tower. It is easier for planting and harvesting.
I think i can prevent earth draing into the aquarium using an inverted funnel with a mesh covering at the bottom of the v.t.s.
I accept what you say about the pump, but I think it is just a question of the right size pump for the tasks specifics.(to pump 1m 80 cm vertically).

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Sumps are mostly needed with media filled beds, so that they can buffer the water level changes when beds fill and drain.
One rule in auqaponics is to keep things as simple as possible.

Sumps are mostly needed with media filled beds, so that they can buffer the water level changes when beds fill and drain.

Thats why I may need a sump, depending on the drop in water level when the pump is pushing water around.
3 v.t.s of 3.2cm x1m have a volume of 3 litres. I havent calculated the water volume in the pipes attached to the pump. At a guess, 10 litres.

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The pump isnt a problem, earthbound;

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If that's the height you're pumping then you'll probably be OK but any higher and the pump will be at it's stated height limits. In other words 2 meters is as high as the pictured pump is designed to pump - that 2 meters starts from the surface of the water the pump is in and the volume it can pump goes down as the height goes up. Usually there is a head height table in or on the box the pump came in or sometimes you can find one online with the model number of the pump. The table or graph will tell you what to expect for volume pumped per hour at a given head height.

As far as figuring how much water is going to each area - I think it's going to depend on back pressure from the filter as well as the difference in heights. I guess this depends on the hookup and how it's done. At this point we don't know enough - does the water go to the top or the bottom of the filter - above or below the water level - difference in height of outlets? A couple of ball valves might allow you to adjust the flow but you'd be creating back pressure .

the filter will be above the aquarium.Enter at the top, exit below. it will be a mini growbed with expanded clay. no syphon, just in and out.

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It sounds like you are going to be running with Constant Flood to the Filter/grow bed as well as the towers. The amount of water in the pipes should be minimal in the event of a power outage and if the grow bed is designed to hold the water then not much will drain back from it either. It doesn't sound like there will be much water fluctuation even with a power outage.

To figure the amount in the pipes you can just use the formula for the volume of a cylinder with the inside diameter and length of the pipe. That should get you close enough.

Hope this helps.

ty scotty
will post pics when its finished

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FYI - Bends in the pipe will have the effect of decreasing the head height you can pump to so keep this in mind when you're doing your setup and keep these to a minimum. Since the pump is close to it's limits you might have to raise the fish tank or lower the grow beds if you get into a pinch.

ty scotty. Am in the process of buying 220l aquarium. (65cm depth)
the cover is 5 cm, the towers drain right into the cover and are 1m long.
From what you posted, you measure from the surface of the water, not the bottom of the aquarium.In which case I should be o.k with the pump I have (split feed to filter notwirhstanding.)
The internal diameter of the outpipe from the pymp is 15mm. It fits snugly inside opaque 25mm rigid pvc tubing

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