Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

...or Jaymies bike pump

For further explanation:
To prime the pipe, fill the 'priming tank' open the tap until the priming tank is almost empty. then voila, all is good.

yes, but how does the returm come back equally?

and also what if the pump pumps more from the little tank due to pipe friction being more from the larger tank?

The double pipe with non return will siphon to equal levels. then if you add water, also they will siphon to equal fullness.

(the left hand foot valve is only a grille over the pipe... I dunno what to call em, not one way)

Justplumb out the bottom of both tanks i probable have a fitting for the milk tank It works for me and jim

How do you mean F&F... two bottom outlets flowing into a single inline pump?

Yes that would be the best. I had assumed tanks were buried or otherwise too difficult to plumb into the bottom. I had assumed an alternative was necessary. The best and most common solution is to plumb from the bottom.

Yep thats it very soon will have 4 on a manefold flowing to 1 pump

Are your tank volumes markedly different though F&F or all pretty much the same??

And what governs your lower/lowest level?

good planning and equal heights :-) non return valves help sometimes, if used judiciously

F&F has a beautifully designed and well thought out setup... I am SO envious

KP, i would be pumping from the big tank. I reckon it pumps around 1500lts on the 20 minute cycle, tank is 5500lts. I will print off ur diagram (thank you so much for taking the time) and take it to my plumber so he can tell me 10 times until i geddit.

Les the gbs empty back to the sumps in ground (800lts.) If i retain the existing pump, I will just increase the pumping cycle to get sufficient water changeover thru both fishtanks. The sump pump is a belter and will just pump for longer on each cycle. It won't be handling a higher flow rate, just a greater volume bc of longer cycle. I WILL need to muck around with the return ball taps to each tank. As the milk vat is approx 1/3 the size the big tank, it will drain quicker, so i assume will need water coming into IT quicker than the big tank.

FF, the milk vat has a stainless external thread which would be no worries to drain from the base. I didn't cut a hole in the big tank. I can do and yes plumbing them that way would be much easier. Would just need to rig both tanks to an external float box to precisely control water height. That is how they do it at Tafe and seems simple enough.

Were my assumptions: that you can't get a fitting onto the bottom of the tank correct?

Just have all the tops the same height you can have large or small tanks on the same manefold they drain about even when the pump stops they equalize
the water in my system comes back to 1 tank then equalizes out

Sorry to be a pain F&F, trying to visualise...

So you don't have any "non-return" valves between the tank(s) and the pump???

Does the water flowing back through the pump dmage or shorten the life of the pump?

I can cut a hole in the big tank KP, it would mean a bit of duckshoving around of water and fish but it certainly could be done.

I guess the other thing is I could run 2 completely separate systems, the milk vat thru hydro pipes and the existing system, hmmm christmas project.