Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Kuda

What sort of switch/timer are you using to turn the pump on and off?
That must be around 2.5HP and pulling a lot of current on startup.

atm I'm not :-)
my system's not running.
but if I do cycle it, I use a bunnings off the shelf 240V timer.
The pump is a big pool pump I got from F&F's tip foraging... I don't know how big. The motor doesn't look 2.5HP, but it fills 400L at 3m head in under 3 minutes.
Perhaps I overestimated it's size at 300L/m... it probably could at 0 head, but at 3 metres it's more like 150- 200L/m

Kuda

Would check on specs on pump looks a bit like a Davey. The 10amp timers are unlikely to handle this, or if they do the contacts will burn out quickly, think B sell a 15amp which states it can handle swimming pool pumps etc

BTW nice score from F&F

Thanks Sleepe (I did pay him for it) and it is a Davey, correctly guessed. The control I will end up using is going to be able to handle plenty of amps. so never mind that. But I like the heads up for the time being, I may have burnt out my digital timer before I even considered that possibility

For those of you who need a better understanding of the distances vs fall I was struggling with, here are some drawings:

The following are to scale. The tanks in the bottom left corner are IBCs

KP, I'm assuming the green lines are returns back to the sump - correct?

As such I'm struggling then to understand the application of the header tanks in a return to sump scenario?

If they're part of the supply delivery to the growbeds then again I'm still not sure of the benefit of incorporating them...

Not dizzin ya.... just don't understand.

Green is festy green water, blue is clean pure water, orange is tank input connection neither clean nor green

They act as a capacitor or battery. A storage of pump energy. the pump pumps for 2 minutes, but water flows into tanks, pond and growbed (if the valve is on) for the entire hour. or there abouts.

in short the barrels are there so that my big pump can act as a small one, but still have the oomph to keep pipes clean.

If you look back earlier in this post you'll see how this evolved.

The pump was to keep the headers full, it was going to do this via a float switch (I hate the idea of timers, they don't take into account what has happened, only what should have by now...) and then the entire system was gravity fed.

Thought the green? lines were the delivery lines to GB's headers.
Problem is I'm colour blind and can only see blue and another colour

yes that is correct also, depends on how you look at it and your terminology. the green lines both fill the header tanks, and create flow to fish tank bank 1 and 2 and fish pond.

So now I'm even more confused...

Your fishtanks and pond both drain "green" water to your sump, which is then pumped to your header tanks and growbeds and then the clean "blue" water is returned back to the same sump????????

Rupert, did you look back earlier in this post?

But yes, that way all different section mix their water in the sump

Yep KP, looked back at exactly that section...... and I've been confused ever since I read it the first time

OK, seriously, from the diagram it looks like you are pumping and supplying the first row of growbeds directly and then the two header tanks, which I assume provide enough "head pressure" to supply the second row of growbeds correct?

the headers, provide flow when the pump is off. That is their only purpose
I have pressure coming out my... hmm well ppl might think me strange if I said THAT; but I have a lot of pressure. and I have a lot of flow. The barrels allow me to store flow for when the pump is not running.

With you there KP.... but as you've had to restrict flow to (i assume at least) the first row of GBs with a ball valve could you not just remove the headers and supply both growbeds directly.... ball valve adjustment for flow if required to suit the timer cycle...

Or is the problem that you still can't get all the growbeds to drain completely before the next timer cycle, even if you remove the header tanks?

Understand what I'm getting at?

Yeah, but...
1. I want flow into pond to be continuous so the water feature runs.
2. I also need heaps of airation as I have 10kL of water.
3. the restricters are to make sure flow gets to the headers, rather than going hell for leather into the tanks.
4. The height fluctuations are limited to the header tank and the sump, not to any of the fish tanks.


If you know how an electrical circuit works, the headers are acting as a capacitor, maintaining the potential(voltage) for as long as it can, and smoothing out the spikes caused by the pump coming on.