Don and I have finished the extended project. It can be located by typing the title, Building an Aquaponics System in Real Time. The video is about 45 minutes long. The longer version gives you a more in depth view of the same build with added comments and insights gained from years of building a number of systems. At the end of the longer video there is a place where you can ask for a list of materials needed to build the system. We have also posted two other videos that give more explanation the aquaponics system. They are: A View of the U Siphon and Its Function on an Aquaponics System and The Key Points of the Water Flow in an Aquaponics System. We also have a time lapse video titled, A Time Lapse View of an Aquaponics System Build. We hope this helps. If you like what you see, please subscribe to our channel and give us a like.
Amanda, You are right, the pump is continually supplying the dump tank. The pump serves to move water up to the dump tank which takes about 45 minutes to an hour. Once the water dumps into the grow beds after reaching the U Siphon the water then drains back to the fish tank. The water coming back to the fish tank helps produce oxygen in the water for the fish and later the plants. If the pump is not running, then the plants will not receive the water needed to supply nutrients to them. If you are having a difficult time with a power source at the location of the system, them maybe you could consider a small solar system with battery to power the pump. In this system you will observe a T as it leads from the fish tank. This T has a ball valve which allows the amount of water being pumped to the dump tank or returned to the fish tank. The returned water then also can be used to produce oxygen in the fish tank.
What form of water pump are you using? It looks to be electric, is that correct? Also are you feeding anything to the fish or are they getting all their nutrients from the return water? Thanks
You are right in says this is an electric water pump. If electricity is an issue, then setting up a solar unit for power would be the solution. Nutrition is basically coming from the fish, but a compost tea can also be used to begin the process of beginning the nutrient cycle. Don and I have finished the extended project. It can be located by typing the title, A Real Time View of an Aquaponics System. The video is about 45 minutes long. The longer version gives you a more in depth view of the same build with added comments and insights gained from years of building a number of systems. At the end of the longer video, there is a place where you can ask for a list of materials needed to build the system. We have also posted three other videos that give more explanation the aquaponics system. They are: A View of the U Siphon and Its Function on an Aquaponics System, The Key Points of the Water Flow in an Aquaponics System, and Brief Overview of the Components of an Aquaponics System. I hope this helps. If you like what you see, please subscribe to our channel and give us a like.
Sorry for the delay in responding to you, but for some reason I did not notice your comment. The water pump is electric. We have thought of looking into solar as an alternative. The fish are fed with fish pellets. Duckweed is another alternative in feeding the fish. We have placed several other videos on our channel which will a greater idea of this technology. We have finished the extended project. It can be located by typing the title, A Real Time View of an Aquaponics System. The video is about 45 minutes long. The longer version gives you a more in depth view of the same build with added comments and insights gained from years of building a number of systems. At the end of the longer video there is a place where you can ask for a list of materials needed to build the system. We have also post three other videos that give more explanation the aquaponics system. They are: A View of the U Siphon and Its Function on an Aquaponics System, and The Key Points of the Water Flow in an Aquaponics System. I hope this helps. If you like what you see, please subscribe to our channel and give us a like..
I don't understand how you are draining the grow bed. I don't see a bell or anything just an open pipe at the top. Can you elaborate on that part? I have to make my set up bigger and I want to borrow some of your flow ideas. Thanks Mr. Wanger
Thank you for your question. This video does not speak to this very well, but we have several other videos that will do this. I will give you an address for this. Briefly, the grow bed has two pipes exiting it and directing any water or overflow into a long drainage gutter going back to the fish tank. The bottom pipe exiting the grow bed is where the water exits after the grow bed fills from the water in the dump tank. When the water exits the dump tank and fills the grow bed to a prescribed level (approx. 1 inch from the top of the grow bed), the water from the dump tank stops its emission of water and thus the grow beds drain off through the bottom pipe. Thus it is called a "flood and drain" system. The other videos that will give a greater understanding of what we did here are titled, The Key Points of the Water Flow in an Aquaponics System and Building an Aquaponics System in Real Time. There is a short Time Lapse Build of an Aquaponics System too. My channel URL is: ru-vid.com/show-UCU290sQCYhwr8lZirAfXzgA. Find the Aquaponics tab in the playlists and you'll find them there. Again, thank you for asking your question. If there is anything else I can help you with, let me know.
I watched those before i messaged you. I still dont get it. Ive had bell syphon for years, use flood and drain for almost 5 years now (im pretty familiar with ap) and i cannot figure out how you are flooding your beds an inch below hour gravel line and then it drains without suction. There has to be a detail i’m missing. And i dont see where your video ever shows the action. Do you have a picture example or anything of your internal hidden flushing system?
The component that controls the height in the grow beds is the dump tank. The dump tank has a U-Siphon in it and as you well know when the water reaches the top of the U-Siphon it siphons out. The U-Siphon is set to a level that allows the right amount of water to drain into the grow beds. Setting the level of the U-Siphon is a trial by error process. We got the level correct on this system right on the first try, but sometimes it takes a couple more times to get the levels just right. The water drains from the dump tank into the grow beds at a faster rate than the water drains out of the grow beds due to the size of nozzle allowing water into the grow bed which allows the water level to raise to within an inch of the top of the grow bed. A smaller nozzle hole on the drain pipe allows this difference. It takes approx. 45 min. for the cycle of water from the fish tank pumping into the dump tank draining into the grow beds and returning back to the fish tank. I hope this explanation helps. The key is setting a U-Siphon in the dump tank at the correct level.
William Wagner (i was only addressing the outflow of the growbed - but thank you for further elaboration- it may help others). I think i got it. You just have a capped pipe in the submerged screen where a bell would normally be used (which isnt shown or I missed it in the videos somehow) with a pin hole in it that allows less flow to escape than what is let in. So you let four lanes if traffic IN and only allow two lanes of traffic OUT and thats how you control your timed outflow. Less complicated than a bell - bells can be a pain when flow is inhibited. Im going to try this method on next build. Thanks for sharing and taking time to try to help explain.
Noooo you are using the cap at the end thats close to the drain trough - thats what has the pin hole in it. I gotcha now. Forgive me - it is almost completely 180 degree idea from what I’ve been using. My mind was looking for a whole different mechanism. Im absolutely going to try this simpler method on the next phase. Thank you for your patience sir.
Yes, the landlords of the property have raised the rent to the missionaries by double, so my trip to visit them will include deconstructing the system and moving it to another site. I will building several rocket stoves during this visit along with using IBC totes for water reclamation and storage. My trip will be in April.
