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Flood and drain, indoor seedlings

This Is a video of our recently finished aquaponics system pending some modifications along the way. If you have any questions please post them.

Will post more photos after the seedlings become bigger.

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Farrand on March 31, 2011 at 3:08pm

Looks great! A few questions though. Is the lower bed a constant flow bed and the upper a flood and drain with a bell syphon? Your system looks very clean and nicely built. Very helpful video.

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Iverson on April 1, 2011 at 7:32pm

Thanks for the comment!

Both beds are flooded for 15 minutes every hour currently. But I may back that down soon to every 2 hours. This system is a bit different than most flood and drain systems because when it is filling it is also draining. This is because the drains in the bottom of each grow tray are not filling it. The water is coming in thru a separate set of pipes. This also means the pump has to out pace the two 3/4" fittings to reach the overflow tube. By doing this we have gained much more control over the speed of the drain. When the main pump shuts off each grow bed is completely empty in under 45 seconds. It makes a bit of a sput sound. Also the extreme volume of water which this pump moves has seemed to give us extremely clear water and a very stable system. No siphon needed.

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Farrand on April 3, 2011 at 3:36pm

That sounds good I look forward to seeing more of your photo's later on. I like seeing and learning different methods. That's another reason aquaponics is so great. Alot of different methods all being able to be combined to come to the same result. Local organic produce!!

Jeff Iverson said:

Thanks for the comment!

Both beds are flooded for 15 minutes every hour currently. But I may back that down soon to every 2 hours. This system is a bit different than most flood and drain systems because when it is filling it is also draining. This is because the drains in the bottom of each grow tray are not filling it. The water is coming in thru a separate set of pipes. This also means the pump has to out pace the two 3/4" fittings to reach the overflow tube. By doing this we have gained much more control over the speed of the drain. When the main pump shuts off each grow bed is completely empty in under 45 seconds. It makes a bit of a sput sound. Also the extreme volume of water which this pump moves has seemed to give us extremely clear water and a very stable system. No siphon needed.