plumbing for growbeds

[David Soh]

What's the best way to plumb 2 (3ftX8ft) GBs when they are placed end to end ? Shall I have separate inflows and outflows for each of them ? And what size pvc pipe shall I use. Thanks for any info.

 

Dave

[Ryan Chatterson]

Are you doing flood and drain beds or rafts?

If Rafts- Use a bulkhead to plumb them together and a standpipe on both of the drains to set your water level. 1 Inlet at the beginning of the first tank.

If you're doing a flood and drain gravel bed...
Either place one above the other and have the first drain into the second, then the second drain to your sump

OR

Place them side by side and have a water inlet going to each bed. You will have to choose whether you want to flood and drain the beds using a timer OR using auto siphons to regulate the flood drain period.

As for PVC size, I personally would use either 2" piping or larger. The bigger the pipe, the less chance of clogging. I will say, if you have the right organisms in your tank, they will keep your piping clean for you.

[TCLynx]

I would probably plumb them separate.  Each with it's won inlet and outlet (even if raft beds, if there is a problem with one you can shut it off but still keep the other going during repairs.)

 

Size of piping will depend on flow rates needed and the design of the system.

 

I've done similar sized grow beds with 1 1/2" drain fittings and 1" inlets with ball valves on them to adjust flow to work with the 1" loop siphons I had hooked up then the siphons drained into a combined 3" drain.

 

Now I'm using 1 1/2" stand pipes with some holes drilled around the bottom and doing a version of timed flood and drain.

 

I generally oversize drains, my drain from the fish tank in the CHIFT PIST system is 3"