pump size (gph)

[mid falasco]

I am new to this community ,I have just about completed my aqua project build in my pole barn and am ready for the pump ,will post photos down the road .I have a 250 gal ibc tote tank ,2 half barrel grow beds and using the top cut off of the tote 12" deep as another grow bed ,I want to run the pump continuously and using bell siphons for the flood and drain system .I have built a spray bar for aeration above the fish tank and put an overflow pipe that sends the water back to the pump in my sump tank which is actually two barrels hooked together for about a total of 90 gallons of water .I was looking for a recommendation for the pump size ,have seen a couple of 90 dollar submersible pumps at lowes ,I want to make sure I have sufficient pressure at my spray bar to create aeration ,also trying to find reasonably priced hydroton (media) for my beds .I am in Deland florida .

Thank you for any suggestions ,I will get back shortly as my computer is running out of power .

[Jonathan Kadish NYC AA Chair]

Look into the eco pump 396 for under $25 ... I have been using them for a few years without failure. A spray bar can plumbed on the return from the grow beds to the fish tank which uses gravity to create the pressure.

$45 including shipping for 45 liters

http://www.hayneedle.com/product/plantthorticulturalclaypebbles8mm1...

[mid falasco]

thank you ,I will look into that for my next build .this only takes up a 5' x8' space in the barn and there will be another system built if this one is successful .It makes sense what you suggest because you don't need much pressure to fill the grow beds ,I just felt like I needed a lot of oxygen for the 250 gal tank ,so I already plumed it that way ,lesson learned ,Silvia's book was a great help to get started along with many articles and videos on the I net ,and I wanted to get this up and running ,I should have hit the discussion boards first ,thanks for the info.

[Jonathan Kadish NYC AA Chair]

Well If you want raise a lot of fish you will need something better than a spray bar for aeration especially during the hot months where the capacity for water to hold O2 is diminished. Better yet, don't raise a lot of fish and raise fish like goldfish or koi that can breath at the surface when O2 is scarce of there is a power failure. You can feed as little as 15 - 20 grams of fish food per square meter of grow bed per day and still have plenty of nutrients for your plants.  So you can see that you don't need a lot of fish to eat that much food.

[mid falasco]

Thank you ,I wasn't planning on to many fish ,so that is good advise

Jonathan Kadish NYC AA Chair said:

Well If you want raise a lot of fish you will need something better than a spray bar for aeration especially during the hot months where the capacity for water to hold O2 is diminished. Better yet, don't raise a lot of fish and raise fish like goldfish or koi that can breath at the surface when O2 is scarce of there is a power failure. You can feed as little as 15 - 20 grams of fish food per square meter of grow bed per day and still have plenty of nutrients for your plants.  So you can see that you don't need a lot of fish to eat that much food.

[Derek Miner, EarthSpring BioChar]

Can anyone tell me an appropriate pump size for a "commercial" system that has a 1000 gal. fish tank?