pumps

[Spencer Redman]

I just recently purchased a Hydrofarm AAPW550 550-GPH Active Aqua Submersible Pump.  (see link to amazon.) Hydrofarm AAPW550 550-gph  It seams like it has an 1/2 inch exit port.  Is the 1/2 inch exit port going to clog or prevent to much water from flowing properly after I cycle and have fish poo going through it?  If this is not a good pump could you suggest a good pump.

[TCLynx]

It depends on what you are going to use it for.

How much water do you need to pump and how high?

I tend to avoid pumps with only 1/2" plumbing except for very small systems.  Now if you up size the plumbing after you come out of the pump it might not be too bad but only if the pump will provide adequate flow at the height you need.  Remember that a pump called a 550 gph pump will only move 550 gph at 0 head.  As soon as you expect the pump to lift the water at all and pump against the resistance of pipes, you get less flow.

You want to find specs on the pump that can tell you how many gallons per minute or gallons per hour it will pump at different heights and make sure it will move at least the volume of your fish tank at the height you are going to require it to pump.  I highly recommend buying only pumps that you can find such graphs or charts and then you can compare how much flow you will get at the needed height as well as knowing the powers usage of the pump so you can choose the most energy efficient pump for your purpose.

[Spencer Redman]

I have a 100 gal tank and planning 15-20 fish. The water doesn't have to go far. I am building a table to be right over part of the tank so I can use a bell siphon to return the water back into the tank.  The most the water has to travel 8 ft up in height.  Would opening it up to an inch pipe do better?  The chart on the box goes a little bit past 8 ft. on head height

[Robert Rowe]

Spencer

20 fish in 100 gallons is a (in my opinion) a very big load. The big fish load (when they get to a pound or so) will be to much. When operating at extremes,when things go wrong they go wrong big time.

My favorite pump is pacifichydrostar 68422 Submersible Utility Pump from Harbor Freight

I use 3 of them one for my FT's one for my media beds and a maintenence spare they may be overkill but @ 1/6 hp they run with little cost and have lots of reserve capacity. They sell for about $60.00 and are sometimes on sale for considerably less.

[Spencer Redman]

What would you suggest on fish quanity?

[Robert Rowe]

I have 24 Tilapia averaging 3" in a 100 gallon aquarium as a nursery and they will be fine until they hit maybe 4" or 5" when it will be a real  crowd. Depending how big you grow them to, I would allow 10 gallons per fish unless you have the finese to manage comercial capacity. I can only speak from one year of experiance, but leave yourself a big safety margin and you won't get crushed when something breaks. 

Spencer Redman said:

What would you suggest on fish quanity?

[Tom OBrien]

I think it depends on the type of fish, how big they will get before you take them out, and how much grow bed volume you have. Goldfish or carp will tolerate worse water quality than trout. I think TCLynx suggested around 10 gallons of grow bed per pound of fish.

Spencer Redman said:

What would you suggest on fish quanity?

[TCLynx]

Yes it does depend on type of fish, AND filtration capacity as well as aeration and circulation and and and.

When I grow my channel catfish out, I tend to like about 10 gallons of fish tank per fish and 20 gallons of grow bed.

A good starting point for most new people is a cubic food of media bed per fish that might grow out to 1 lb each and make sure that you will have at least 3 gallons of fish tank water per fish even when the grow beds are flooded and I prefer to have 5 gallons of fish tank water at all times for fish that will grow out to 1 lb each.

If a pump says it's max head height is just over 8 feet, it means it will pump almost no water at 8 feet and NO water at the max head height.

Now if your table is going right over the fish tank, and you will need to pump 8 feet UP?  How high are your ceilings?  Head height is from the surface of the water at the low water level up to the highest point you are pumping to.  count the horizontal run as adding a couple feet to the head not the full distance.

here is a link with diagrams that might be helpful to you when you go to plumb your first system.

2012-aquaponic-plumbing-class

[Spencer Redman]

I was measuring from the bottom of the fish tank. Plus the distance after the 90 degree elbowinto the grow beds.  Thanks for the link it is very helpful.

Spencer

TCLynx said:

Yes it does depend on type of fish, AND filtration capacity as well as aeration and circulation and and and.

When I grow my channel catfish out, I tend to like about 10 gallons of fish tank per fish and 20 gallons of grow bed.

A good starting point for most new people is a cubic food of media bed per fish that might grow out to 1 lb each and make sure that you will have at least 3 gallons of fish tank water per fish even when the grow beds are flooded and I prefer to have 5 gallons of fish tank water at all times for fish that will grow out to 1 lb each.

If a pump says it's max head height is just over 8 feet, it means it will pump almost no water at 8 feet and NO water at the max head height.

Now if your table is going right over the fish tank, and you will need to pump 8 feet UP?  How high are your ceilings?  Head height is from the surface of the water at the low water level up to the highest point you are pumping to.  count the horizontal run as adding a couple feet to the head not the full distance.

here is a link with diagrams that might be helpful to you when you go to plumb your first system.

2012-aquaponic-plumbing-class