Comment

Comment by Jacques L. on March 13, 2012 at 12:14pm

@Kent

The tank is the lowest point in the system design (i.e. buried) this was the reasoning for the additional 'modular' sump tanks at level with the fish tank to maintain water level within the tank itself. I'm burying the tank in order to reduce temperature fluctuation within the water supply and to reduce power requirements to maintain the water temp. Ultimately the whole setups going solar.

Comment by John Malone on March 13, 2012 at 12:05pm

@Kent (again) - I see that you aren't burying your fish tanks.

Given that, your sump idea would work very well, because you can always add more sump volume as you add grow beds.

My design problem revolves around having the fish tank as the lowest point in the system, which makes it difficult.  I don't want to have to dig another hole every time I expand my grow bed volume, but maybe that's the price I pay....  

Comment by Chris George on March 13, 2012 at 12:02pm

Kent - Regarding your string plastic...if you wouldn't mind a couple of questions.  I checked the data sheet and it lists as uses shrimp and fish ponds...is it actually a food safe plastic?  Please share what you learned about it before you purchased it.  What size (dimensions) do you have left over...?  And, how much are you asking for it?  Thanks.  Also, what size did you originally buy and how much was the roll with shipping and etc.?

Comment by John Malone on March 13, 2012 at 11:59am

@Kent - Those are really nice looking grow beds.   I'm going to steal a design tip from you and cover the exterior of mine with ply or OSB.  It's a much nicer look.  Very nice folds in the liner too.   Folding them behind like that gives a very clean edge.   Another tip for me to 'borrow'. Thanks.

The overflow sump idea has some merit.  The only problem is that it needs to hold more water than the sum of your grow beds water volume, otherwise you run the risk of running out of water to pump and the whole system grinds to a halt.

If that's not a problem then it would work great, with zero fluctuation in the fish tank.

The issues/concerns that I see are:

1. The sump has to be below the top of the fish tank.
2. It's not easy to scale up if you add more grow beds.
3. The sump needs to hold the water volume of the grow beds.

I'm not trying to be critical here.  I really want to find a neat solution and many minds are better than one.  

Cheers

Comment by Kent Biswanger on March 13, 2012 at 11:50am

@Jacques

Is your fish tank going to be higher or lower than your grow beds? This will determine the design requirements for the most efficient system. I don't think the size of your system plays all that big a roll. The position of all the components is what matters most. IMHO I think the best design would be to have the Fish tank above the grow beds and use gravity to move the water down to filters first then grow beds and ending in a sump where the pump will return water to the fish tank. This will always leave water in the fish tank and keep it at a consistant level. 

Comment by Jacques L. on March 13, 2012 at 11:20am

@Kent

On a smaller AP, that idea would work well, however the setup I have in mind is going to 4 grow beds of 4x8 over a length of nearly 40 feet, which will then run across the greenhouse to a floating raft setup of 4x32 feet in length, then return to the fish tank. I'll definitely give that idea some more thought as I would have to figure out how I would run the lines. I do plan to incorporate a swirl and possibly a sand filter within my system.

Comment by Kent Biswanger on March 13, 2012 at 11:02am

Jacques just a thought on you tank level dilema, what if you use an overflow on your tank that flows into the sump then pump from the sump to the grow bed and returns water from the grow bed to the tank. This would also allow for a solids filter to be incorporated in the sump hmmmmm, I smell a redesign in my plumbing.

Comment by Kent Biswanger on March 13, 2012 at 10:52am

Sheri, I just finished building my 4' X 8' grow bed fron lumber and lined it with string reinforced plastic, go here to see the specs on the plastic (I have some left over if you want to buy it from me) Not to be outdone by BOB  I have also started a blog that details my build experiences so far. There are a lot of pictures there but I will include one here so you can see the end result. Note that the first bed I built is 4'X8' and the second is only 3'X8'. I made this change on the fly for 2 reasons 1) reaching to the back of the bed is going to be a challenge since its pushed up against the wall and 2) my wife would kill me if I relocated to AC compressor to make room for the larger bed. 

Comment by Jacques L. on March 13, 2012 at 10:28am

@Sheri

Actually I was like you.. trying to figure out a setup that would keep the level in the tank from fluctuating too badly, kind of like Walt Disney had the ideas.. but didn't actually make the cartoons, John is actually the trouble-shooter, so major kudos to him for the idea on the additional sumps at tank level.

@Bob

Congrats on your solution to the bell siphon, I'll most likely be using your plans when I get to the plumbing stage of my setup. Keep up the good ideas, the road to improvements is never ending, and its also half the fun!

Comment by Bob Campbell on March 12, 2012 at 11:14pm

I have found the key to making a bell siphon work perfectly every time.  CLICK HERE

to see my updated post and short video.

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