New 100 Gallon System Equipment Advice Desperately Needed!

[Paula]

My situation: I am a homeschooling mom with a teenage daughter who loves to “do.” So, for her 9^th grade science we’re putting together an aquaponic’s system and doing as in-depth a study on aquaculture, hydroponics and aquaponics as we can (we will eventually put together a system of each). This plan was great and non-stressful (I've spent the past 2 months reading, learning, planning) until I managed to convince three other families to join us. (Me, after explaining exuberantly about our science for the year: "Oh, uh, hey, would you be interested?" Them: "DEFINITELY!" It wasn't a hard sell. LOL)

Now, I need a definite plan with definite equipment. I need help!

My basic plan is to setup a single 100 gallon (Rubbermaid stock tank) FT with three 40 gallon (Tuff Stuff brand stock tank) GBs on a timed flood and drain, 15 on, 45 off, with an added airstone (I live in SW FL so the water will be warm.) I think (hope) I have the plumbing part down. (3/4" PVC with T and ball valves and one direct return for added aeration, set up to potentially siphon, but not planning to do that at first.)

Here's where I am still uncertain. Having agreed to help everyone else with their systems (everyone wants to do what I am doing, whatever that might be), I really need to say, “Buy this, this and this.” While I’ve got the tanks down and basic plumbing down, I really want to be able to tell everyone to buy a specific pump and air stone. On all the boards, this seems to be a touchy-feely kind of thing. I’m fine with that, for my own purposes, but for my friends, I would really like to say, “This one comes recommended” because, they are not at a touchy feely place yet. Hopefully they will be soon, but everyone is excited to start now (as it happens, our prime growing season is starting and everyone wants to begin gardening.) And, experimenting on my own system is okay, but I'd hate to experiment on 4 at once, which is what would be happening.

Would you/could you make a definite suggestion for the pump and air stone? Brand and model? Something that works (without a great deal of fiddling) and is sufficient for this kind of system? I would REALLY like to do a cycled(???) system (one GB at a time) but this is boggling me still. (And cost is a consideration.)

Any and all comments, suggestions, and advice are welcome! (Everyone is hoping to begin this next week... ) =Paula

[Tom Dumas]

Paula

 The choice of a water pump and air pump/stones is very subjective.  I have read numerous blogs on this subject and there are as many different suggestions as there are pumps.  I chose a pump from the Laguna Max-Flo selection.  My choice was based on power consumption, maximum head lift, warranty and cost.  The Laguna Max-Flo 600 might be an option for you.  It pumps 600 gph at zero lift and 137 gph at 5 feet of lift.  If you want to experiment with towers you will need a pump that will lift to whatever height the towers are. These pumps allow some solids to pass through without harming the pump. The cheaper pumps seem to use a lot more power. 

 I chose the Airmax Pondair-2  for an air pump and stones.  It will push air to a deeper depth than some other pumps.  They have a variety of stones you can purchase but remember the stone size must match your air pump.

I only suggest you look into this pump.  There are many other good pumps out there and with a little research you should be able to come up with a good choice.  Just keep in mind your design and what you are trying to accomplish.    Hope this helps a little.   TOM

 

[George]

Quiet One pumps by Lifeguard Products - I've run one 10 minutes on/1 minute off for 8 months now with no problems.  Right now I'm using a 12-volt pump for redundant aeration.

[Vlad Jovanovic]

Air and water pumps I will stay out of...but I can say that out of the many, many different air stones I've ever used, I'm really digging the Sweetwater A8SL's. It's a medium pore stone that is rated at 0.29CFM. 

Also, just something to keep in mind in regards to plumbing sizes with aquaponics or even organic-hydro...bio-slime. After a while it tends to constrict the ol' AP arteries...So sizing up might be something to think about...might be less maintenance/hassle...

[Jonathan Kadish NYC AA Chair]

I've been using Ecoplus pumps which ave been issue free for nearly a year.  They are low wattage per gallon pumped (25w for 396GPH) and are between $25-$50 so buying a backup pump won't hurt the budget too much.  Don't forget to use something like this GFI protector too.

[Paula]

Thank you all so much for your answers! I'm spending time now going through all the recommendations and am glad to know that these should work adequately. (There are so many out there...) My thoughts now are, should I go for something less expensive, like the Ecoplus 396 gph (low $20s) which looks like it will be sufficient for my basic, initial setup, or should I go for something bigger that would handle an expanded system? (Lifeguard and Max-Flo, which could be $40s and $60s, but would appear to allow me to play with towers and such.)

Tom, I really appreciate the time you put into your answer. Very helpful. Much to consider.

George, why would you run 10m's on and 1m off? I'm curious as I haven't read about this timing...unless it's not for growbeds? (I've been focusing on regular GBs for this start.)

Vlad, thanks for the advice on the airstone. Hadn't gotten to that point, apparently! (And I'll check on plumbing size. Nothing is set in stone yet!)

Jonathan, what size FT are you running the 396gph on? Keeping the price down might be beneficial for my friends at this point. And, wow, hadn't thought of the protectors yet. Doh!

[Jonathan Kadish NYC AA Chair]

My tank is a only 26 gallon fish tank, the 396gph pump is really too big for my system - I'll change to the 264 when this pump dies. I divert most of the flow back to the fish tank and use the venturi fitting they provide with the pump to add additional aeration. Even then, it fills an equal size growbed in about 6 minutes, so I am flooding an draining very frequently. You can see my set up on my youtube channel

Paula said:

Thank you all so much for your answers! I'm spending time now going through all the recommendations and am glad to know that these should work adequately. (There are so many out there...) My thoughts now are, should I go for something less expensive, like the Ecoplus 396 gph (low $20s) which looks like it will be sufficient for my basic, initial setup, or should I go for something bigger that would handle an expanded system? (Lifeguard and Max-Flo, which could be $40s and $60s, but would appear to allow me to play with towers and such.)

Tom, I really appreciate the time you put into your answer. Very helpful. Much to consider.

George, why would you run 10m's on and 1m off? I'm curious as I haven't read about this timing...unless it's not for growbeds? (I've been focusing on regular GBs for this start.)

Vlad, thanks for the advice on the airstone. Hadn't gotten to that point, apparently! (And I'll check on plumbing size. Nothing is set in stone yet!)

Jonathan, what size FT are you running the 396gph on? Keeping the price down might be beneficial for my friends at this point. And, wow, hadn't thought of the protectors yet. Doh!

[Paula]

Jonathan, great videos! (I've just gotten through the first three.) I really like the look of your GB and the ease in which it seemed to come together (either it was easy, or you're very handy and made it appear so. ) You're making me rethink my plan to purchase stock tanks for the GBs. Two 2x4 GBs like yours would be sufficient for the 100 gallon FT. Do you think the sides would be strong enough for a 2x4 box? I will probably be using pea gravel, so that needs to be considered. (I wonder if my daughter would like to learn carpentry, too. LOL)

(Hmm...If I'd wanted to make the text blue, I'd have no idea how to do it.)

[George]

Six growbeds - indexing valve - each time the pump starts, the tank water is pumped to the next bed in sequence.  Each bed is filled approximately once per hour.

Paula said:

George, why would you run 10m's on and 1m off? I'm curious as I haven't read about this timing...unless it's not for growbeds? (I've been focusing on regular GBs for this start.)

[Paula]

George...nice! And, thanks for the info. (Now, after glancing at prices, putting that in the back of my mind for later retrieval.)

[Jonathan Kadish NYC AA Chair]

Thanks for the compliments. I had motivation not to go the stock tank way - my wife would never let a stock tank in a 950sq foot apartment! If your system is going to be outside then going with stock tanks is probably the best option as it will hold up to weather.  Also, It's hard to say if the walls would bow out over time with a 4 foot wall... If I was going 4 feet long I would reinforce the top with maybe an iron angle just under the top lip. Another issue is that you would need stronger legs & base under the bed with twice the span and weight. Pea gravel is very heavy too... see if you can find some expanded shale somewhere close.

If you have convinced 2 other families to go along with you I'm sure that there would be someone who could cut the wood safely and maybe even have the tools already.

Paula said:

Jonathan, great videos! (I've just gotten through the first three.) I really like the look of your GB and the ease in which it seemed to come together (either it was easy, or you're very handy and made it appear so. ) You're making me rethink my plan to purchase stock tanks for the GBs. Two 2x4 GBs like yours would be sufficient for the 100 gallon FT. Do you think the sides would be strong enough for a 2x4 box? I will probably be using pea gravel, so that needs to be considered. (I wonder if my daughter would like to learn carpentry, too. LOL)

(Hmm...If I'd wanted to make the text blue, I'd have no idea how to do it.)

[George]

stock tank grow beds  - you could go with 4 and use a 4 way indexing valve with timer.  Just another option.

[Paula]

George, I like the idea of the indexing valve, but the only one that comes up when I google it is in the $60+ range. At this point, until I have a better handle on what I'm doing, I'm trying to keep the prices down. (But I think this may be where I'll go when I expand. "When" not "if" )

George said:

stock tank grow beds  - you could go with 4 and use a 4 way indexing valve with timer.  Just another option.