Chop vs Chop2 questions

[Ron]

 I am in the beginning stages of my 1st aquaponics setup, I have bought 2 ibc tanks, as well as built my bell siphons for my grow beds amazingly, both siphons seemed to work great on my 1st attempt. im in the beginning stages or pre stages of the plumbing part, and I'm trying to lay out my system. 1st I was wondering what the experienced people think is the system to start with between the chop system, vs, the chop2 system, s/a pros, and cons of each, 2nd, i was wondering, at what height, need i stab my fish tank for gravitational feed to the sump, or growbeds, as in how low from my max water height, or how to figure this appropriately, as well as would this differ from a chop system vs a chop2 system. I would like to pre thank all for any input, as my whole family is enjoying this experience

[Alex Veidel]

I went with chop 1. I remember reading that chop 2 requires extra caution with making sure your beds are level, and that was a turn off for me :)

The height of your max water line doesn't really make too much of a difference. As long as you put one tank or bed lower than the next, water will flow. If you use big enough plumping, it doesn't make a difference at all. Otherwise, your water height may rise a little higher than your outflow, so you may need to compensate for that.

[Ron]

Alex, what size is your plumbing from the fish tank to the bed/sump it drains into

[Alex Veidel]

My pump is about 800gph and my plumbing size is 1inch. My water height sits a couple inches above the top of my outflow pipe.