Micro roots clogging bell siphon

[TexasDan]

Last week my bell siphon clogged with micro roots.
The upper grow bed overflowed and I pumped out most of my fish tank water
Happened overnight.

I have a typical system.
3" PVC outer pipe with small slots cut to keep grow media out.
2" clear plastic for outer bell siphon...I like to watch the whirlpool
1" PVC stand pipe...siphon tube.

It works great.

Micro roots from my plants clogged the 3" outer slotted pipe...water couldn't get into the siphon...so the tank just over flowed. It only took about 6-10 hours to drain the tank...

The fish survived in 3-4 inches of water

So did I plant too close to the bell siphon?
Is there more screening I should install to keep the roots from clogging my 3" slotted pipe?

Suggestions?
Thanks.

[jvision]

How many slots are at the bottom of the bell? While you may have planted too close to the bell, IME, it wouldn't have taken long for healthy tomato and melon/squash to fill the lower part of the whole bed. I've had to trim tomato roots on a system pretty much every 2 weeks for the last couple months.

[TexasDan]

Thanks Jason. How do you trim roots?
Can I just pull the whole plant out and move it?...and trim the roots while its out of the media
All of my plants are flourishing...I guess it's a good problem to have.

[topz]

I've had the bell clog before but never the outer tube. You could try to run a fillet knife around the outside of the pipe or something similar. I just know with my media it would have to be a slim tool to work.

[jvision]

Uprooting the plants may cause a bit of stress, but if you could find a way to cut the roots around the pipe. The tomatoe roots I have to cut is in a NFT type system, so I just pull the roots out of the pipe and trim them. Here's a pic of my setup - it's on top of an aquarium.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1/MillerJason/Mobile%20Uploads/8B2F6945-D97B-48BA-B171-57DB87FF64F4_zpsfgu4csie.jpg (http://s24.photobucket.com/user/MillerJason/media/Mobile%20Uploads/8B2F6945-D97B-48BA-B171-57DB87FF64F4_zpsfgu4csie.jpg.html)

[TexasDan]

Filet knife a good idea
Thanks

[TexasDan]

Nice setup and thanks for the tip.
My outer 3" slotted pipe is not glued in, so I just turned it several times and the water started flowing.
There may have been some fine sediment from the expanded clay that contributed to the problem.
I think maybe if I turn the pipe once a week, it'll stay clear.
Thanks again