water flow through raft system.

[drdreww]

whats a good way to create enough flow across all my GB.. they are 3.5 x 3.5 feet and using siphons to move the water from one to the other. don't want dead zones. water will be 8 - 10 inches deep. its coming from a 55gal bio filter then into a 55gal clarifying barrel. FT is 250gal

[davidstcldfl]

Drdreww, here's something you might want to read concerning flow, or in this case 'less' flow being better...

scrol part way down the page...look for 'Flow rate'...
http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/5273 ... 51f16240b/ (http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/527375/045bc28e08/1451002247/851f16240b/)
Sorry, I didn't seem to 'save' part 2...?

This also talks about flow rates...scroll down and look for...Aeration In Aquaponics Systems.....
http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/5273 ... 51f16240b/ (http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/527375/990fe8f2ff/1451002247/851f16240b/)
and....
http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/5273 ... 51f16240b/ (http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/527375/197a440b0b/1451002247/851f16240b/)


Warning...Urbanfarmer...DO NOT go to the above links, it may cause the following health problems.... your blood pressure may rise, your eyes may bulge and roll up into your head....and your head may spin around like the girl's in that horror movie... :lol: :P Just a tease....I do appreciate your valuable input :D

[rfeiller]

I believe anyone that has run a comparrison of with and without aeration knows the benefit of the additional aeration to the entire system.

[urbanfarmer]

I actually decided not to touch this one with a 10 foot pole yesterday (this morning before bed) when I saw it! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Just remember, if your fish are alive and are not gasping for air at the top, there is AT LEAST enough dissolved oxygen for the plants and bacteria because the fish have a higher requirement for life than these DO. (see what I did there?) :lol:

[urbanfarmer]

I believe anyone that has run a comparison of with and without aeration knows the benefit of the additional aeration to the entire system.
The topic of aeration and dissolved oxygen is very complex with methods ranging from non-mechanical and passive designs to the other extreme of injecting pure oxygen or other chemicals to artificially increase DO to supersaturated concentrations. I prefer cheap, low-tech or no-tech methods especially teaching the plants to specialize root zones to gather oxygen instead of relying on machines that can fail! :mrgreen: I always try to think, if I was in a 3rd world country with little to no access to electricity or water or other materials, how the heck could I build this system and feed myself? Not to mention I'm cheap, and it's a cheaper hobby that way! :lol:

[davidstcldfl]

I actually decided not to touch this one with a 10 foot pole yesterday (this morning before bed) when I saw it! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Just remember, if your fish are alive and are not gasping for air at the top, there is AT LEAST enough dissolved oxygen for the plants and bacteria because the fish have a higher requirement for life than these DO. (see what I did there?) :lol:


:lol: ....you used a 12 foot pole, with a feather attached to the end... :D

[davidstcldfl]

The topic of aeration and dissolved oxygen is very complex with methods ranging from non-mechanical and passive designs to the other extreme of injecting pure oxygen or other chemicals to artificially increase DO to supersaturated concentrations.

Great points... :D
Whether a back yard system or a commercial, I think we all, in some way, want to keep the operating costs down. And any 'power' we do use...get the best bang for the buck :D

[drdreww]

so like 3-6 GPM if i have adequate o2?

[urbanfarmer]

That should be more than enough for the size of your system.