Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 11 to 14 of 14
  1. #11
    Members
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Beaverdam, Virginia
    Posts
    5

    Re: question on pump.

    wow...I have been reading about this for several days now and the first articles make it sound like any well intended third grader could do it but you guys have thrown enough obstacles at me that I am beginning to think I am not smart enough and I have a college degree.

    I can grow vegetables without the fish. I wanted to add the fish but do not want to invest in a start up business...

    300 watts of solar and batteries to size and pumps....might be cheaper to buy the catfish.

  2. #12
    Members dead_sled's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Nebraska
    Posts
    197

    Re: question on pump.

    It may be cheaper to buy the fish, depending on how many you plan to consume. If you are looking for an instantaneous cheap way to have fresh fish, this may not be the way. You should way the planned cost of consumed fish versus the expected payback of your new system to determine its financial value. Another value to consider is the quality factor. Do the producers produce a fish of equal or greater quality compared to what you will produce? Are you concerned with the quality of ingredients used to grow the fish that you consume? If you are, you have the ability to produce fish that meet your standards of meat. This value may change the balance considerably.
    Less irritating avatar since 02/27/14.

  3. #13
    Members
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Beaverdam, Virginia
    Posts
    5

    Re: question on pump.

    Quote Originally Posted by dead_sled
    It may be cheaper to buy the fish, depending on how many you plan to consume. If you are looking for an instantaneous cheap way to have fresh fish, this may not be the way. You should way the planned cost of consumed fish versus the expected payback of your new system to determine its financial value. Another value to consider is the quality factor. Do the producers produce a fish of equal or greater quality compared to what you will produce? Are you concerned with the quality of ingredients used to grow the fish that you consume? If you are, you have the ability to produce fish that meet your standards of meat. This value may change the balance considerably.
    actually i was more interested in the sustainability and the self sufficiency aspects.....if I am being poisoned by food additives etc then it is too late for me as I am not a spring chicken....I raise my own beef and have for 25 years...don't garden as much as I used to....try to garden pretty organicly now and want to return to producing more of my own food.

    but I don't have thousands of dollars just to add fish to the menu.

    I am inclined to try some lower cost alternatives to give it a try....if it works then perhaps I can relocate my setup closer to the house and have 120 volt power.

    I pump water 800 feet in distance and 40 feet uphill with an $89.oo shurflo pump and a 75 watt panel but I only run it an hour a day.

    this setup would be using harvested rain water that I currently do not use for anything else.

    thinking of using cheaper 120 volt pumps and having some built in redundancy and running them off of an inverter from my battery on an existing 75 watt solar system.

    If this works I can expand based on my livestock water tanks where I have two 250 gallon totes for storage. I have power there as they are nearer the house.

  4. #14
    Members David - WI's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Wisconsin
    Posts
    182

    Re: question on pump.

    Quote Originally Posted by pdfangus
    thanks

    I found this one this morning which is rated at 30,000 hrs life as well.

    http://opimania.tk/detail/B005EU7ONM.html
    The info on that pump is here: http://www.heliatos.info/inserts/topsFloInsert.pdf

    It looks like it would possibly be adequate if your grow beds are at the same level as your fish tank; and you're not pumping "up" from a sump or up to a "waterfall" or "spray bar" type aerator. The flow drops off rapidly as the head height increases above 0 feet.

    With a 300w solar panel and decent batteries, you ought to be able to run 2 of these plus an air pump if you wanted. You might want to put a strainer on the inlet, I would be worried about "solids" plugging/locking the pump... they are really meant to circulate clean water in a solar heating loop.
    It's all about the fish, dude.

Similar Threads

  1. Best Pump EVER
    By urbanfarmer in forum Water Pumps
    Replies: 19
    Last Post: 05-26-2014, 10:55 AM
  2. Sump pump??
    By 2tired2 in forum Water Pumps
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 07-13-2013, 09:33 PM
  3. RAM Pump.
    By alex281 in forum SUMP
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 12-15-2011, 12:40 AM
  4. Pressure tank pump instead of electric pump?
    By notomo in forum Aquaponics Knowhow
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 12-05-2011, 06:14 AM
  5. Is my water pump too big?
    By venturajm in forum Water Pumps
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 11-16-2011, 11:17 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •