Pipe Siphon by Apollo

[Aloha Don]

Looks nice.
Looks like it takes a little more room in your GB but if you NEVER have to tinker with it....it would be worth it.
With it completely buried, you never intend to have to do maintenance on it?
Since that corner is for the siphon use, have you considered just sectioning off the GB and no have media in that area?
It would allow easy access just in case...
Keep up the good work.

[Apollo]

On both of my GBs, I originally started with the Bell Siphon in the middle of each bed. Found out that it was harder to dig out and keep the media from floating back in on all sides. I abandon those because of the 1" drain pipe, and tried a more direct approach with a 2" drain pipe. The corner is easier to dig out and control the floating media.

You could use the same kind of media block that the Bell Siphon uses and not bury them. My thought is when the PVC barrier on the Bell Siphons gets root bond you'll still need to pull it out to clean it from the outside. About the same amount of work the pull and clean either one, but with the Pipe Siphon having two media barriers and using larger diameter pipe with no restrictors it should go 2 - 3 times longer before it needs to be cleaned (much less work over time).

I was planning boxing off that corner for easier maintenance but since it was operating so well I decided to bury both of them. Maybe plant something that doesn't root too deep or just not plant there at all.

On my 1st drain system in the middle of both GBs, I just remove the bell and lengthen the stand pipe...they are now used as my emergency over flow.

[Apollo]

Just added a battery back up system.

________________________________________

I made a mental note of this sign when I was attempting to get the Bell Siphon to work!
I HAVE NOT FAILED. I'VE JUST FOUND 10,000 WAYS THAT WON'T WORK. Thomas A Edison

Battery Back up; two 6 volt golf cart batteries wired in series and a 12 volt water pump.



Drop in one divider board with vent holes cut into it, a battery charger with a tickle charge setting.



Water proof top, just snaps in place. When power goes off, just close two values and open one. Then just connect the water pump to the battery.

[Aloha Don]

Looking good but you should think about an automatic transfer switch in case you are not around when the power fails
I did a quick search ... but this looks fairly inexpensive and may work for you...

http://www.chargingchargers.com/powe...er-switch.html

[Apollo]

Thanks Aloha Don

I'll be looking into that on Monday, it looks like it will work with a little modification to my existing set up. I'll also check to see if there is away to hook another one to my solar panels so when the grid goes down. I think if it can make the switch fast enough it will allow my solar electric to keep my invertors running.

Got another question regarding the forum, I'm not listed anymore on the topic board. How do I get back where people can view my progress?

[Roger L.]

Does it do any good to have an automatic switch when you have to close two valves on the water side?

[Apollo]

That's where the "it looks like it will work with a little modification to my existing set up" comes in. I would just run the water directly to the GB not having it hooked into the drip ring around the GB. That way all values can stay in the open position, it will just bypass the ring.

I'm doing a 8 minute flood and a 4 minute drain from my 1,650 gph pump, about 850 goes by to the aerator ring in the FT. The other 800 gph is split between both GB's at 400 gph to each, but my battery pump is only 300 gph divided between the GB's is only 150 gph. At this rate it will not fire my pipe siphon, water comes into the GB's from the top and is siphon off from the bottom. Kind of like a continuous flow GB...is this OK? Can it run like that for 8 hours a day before going back the full power?

___________________________________

I made a mental note of this sign when I was attempting to get the Bell Siphon to work!
I HAVE NOT FAILED. I'VE JUST FOUND 10,000 WAYS THAT WON'T WORK. Thomas A Edison

[Apollo]

I've been told that my water temp. which was running 76 - 78 needed to be cooler. With the cooler night time temps my water is now running 72 -74, with no deference in the fishes swimming or eating activities.

I have about 50 (four inch) Hybrid Pink Tilapia's and 8 (three inch) Gold Fish, they seem to be doing fine. About 70% will surface anytime I walk up to the tank when their hungry. I read that the optimal temp 74 - 80 for the Tilapia & 65 - 75 for the Gold Fish. I have some extra black pond liner that I was going to cover 1/2 of the fish tank during the day to heat the water. At night I have a spar cover I can put over the tank to hold the heat in.

My system is not fully cycled in yet, my readings are: PH 8.2 / Ammonia 0.25 / Nitrite 0 / Nitrate 60. My question is should I bring the temp up to 75 which is great for both fish types or wait until it finishes cycling in and my PH & Ammonia levels are lower?

[Apollo]

Just remake the cover for the FT, got rid of the galvanized metal mesh that I was using as a safety barrier for the Grandkids. Went with black vinyl window screen and vinyl lattice work with more wood reinforcement. Cuts down on the debris and probably the heavy metals in the FT, should be better all the way around.

I used a hot tub cover over the FT last night, the water temp was at 70 at sundown and went up to 72 by morning. Pretty good...not only did it hold the heat in went up by 2 degrees, even with the outside temp dropping to around 50.

Fish are large enough to get a decent picture of them now.

Nitrates are up and I will be putting my starter plugs in shortly.

If you want to see my before pictures go to "Fire Pit ... AP" by Apollo. Thanks

[Roger L.]

Your setup is so very aesthetically pleasing. I bet it is nice to just pull up a lawn chair, have a cold beer, light a good cigar and just watch fish swim and plants grow. Very nice job!