Results 1 to 3 of 3
  1. #1
    Members
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Posts
    1

    New to aquaponics - water recirculation question

    Hi All,

    I am just getting into aquaponics and I am building a relatively small scale system with two 60L media beds and a 120 L fish tank. It's somewhere to start that is cheap so I can figure out how it works.

    I have got the plumbing and configuration all sorted out, but I am confused by the pumping. I am going to build bell siphons into my tanks, as I like the ebb and flow system and it's the easiest for me to create cheaply on a small scale.

    However, I assume that in general with aquaponics, the pump is running 24/7 to constantly circulate water...? So If I have 100L of water in my fish tank I want that volume circulated once an hour. I can find pumps online that, when the head is taken into account (I'm pumping up about 4 ft), I'll get about 2L per minute of flow, which is good enough for me.

    So I guess my question is, do pumps for aquaponics actually run 24/7? How long do they last, in general? I have read about putting a timer on the pump cycle, but then I don't get the point of having a bell siphon in there.

    I can build a system with the flow I want but if my pump craps out after a week of 24/7 because they aren't designed to do that then I want to know that now. But from everything I have read so far, it looks like for ebb and flow systems the pump kind of has to always be running.

    Thanks in advance!

  2. #2
    Members Roger L.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Louisville, KY USA
    Posts
    384

    Re: New to aquaponics - water recirculation question

    You can turn the pump on and off but that is hard on the smaller pumps. I have a 300gph pump that has run 24/7 for a year now. At $25 I bought a spare incase something happens.
    At what point did our government cease to be of the people, by the people, and for the people?

  3. #3
    Members
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Rockland County, NY
    Posts
    216

    Re: New to aquaponics - water recirculation question

    A pump rated for continuous use should have no issue running 24/7. I have had a small pump running for about a year with no issues.

Similar Threads

  1. Water chemistry question
    By bsfman in forum Aquaponics Knowhow
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 12-06-2011, 07:01 AM
  2. Aquaponics water test/troubleshooting.
    By flienlow in forum The Welcome Lounge
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 10-13-2011, 05:26 PM
  3. Raft water and Sump water
    By kneedeepinwater in forum Want To Know HOW TO..?
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 06-30-2011, 04:02 PM
  4. Installing! Clean water or cycled water?
    By chrisfoerst in forum Aquaponics Knowhow
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 06-02-2011, 03:59 PM

Posting Permissions

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