• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Carla Burke
  • Nancy Reading
  • r ranson
  • John F Dean
  • Pearl Sutton
  • paul wheaton
stewards:
  • Jay Angler
  • Anne Miller
  • Nicole Alderman
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
gardeners:
  • Maieshe Ljin
  • Benjamin Dinkel
  • Jeremy VanGelder

How to stop a you siphon from continuous draining

 
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi all, I'm new to aquaponics and I have used an ibc cut in half to make 2 beds. 200L plastic drum for a radial flow filter and of course my fish pond.
I started out with 2 bell siphon but they didn't work, ran a few times then just stopped working and beds would just fill up
I saw on youtube a you siphon so built one of them and installed it and it worked so I thought, after a few fills and drains, there is still water coming through the pipe back into the pond so it is continuous draining and if left it stays in drain mode. I've tried adjusting the flow for the bed but didn't seem much difference. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I do have a thought, since my you siphon is an external one  I'm thinking of connecting 2 elbows to the drain in the drain bed as I have just left that alone since it was a bell siphon at first. I'm thinking that the water just flows into the pipe and nothing really there to force it to suck in air. So a mini you siphon in the bed i guess. Any other thoughts please
 
gardener
Posts: 860
Location: Coastal Chesapeake, VA - Zone 7b/8a - Humid
280
2
cattle homeschooling kids monies fish chicken bee building solar horse homestead
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I believe I made a video on how to build a Bell Syphon a while back on my YouTube channel. (I am at work at the moment and cannot go to YouTube to supply a link).

My channel name is MySuburbanHomestead I believe.

A properly setup Bell has a wide function spectrum and is virtually bullet proof. I learned the hard way by building some bad ones in the past. Little things make a HUGE difference.

When I tune it I set it so that it has a hard time breaking the syphon. Then as the pump gets dirty over time... as the water flow slows... the syphon continues to work properly. I have never once had to re-set my syphons on my new system once set. I put a cage around the pump and set it up for success/low maintenance.

 
pollinator
Posts: 11853
Location: Central Texas USA Latitude 30 Zone 8
1268
cat forest garden fish trees chicken fiber arts wood heat greening the desert
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Marty Mitchell wrote: I put a cage around the pump and set it up for success/low maintenance.



What is the cage made of?

 
Marty Mitchell
gardener
Posts: 860
Location: Coastal Chesapeake, VA - Zone 7b/8a - Humid
280
2
cattle homeschooling kids monies fish chicken bee building solar horse homestead
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Tyler Ludens wrote:

Marty Mitchell wrote: I put a cage around the pump and set it up for success/low maintenance.



What is the cage made of?



I took two of the underwater planter baskets (For ornamental ponds) and zip-tied them together. I cut a small X into one of them to allow the pump cord and water line through.

Also, since I noticed that the holes in the new basket I had just made were smaller than the holes in the actual pump... I removed the face off of the pump. Which allowed for even more flow.

 
Marty Mitchell
gardener
Posts: 860
Location: Coastal Chesapeake, VA - Zone 7b/8a - Humid
280
2
cattle homeschooling kids monies fish chicken bee building solar horse homestead
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Tyler Ludens wrote:

Marty Mitchell wrote: I put a cage around the pump and set it up for success/low maintenance.



What is the cage made of?



Also, I noticed one more thing that increased the pump flow rate a noticeable amount.

I set the plumbing up so that the water being lifted in minimalized. It flows up to the highest point and Then makes the split. This decreases the amount of weight of water that has to be lifted.

I first had the plumbing (before I moved from the previous house) coming up out of the tank with the split at the bottom of the beds.... then hid the plumbing so that it looked nicer.

However, I now have it going to the top of the bed height and then splitting. Debris no longer settles into the plumbing over time... and the pump now has enough force... to force any/all debris through the flow control valve's gap. Keeping the flow rate constant.

~ Marty
 
We cannot change unless we survive, but we will not survive unless we change. Evolving tiny ad:
Learn Permaculture through a little hard work
https://wheaton-labs.com/bootcamp
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic