Intermitent Pump Systems

  My goal with these designs is to save energy by running a pump intermittently rather than 24/7 using an ebb&flow design, but the problem with ebb&flow is the regurgitation of solid fish waste and uneaten food.

  I think these ideas would only be worth while if the system were small.  With a large system the cost of circulating 24/7 would be applied to a much larger grow bed array.   But for a small system where pennies count and the harvest is small, I think there are ways to make an ebb&flow work.  Here are a couple ideas Ive had.

   I have drawn this system that would use the ebb & flow method and return clean water to the fish tank.  Water would be held in the settling/filter tank while the pump is on.  Then the clean water would return to the fish tank when the pump is off.
   An overflow would allow excess water to flow back to the fish tank. 
While the pump is filling the settling tank a solenoid valve would hold the water in the grow beds and settling tank.  A timer would turn the pump and the normally open solenoid valve off allowing the grow beds and settling tank to drain back to the fish tank.
   This design is an improvement over the classic ebb&flow design because the settling tank allows for the water to be cleaned before returning to the fish tank.

Here is another concept drawing which uses vertical gardening and a reservoir/settling tank.  The water is pumped to the reservoir with an intermittent timer.  An overflow tube would return excess water to the fish tank.
Filtered drip lines from the reservoir would supply a constant water flow to the vertical tubes.  If made of fiberglass reenforced weed cloth the water would be returned to the fish tank with plenty of aeration.

With proper filtration around the pump the system could be set up as simple as this. 

The pump would be on a timer.  The vertical media does not require constant flow.

UPDATE 12/23/2012

The ebb&flow design above is a bit complicated.  A design that has been working for two months can be seen at [The Perfect System]

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Systems Update

Im building an 800 gallon tank (128" long by 36" wide and 50" deep) with a 250 gallon wet dry sump tank and 30 sq ft grow bed.  Ill have about 1000 gallons of water in this 900 cu ft room!  Basically 15% of the room will be filled with water.  The proportions may not seem correct, but I do not intend to raise the fish in a maximum population configuration.  Happy fish and stable temps are my goal.

I was going to use IBCs, but I want to maximize the space I have in the grow room Im building, and now plan to custom build the tanks with EPDM.

Life is getting a little busy, but I hope to have the tank done. and filled next week.  I can hardly wait!   Ive learned my lesson about cycling and want to get the process started.

I set up a 30 gallon tank last week and thought could barrow some bacteria from my pond. Well heres a little insight on that.  It appears that during the Winter the bacteria go very dormant or die.  I added fish, but the filter was not ready.  Let me tell you its no picnic having to do 25% water changes at least once a day to maintain a <1% ammonia level.


I added Aqua Gold yesterday and today I added Nite Out ii.  Within two hours of adding the Nite Out ii the ammonia began to drop!  Good stuff, but my friend Fred may still be right about the Aqua Gold.  Between the two of them it looks like I can relax.


I started to build a wet/dry sump tonight.   The little filter I have on the 30 gallon tank is not going to be able to handle the  population much longer.  Below is the design.  

 I dont want to take a chance on a siphon over the side to the sump tank. .It will be my first time drilling a hole in glass,but I have two 30 gallon tanks and Im feeling confident that it will go well. 

The 3 grades of Matala Filter Media is placed as shown above the water level and under the drip pan.  The larger section is the refugium and water level section.   It may seem wrong, but this is the direction Matala Filter Media is supposed to be used

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