How to Plumb an Aquaponics System: Pipes & Tubing
Here’s a helpful video to get you thinking about plumbing in your aquaponics system! Learn more at http://brightagrotech.com/blog Thinking about starting you…
23 Responses to How to Plumb an Aquaponics System: Pipes & Tubing
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Hey Doc! I have watched quite a few of your vids and it is this one in
particular that has me thinking I should go with the flex pipe. I am just
curious if you have issues of clogging in your 1/2″ feeders and how you
would flush those if you did? I would assume just open the ball valves and
blast it. Have you ever had to disassemble your flex tubing setup for
cleaning? I love the idea of the ease of use of the flex over the rigid
pvc, but I am curious if you have solid data that would confirm that the
flex would have better flow/efficiency over the rigid? Thanks for your
amazing work!
dwaorg
November 29, 2014 at 10:35 pm
hello nate i love your thoughtful intelligent approach to aquaponics, i was
curious if you are aware pvc over time is said to leech esters into the re
circulating water supply effectively feminizing livestock and humans who
consume the livestock. also i have heard Australian pvc is free from
esters/plasticizers etc. what are your thoughts on this if any I for one
would love to hear info on this topic
James StJames
November 29, 2014 at 11:12 pm
I have a question about orientation, is it better to build your greenhouse
north to south or east to west?
Captain Tim
November 29, 2014 at 11:12 pm
Thanks Wyatt, great thoughts you have here. Black poly definitely helps
save cost and headaches!
Bright Agrotech
November 29, 2014 at 11:27 pm
Hey there, if you’re doing multiple ranges, especially in more northern
latitudes, they shade each other more on an east/west axis. If you have
multiple ranges you want to run them north/south to get better light for
your plants.
Bright Agrotech
November 29, 2014 at 11:39 pm
another construction question, if your building 3 or 4 greenhouses, on the
north/south orientation, how far apart should they be for maximum sunlight?
I know the farther apart the better but we must be practical.
Captain Tim
November 30, 2014 at 12:27 am
Pressures vary, but we end up running really low pressures on our lines to
towers- we usually adjust them by hand depending on the day and need. Yes,
the loss of efficiency is essentially due to the effect that the walls of
the pipes have on the water flowing through them. Elbows compound these
issues.
Bright Agrotech
November 30, 2014 at 1:22 am
Im so glad I found you guys!
brettC
November 30, 2014 at 1:48 am
Whats your cost for that flexible tubing as compared to schedule 40 PVC.
And is that tubing certified organic?
damanriq
November 30, 2014 at 2:07 am
I have enjoyed watching all of your videos they have been informative and
to the point. I would be very interested in a video about your filters from
your fish house. Do you use a swirl filter for solids and a bio filter to
promote bacteria????? The set up that you have is amazing and I can tell
you take pride in your job. How much production do you turn a month? Do you
currently turn a profit due to the high cost of electricity? How do you
heat your tanks to maintain optimal growth??
cfyjimo1
November 30, 2014 at 2:09 am
Do you guys have a troubleshooting flow-chart? As in, “water not flowing.
if no, check pump… Leaves have yellow edges, if yes, check iron levels…
This would be tremendously helpful for us rookies.
1BiggyDoggy
November 30, 2014 at 2:15 am
If they’re on the N/S axis, you can really stack them as close as you’d
like. With E/W greenhouse layouts with multiple ranges, they do need to be
spaced fairly far apart, but that really kind of depends on your latitude
as well and your sun angle throughout the year.
Bright Agrotech
November 30, 2014 at 2:30 am
Hi Tanya, tomatoes and cucumbers grow great in our ZipGrow Towers. However,
like all vining crops, it’s best to train them to vine in the towers. You
may need to provide a little more support as your crops gain size and
stature. Hope that helps!
Bright Agrotech
November 30, 2014 at 2:35 am
I prefer not to glue the PVC fittings. Pressure should be low on most
backyard systems and teflon tape at the connection point will prevent any
leaks. Again, this is pertaining to small aquaponics systems. If you need
to clean or change your set up, unglued fittings allow you to more easily
reuse the pipe. Glue pipe has to be scrapped if you change your set up.
Great vids! So much good information here. Great advice to go with black
poly pipe over PVC. I wish I’d thought of that!
wyattstorch
November 30, 2014 at 2:57 am
Well, there are a lot of projects we’d like to do, but we typically find
ourselves lacking the time, $ and personnel to make them happen. Perhaps
someday!
Bright Agrotech
November 30, 2014 at 3:47 am
We use PVC mostly. Standard PVC safety depends on rigidity (i.e. were there
plasticizers used to soften the PVC) and sourcing. Virgin American PVC is
very safe. Imported Chinese PVC was bad because they used heavy-metal based
plasticizers and there was concerns about their stability in the plastic
and leaching. If you’re using US-sourced PVC, you’re on safe ground.
Bright Agrotech
November 30, 2014 at 4:26 am
We’re glad you found us too. Hopefully you’re learning a lot!
Bright Agrotech
November 30, 2014 at 4:39 am
The cost for the poly tubing is significantly less in comparison to PVC.
Probably on the order of 50-60% less. And, yes, polyethylene tubing is
fully accepted under organic standards. Great questions!
Bright Agrotech
November 30, 2014 at 5:31 am
Chris, do you use CPVC or regular PVC? I thought it was known that standard
PVC is not “food-safe” and chemicals can leach out into the water.
dalton1981
November 30, 2014 at 6:17 am
Hy Nate. Your videos are really informative. Like cfyjimo1 I am wondering
about the solid and susspended particles. In one video, sorry I don’t
remember witch one, you mentioned that you have high enough pressure that
cloging isn’t really a problem. So what is your pressure range on the top
of the feed lines? If I remember corectly in you ‘pump’ video you mentioned
we must take into account losses (15%?), but that is because of the bends
and the length is it not? Anyway keep up the good work.
Tomaž P
November 30, 2014 at 6:52 am
Hey there, we don’t have any additional mechanical solids filtration
besides our ZipGrow Towers/Media. They are able to filter out and capture
solids, clean the system water, and with the help of our redworms inside
the towers, help make the nutrients readily available for our plants to
gain the most possible from the solids. Check out some of our other videos
including the ones on heating a greenhouse for more about heating our
tanks.
Bright Agrotech
November 30, 2014 at 7:41 am
I found your channel early this morning, full of great information. Using
the towers how is it for long growing like tomatoes or cuccumbers. ty
Tanya Tate
November 30, 2014 at 8:34 am
Thanks a lot for the movie. Also, I have some secrets to grows up to 10 x
the plants, by 50 % the time, with much healthier plants, while the “fish”
carry out everything…” Check out here for additional information:
ｗｗｗ.fine4.info/secret-tips-to-growing-aquaponics-system
Patton Margaret T.
November 30, 2014 at 8:41 am