Pump

Pump upgrade This one really moves some water! You will need to increase your tubing/tee size from 3/8" to 1/2".

Jungle Special, good to have a spare.

Media Confirm size!! These come cut in various sizes. One of them goes all the way around the inside of the bucket. I like this media better as it allows better air flow. But you need to make a cage out of chicken wire to hold it up when its wet. Like a tubular filter cartridge. It can be found in pre-cut panels like the poly pads too.

Fan Get a spare, along with the pump. Pre-wired for quick change out if needed. If you don't have spares, you will need them. If you do, you never use them. :)

Flex Duct This can be 'shaped' to fit around the fan mounted on top of the lid. Its 5" duct. Kind of an 'off size' but works great for this. Some duct tape and you're all sealed up. Gently bend to the desired direction, wrap with a towel or bubble wrap for some insulation if you like. It comes compressed length wise at 29". It can be expanded to 8ft! Handle with care while shaping 'a square' to fit around the fan. And again when setting the direction you want it pointing. Cut to length if needed.

• A five gallon paint bucket with lid
  
• 3/8" ID Tubing.
  
• A 3/8" Barb Tee.
  
• Some wire & crimp terminals 3ft should do it.
  
• Switches for the pump and fan if desired.
  
• Deep cycle battery.
  
• Solar panel and charging controller.
  
• Or other 12VDC power source.
  
  I made a bin style cooler for last year. (It is FigJam inspected and approved! :) )But I used it for grey water evaporation. Used two of the big pumps and two fans. It held 6gals & would evap 2gals/hr in the heat of the day! 1-1.5gal/hr the rest of the time. Building a trash bin style for this year. It will have a 24"tall x15" dia 'cylindrical cage' for the media and an 8" radiator fan. Basically an upsized FigJam cooler but for grey water evap. The Bin is for sale.
  
  
  

I actually didn't tally up the cost as that wasn't really of a concern to me, but I'll try my best to provide links to the things I bought for this. Feel free to add it up for me!

• Lighting
  
  • T-5 Grow light (came with 6500K bulbs)
    
  • 2700K bulbs
    
  • Grow light hangers
    
• Grow medium
  
  • Net Cups
    
  • Black Buckets
    
  • Black lids
    
• Nutrients
  
  • General Hydroponics Flora Series
    
  • General Hydroponics pH control kit
    
  • pH/EC/Temp Meters
    
• Grow tent
  
• Air ventilation
  
  • The only thing I ended up using from this kit was the cheapest part, the ventilation duct...
    
  • The fan from this kit is way too powerful for my setup because my humidifier couldn't keep up
    
  • I didn't use the carbon filter because I'm not growing weed.
    
• Water Distiller
  
• Humidifier
  
  • The cheaper the humidifier, the better. I first bought (and destroyed) one that had some sort of digital switch, so it would always be in the off state when you first supply power to it, meaning you can't turn it on/off with just a relay.
    
• Plumbing
  
  • Aquatec 8852 booster pump
    
  • 2 Gallon accumulator tank
    
  • Pressure relief valve
    
  • Tubing
    
  • Inline Pre-filter (Sorry they must have taken the product down...)
    
  • Misting nozzle T's
    
  • Tube ball valves
    
  • Analog pressure gauge
    
  • Misting Nozzles
    
    • Note that these nozzles are meant for WAY higher pressure systems (~1000psi) and I actually had to take out the spring for them to operate correctly, but they never clogged up, are easy to clean, and worked perfectly for me!
      
• Electronics
  
  • Raspberry Pi 3 kit
    
  • Humidity sensor
    
  • Pressure sensor
    
  • Water solenoid valve
    
  • 5V 4-channel relay module
    
  • Analog-to-digital converter
    
  • 24V to 12V converter
    
  • 24V Power supply
    
  • Resistor kit
    
  • Semiconductor kit
    
  • Circuit boards
    
  • Standoffs
    
• Wiring
  
  • 22 gauge stranded wire
    
  • 22 gauge solid wire
    
  • Power supply cord
    
• Connectors
  
  • Electronic Connectors
    
    • JST-XHP Connectors
      
    • JST-SM Connectors
      
    • Dupont Connectors
      
  • Plumbing Connectors
    
    • Bulkhead connectors
      
    • Quick-connect kit
      
    • NPT to quick-connect connector
      
      I also bought various tools, like crimpers, Dremel kit, drill, etc, but I don't consider those to be project-specific as I'll have them for the foreseeable future. Let me know if there's anything you see that you think I missed!
      

This is a 4x4 Flood Table built for a 5x5 tent. Just need to find good medium and I'll be popping seeds :) Glad to be back at it!

Current Plan:
> ##Ebb & Flow:
> Finished Table
> Tray: 4x4 Botanicare Tray
> Fittings
> Pump: Active Aqua Submersible Water Pump, 400 GPH
> Drain Hose: 1/2" Inside Diameter)
)
> Pump Hose: 3/4" Inside Diameter
> Rubber Grommets: 1/2 inch

> Stand: 5x5 Wood Frame (Building this weekend)
> Reservoir: 55 Gal.
> Air Pump: 95 GPH
> Air Diffuser: 4x Air Stones




> ##Medium:
> Germination: Starter Plugs
> 6 inch Net Pot
> Hydroton (but willing to be convinced otherwise!!!)
> 4 x 4 Coco Mat


> ##Environment:
> Tent: 5 x 5
> Light 1: 1100W DE HPS bulb w iPower Ballast & Extend-A-Wing reflector
> Light 2: 600W of QBs
> AC inside, Venting Outside with 450CFM fan

> ##Nutrients:
>
> Flora Trio
> KoolBloom
> Diamond Nectar
> Armor Si
> Floralicious Plus
> Humboldt Snowstorm
> Mammoth P
> * Hydrogaurd

> Strain: Sweet Amnesia (from seed)



ANY AND ALL ADVICE IS APPRECIATED!!!

There is a little more information needed to be able to give you an accurate answer.

1. What is the height of the finished system?
   The second piece of information needed is going to be based on what you choose for 2.
   Here is a page that will help you calculate to determine the correct pump: https://university.upstartfarmers.com/blog/sizing-a-pump-for-hydroponics-or-aquaponics
   
   
2. As the others have said, you want room for the roots, but this will be determined based on the types of plants you intend to grow and what their roots needs are as well as the space you have to build your system. The 4" is going to be plenty large enough for anything. When I built my system, I chose to use 10' pieces as they were the least expensive per foot and I had plenty of room to spread out, so 10' worked fine for me but it may not be best for you.
   
   
3. That is going to be harder to calculate as it will be based on the nutrients that your plants take out of the system, how much waste the goldfish can generate based on the food you provide. I hate to sound like i am repeating myself, but to answer this I would have to have more data.
   
   10' 4" pipes are the best value, depending on how much you plan to run the pump you can support up to 8 pipes on a 40gallon tank with the pump going 24/7. This pump here would work well for 10' head height.
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018X162O
   

I think I mis-read your idea. You want to have option of using the bottom drain, not use it as your primary pump in-tube.

It would work, but IMO, not well. The main issues are going to arise when you need to use it. I assume this will be during times when you want to drain and clean the pond, and there will be a lot of muck and sludge on the bottom of the pond. Will your pump handle this? Even Solids pumps (like this Savio WMS pump) only generally handle solids, but will still get clogged if it sucks enough. These things only have a tubesize of ~1.5" generally, if I remember correctly, and add a ball valve and Y-adapter to that, and I envision clogs.

Personally, for full drain and cleans, I like pumping most of the water out, then using a Shop Vac to get the sludge out. If you want to use a bottom drain I'd say a 3" tube would be great, but not if you want to use a pump to pull the water through that.

That being said, I would be interested in hearing an argument in favor of bottom drains and how they have them set up.

Hey mate, thanks :). A bath sounds like an excellent place to do this tbh.

Parts list:

• Two small submersible pumps as agitators instead of airpump/stones (too noisy for my set up).
  
• One Larger pump to feed the plants
  
• 5m of food grade tubing
  
• The tub - was from Poundstretcher. It's 110 litre and cost £10.
  
• Smart plug. Love it, water from my phone!
  
• The manifold and plant tubing is leftover from this unit which I quickly decided was inadequate but had already butchered (read: fixed) so I couldn't return it. Any manifold and tubing will do.
  
  I have them all in F at the moment, I will either double up and have another tub for V (probably a much smaller one) or use the Lucas formula or something similar where it is the same nutes throughout the grow.
  
  I have done similar methods perpetually but I had two res's - one F and one V. They weren't auto watering though, I dipped a can in and hand-watered from the reservoirs. That meant I could daily water but only mix nutes every 3-5 days. This is another step.
  
  I really liked my V and F buckets so will probably go with that to be honest.
  
  I have ironed out some 'gotchyas' already, so if you do do this PM me or post if you want any advice mate.

It's something like this.

You simply attach lengths of pipe as necessary as you hammer it deeper using one of these until you reach water.

ETA: After it's in, you'd need one of these.

If your water table is relatively shallow, and your ground isn't solid rock, it might work out "well" for you. Heh.

(I just picked these at random from quick Amazon searches. You might want to do a little comparison shopping before purchasing anything. I will tell ya, though, it sure is cool to see actual clean, clear water start flowing from a well you put in yourself.)

Maybe not quite what you are looking for, but I wanted to expand my MiracleGro Aerogarden, so I specced out what it would take to build my own, and its fairly cheap. The only functionality I lose is the auto turn on/off light. I was growing Thai Basil, Italian Basil, Dill, Thyme, Parsley. Best part is it grows indoors, year round.

I add water every 3-4 days, and nutrient every 2 weeks.

​

-LED grow lights ($18 each, sounds like you could do multiples) https://www.amazon.com/Lights-Spectrum-Indoor-Succulents-Seedling/dp/B07FKF6BT4/ref=asc_df_B07FKF6BT4/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=242081228138&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1028671129085287759&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031597&hvtargid=pla-485731254470&psc=1

​

-Plastic tub with lid (I assume you could get these cheaply, Amazon/HomeDepot/Restaurant Supply)

​

-Power Drill/Hole Drill (Free if you already own this)

​

-Water Pump $11, need only as many as tubs ( https://www.amazon.com/Anself-Ultra-quiet-DC12V-Micro-Brushless/dp/B00OIHLUFA/ref=asc_df_B00OIHLUFA/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198097979185&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5805437707669657479&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031597&hvtargid=pla-348418857246&psc=1 )

​

-Pods $12 per 6/however many you want. https://www.aerogarden.com/index.php/grow-anything-seed-pod-kit-6-pod.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw36DpBRAYEiwAmVVDMGvsWciJlyfUd5gkz4KmuOyk6mtABciZ4Wp5ZJZw1KrjE9BN_L0qZBoCWm0QAvD_BwE

​

-Seeds - However you can get them.

Playa Shower

Instead of using a standard solar shower which

• needs to be hung up above your head
  
• has an annoying valve that's difficult to use with one hand
  
  Use a Garden sprayer (one gallon is sufficient but two might be a bit better) with the misting sprayer replaced with a kitchen sink sprayer.
  
  To make this cut the sprayer itself off the garden sprayer hose.
  Use a 1/4 inch male MIP to 1/4 inch barb fitting to connect the two.
  
  You may or may not wish to use a solar shower bag for heating the water. Black pots and pans work as well or you can just heat a few cups of water to boiling on the stove and add it to a gallon of desert temperature water.
  
  With this I can take complete showers with less than one gallon of water (including washing and conditioning long hair) since I only use water explicitly where and when it's needed. If you want to be more efficient still, shower with a friend, since they can see and rinse your back with less water (or at least that's the excuse I use).
  
  Fountain Pump
  
  Use a small fountain pump to transfer your melt water from your cooler to whatever you're storing your shower water in. This is almost the only way of getting cooler water directly into a shower bag without spilling lots of it. You'll also need some 1/4" inside diameter hose but it's easiest to just buy 4 feet of that at home depot rather than buying a roll of it somewhere online.
  
  Electric
  
  My camp has a generator and a space for charging batteries. But I don't like leaving my chargers or devices out where they are going to be playafied. So I use a small 12v battery (8Ah is fine, I use 18Ah batteries because that's what I have) and either a small inverter or just use car chargers for all of my devices. Then I just have my 12v battery charger out in the open and most of those are designed for harsher environments and when that's charged I take it into my tent to charge my camera batteries and the like.

Looks like one of these pumps. Don't know if "Brew Pump" also does the food safe epoxy coating on the internals like Great Brew Eh. Which are both these solar water heater recirculating pumps.

I got something like this when I was dicking around with thermoelectric cooling.

It's not going to shoot a jet of water up 70 feet in height, but it worked when I repurposed it for recirculating beer line cleaner / sanitizer through my beer lines. 12v DC is also a good option on a pump (that isn't plug-in) because it's a common voltage for DC adaptors.

(You could spend $30 on a nice pump with a plug and such, but why not spend less than $10 and repurpose an old DC adaptor?)

Just be gentle when handling the plastic, and especially when removing the cap and connecting the hose. If you have never done it, you will need an adapter to connect the mattress to the hose. The adapter is standard for all waterbed mattresses and can be found at most hardware stores and Amazon ( link below ).

A transfer pump is great for sucking the mattress almost completely dry. If there is foam inside of the mattress, then it can weigh a heck of a lot even when mostly empty because the foam holds a lot of water like a sponge. An electric transfer pump will suck the mattress flat and squeeze out the water in the foam, making the mattress a lot easier to move when empty.

How to drain a waterbed without a pump

How to drain a waterbed using a transfer pump

Waterbed hose adapter kit.

Optional transfer pump kit

Pondmaster 250gph are fantastic pumps. Easy to fix, easy to use.

The Topsflo are really nice maybe someday. Now I have a 110VAC SS Chugger that I use for big pumping jobs and whirlpool with my immersion chiller (aka herms coil). For little jobs like recirculating herms/hot water around the coil or recirculating wort through the herms coil I use these little 24VDC pumps.

Like these. In 3 years I dropped one and broke the pump head and one the motor seized up. I'm trying one of these soon.

I mated the to quick disconnects so just plug them onto hose or kettles as I need them. Usually they work great and I use a [panel PWM] (http://www.ebay.com/itm/122513669900) control to manually adjust the speed. I have them hooked to a manual/auto switch so I can use the RasPi to turn them off or on if I want.

It looks nice. Once you get a pump and filter it'll clean itself up quickly. You can fit fish but if it gets too cold during the winter you might want to put them inside.


[This](alpine pal4000 4000gph cyclone pump, 33' https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008E120DC?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf) is the pump that I have. Way too big for your pond. 4000gph means it pumps 4000 gallons per hour. It works very well but it was a little bit of work to find the hoses and fittings. But alpine makes smaller pumps. You'd probably want a 1000 or 2000gph pump.


Pondliner.com has a lot of parts you would need. They sell the same pump but it was a lot more expensive on their website.


The nursery by my house also sold all the parts I would have needed, but their stuff was really expensive.

Ok, so I looked at some venturi pumps, [this pump](https://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-Supreme-Hydro-Mag-Recirculating-Venturi/dp/B007BVR6MQ) would be about the same price as having separate air and water pumps with air stones. So I'll definitely look into this more, simpler is usually better.

I bought a submersible water pump for 50$ off of Amazon. It worked great. If you zip tie the float to the top of the pump it will drain it down to an inch or two at the very bottom of the pool.

https://www.amazon.com/Yescom-2112GPH-Submersible-Swimming-Transfer/dp/B017TWVTBK/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_2?keywords=Yescom+1%2F2+HP+2112GPH&qid=1555349175&s=gateway&sr=8-2-fkmrnull

I have a aquaponics set up running in a similar fashion using capacitors built into small panels like these, when the sun hits my panels a small water pump lifts into the filter tank and the airpump powers a bubble stone.


So, to make this simplest, for a 100w LED grow light like this you're going to need at least a 400w solar panel and a bank of capacitors that can keep a high enough current to keep that LED powered, (you might want to liquid cool it to reduce the current needed)

When my son was young I did that exact thing with a solar pump like this: [amazon solar pump](COSVII Solar Fountain Pump, 1.8W Solar Water Fountain Pump, Solar Powered Fountain Pump for Birdbath, Garden, Pond, Pool, Fish Tank https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DWSV7XZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_hhsmDb7TPGBAD)

Worked great and didn’t need to be plugged in.

Thanks very much. Would something like this work?

http://www.amazon.com/PP29105-Underwater-Aquaponics-Hydroponics-Fountain/dp/B006M6MTMI/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1404513267&sr=8-7&keywords=aquarium+pump+7+watt

I'll probably just grab this guy, since he seems pretty cheap: https://amzn.com/B006M6MTMI

new question: given that the sprinkler/drip design would give some oxygenation of the water, do you think I could skip getting an air pump/bubbler?

These work great and are about $20. Been using them for years.

Yosoo Solar DC 12V Hot Water Circulation Pump Brushless Motor Water Pump 3M Low Noise csf (DC 12V)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DWORE6E

​

​

Check out the graph in the last picture.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006M6MTMI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Z12HxbMYVKCSE

Plus 1 vote for that sort of thing.

I use https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071NNG376/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_d61WCb15HEWGF

Clear the intake every time you water change or you'll lose flow

I have this 291 GPH pump, $21.99 on Amazon.

I used it last weekend. Ran the water out until the wort was down to about 100°F then recirculated into a 5 gallon bucket of ice water. Cut my chilling time by over half.