Sizing a Pump for Your Aquaponics or Hydroponics System
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- Опубліковано 30 чер 2024
- In this video, Dr. Nate Storey guides you through how to calculate and choose the right pump for your aquaponics or hydroponics system.
Nate is the Co-Founder of Bright Agrotech, a leader in vertical, space saving aquaponics and hydroponics systems and a commercial producer in the high plains of Laramie, WY. With this innovative technology, Nate and the Bright Agrotech team feed dozens of restaurants, over 50 people in a CSA program and supply for a local grocer.
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Great to hear you've found this video helpful!
Thanks for the great compliment, Jim! Happy to help!
Thanks, Mark. Glad to hear we can help out!
How exciting! Happy to hear you've found the videos informative and valuable to your newly discovered hobby. Best of luck with the first hoop house. You'll do great!
Thank you for the most informative aquaponics videos on the internet.
Your video series are extremely helpful. You have a great teaching method and clear communications. I plan on watching all of them. Thanks for taking the time to shoot and post them.
Thanks for the great feedback, Brent. It's definitely a lot of work, but we're SICK and TIRED of all the bad aquaponics info out there! Stay tuned for more videos. Thanks again.
I just finished watching all of your videos on this channel. You have me very interested in starting a small-ish hobby setup! I just started gardening really this year, and never knew I would enjoy it as much as I do. Too bad I didn't discover that years ago. I'm already planning on where to put my first small hoop house.
Great Video, I wish you would have been around two years ago! Your information is helping me refine my system and setting up for Mark II. Thanks for your effort.
It is a very informative video. I just got the answers to many questions I had. I checked the active aqua pumps and I figured out the two pumps a needed. Thank you very much.
+Jose Gamez Awesome - glad to hear it! Thanks for tuning in.
To increase the efficiency of my pump I moved the reservoir and pump directly underneath the upside of my NFT system thus cutting down the pump tubing length to just 1/4 of the original. I connected a tube from the hydoponic outlet across to the reservoir and let gravity do the work. The pump now works smoother. Thanks.
Thanks very much for your series of videos on hydroponics
and aquaponics. I find them very educative. I need some clarification with
regards to pump sizing. I’m presently researching the internet on the easiest,
simplest way to grow lettuce hydroponcally. I have read that a typical lettuce
plant will consume a minimum of 3 liters over period of say 30 days (this is
the period between transplanting from the nursery to maturity), a daily rate of
0.1 lit. This means that if you have 100 plants, they will be consuming 0.1 x 100 = 10 lits per
day. Using a 2 GPH (8 Lit per Hour) pump, it will take a little over an hour to
pump the required volume. If we now increase the number of plants to say 2,500,
the consumption will now be 250 lits; It will take over 25 hours to supply the required
volume to the plants. In order to maintain the recommended 2 GPH rate,, would
you then recommend the use of multiple pumps? Thanks.
Thanks for the break down on turning over water.
Thanks for the question- I'm referring primarily to your fish tanks. If you turn over your DWC volume you'll be operating a white water rapids water park in no time. . .
Roflmao!! "... you'll be operating a white water rapids water park in no time..." haha
Thank you... I'm getting ready to build my first system
Thanks word is not the right word that you deserve.Because your work is greater than what we can say it to you
Thank you, Faisal. That's very kind!
Brilliant - thank you Nate - great video. I will apply. :)
Awesome, glad it was useful! Be sure to join Upstart U for more helpful info: university.upstartfarmers.com
Video is simple and great. I love the whiteboard approach ^ ^
Thanks for tuning in!
Thanks, helps alot with my 3 ibc chop system!
Thanks, great refresher on all needed info. Surprise, my pump that I got randomly without thinking is too strong for my system.
Thanks for the videos. Really great information.
You're welcome Highlife510!
That depends entirely on volume. In our greenhouse, we primarily use 2 inch mainline. For more greenhouses, your pipe capacity has to be capable of higher volumes. You'll need to calculate how much volume you're sending to each greenhouse and adjust your pipe size accordingly. It's a scale and size thing and without knowing a lot of the specifics it's impossible to answer.
Thank you for the clear and still detailled info. A question (to find out if I am turning over too fast): when you say 'tunr over your entire water content once within an hour or two' - do you refer to the fish tank volume or the entire volume including sump and 2 DWC beds I am running besides the ebb and tide beds?
its been six years and still no answer
Algae growth will typically slow down in mature systems, although you'll never completely stop it. Having a healthy ecology in your sysystem is the most important thing for slowing alage growth. The second most important thing is shading. Wherever the algae is occurring, shade that part of your system. Good luck!
Thank you for your informative video :)
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the video! I'm looking for a pump to use for a small balcony drip feed system, so pump throughput is not so important, but it needs to raise up by at least 2m. I've not found the graphs for the manufacturers I've looked at. Do you have any recommendations for pump manufacturers who do supply proper information, or specific pump types to look for?
Great question, James! Surely there are flow sensors you could use, but as far as actually wiring it up, you might be better off buying an electrician friend a beer!
Hi Nate, great video as usual, thanks... Just a quick question in regards to DO, as a hobbyist whats the easiest way to monitor DO?
Cheers, Bryan D
How parts of the world don't use metric is mind blowing. *Mind blown.
Ok my mind's ok again.
Great video!
Great info as always Doc! I do have a slight correction tho - your diagram shows the HH from the top of tank water to BOTTOM of grow area. It should show from top of tank water to TOP of grow area (assuming you're pumping directly from fish tank vs sump). If pumping from a sump, HH would be from top of low water mark in sump to top of grow area/water outlet. Keep up the great work! My 2500 sq ft greenhouse build will be starting real soon!
thanx for the tip on algae
There are two big reasons root rot occurs. 1) Aerobic conditions leading to cell death in their root systems; and 2) The growth and reproduction of plant pathogens like pithium. In aquaponic systems, the root zone should remain highly aerobic which keeps plants strong and healthy and antagonistic relationships between microorganisms keep pathogen levels low. There aren't usually pathogen issues in AP systems unless the root zone is anaerobic.
Great Video Professor!!! But what about pipe diameter, and what different sizes do you need for a operation with more than one greenhouse maybe 4 or 5 greenhouses?
I use a 40gph for my nft system. Probably pumping water up 1.5ft. You don't need a massive pump once you have the head height. You can let gravity do the rest and adjust outflows to maintain water levels
Thanks for your videos, they are really instructive and help a lot. I have a doubt about the pump. What type of pump should be used for aquaponics, continuous or stop start pump? And also, can you mix a vertical grow and below them with the same drip a grow media bed of some sort? Maybe it could make the system more efficient?
Hey fernando lopez - Glad you're finding the videos helpful! We always tell folks its a good idea to use continuous flow simply because it's a bit easier on your pump, but there are people puming on a timer. You could definitely mix and match systems to create a hybrid system, they do this down at Colorado Aquaponics in Denver, but you run the risk of diluting your nutrients too much when you mix and match. The answer to such questions are pretty situational specific and will depend on the crops you're growing and how healthy your system is for sure. Best of luck!
thanks for the nice video
Happy to help Dadan!
Hi Nate, great information, thanks for posting the videos :-)
You're welcome, Rory Mclaughlin - Glad you're enjoying them.
I'm thinking of starting an aquaponics business here in Ireland, if I can secure funding, and your videos have been the most informative I've found, so again, thank you :-)
Good luck, Rory Mclaughlin !
Thanks :-)
I am starting up a hydroponic system And that info was very interesting
Great to hear, thomasheisler - Hope you'll help us spread the good word!
I sure will, also I find that there are others in my area that are looking to start as well with one guy already doing it and making money off it
thomasheisler Excellent! Best of luck and keep us posted on how things are growing.
In your example of 100gal system does it count the water in the floating beds and sump tank or just in the tank where the fish are.?
what about horizontal travel distance? I plan to use a 100 gallon drum of water to pump to 9, 7ft wire shelving units with 6 shelvles for micro greens.
So if the units at 4 feet long x 9 of them plus the 2 feet the barrel takes up. Would i need to calculate the distance traveled horizontally as well as the 9 , 7ft verticals the puml would need to climb?
Hi Don,
No I don't, and given the different efficiencies of different pumps, it would be hard to develop an estimator that would work over a number of different pump types.
Hi! I was wondering how the diameter of the pipes used would affect the rating. For example using a 2” pipe on a 1” outlet vs a 1” pipe on a 1” outlet.
How do you calculate your system size or in other words the gal in your system. Is it just the size of your fish tank or do you add in the grow beds?
great start; however missed: 1) needs to be rated for salt-water (chemicals) 2) head loss required to drive hydroponic drip emitters (typically require 10-15psi (20-30ft head), additional head-loss (pressure drop) across filters etc... , so this advice only works for NFT or deep water culture without a filter. Failure to take this into consideration, will drastically undersize pump if you're using drip emitters.
Thanks for your comments Matthew!
Dr Storey, please make a video talking about your story and your education
I have an old 1/4 submersible utility pump (Flow Rate @ 5 ft :1,920 GPH).
Would a really high flow rate be totally wrong for an aquaponic system? I was thinking to maybe put a rheostat switch on it, to adjust the power output.
Thank you for your immensely useful videos!! I have a question... I want to use 1 pump that comes to a T and splits into 2 separate grow beds via tubing for each bed. Does this effect the height for the pump? I'm confused, since I'm not actually pumping higher but it is two outlets. If you could give me advice, that'd be helpful.
Water pressure is based on how deep the water is. A small one inch tube has the same pressure at 5 feet deep as the ocean does at 5 feet deep. The only way the T will affect your flow rate is if it changes the amount of restriction on the pump, typically since there is more places for the water to go there will be less restriction and more flow rate, if that makes sense.
@@lazyh-online4839 Hey thank you for your response!
Thanks for this video on how to culate and choose the right pump for aquaponics.
How do you prevent "root rot" in these types of systems? Is it because the water is flowing at a rate faster than the pathogens can grow? Or does it have something to do with the ammonia being produced by the fish? Or some other variable?
Thanks, Chris.
Recently i build an 8 bucket bato system. I'm just having trouble choosing the right pump. I have an 85 liter reservoir. A 344 gph 16 watt pump does pump the water up, but it doesn't seem like there's enough pressure to pump the water through the drip emitters. I used your document to calculate which pump i need at which height and liters an hour. 16 watt also looks like not so much. I am looking for the right pump taking into account to spill as little energy as possible? It seems i have more to consider.
Hey, thanks for your question. 16 watt is not very much... With a bit more info we can help you spec what you need. What height does the pump need to get up to? How long a distance does it need to go? Are you using drip emitters and what is their flow rate?
question? required is 250m3 per hour @ 19m head, how much HP is equivalent to of ?
Can I put the air stone near water pump, so I dont have to cover the area of the whole tank ?, Bcause the water pump dont use all the water in the tank at the same time.
I am thinking deep water culture might be less work, or I can simply take the vertical system down at night. This is turning out to be some concerns. I want to use solar system to power the greenhouse.
Good info and instruction. 1). You illustrate a 2 foot head height, but for your towers is not the head at least 4-5 feet for floor flush buried tank, and 2). how is the tank capacity requirement determined for say 10 five foot towers? Thanks Dr.
Hi +GRIUG! Yes you are correct. The example of 2 foot head height is for a standard grow bed setup. For ZipGrow tower systems, that head height is much different as you mentioned. Have you looked through the various formulas and examples on this page yet? blog.brightagrotech.com/pumps-for-aquaponics-or-hydroponics/ - That's a great place to start and has a nice little chart to help you understand what type of pump you need for your system. Let us know if that makes sense once you read through it. If not, we'll help you out!
Hi, NEW to the system. CAN I TURN off my air pump at night? I ask because there are vertical systems and deep water culture. SO can I cut it off when I go to sleep? I am creating off the grid outside greenhouse. SECOND.... What happens if there is no pumping for 8 to 10 hours?
Why is the head height not figured from the bottom of the ICB tank where the pump will be located?
hi I want to know whether areoponics is much better cost wise not just growth wise
does hydroponic system require to move water 24 hrs per day? or can it run during the day and shutoff at night?
Monitoring DO is typically unnecessary for most hobbyist, but you purchase a DO meter if you're really interested. A digital one might be around $100.
I bought a submersible pump for nozzle nebulization and having it 24-hour turn in on got wasted and every time were making work fewer nebulizers until were unable of making run any. do you know a good pump for making work from 80 to 100 nebulizers 24-hours without losing power??
Is 396gph pump good enough for a 20 gallon tank going up 4 feet for aquaponics
There shouldn't be too many issues with that at all. While, to a certain extent you're restricted by pipe diameter size, if your plumbing infrastructure and pump can support moving water a little quicker, you'll probably be better off since your DO levels will rise. Remember, if your pump is moving too much water, you can always put it on a timer for 10 min on, 10 min off.
Alright, so here is what I'm planning to do so that perhaps you can help me understand the specifics so that I can make the calculations on my own. I want to do 2 drip towers at 6-6.5 feet high to the top of the vertical 1/2 pvc pipe or rubber hosing. I want a steady flow of water, and I'm thinking for the entire system using about 20 gallons of water.
I would like it very much if you could help me understand what i'd be looking at to determine my head high in this case. Also with the pump, I'd be going up a little bit and then splitting them off in 2 lines. So the pump is running for two towers 2-4 feet apart going up 6-6.5 feet one line splitting with a T into 2 lines.
I'm only just starting my journey with hydroponics as a hobby grower so sorry if I asked a lot. I do understand the Head Height to Gallons Per Hour, I just don't understand how to determine the Head Height with my particular design.
Hi +dark eIndzEl - Great question - first, have you read this post? There are some great formulas to help you work through this particular situation. blog.brightagrotech.com/pumps-for-aquaponics-or-hydroponics/ - Are these 5' ZipGrow towers? You should be just fine with a 550 gph pump with that kind of distance.
Bright Agrotech I haven't yet, but I'm going to in a few minutes. As for the Towers, I was thinking of going 5' using a PVC pipe and putting some net cups in the sides. Sorry, I'm not sure of the different types of towers yet.. I've been looking online at a few pumps, and was thinking of going with a 400gph with a Max lift height of 7'. The pump is a fountain pump. I was thinking that it might be a bit strong for the design I have in mind so I could put in a valve someplace before the split on the water line and close it or open it as needed.
How do you wire a backup pump to come on if main pump fails? Thanks
I think you might have made a slight mistake, Nate. I thought head height (for a submersible pump) would be figured from the level the pump is at to the highest point water is being pumped. So if your pumping from your sump tank and it is 4' in the ground and you are pump water to a grow tower and the lines are 6' above ground the head height would be 10'. It's not from the sump pumps water level to the top of the towers which would only be 6' if your sump pump was full to ground level. ????
Other than that I Love the videos you are providing some great information that will revolutionize the way we grow food in the near future!!!
No error. If the pump is below the surface of the water then you have to think about the water actually pushing on the pump. Moving water below the water level is almost effortless for the pump. The real work begins when you try to pump the water up above the height of the water level in the tank.
Bright Agrotech
Okay I understand now. I think what confused me is you explained it right but your drawing showed from bottom of grow bed to sump tank water level not the top of the grow bed to water level in sump tank. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
G. Calvin Belt Sorry for the confusion!
Bright Agrotech wow, you probably saved me 100's of dollars with this one answer friend! I was thinking head height was where the pump started as well! Great! I appreciate you generously giving your knowledge away.
where's your PHD at Calvin? another interwebz know it all SMACKED DOWN!
I've noticed that you don't use or have not said anything about bell siphons or other types of siphons. Do you have a constant water flow through you media. Does this cause root rot at all? Am just missing that you are using one in your system, or are they needed in vertical growing?
Hey Anthony Miller - We are constantly irrigating our towers, yes. No root rot because our Matrix Media has such a high void ratio (it's about 93% air). This means we cut out anaerobic zones and avoid root rot. We don't have any siphons in our system. Just fish tanks, settlement tanks and our sump tank.
The head pressure of the height of the water in the IBC means that the pump doesn't have to work harder to pump it up to that height. Air pressure (as head pressure) is basically doing that work
That is incorrect. Water weighs roughly 8lbs per gallon. Depending on the head height, that weight would be stacked on top of itself multiple times, increasing the pressure as it elevates. That's why a higher head height would require a stronger pump.
@@donethos this is actually correct. Your response really doesn't have much to do with what he said..
When doing a split system and a pump water is send 50% of water back to the fish tank and 50% to the grow beds .... does that mean the pump needs to be twice as large to fully circulate all the water through the entire system in the same 1-2 times per turn over rate?
Nope- you won't always move the same amounts of water in either direction. You should be using about the same size pump no matter the system design.
Are there issues with turning your water volume over too fast?
Can is use my 720 lph pump for my 6 feet a frame nft system?
hi I have a question about if I should run the pump on timer and how long or should I run the pump for 24 hours cause I read the stopping and starting for the pump can shorten it's working life. thanks
We always run ours 24/7 to avoid plant stress and preserve pump life. Totally up to you though, Jeremy!
Ok Thanks for the tip
Happy to help!
When you state system volume, you are referring to how much water is in your fish tank correct, not your entire system. Because you are simply just moving the that "block" a water to run through your filtration system. Is that correct?
Hey David Stone - when we're talking system volume, we mean all the water including what's in your fish tank, sump tank and irrigation lines. Sorry I didn't understand the last part of your comment. Can you rephrase it?
You answered the question. Thanks.
how would you calculate how much you need to turn over your water per hour if you are a commercial grower?
That calculation will be 1/2 gallon per hour per tower for both commercial and hobby growing, Taesu Yi - Does that make sense?
I don't think once every 2 hours is enough. 4 times an hour is recommended for most systems.
Meh. DWC works fine and that's 0 times an hour lol.
@@meowmix1569 I believe DWC does not need this because it uses airstones for water oxygenation, and NFT uses water circulation for that purpose
@@rockylol77 Good point. My engineering buddy is building a system based on flow. He said the air pump won't be necessary. Not sure how to evaluate the optimal amount of flow and or air.
I got a yield increase in direct proportion to air increase. This was at .5, 1, 2 LPM per Gallon of water. I'm circulating ~2x an hour. I'll test more air and a bigger pump in the future.
@@meowmix1569 amazing to see somebody actually give credit to another's idea on UA-cam. Doesn't happen often enough. Good job!
@@landrewmackinnon4888 what?! Positivity on YT!? 🤯 lol
you forget to tell that the media in the growing tank will give you a lower need in gmp to full it with water and then decrease the time of a cycle
Head height is the distance between the top of your pump and the maximum height you will be pumping the water
Thanks for the comment. In aquaponic or hydroponic systems, head height refers to the distance between the top of your grow bed and the top of the water in your tank. We have a blog on sizing pumps and you can read it here. zipgrow.com/sizing-a-pump-for-aquaponics-or-hydroponics/
How fast is too fast for a system, I have this old 1000gph pump, and my whole system is about 100 gallons for example, that's way faster than once per 2 hours its 10 times per hour, is that ok or is there even such a thing as too fast.
Did you find an answer to this question? Mind sharing?
Maybe you have answered this question....if so, I apologize. When referring to the amount of water your turning over, are you talking about the entire volume of ALL the beds and fish tanks combined?
Hi Aaron, yes exactly. All the water including what's in your fish tank, sump tank, grow beds, and irrigation lines.
Would it hurt to go over rated, to cut back on what you allow the pump to pump. Would that damage your pump?
Nope, choking back pumps isn't great for your energy use efficiency or your pumping efficiencies, but typically the cost of the loss of efficiency is worth the ability to scale your operation without replacing your pump. I also really like being able to work with more pressure/volume than I need for flushing things out.
Bright Agrotech awesome thank you.
No problem!
Dude head height is the height the pump can lift.. Pumps are the biggest part of my trade
how do i stop algee growth
If it's so fast that the grow beds are flooding uncontrollably, or that your fish are being sucked into the vortex created by your super high powered pump, or so fast that your water is spraying and splashing everywhere, so fast that the fabric of time is being torn by the power of your system, you're probably in bad shape... :) - But really, if your entire system volume is being exchanged every half our that's right on the border of being too much.
Bright Agrotech I thought that I heard you suggest turning over the systems total water twice an hour...IE once every half hour. I heard this in your podcast. ..your podcast post is newer. What is your preference now?
Can someone explain the Head Height to me again? Why wouldn't you go to the highest point of your flow? For example, the top of your tower? Why would you measure from the top of the grow bed?
Check out this post Robert Haney - brightagrotech.com/pumps-for-aquaponics-or-hydroponics/ || #aquaponic #hydroponics
Bright Agrotech I've watched and read that link, but I'm still a bit concerned about my measurements. I'm pricing out 50 grow towers. There will be a variety of plants. What I get hung up on is how much water a 50 tower system will require. I'm just not sure on how to calculate that with my minimal experience in hydroponics. Am I just stating, "I want to use 50-100 gallons every hour." Or am I measuring something ahead of time to KNOW I need "X" gallons every hour? If I am moving 100 gallons every hour, and I have a head height of 7', I should be looking at a 550 Pump, correct?
Robert Haney If you run 4 gph drippers on 50 towers, you'll need to deliver 200 gph. Assuming 15% loss to friction you'll need 260 gph at 7' or whatever head height you'll be working with. I usually go up one pump size as well so I have room to expand and blow out lines.
How about 6 ft high?
*What's "head height??"*
Vertical distance from your pump to the highest point in your system.
I don't suppose you guys design systems do ya? I am planing quite a serous system to work off a fish farm I already have with 1800m3 of water in the pond and 10000kg of fish at full grown size per crop.
We do a lot of system designs for our farmers or give you the tools to do it yourself. Shoot us a message here: brightagrotech.com/vertical-farming-guide-service
The downside of hydroponics is that you need to buy "plant food" or nutrients and supplements that can be more costly.
Aquaponics combines the best parts of Hydroponics And Aquaculture so greatly reduce cost and also improve efficiency. You can find the most effective aquaponics plan here:
help1.info/best-aquaponics-plan
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