Bell Siphon Troubleshooting & Explanation | Aquaponics 101

[@g.e.9052]

Rob, you helped me to solve my problem with the siphons. It was the wrong angle! Thanks a lot and many greatings from Croatia.

[@RobsAquaponics]

I'm glad I could help some G. E. Happy growing.

[@CrossfireVideos]

The straight line pipe issue was the one for me! I spent hour looking at it and couldn't figure it out. Thanks so much for all of your effort & content!

[@RobsAquaponics]

I'm glad the video has helped some mate. 👍 Happy growing.

[@Blxz]

Just finished building one of these this afternoon. Had no issues getting it to run but youtube won't stop recommending your videos now. No harm though, it's great fun to watch all your stuff and the good work you are doing for new people getting into aquaponics.

[@visallourn8437]

I first find the vdo on KZbin with no dislikes. Well done Rob.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Thanks mate. Hope the information in the video saved you some stress as well. Cheers & all the best.

[@Ebuckhee]

You are a true expert. After upgrading my pump to a more powerful one the outflow just couldn't break. After adjusting the flow volume the problem is resolved instantly. TQ.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Don't forget to share the video if you found it helpful. My NEW "Backyard Aquaponics for Beginners" guide is available here, robbobaquaponics.retrieve.com/g/XL0J6T2P#/content/90525 OR, You can learn more about how it works here, www.bitsouttheback.com/aquaponics-guide Cheers all & have a top one. 🐟 🌱🍅 Rob

[@SM16]

Awesome great job. Takes a ton of time off learning by Trial & Error Thanks Mate

[@Bigelowbrook]

Very good explanation. Even though I use the breather tube on mine, it's not always necessary. As Rob shows, when the siphon breaks the air is able to come back through the drain pipe. This is perfectly fine if draining right below and the piping is short. On my systems I tend to have much longer drain lines since my reservoirs are not under the media beds. This makes it difficult to get air back into the bell so the breather tube allows for an easy way to break the siphon 👍💧💦

[@RobsAquaponics]

Great explanation Rob. 👍 I'll be running a fairly long drain on the potato bed so will be using a snorkel in that one as well. At the moment all the bells have snorkels on them as I made a number up just for the video. Even have one similar to yours but it was a tad too ugly to show in the video. 😉 Hope you & yours are doing well mate & thanks again for letting me use your videos, I really appreciate it.👍 Cheers. ☕☕

[@coryryder9070]

@@RobsAquaponics since 06 i have pushed for few ideas 1 alternative powered farming resourcs been trying to setup bell syphon with flloat valves from water collectors to gardan gravity feed no pumps

[@coryryder9070]

@@RobsAquaponics opm our planet peace people matter or noone will be missed

[@coryryder9070]

@@RobsAquaponics im trying to rigg up rain collectors to one turn valve to a float valve to bell syphon then another float valve to drip system then hopefully i can just tun the one valve have it all go to dripp feed

[@coryryder9070]

@@RobsAquaponics 5:49 bottle was melted for syphon wasnt it

[@alcavit]

This fixed my issue, thank you. I needed the 90 degree connecter on the outflow.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Nice one Ben. Happy growing mate. 🐟🌱👍

[@emblems4life726]

@@RobsAquaponics llllllmoollolpmkopppploo Kim like oolll kkp I'll look ol ok llop

[@RobsAquaponics]

@@emblems4life726 🤔🤔?? Something I can help you with?

[@emblems4life726]

@@RobsAquaponics You would think I was having a stroke from my gibberish. I didn't intend to respond with that comment, but I appreciate your gracious reply. I love your channel and have just dug my inground pond, and am about to purchase the liner. I am hoping to use the 7000 gallon pond for swimming but use its outflow to supply water through a aquaponic system with reservoirs for fish, plants, and geothermal (In that order) before returning the water to the pond via a waterfall. You provide great content, and as an American I have to say I love your accent. Blessings Friend. Rob

[@RobsAquaponics]

@@emblems4life726 No problem at all mate. I hope the build goes well for you when the time comes.

[@BladeUtah]

The elbow at the drain line was all it took to fix my siphoning issue (which was ending prematurely). Thank you, Rob!

[@RobsAquaponics]

Am glad the video helped some. Cheers BU.

[@pingguerrero2007]

Helped me a lot. I used the snorkel like thing to break the siphon. Thank you and more power.

[@BubbaAndShawn]

You are the reason I decided to take the plunge and give aquaponics a shot. You have simplified a lot of extremely valuable information for us and have put the hard yards in when it comes to the trial and error side of things. Even though I already have a thriving aquaponics system (thanks to you) I have decided to purchase your online information package on retrieve. Your knowledge is worth more than the $10 I spent on your online guide and I hope you keep up the hard work and keep producing amazing content to help people in the community move forward with more sustainable ways of living. You are an inspiration.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Hi Shawn & thanks mate, I really appreciate the support mate.👍 All the funds I get from it are going into the kitty so we can buy a larger rural place so we can set up a much larger system. I'm not thinking it will bankroll the whole thing but every cent helps. 😉😁 Cheers & let me know if I can help you out at all.

[@forthesakeofreason]

You read my mind. Just built my IBC chop n flip using your tutorial and was having some trouble with my bell siphon 🤣 Thanks!

[@RobsAquaponics]

Hope the pointers helped sort out your issues mate. 👍 Happy growing Dave.

[@tansuaniwaring1546]

Excellent video, my problem was braking the siphon. That was because the drain elbow was submerged in the sump tank. Thanks Rob.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Glad it helped some 👍👍

[@soodypop2014]

You are amazing. I built 2 chop and flip 55 gal. Barrels, caught some small bluegill, planted a few lettuce and I am rocking. Fish aren't attacking the food yet but it's been 7 days they are still alive. Tyvm!

[@Holodomor4.0]

Unreal information mate! You’ve always been one of my go to’s for hydro/aquaponics info especially for the bell siphon! Hope you’re well!

[@RobsAquaponics]

Am glad I could help out some mate. Cheers SSOTM. 👍👍

[@sidthetech_USA]

Beautiful garden behind you... Thanks for giving some gold pointers for a beginner craving to get into aquaponics. Got my 3D printed mini bell now working after a bit of tuning, and your helpful tips.

[@PhotoLukeHawaii]

Thank you Rob Bob! I thought I could take some short cut when I redid my 2nd aquaponics and that elbow at the drain I left out, when I added it on there it fixed my inconsistent cycles.... it is working again thanks to you! Thanks!👏👏👏

[@RobsAquaponics]

Great to hear that you fixed the issue PLH. 👍 Cheers & happy growing mate.

[@sweetwateragaquaponics1021]

Great video rob I've been following you from the start and I finally built my first system in 2019 and everything you post inspired all of it and you have helped me out tremendously keep up the good work . I still watch every video u post to this day . I am so thankful for all u do . Take care

[@RobsAquaponics]

Thanks Shane & am really pleased to hear that the videos have helped so much mate. 👍 How big is the system? Happy growing.

[@sweetwateragaquaponics1021]

@@RobsAquaponics I'm running 4 275 gallon ibc fish tanks. One tilapia breeding tank and a small 2 40 gallon nursery system . 3 eb and flow beds and six nft rails . Working on expanding the veggie end of things.

[@sweetwateragaquaponics1021]

@@RobsAquaponics rob it only takes 12 foot by 12 foot sqaure and my veggies go above all of it

[@sweetwateragaquaponics1021]

@@RobsAquaponics email me Sweetwaterag&[e-mail] I'll be happy to send you pictures of my setup

[@sweetwateragaquaponics1021]

Sorry rob I forgot I havnt set that email up yet current email is [e-mail]

[@Frostyforge]

Your videos continue to be perfect, thank you so much! I'd been running aquaponics for abt a year thanks to you, swapped to hydro last weekend and moved the system outside. Siphon wasn't shutting off, messed with it for a couple days, found your video and bam! 5 minutes later I had my new drain pipe angled down instead of slightly up and its working perfectly. Thank you again!

[@RobsAquaponics]

That's great to hear Frostyforge. 👍 Cheers & happy growing.

[@mr.vincefarmtv2452]

Thanks for new technique, nice idea teaching this aquaponic bell sipon

[@RobsAquaponics]

My pleasure Vincent. Cheers & all the best mate. 👍

[@TeamMEFfishing]

Great video content, answered every question i had in trying to solve my bell syphon issues (first time bell syphon incorporated in my new grow bed ) Thanks a bunch!!!

[@RobsAquaponics]

I'm glad the video helped Chris. Happy growing.

[@SM16]

So exciting hope you're having fun growing, Thank You for sharing your new techniques. Love the video 👍

[@RobsAquaponics]

Hope the pointes come in handy at some point Sierrah Max. 👍 Happy growing.

[@EKALLFA]

These technical videos are very helpful.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Am glad you're finding them helpful Ervin. 👍 Happy growing.

[@indica_dogo868]

Rob this is a great video on bell siphons! I like the clear bottle for visual! I was always fiddling with bell siphons so I gave up and started using U siphons. Lol

[@RobsAquaponics]

Whatever works best for you is what I'd be using ID. 😉👍 Have seen the fanboys of the different styles get rather heated about it in the FB aqua groups. They all work, some just find it easier to work with one particular version from what I've seen. Cheers Dogo & have a top one. 🐾

[@achuthpv3716]

the siphon not-breaking issue, well you are right. I am using a bend siphon, instead of a bell. My siphon was no breaking because the slope near the exit was more horizontal. Once I changed it to be more sloping downwards, it fixed the issue of the siphon not breaking.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Most of the fixes for the other siphons are the same as the bell's I've found AP. 👍 Am glad you got yours sorted mate.

[@alzeal]

great video, I use a 3d printed bell siphon with a built in snorkel. Works great

[@RobsAquaponics]

Nice one FR. 👍 All mine now have snorkels now as I had leftover from the video. 😅 Cheers mate.

[@soodypop2014]

Thank you! Enjoy all your videos.

[@necronomicon-xmortis9362]

😮i have my drain runing under water, because the air went up resulting no drainage now i created an airlock and i have to start over😢 maby just add a 90 bend but above water its a fun project i made smaller ones they run fine this one drain 2inch im sure once i figured out how to perfect the big one im planting maruana and im adding fish once i made a propper filter that can clean 2000liter without restricting pump flow i dont like to add taps to pumps the pumps dont last long from backpressure😢 so sizing the tubing has been taking some time😅 i love watching your projects you explain it all so well hope your channle get lots of views😊

[@radiorahim861]

Love the accent, and love the lessons learned here

[@RobsAquaponics]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@kevinheidmann3487]

Thanks so much for the info! Really sorted out my problem.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Glad it helped some Kevin. Happy growing mate.

[@ikejohn7270]

Thank you, you've helped me once again

[@RobsAquaponics]

Cheers Ike.

[@falmochannelfalmovlog]

Thanks for the explanation and tips of bellshipon

[@RobsAquaponics]

My pleasure FC & hope it helps you out if you issues down the line. happy growing.

[@sweetlovetiger]

Thank you for the link I like watching your videos and writing you a thank you or something for you to try but I think you give me more info than I give you

[@RobsAquaponics]

Am just glad I'm being helpful mate. 👍 Have been a home dad for almost 23 years now so is great to know I've still been helping folks (other than family & friends 😉) out most of that time. Cheers & all the best Grease Monkey.

[@CaucAsianSasquatch]

I used a Central bell siphon on a medium chop and flip, it was intended as a Failsafe but is so much easier to adjust.

[@RobsAquaponics]

I've always found them to be very easy to run CAS. 👍 Had real issues trying to dial the loops in when I had a crack at them. Cheers mate.

[@johnnosprads5883]

Another excellent vid Rob.Much appreciated mate. Biggalows also an excellent vlog but a 3D printer does help:)

[@RobsAquaponics]

Rob is a bit of a legend I think Johnno. His small greenhouse system is the one that got me to pull the trigger & build my own after much deliberation. Cheers mate & happy growing.

[@genesmith8781]

Rob, your videos are great. Very informative. I've been messing with Hydroponics since 2015 and switched to Aquaponics in 2018. I have learned plenty from you and I really appreciate the time and effort that goes into making these videos. When do you have time to tend your garden!? ;)

[@RobsAquaponics]

😅 I haven't even looked at the soil section of the garden since last year Gene. 😕Have a lot of other personal stuff going on with extended family that has been chewing up my time. This winter we'll be making a proper start on the soil patch & hope to make a video about the front patch soon. Cheers & have a top one.

[@francoisdeniau6212]

I could solve my problem : the siphon didn't brake because the drain pipe was too horizontal ! Just few milimeters are enough wow you are my hero 😁 Thank you 🙏

[@RobsAquaponics]

Hope you got it sorted mate. 👍

[@chadusher7150]

Great info! 👍

[@RobsAquaponics]

Glad it was helpful Chad. 👍

[@johngriswold]

Thanks for the tips. My siphon works. Now :)

[@RobsAquaponics]

Am glad I could help soma mate. Happy growing.

[@UncleLloyd101]

Thank you Bob

[@piotrmaciejewski4095]

thank you for this training material💪🏻🤜🏻

[@RobsAquaponics]

My pleasure Mate & hope it helps you out down the line. Happy growing.

[@petewest1978]

love the video , well done

[@prince4x4]

Thanks for your share.This help a lot.

[@brandonterry6194]

GRATITUDE 💥🐟💥

[@truongvanpha5479]

you guide me a standard bell sihphon for aphaponic, thank you very much

[@RobsAquaponics]

Glad to hear the video helped some. 😁 Cheers & happy growing. 🐟🌱

[@halfbinz]

Hi Rob, purchased the video package was great to have it all sorted and easier to work through. I am testing the bell siphon in a grow bed setup, however is the bell siphon meant to be free seated and floating? If take the outer cap up the bell floats up and thats done with the 50mm pipe. Got great flow rate, run off etc just cant get it to break

[@RobsAquaponics]

Hey MCT. It sounds like the drain may be running slightly uphill & has some water in it preventing the air from leaving the bell chamber as the bed fills. Once that is made to run level or slightly downhill you shouldn't have the floating bell issue & it may help the siphon to break as well. Let me know if that helps any. Just to let you know that if you ask the question through the guide I will see them a lot sooner as I check them a few times a day. 👍

[@baron6797]

I hope this was recorded before my comment on the previous vid about the Vikings beard! Still, no pressure!

[@RobsAquaponics]

🤣 It was.

[@buflko]

Hello? Teacher. Is there any way to get rid of the air stop sound when the bell siphon is running?

[@RobsAquaponics]

Not really from what I've seen. Adding a discharge baffle in the sump may help to a point.

[@DaddysCreativeKitchen]

Well explained, thank you sir!

[@RobsAquaponics]

Glad I could help some. 👍

[@mjamurquhartproudaussiefar2776]

Hi Rob your videos are great thanks. can you tell me what type of fish i can put in, i would like to be able to eat them do they reproduce or do you need to keep stocking the tank how do you stop them eating each other can you mix breeds i live inland in southern nsw near Deniliquin can i put in native fish like Murray cod or yellow belly what would you recommend thanks again.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Hey folks. I don't know of any natives that will breed freely in a tank environment sorry. There are loads of hatcheries around that sell fingerlings for a few bob each & that's what most folks will use. Murray cod are OK for aquaponics but are a bit slow to grow out from what I've seen in others systems. I have been told that yellow belly takes about 18 months to get to plate size which is about the same for silver perch as well. 👍 Hope that helps you out some.

[@taffythegreat1986]

Must be the same system that they have in public toilets where they have an overhead cistern tank, that empties automatic Good video. 👍👍👍👍

[@RobsAquaponics]

Cheers TTG. 👍 have a top one.

[@Trooper5991]

Hi Rob, thanks for a great video. I have a couple of questions. I use the bottom section of the bottle to ensure no air leaks, it works but am wondering if the taper at the top will act as an accelerator? My other question is instead of a large grow bed my bell syphon feeds into 110mm pvc pipes with cup cut outs. It takes about 8 minutes to drain and about 13 mins to resyphon, so there is only about 5 mins of no flow. Is this a problem? My plants are alive but not growing...

[@RobsAquaponics]

Hey Rupert. I'm not sure about the taper would have much effect on the overall operation of the siphon.👍 Is there any way you could block the discharge end of the pipe so the water backs up a bit? If you did there would always be a small amount of water in the base and it would act a bit like a DWC bed. The pipe would need to be fairly level to have enough water to reach the inlet end. Hope that helps some.

[@Trooper5991]

@@RobsAquaponics sounds like a nice simple fix will try it thanks

[@firasaldahir9624]

Thank you for your explanation. I tried your advice to initiate the bell siphon by increasing water flow rate and it works well but then it didn't stop . Therefore I decreased the flow rate and it stopped but didn't initiate. How could I calculate the correct flow rate?

[@RobsAquaponics]

Sorry I missed this. It sounds like there's something else at play if that didn't work. Did you check the angle of the drain below the bed?

[@firasaldahir9624]

@@RobsAquaponics Thanks for your guidance, I'll try to change the angle

[@tomelliss4475]

Another great video Rob! I'm always watching and about to embark on making my own chop & fill from an IBC after your inspirational videos! Any advice on fish breeds down in a much colder Victoria? Appreciate your videos and any help! Tom

[@zanderp4923]

Rainbow Trout from about April/May to Oct/Nov. Grow in 5 to 6 months to plate size and fun fish. Tasty too.

[@tomelliss4475]

@@zanderp4923 thanks for the help mate. Was thinking that, but wasn't sure about the rest of the year too! I thought about splitting my tank up to carry perch too for the year round and have trout just for the season? Not sure if it'll work though!

[@RobsAquaponics]

@Zander P is on the money there mate. 👍

[@tomelliss4475]

@@RobsAquaponics yep, that's the plan. I want to grow more brassicas too, so the times will match perfectly. Looking forward to spending some time setting it all up, then in a few months I'll get some fish. Thanks for the help guys, appreciate the vids Rob and look forward to watching more

[@connorwalsh456]

i was thinking about starting an ibc chop and flip aquaponics system but i will only be able to feed them once every 1 or 2 weeks do you think if i put less fish in and put it in more sun, the fish could eat the algae that is grown or is there any sort of automatic feed system that could work cheers

[@RobsAquaponics]

That would depend on the type of fish you use Connor. You will find that the plants will probably suffer though as you'll just be circulating the same nutrients round & round the system. Have you looked into fish feeders at all? I know some of the pond folks here on KZbin use them a bit so might pay for you to look into them mate. Hoe that helps some.

[@connorwalsh456]

@@RobsAquaponicsthanks heaps, i will do some more looking into feeders

[@michelleobamasthicccocc822]

Dude thank you so much. I've been "tuning" my flow for two damn days trying to get the siphon to break. Turns out I just needed to spin the drain elbow around since my siphon is slightly crooked. I havent seen anyone growing cannabis with this setup so I'm gonna give it a try 😅. Curious how the buds will turn out relying solely on the fish tank for nutrients. I've got mine in a shed. Just need to mount the light but it's currently in use lol. I've got blue tilapia and crawfish in the bottom but I'm wondering if I could breed koi instead Edit: by "this setup" I mean a chop and flip

[@docvencil2222]

Why use a bell siphon and not simply an over flow? Also, using the IBC totes, is there a reason why one would choose to use a growing media instead of the deep water method with Styrofoam rafts and cups?

[@RobsAquaponics]

I like to use the siphon to raise & lower the water level to help the plant roots & bacteria get as much O2s as they Can. Have seen many constant height/overflow beds work well but have also seen a lot with dead spots once plants roots start to inhibit the water flow. I have no issue with raft beds either but keep in mind that you'll need decent fine solids removal to keep them out of the beds as well as a stand alone biofilter to process the waste from the fish.

[@docvencil2222]

@@RobsAquaponics yeah I have an extensive filter system in the works.

[@Huertech]

Thanks again

[@RobsAquaponics]

No Problem. 👍👍

[@ramoneoliveira5851]

Excelente.

[@RobsAquaponics]

😁👍

[@SsDiBoi]

U can also funnel the top of the bell

[@KeystoneJul]

Hu hello, I'm from Germany! it's getting unfortunately a bit cold here, to set up aquaponic systems like that (without somekind of greenhouse) I have two questions: 1. I learned from different sources that its better for the water to use tanks, vessels, pipes ... out of an mineral material or at least with an mineralic surface. I know the common pipes are much convenient, but if i would subbornly insist on using materials mimicking more natural circumstances, do you have any ideas what i could use to meet my demands. and 2nd, I would find it very cool to have a series of grow beds to recycle gray water for later use in the garden or even in the aquaponic system itself. Could you create a tutorial how to build this, from grease trap, to what kind of plants to utilize to filter the water, media, perhaps lava or biochar... (just an idea), that would be awesome and amazing. I loved watching your vid after getting up. It's very inspiring

[@RobsAquaponics]

Hey Jokingvictim. The most inert material that you could use would be stainless steel, which is way out of reach price-wise for 95% of folks I'd say. Concrete tanks need to be sealed & the food grade products used would be artificial, just like plastics. We don't have grease traps here. About the closest we have would be the greywater from the kitchen, bathroom (not toilet) & shower. We're not really set up to harvest them here at out place but would like to have a go at setting a system up on our future property down the line.

[@deweysanchez965]

My siphon was cycling well air lock forming and breaking. There is a long pipe to sump but the bell has a snorkel. The air lock is now forming BUT the bed is failing to drain. The water goes down an inch or so but then holds in place. So it no longer drains fast enough. It doesn’t get to the bottom to allow the air lock to break. I can assure you the water flow rate is quite slow so it isn’t over filling. Any ideas?

[@RobsAquaponics]

Normally it's a inflow issue if the outflow is keeping pace with the inflow. How low do you have to turn the inlet flow to get the siphon to break Dewey?

[@deweysanchez965]

@@RobsAquaponics thanks so much for the reply. I seem to have rectified the problem by lifting the bell siphon up a bit. It appears that once the airlock was formed the vacuum applied to the bell siphon sucked the bell down so firmly it slowed the water out. I tried adding additional holes to the base of the bell and this improved things somewhat but it needed clear space under the bell to allow the airlock to break. It is all cycling just fine now.

[@BCowden]

Just set up my system. It cycles every 15 minutes. 9 to fill 6 to dump. Does that seem like good numbers?

[@RobsAquaponics]

Sounds great Ben 👍

[@ordeloliveros5999]

How do you keep the bottle from floating up? I’m having issues with that

[@RobsAquaponics]

It sounds like the drain pipe is either on an upward slope under the bed or the end may be covered with water in the tank below. Let me know if that was the issue. 👍 Cheers Ordel.

[@Bhaalgorn1]

Hey , I've got a problem with the bell being pushed up by air as the siphon is filling .

[@RobsAquaponics]

Sounds like the drain may be running "uphill". Have you fixed the issue yet?

[@allavariyilla]

My aquoponics Bell siphon not working drain water not stopping, what can I do

[@RobsAquaponics]

Hopefully this video has helped. Are you still having issues?

[@SsDiBoi]

N I haven’t tried it yet but I’m sure it’ll work against evaporation n that idea is running sum turf on the clay pellets(hydroton) my question is how would condensed water affect the root system) I’m almost there and I will have some new laws

[@ramoneoliveira5851]

Like.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Cheers Ramone. 😁👍

[@SnitchyBug]

i understand everything said in this video but my issue is not stopping or not starting is to close together, i turn water flow up the smallest amount it doesnt stop, turn it down the smallest amount and it wont start, and if i get it right, 1 day later its doing the same thing :( might have to try the snorkle i think

[@RobsAquaponics]

Do you have a long run of pipe from under the bed back to the tank ?

[@SnitchyBug]

@@RobsAquaponics only about 70mm under

[@RobsAquaponics]

@@SnitchyBug If you're still having issues & want help post a video showing the siphon & the drin & I'll suss it out for you.

[@petery4801]

👌👌👌❤❤❤

[@RobsAquaponics]

😁😁👍👍👍

[@drrahilakurdi5943]

🌷🌻🌷

[@RobsAquaponics]

😁👍😁

[@juanpablo-zx9hs]

Te amo

[@EddyBMultimedia]

I'm doing this. I am going to watch your videos everyday u and build until I get it right.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Hope the build goes off without a hitch Kev. 👍

[@barsixful]

Hey people. If your siphons are playing up try putting a weight on top of the bell

[@RobsAquaponics]

Might work in some cases but not all.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Did you try any of the fixes here to see if they would help?

[@nikonbosse5920]

I guess water pump is not needed for this kind of system?

[@fatrobdouble]

Aside from the engineering challenge involved, why do y'all rubes even use bell siphons?

[@RobsAquaponics]

What engineering challenge? I've seen kids make them work on the first attempt 🤣 What do you use to flood & drain the beds?

[@fatrobdouble]

@@RobsAquaponics i guess it's an engineering challenge bc we see growers so the time, dismayed bc their bell siphon got stuck either on drain or fill, causing damage to plants and pumps and floors. It's a simple design, sure, but it's got some reliability flaws. You can argue if you like, or you can watch other youtube videos, read fb groups and hydro forums, etc .. I prefer to have a pump on a timer plumbed thru the bottom, and a drain pipe higher up in case my timer ever failed and left the pump running, which never happened to me yet, but I'm ready for if/when it does.

[@RobsAquaponics]

@@fatrobdouble That's why this video exists, to help those that are having issues due to dodgy advice from social media, forums & in some cases, "professionals". You'll get no arguments from me mate, I've ben told I don't know what I'm doing by many a keyboard expert over the past 10 years, strangely enough vary rarely compared to the folks that thank me for the help they received watching the videos or emails I sent them. Run your system how you want, as long as it works for you, happy days.

[@fatrobdouble]

@@RobsAquaponics I'm not trying to tell you your doing it wrong, nor am i trying to convince you to change your system. I'm just trying to find out why it's popular with some ppl. The only reason i can think of is that aquaponic growers need to keep a pump on constantly and they might not want a second pump? But straight hydro growers rubbing ebb and flow, they can save a lot of headaches and energy by just running a checkless pump on a timer. (Plus a lot of plants don't want to be that wet...)

[@johnphillipamato]

Mine aint workin right

[@RobsAquaponics]

Did any of the tips help?