How to Plumb an Aquaponics System: Pipes & Tubing

Thinking about starting your own aquaponics system? You'll need to plumb it in correctly to see maximum yields and grow lots of food. This is the first video in a series on plumbing with aquaponics. Here you'll learn two types of tubing essential for affordable, productive aquaponic production!
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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[@ZipGrowInc]

We're glad you found us too. Hopefully you're learning a lot!

[@ZipGrowInc]

Thanks Wyatt, great thoughts you have here. Black poly definitely helps save cost and headaches!

[@MDwanabeePREPPER]

Im so glad I found you guys!

[@ZipGrowInc]

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.

[@ZipGrowInc]

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.

[@ZipGrowInc]

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!

[@ZipGrowInc]

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.

[@ZipGrowInc]

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.

[@ZipGrowInc]

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.

[@ZipGrowInc]

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!

[@wyattstorch]

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!

[@tanyatate3527]

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

[@tyfitzpatrick3606]

Hi Nate, Great job educating people about aquaponics! i have a bunch of new 4" green pvc sewer pipe... (never used) i was thinking to possibly make vertical grow towers out of them... is there any reason in aquaponics not to use the green pipe??? is there any chemical leaching or anything that anyone knows about?

[@hatmader]

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.

[@andydemarest7420]

Just a FYI, "Ls" are 90 degree elbows. Slips are couplings.

[@thefly7123]

those pipes are PVC or UPVC ? thanks for your viedeos, very informative.

[@tenaniaparent643]

Hello, Do you use a fitting instead of bulkhead for your fish/filters and swaptank? Because bulkheads are extremely expensive. I have two 3000liter fish tanks and considering using 25mm pvc pipes for my aquaponic system. Do you think it will work?

[@jamezs51]

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

[@ZipGrowInc]

James, some plastics are certainly worth being concerned about- you're thinking of soft pvc which does contain some plasticizers that are worth taking a look at. We are careful to use rigid vinyl which is very inert and very safe. Rigid vinyls are very safe because they don't need the plasticizers that soft vinyls do to be flexible. In my home we use rigid pvc products like pipe but I do not allow my family to use soft vinyl. For the same reasons, rigid vinyl is acceptable under organic standards, but soft vinyl mulches aren't. Rigid vinyl is only dangerous when it is burned or heated to very high temperatures- one reason why we ask that people recycle their tower housings instead of burning them. :)

[@dwaorg]

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!

[@ZipGrowInc]

We really like flexible poly pipe. We crimp the ends so that we can open the whole thing out from time to time and blow out the solids. Even so, our clog rate/nozzle is very low and can be easily solved by "rattling" the lines. See our video on opening up the greenhouse for more info on this. They're low cost and very low maintenance for us. We also have moved to a serpentine configuration on our poly pipe (just snaking it along our lines of towers in one long line) that we really like. More info on this to come. We don't ever take our lines apart. Just blow them out. Curved ends means our flow efficiency is better and rattling the line once per zone makes maintenance much easier with our serpentine configuration.

[@captaintim38]

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.

[@ZipGrowInc]

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!

[@captaintim38]

I have a question about orientation, is it better to build your greenhouse north to south or east to west?

[@beastlyproductions12]

Hey Doc, I love your videos, but I was just wondering what you could use to connect the poly tubing to PVC?

[@ZipGrowInc]

Hey Gavin Venable - You can connect poly tubing to PVC pipe with a simple barbed fitting! One trick is to heat up the poly pipe with a hair dryer or heat gun and then push that sucker onto your barbed fitting for a tighter fit. Hope that helps, Gavin!

[@dalton1981]

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.

[@1BiggyDoggy]

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.

[@llieske]

Is there a reason why 1" poly isn't as common as 5/8 and 1/2" poly? I can't find it anywhere.

[@ZipGrowInc]

+goltoof Hmm. That’s interesting. We can usually find a lot of it around here. It’s more of a construction, or heavy-duty product, whereas most homeowners are using 1/2” or 3/4” materials- try a plumbing or landscaping supply store/co. I bet you’ll find some.

[@llieske]

Its tough even finding it online, only found one place so far. Can 1/4" tubing plug directly into it?

[@ZipGrowInc]

+goltoof they make a thin wall version of it that I've only found in a few places. If you can find the lower-rated (pressure) thin walled stuff you can use it. Otherwise it’s tough. The 1'' stuff can be tough to bend and manipulate, however.

[@shandharsh4107]

I've been researching into home aquaponics and found an awesome website at Keiths Ponics Site (check it out on google)

[@triplev8133]

Keith's ponics

[@dreen7911]

This isn't really how to plumb aquaponics, it's just the most basic "how to plumb" period. Sorry, I was really looking forward to some strong information. I am not meaning to knock people, it's just not what I was expecting. Good wishes. I hope things go well for you.

[@ZipGrowInc]

+Doreen Hannes Check out the other videos we have on plumbing aquaponics systems. I think they'll answer more of your questions.

[@dreen7911]

+Bright Agrotech Thanks...Will do.