A Beginners Guide to Setting up a Betta Fish TankYour browser (Internet Explorer 7 or lower) is out of date. It has known security flaws and may not display all features of this and other websites. Learn how to update your browser. There are a few common methods of running a media bed aquaponic system. You can flood and drain it by using a timer on the pump to switch the pump off and on, while a standpipe in the grow bed controls the flooding level. You can flood and drain it using an auto siphon within the growbed and running your pump continuously. You can also run the system with a continuously flooded grow bed using a standpipe in the bed. We have been running some trials of these three different methods here at Backyard Aquaponics and you can follow the results on our forum if you’d like to compare the different systems. At the time of writing this our trials have been running for over 12 months and in reality there’s been little difference at the end of the day between the three different systems. 

There were some differences in the early period but after 12 months there really is very little difference between them. If you’d like to read more about the Trials we ran with the different systems, we gave reports over 3 editions of the Backyard Aquaponics Magazine, with the final results summed up in the thirteenth edition. fish tank cabinet makersThis being the case I would recommend running your IBC system continuously flooded as we have set up our IBC system on this website.aquarium air pump sale Chift Pist systems are popular amongst the aquaponics DIY sector with many people. fish tank cabinet designsWater is pumped from the sump tank into the fish tank, this causes the water level in the fish tank to rise, flowing out into the growbed. best glass cleaner for fish tank

The growbed then drains into the sump tank before being pumped back to the fish again. Uses either an autosiphon within the growbed to flood and drain the growbed or run with the growbed constantly flooded. A SLO (Solids Lift Overflow) is normally incorporated into these systems, This means that the overflow pipe in the fish tank goes right down top the base of the fish tank where it will draw solids upfrom the bottom of the tank and deposit them into the growbed.fish tank for sale in stockport Not often set up with timers on the pump unless you have a very large sump as it requires a large capacity to top the fish tank and fill the growbed in a pumping cycle.  fish tank hood 60 x 30Not the simplest method of setting up a system because you have to incorporate a sump tank in your design, but:fish tank mesh top

Pump is in sump tank away from fish and wastes Water level in fish tank remains constant Great if you have a tall fish tank Larger water volume because of sump Extra equipment required (sump tank) Must have tall fish tank or stand can take up larger footprint limited running methods (no timer possible)cool fish tank pics Simple Flood and Draincheapest fish tanks in uk Simple flood and drain can be done a couple of ways, you can either have a standpipe in the growbed and timer on the pump, or you can use a siphon in the growbed. The debate over which method is better is a hotly debated topic and I think the answer is fairly simple, that each has advantages and disadvantages. Personally after playing with siphons on a few different systems I decided a long time ago that I didn’t want to use them, so all systems I make, use standpipes.

Only two major system components Pump in fish tank Water level in tank fluctuates a little What are standpipes you might ask? This is a standpipe. A stand pipe next to a drain fitting, then sitting in the drain fitting. By changing the length of the standpipe you can adjust the flooding level in the bed. If you want to flood the growbed to make caterpillars or slugs come up out of your media, then slipping a slightly longer piece of pipe over the end, or just a coupling fitting you can enable the bed to flood, causing all the pests to come up out of the media. If your media level in the bed drops over time then you can cut a little off the stand pipe, lowering the flood level in your bed There are two small holes in the bottom of the stand pipe, this allows the water to slowly drain out of the bed when the pumps off, hence the flooding and draining action. Looks a bit similar to the one above? Yes that’s because it is basically the same as the flood and drain system above, except that when you remove the timer from the system the grow bed remains constantly flooded.

Most importantly if this is getting a little confusing for you don’t worry about it, it can be difficult to conceptualize exactly how these things work, if you follow through our simple building and installation steps you’ll be able to build yourself an IBC aquaponic system in no time. If you’d like to learn more about the different methods of setting up and running your aquaponics system, then join the forum, you’ll find lots of information on the forum. A Physical Science Activity Laser light in a Water Tank This is a very nice set up to demonstrate both reflection and refraction. The many website references given in this activity serve as excellent background There are some fundamental rules to remember: Light travels in a straight line. Light intensity falls off as the square of the distance from the light In light reflection, the angle of incidence always equals the angle of reflection. In light refraction, light bends at the interface between two media.

we measure the angle from the perpendicular to the interface, the angle in the media with the higher index of refraction is the smallest. In an interface between two media, light may be both reflected and refracted. It is important for students to already understand reflection and refraction before doing this activity. Even though they should have already studied this in previous grades, they may have not retained much of their earlier understanding. If you feel they are unprepared, then it would be best to do a reflection and/or refraction activity before attempting the present activity. If you think a brief refresher would be satisfactory, then you can do that before beginning thisYou may use your own resources for a refresher, which may consist of demonstrations or computer simulations, for example. (Remember that a website in place today may be gone tomorrow!) Some excellent websites have suitable Light travels in a straight line.

We can see this by observing shadows from the sun or from bright lights. We can draw a straight line from the light source to the edge of the obstruction and note that the edge of the shadow is alongWe can think of light traveling in rays as if little bullets were moving along straight lines. This is the origin of the particle theoryWe can explain both reflection and refraction using the particle theory(Do activity with flashlight and holes in cards). Light traveling in a straight line: Total internal reflection occurs when light is passing through a medium (call it 1) like glass or plastic with an index of refraction n1. is a medium like air (call it 2) with an index of refraction n2. angles of incidence for light striking the interface and going from medium 1 to medium 2, light will not pass through the interface, but will be totally reflected inside medium 2. This occurs primarily when the light strikes a glancing blow on the interface.

For a thin material of medium 2, like a fiber, these angles will always be small, and the light will stay inside the fiber. process, called total internal reflection, leads to one of the most important technological applications of physical science, because most of our telecommunications now passes through fiber optic cables. These fibers can be made very small, and thousands of fibers can be attached together in a cable. Answers to Questions (Part I) Answers to Questions (Part II) Answers to Questions (Part III) To print out the Student Copy only, click I) Does Light Travel in a Straight Line? II) Light in a Test Tube III) Water Stream of Light 1. What do you observe happens in the stream of water? 2. Why does the light appear in the water stream? 3. Can you think of any application of this technique? To print out the Data Sheet of questions only, click A very nice and useful extension to do is to allow students to handle and use

You can obtain a sampler kit of fiber optics from Edmund Industrial Optics (Optical Grade Fiber Sampler, Catalog #K53-883 (year 2000) for $31; 101 East Gloucester Pike, Barrington, NJ 08007-1380, 800-363-1992). a range of sizes and lengths of fibers that have outer covering (called jacketed)The students can shine flashlights into one end and see light out the other end even when the fibers are turned at angles. them on top of overhead projectors and see light shining through. shine a laser pointer into the end, and it should come out the other end. must be careful when using laser pointers to not let either the direct light from the laser pointer or the light coming out of the fiber optic to shine inIt is fun to place various color filters over the flashlight and see that the colors will pass through the optical fibers. can be obtained from art supply stores. Some students may need help in handling the fish tank, putting water and creamer