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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Bell Siphon - the Parts List

Folks have been asking for parts lists and drawings on how to put this together. So I've (finally!) put together a parts list, complete with links to the product pages for these bits on the Home Depot website. These are the links and prices in December 2011 - I'll try to update the links as they change over time.

Bernoulli Standpipe Inexpensive Bulkhead Fitting Coanda Discharge
Auto-siphon "Bell" Media Guard
All told, the parts add up to about $20 if you're just building a single Bell Siphon. If you build two of them, they come in at $14 apiece. Or if you get a bunch of friends together to build 10 of these, the price comes down to $9 apiece (because you'll buy the 10 foot long lengths of 2-inch and 3-inch pipe - economies of scale).


Small system I put together for a Feb 2012 science fair

Now that you've got the parts, here's how to put it together:


Installing the Bulkhead fitting (the grey conduit bits and O-ring)


Assembling the Standpipe, Bell, and Media Guard


Different Discharge Options (I like the 45 degree or Coanda Discharge)
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15 comments:

  1. John ReadFebruary 1, 2012 at 7:06 PM

    Very nice! Thanks. I'm just getting started and this page couldn't be more nicely done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meg StoutApril 6, 2013 at 7:36 PM

      John, an update. I ended up getting tapped to write The Complete Idiot's Guide to Aquaponic Gardening for Penguin Book Group. The book is now available for purchase at Amazon.com. It includes lots of DIY plans as well as everything I wished I could have found in a book back when I was starting out (which wasn't very long ago!). So far the reviews are good!

      Delete
  2. Meg StoutFebruary 1, 2012 at 7:51 PM

    Thanks - good luck with your system!

    ReplyDelete
  3. deanMay 5, 2012 at 6:50 PM

    Really helpful. Thank you for putting this together. Thanks to you, I will be building my system, tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownJuly 21, 2012 at 5:31 AM

    excellent post

    I was looking for this post for a long time

    thanks for posting

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownSeptember 3, 2012 at 1:27 AM

    wow

    excellent work, I was looking for such part for a long time

    I am sure this video will definitely help me a lot

    thanks

    ReplyDelete
  6. PaulDecember 27, 2012 at 6:51 AM

    Thanks for this - One thing, I think you forgot to put the reducer at the top of your stand pipe on your parts list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meg StoutDecember 27, 2012 at 9:34 AM

      Hi Paul,

      The "reducer" is the combination of the 1" slip to 3/4" male pipe thread (MPT) adapter and the 3/4 in. Sch. 40 PVC Pressure Slip x FPT Adapter. There isn't a simple 1" slip to 3/4" slip reducer available at my local hardware stores, not have I found one as I've traveled the country. The other two bits, however, are widely available.

      Delete
  7. UnknownMay 23, 2013 at 11:04 AM

    Meg, thanks for the info. I made my bell siphon according to your instructions, and it worked perfectly the first time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meg StoutMay 23, 2013 at 2:29 PM

      Glad to hear it worked well! Good luck with your system.

      Delete
  8. FilafalimaiJanuary 12, 2014 at 6:39 PM

    Logical and easy to follow...Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  9. FilafalimaiJanuary 12, 2014 at 6:53 PM

    Hi,
    Some sites are recommending filters be used because animal and plant detritus is aparently toxic to both plants and fish/crustaceans.
    What is your take on filters? I am only seeing htem being "pushed" now...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Meg StoutJanuary 13, 2014 at 1:15 PM

    Filters are a great idea, particularly if you have a lot of "dirty" fish, fish that produce a lot of solid waste. Folks who have high densities of fish, or who feed a lot (leaving significant amounts of uneaten food) particularly benefit from such filtration.

    You do want to be careful that you aren't filtering so much that you remove too much nutrition from your system.

    As media beds get clogged with stuff (roots, decaying leaves, etc.) these solids can also cause problems. One issue is the amount of oxygen these solids suck out of the water, to assist in decomposition. Two of the approaches I've seen for addressing this are: 1) avoiding media beds and using only floating rafts and 2) using a double bed so there are no fines retained in the grow bed. The double bed idea is something I believe Glenn Martinez developed, inspired by the large amount of fines he gets with scoria (lava rock).

    The detritus is not toxic if properly managed - this includes capturing the detritus in a portion of the system where they can be rendered back into mineral form (mineralization) and/or removed if excessive.

    ReplyDelete
  11. FilafalimaiJanuary 14, 2014 at 7:29 PM

    Lovely thanks, all the way from Timor-Leste (small young country but we have to already start thinking about food production)

    ReplyDelete

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