Ebb and flow ( flood and drain) aquaponics system

A home built flood and drain grow bed. Notice the bell siphon in the foreground.

Flood and drain or ebb and flow explained

This is the system preferred by many backyard enthusiasts and is probably the easiest to set up. This system requires not extra filters or solid separators. The water is pumped directly from the fish tank to the grow beds. The grow beds usually filled with gravel or expanded clay pebbles (hydroton).

Flood and drain system have a lot of surface for the beneficial bacteria to grow that are necessary for the fish waste to converted to fertilizer (nitrogen)

Advantages of aquaponics flood and drain

1. No extra filtration is required, all of the solids are used in the grow bed

2. All the nutrients from the fish waste are used, therefore no mineralizers are needed.

3. You can grow just about anything in this type of system

Disadvantages of aquaponics flood and drain

1. With time the system can become clogged and will need to be cleaned.

 

A few different methods used to achieve the flood and drain effect include:

• Timed pump: Having the pump on a timer and a small drainage point in the grow bed, The pump stays on for a specific amount of time and when it shuts off the bed drains until the timer turns the pump back on.

• Flush valve system: Filling a container the same volume as the grow bed until it is full and a flush valved empties the container into the grow bed where it slowly drains out. This method it is very important to regulate the volume pumped as the grow bed needs to drain before the next flush.

• Bell siphon: This system involves the pump staying on all the time and when water in the grow bed get to a certain height the bed drains rapidly. When the bed is completely empty the siphon is broken and the bed begins to fill again.

 

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9/20/11