si22n017 hitps:/univorsity.upstartfarmers, comPbloglsizing-s-pump-for-hydroponics-or-aquaponics Sizing a Pump for Hydroponics or Aquaponics - Upstart University Home AboutUs ¥ Opportunities Courses &Resources » Help Center & FAQ Blog @ SHOP NOW LOGIN Sizing a Pump for Hydroponics or Aquaponics by Amy Storey | Sep 9, 2016 | Materials & Equipment | 13 comments SIZING A PUMP FOR HYDROPONIGS & AQUAPONICS Sizing a pump? First decide what type of pump you need. So you're building a system. You're ordering materials, and all that's left for you to do is to order a pump. You open the web browser, go to the pumps listed on the online shop and there are: = sump pumps = air pumps Upstart University a + submersible pumps * inline pumps. a6si22n017 Sizing a Pump for Hydroponics or Aquaponics - Upstart University Which kind and which size should you get? 2%, Pump sizing varies based on whether you're using hydroponics or aquaponics, your overall system size, and the type of hydroponic or aquaponic system you're running (the types covered in this post are DWC, NFT, media bed, Bato bucket, and ZipGrow Towers). Read on to learn about different types of pumps. Inline vs submersible pumps The two main categories of pumps that you will be choosing from are inline and submersible pumps. Submersible pumps are cooled by the water and sized in GPH. These sit directly in the water of a tank or gutter and pump water through a fitting (and hose that you attach) from the top of the pump. Submersible pumps are limited in power and are only suitable for systems with a total GPH need of 1200 or less. This fits most hobby systerns, display systems, and very small commercial systems, Inline pumps are air-cooled, sit outside of your tank, and are typically suited best for larger (50 or 100+ tower) operations. Inline pumps typically have more a power, which is measured not in the volume of water that they can move like submersible pumps, but in Sy horsepower, HP. Q) The term “sump pump’ refers to a pump that moves water from one sump tank to another or is used for turbulence and mixing nutrients inside one sump. tank. These help with consistency and can help with oxygenation. We use submersible pumps for this. An air pump may be used to pump low volumes of air at a high pressure, usually for aerating water. Aeration is important to supplying oxygen to root zones and avoiding anaerobic decomposition. Seedling carts with fertilizer solutions may benefit from an air pump, for example. Peristaltic pumps are small pumps that are most often used in auto-dosing Most auto-dosing systems come with the pumps. You can buy both main pump types on our online shop. 3 steps to sizing a pump hitps:/univorsity.upstartfarmers, comPbloglsizing-s-pump-for-hydroponics-or-aquaponics 216si22n017 Sizing a Pump for Hydroponics or Aquaponics - Upstart University aquaponic growers. In order to determine the best pump for your system, you'll need to do three things: 1, Calculate the GPH (gallons per hour) that your pump will be moving 2, Measure the head height of your system 3. Combine these two value using the chart that comes with the pump If you start feeling overwhelmed at any point during this post, just ask a question in the chat box on the right side of the screen! We've put together two tables for both hydroponics and aquaponics to help anyone sizing a pump for your system: HYDROPONICS ow rate GPH Fotar cra TipGrow Towers | 7 GPH por Tower =T# of towenyfiow rate GPAY OWE Tank vorne mh gallonsTie tat vole) (row rate GPF [Media Beds | Bea volume gallons 1-5 eaTre FI¥ of beas}fiow rate GPA wT 4:5 GPA per rough =(¥ of roughay Flow rate GPH Bato Bueken | 2GPH perbuceer F[v of pucker) Row rate GPHy ‘AQUAPONICS ora Total GFA TipGrow Towers |7 GPiiper Tower = Faw vale GP =1¢¢ towers ow ate GP] + (lumover GPH) si tank vole gaat Tarnover GPA DWE Tani vornein galht= Row rae GP [Qe DWC Tansy ow aie GPT] + luTever GPA a tank vole ga or Dh = Tonaver GP [Media Beck [Bed vciome gal 3 Frex/tv=fowraie GP |=[{@ bedi low ale GPA + [lumaver GPA) an tank vane GBITzI = Tamover GPR Nr Tyaroponies ony We aio Buckets | Tyaroponics only nie Let's go through the 3 steps to sizing a pump; welll use a ZipGrow Tower system as an example. Step 1: Calculate the required GPH Pumps will almost always have a gallons per hour (GPH) rating that tells you how many gallons of water that pump will move every single hour. Obviously, places that favor the metric system will use liters per hour. (You can use the same equations, just remember that if you change one unit you have to change all of them.) hitps:/univorsity.upstartfarmers, comPbloglsizing-s-pump-for-hydroponics-or-aquaponics 36si22n017 Sizing a Pump for Hydroponics or Aquaponics - Upstart University YOUF Total GFH IS tne TlOW rate tIMes tne UNITS WIIN that TloW rate, In hydroponics with ZipGrow Towers, you want to run two gallons of water through each tower every hour. This means that the number of gallons per hour is essentially the number of towers, times 2. So you end up with a gallons per hour (GPH) for hydroponics equation like this: (where t=towers) (tx 2) = GPH This is the equation for a ZipGrow system. Ifyou had 3 DWC system, on the other hand, the equation would be (total volume}iflow rate GPH)-total GPH *Tip: You'll also have a bit of extra water in your sump- a good rule is to add fifty gallons for the sump. Example (DWC): DWC hydroponic system with two 500 gallon tanks. Example (Media bed): 400 gallon media bed system with a 2/hr turnover and a 60 gallon fish tank. Calculating GPH for aquaponics Now imagine that our example is ZipGrow Towers in aquaponics. In aquaponics, you'll want to run between seven and ten gallons of water through each tower every hour. Since you've got the fish tanks as well, you also need to factor in the fish tank gallons. You'll also be turning over the fish water twice every hour, so the gallons per hour for aquaponics equation looks like this: (where t=towers) gal . (1x72) + (fish tank vol. x 2) = GPH This is the equation for a ZipGrow system. If you were running a media bed system, the equation would be [(number of beds)(Flow rate GPH)] + (Turn over GPH) = Total GPH Run your system type and size through the appropriate calculation using the tables above. Keep your GPH number on hand; next we're talking about head height. Step 2: Measure system head height hitps:/univorsity.upstartfarmers, comPbloglsizing-s-pump-for-hydroponics-or-aquaponics anesi22n017 Sizing a Pump for Hydroponics or Aquaponics - Upstart University heights, Whether you're still using a traditional horizontal grow bed model or NFT or ZipGrow Towers, you'll still need to move water vertically from your fish tank to your beds, troughs, or Towers. To compensate for the height, we use a measurement called head height. Head height is the distance between the top of your grow bed (or ZipGrow Tower) and the top of the water in your tank. You won't need a calculation for this. Just measure the length between the water line in your sump and the exit point of your irrigation (in a ZipGrow system, the exit point is the drip lines above your Towers). DRIP LINE HEAD HEIGHT: 6S feet For example: if you have an in-ground sump and the water line is one foot below ground level, and you're irrigating your Towers 5.5 feet above ground, your head height is 6.5 feet. Step 3: Combine GPH and head height All pumps will come with a chart similar to this one: hitps:/univorsity.upstartfarmers, comPbloglsizing-s-pump-for-hydroponics-or-aquaponics 516si22n017 ‘Sing a Pump for Hydroponics or Aquapanics - Upstart University ° 20 40 6008001000200 1409 GH This chart is going to be your cheat sheet for pumps. This one specifically matches the strength of Active Aqua pumps, and other pump brands will corne with their own chart, (Make sure you're using the right chart for your type of pump! Inline pumps and submersible pumps function differently.) Using the GPH you calculated and your head height, find the pump that matches your needs. Pump efficiency at different head heights is almost never a linear relationship (again, check out the example on our pumps). Sizing an inline pump: use the same 3 steps Inline pumps will also have GPH or GPM listed and come with a curve that shows the GPH and head height intersections, This means that the sizing an inline pump requires the same steps as sizing a submersible pump. One note is that if you're running a large operation, then you'll probably want to order a pump with extra power so that you don't have to buy a new one when you scale up. Ifyou're having trouble sizing a pump for a large operation, please get in touch with our farm guides. They can help you outfit your system, figure out plumbing, and much more. oS Oe Remember: Systems vary! hitps:/university.upstarfarmers, comPbloglsizing-s-pump-for-hydroponics-or-aquaponics 616si22n017 Sizing a Pump for Hydroponics or Aquaponics - Upstart University shoot a little long, or fall a little short of this recommendation, everything will probably be just fine, just remember that every aquaponics or hydroponics system out there varies considerably. Whether it’s the plumbing, system design, grow media, etc., every system is different and required GPH can vary because of it. Ifyou are growing aquaponically, you must be exchanging your water fast enough to maintain a good level of dissolved oxygen in your system. This is crucial to healthy fish! Plan on 15-30% loss in efficiency When researching GPH and various head heights for your own application, remember that you'll be moving water through what could be quite a long length of hose. That said, the further your system volume travels, the lower your pumps efficiency will be, and that could mean a decreased GPH or overall system performance. While it's possible to do the efficiency calculations here, it's much more simple just to eyeball it and calculate anywhere from a 15% to 30% loss of efficiency (this of course depends on your plumbing and system design). See how Dr. Nate sizes pumps for ZipGrow systems: Related posts: hitps:/univorsity.upstarfarmers, comPbloglsizing-s-pump-for-hydroponics-or-aquaponics 76si22n017 Sizing a Pump for Hydroponics or Aquaponics - Upstart University sterilize Hydroponic | filter ina Ziprarm | Hydroponic Pump. Water: Filtration Sized in Horsepower Manifold 13 Comments David Bishop on September 16, 2016 at 1:45 pm Thanks for share this information. Taco Supporter on December 1, 2016 at 853 am Some good information, but could you please talk about the tacos? I think it very offensive that you discriminate against tacos by not even mentioning them in this article, #tacolivesmatter Amy Storey on December 1, 2076 at 330 pm Thanks for bringing this to our attention! After thoughtful consideration, the team here can all agree that sizing your pump appropriately allows you to grow better, crisper, more delicious lettuce for topping the greatest food ever invented- the taco. So make sure your sump is correctly sized or tacos everywhere will suffer. Yilliang Peng on February 13, 2017 at 1:46 pm Iwas unaware that there are so many different kinds of pumps. Being a student interested in post-apocalyptic scenarios, this is vital information to figure out how to pump water out of the ground. With this, you shouldn't have to worry about purchasing water! Thanks for all the information! chris on February 18, 2017 at 7:04 am hitps:/univorsity.upstartfarmers, comPbloglsizing-s-pump-for-hydroponics-or-aquaponics anesi22n017 Sizing a Pump for Hydroponics or Aquaponics - Upstart University also known as delivery/lift head, suction head is also important for inline pumps as they are designed to only lift water from a certain maximum depth (depending on pump model/type all are different)the deeper the lift, below pump the lower the flow. all pumps work best when source is above ‘the inlet of pump example pump is same height as bottom of water tank. remember to allow extra for flow drop from fittings,hose & bends in hose also a hose bend of 90degrees has less flow drop than a 90deg elbow fitting. so the less fittings, hose etc the better. i do pump repairs and maintenance for a living. Gabe on June 28, 2017 at 4:33 am Hil You mention flow rate in a few of your examples, but you don't elaborate on how to extract this parameter. Hoping you could elaborate on this? Thanks! Amy Storey on July 3, 2017 at 859 am Hey Gabe, to find out your flow rate, look at the table that lists “flow rate GPH" and “total GPH". The total GPH is the number that you plug into the second part of the equation. Hendrik on August 13, 2017 at 1-30 pm ‘Thank you for the useful video's and information. Ineed some help if you will be so kind. | bought a 225 Gph, 5 bar inline pump, head height of 30 meter. Is this more ideal for a hydroponic or aquaponic system? | would like to start with a one pump split flow, Zip Grow, whether hydroponic or aquaponic system. Is this pump too strong for a hydroponic, because | only need 5.6 ft head height? | would like to start simple, say with a hydroponic and extend later, but | assume i need to reduce some pressure and can do that with aquaponics? hitps:/univorsity.upstartfarmers, comPbloglsizing-s-pump-for-hydroponics-or-aquaponics 96si22n017 Sizing a Pump for Hydroponics or Aquaponics - Upstart University pump. Ifit’s too much at first, you can control flow with valves. Plus if you want to expand the system down the road, you don't have to order another pump. MJ on September 7, 2017 at 7:00 pm Does controlling the flow with valves hurt the pump? Amy Storey on September 18, 2017 at 7:07 am Hey Mj, not in most situations - it will just reduce pump efficiency. Robby on August 18, 2017 at 8:25 am So | have a spring that runs at about 50 gallons per day that | would like to run into a 500 gallon tank and as the start of my hydroponic system, Everything I've read looks like you need a complete turn over of the water, in this case 500 gallons, every hour! What is the down side if!| use just the flow from my spring? Amy Storey on August 24,2017 at 223 pm Hey Robby, to clarify, turnover refers to cycling your water through your system and filtration rather than draining and replacing. SO gallons a day will probably be fine to top it off, depending on systern size, but it's a good idea to keep a reservoir full in case you need a lot of water, fast (say you have a leak or contaminated water) It good to have a water test done when you're starting a system so you can spot potential issues. If your water comes from limestone, for example, you could have pH issues. hitps:/univorsity.upstartfarmers, comPbloglsizing-s-pump-for-hydroponics-or-aquaponics 1016si22n017 Sizing a Pump for Hydroponics or Aquaponics - Upstart University outlined in previous posts, there are two main types of pumps, each appropriate for different sized systems. 2, How To Choose a Hydroponic Pump Sized in Horsepower - Upstart University - [..J you're building a hydroponic or aquaponic system, and have done the calculations to size a pump. Let's imagine that. Search UPSTART BEGINNER FARMERS: We aa TRAIN & PLAN IN UPSTART UNIVERSITY Welcome! Welcome to Upstart University, the e-learning platform for aspiring farmers like you to plan, build, and operate your farm. Want more information? 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