A Bell Siphon is an elegant way to drain your grow bed in a flood and drain aquaponics system without using a timer to turn your pump on and off.
(Note: The design of this siphon assumes approximately 8″ of media depth. It will not work properly with less than 7″ or more than 10″)
Why use a siphon?
* No more timer – You will no longer need nor want a timer to control your pump. This eliminates:
– The cost of the timer
– The risk of timer failure
– The cost of the electricity needed to run the timer
* Pump runs continuously – Pumps that run continuously suffer less wear and tear. This may result in a longer pump life.
* More aeration -If you are diverting part of your water stream back into your fish tank for aeration, using a siphon to drain your beds will increase the aeration you deliver to your fish tank (since aeration based on diverting a portion of the water stream only works while your pump is running).
* Educational opportunity – A bell siphon is loaded with basic physics and with our window at the top of the Bell, you can see the physics in action. This creates a great opportunity to teach students about partial vacuums, low pressure, pressure equalization, the impact of flow rates on siphon performance, and the force behind it all – gravity.
