This difference in height forces the water to pull from the bottom of the tank to reach the top of the overflow pipe. In my system, this is a 4 inch PVC pipe that fits around my overflow pipe and rises around 4-5 inches higher than the top of the overflow pipe. If its not open to the atmosphere at the top, a siphon will form and can completely drain the tank- defeating the purpose of installing an SLO. The solids lifting pipe is open to the atmosphere at the top so as not to form a siphon with the overflow pipe. In my system, I do this by simply casing the overflow pipe with a larger pipe. So, in order to create a SLO from a simple overflow, we must install another pipe to feed the overflow pipe that pulls from the bottom of the tank. The overflow pipe alone can set our tank water level, but pulls the water from the top of the tank, leaving the solids to collect on the bottom. This is a great failsafe measure for any aquaponic or aquaculture practitioner who doesn’t want to come home to a tank full of dead fish left high and dry. Unless there is a hole somewhere else in my tank, the water in my tanks can only drain to the top of my overflow pipe. Because it is sealed into my drainage system at the bottom, this pipe sets the water level in my tanks. This pipe drains down, directly into my drainage system. The overflow pipe is on the inside of my casing in my SLOs. In my system, I have a large outer pipe that forms the solids lifting pipe, and an inner pipe that is the overflow pipe. There are many different ways to arrange these pipes to get the same effect, but fundamentally all SLOs operate on the same principle. The SLO typically consists of two pipes- a drain/overflow pipe and a casing or solids lifting pipe, or one pipe that water flows up, and one pipe that water flow down to drain. Unless water is pulled from the bottom of the reservoir, where all of the heavy solids are collecting, the system can get fouled in a hurry.Įnter the Solids Lifting Overflow. The same thing happens in hydroponic catchments, sumps, aquaponic and aquaculture fish tanks and ponds. These solids also consume a lot of oxygen as they decay, making life tough for aquatic organisms that need lots of dissolved oxygen. The drawback to this arrangement is that solids that flow down the stream are captured behind the dam, eventually filling in the pond until it is muddy and shallow. This is very useful for the beaver because he needs a pond with a relatively constant height to survive. The height of the dam sets the height of the water behind it. The water fills the area behind the dam and eventually runs over the top of the dam. An SLO combines the benefits of an overflow (setting a constant water height) with the benefits of pulling water off of the bottom of the tank, pond, or reservoir (removing settled solids).Īn overflow is very simple- imagine a beaver dam across a stream. SLOs or Solids Lifting Overflows are a wonderful resource for aquaponic and hydroponic growers, aquaculturists, and anyone with a koi pond. SLOs lift solids and keep water level constant
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