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03-01-2017, 08:50 PM #1
T-Tip#1 ... Simple Air Lift (updated).
I'm updating some of my info posts and making them easier to find ...
This Air Lift has worked flawlessly from day one and can easily be scaled up to suit larger ponds:
After getting asked by a few people for details of a simple reliable Air Lift, I'll put the basics in this thread (the principles of this design were originally shown to me by "Headlight" from the Koimag forum and I have developed it further for my own requirements), the original was working perfectly for him and my version has been exactly the same for me, you can scale it to whatever volume of water you have.
Here is the Airlift in place with the air hose entering the top of the drive pipe (just to the side of the left hand air pump):
12mm OD/8mm ID ... standard PVC air hose is used, my drive pipe is 2" waste (975mm in overall height, with 600mm of exposed pipe between the t-pieces). The part below the bottom t-piece is just long enough for the air stone to sit just below the water inlet ... build from the bottom up (all parts from Toolstation):
**** NOTE**** The most crucial part of the air lift system is getting the return outlet exactly level with the water surface ... so there is no extra pumping head for the water *****
Apart from that it's almost too easy ...
Air stone (30 x 130mm) was modded to allow better flow around the collar and drilled out to 8mm to reduce pump back pressure:
This pic will help explain clearly ... the modded stone is then simply fixed on the end of the air tubing (I use a small cable tie for extra security round the tube at the stone hose tail) and dropped to the bottom of the Drive Pipe from the top. The green "stoppers" in the tops of the tubes in the first picture are pieces of foam kneeling mat and are just there to stop water drops splashing out of the top of the Air Outlets. They have nothing to do with performance.
When I'm cleaning my static K1 filter I re-route the air from the pump that drives the Air Llift to "boil" up the k1 before flushing so the air pump has a dual purpose.
Air lifts are as simple as it gets, a length of vertical pipe with an air stone in the bottom ... water is lifted up the pipe by the bubbles until it reaches it's easiest first horizontal route of escape (the pond return).
They use much less power than water pumps, don't burn out if they run dry, oxygenate the water to an extent and also act as a foam fractionator. It's win,win,win! ... can't think on any drawbacks to using an airlift.
As for flow rates it seems that (1000GPH for 2" pipe 975mm in length) and (2500GPH for 4" pipe 1500mm in length) are good ballpark figures for smooth flow (these are minimum lengths for useable performance ... the longer the better) .... as you can see by the lengths air lift "pits" are required to be planned in for best performance ... they can be difficult to retro fit if you have e.g. a concrete filter house/pit floor.
For larger pond volumes you could just add extra drive pipes and fabricate a manifold for a single return to the pond.
Here's a couple of pics showing the position of the return outlet (bottom of pipe level with water surface).
The pipe end was open at first but I heard a bit of splashing/flapping one day and turned to see the tail of one of my more "ambitious" goldfish sticking out of the pipe ... he'd managed to get right into it and was swimming like mad but couldn't get any further ... after that I put a grating on ... I imagine Orfe would love a go at this LOL ...
This air lift was retro fitted .... it's a lot easier to plan them in while doing initial construction ...
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14-01-2017, 03:59 PM #2
For what purpose do you use your airlift for Trace....
You get what you pay for...
https://www.koiforum.uk/water-treatme...y-easypod.html
https://www.koiforum.uk/water-treatme...tom-drain.html
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Trace Thanked / Liked this Post
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14-01-2017, 04:41 PM #3
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14-01-2017, 07:43 PM #4You get what you pay for...
https://www.koiforum.uk/water-treatme...y-easypod.html
https://www.koiforum.uk/water-treatme...tom-drain.html
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14-01-2017, 07:51 PM #5
There's not much to it:
Water leaves the Fluid Bed Filter ... through U.V. ... then drops to the bottom of the Air Lift and is pumped back up to the pond by the bubbles in the Air Lift drive pipe ... the water that is pumped is replaced by gravity and so the water flows round the entire system.
You don't get any simpler than an Air Lift.
If your more specific about what you want to know then I can go into more detail ...
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Ant62 Thanked / Liked this Post
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16-01-2017, 04:59 PM #6
This is a really neat way of moving water! Thanks for the thread Trace.
Do you know if an airlift would work on a skimmer line? It should do right? 😯
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16-01-2017, 05:07 PM #7
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16-01-2017, 05:17 PM #8
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16-01-2017, 05:21 PM #9
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16-01-2017, 05:46 PM #10
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16-01-2017, 06:16 PM #11
I'll be interested to see it ...
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16-01-2017, 08:20 PM #12You get what you pay for...
https://www.koiforum.uk/water-treatme...y-easypod.html
https://www.koiforum.uk/water-treatme...tom-drain.html
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Trace Thanked / Liked this Post
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16-01-2017, 09:07 PM #13
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16-01-2017, 09:14 PM #14
Trace this is what I'm currently thinking of doing,
Current questions are..
- will I get good flow from the BD and the skimmer if they are connected like this
- would it be better to run the skimmer on a separate line to get more flow (possibly over a shower)
- the max I can pull from the nexus and draco is 12,000 L/H (12m^3) , so I'm aiming for about 10,000 L/H (10m^3) with a pipe depth of about 1.6m would 40 l/min be too much? (roughly)
And I think that's it
Thanks again for your help 😊😊
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Trace Thanked / Liked this Post
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16-01-2017, 09:26 PM #15
Clean water is not a necessity for an Air Lift ... just good practice in a pond environment where only limited practical lengths of pipe can be used.
Air Lifts are used for commercial dredging ... but IMO there are better ways of moving dirty water in a pond.
I think Air Lifts are best used to return water after filtration in a pond system because of the length of pipe that would be required to get strong enough suction to reliably move solids ...
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GeorgeReid, Ant62 Thanked / Liked this Post
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16-01-2017, 10:08 PM #16
If you want to split the BD and skimmer that's up to you ...
I can maybe help you make the decision though with some relevant figures for the length of Drive Pipe you have space for ...
Ok .... what matters for the Air Lift is the length and diameter of the Drive Pipe and how much flow the system can provide by gravity to the bottom of it. Remember an Air Lift made with the short lengths of pipe we're talking about here cannot "pull" the same as a pump can ... but they will lift "what they can get" delivered by gravity.
So you have a possible 1600mm Drive Pipe with a 3" Diameter driven by a 40L/M Air Pump.
I don't have exact figures for that but I do know someone that was getting a reliable 2500 UK GALLONS/Hr with a 1500mm Drive Pipe of 4" Diameter ... with a 40L/m Air Pump.
So I would expect your Lift to be at least that or maybe even more with the 100mm extra length ... every little addition counts.
2500 G/H = 11,365L/H ... so I think your circumstances are excellent for having a go with one ...
It's dead easy to test ... build your Drive Pipe (cheap as chips if you go 4") ... drop an Air Stone down it pumping 40L/M ... shove it in your pond with the Outlet level with the pond surface and measure the flow rate with a bucket with a Litre scale on the inside and a stopwatch ....
Remember and use 12mm OD/8mm ID air line and drill out your Drive Pipe air stone inlets to 7mm as detailed and pictured in my T-Tip#11 DIY pressure release vent post ...
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16-01-2017, 10:42 PM #17
Cheers for the reply,
Yeah I'm still undecided about joining the skimmer to the nexus but I can always try it and see how it goes.
Those figures are looking like they will work out nicely though! I will definitely be adding a flow meter onto the pipe so I can get the exact reading.
Unfortunately my pond is currently only 3ft deep so I can't do the test, but I think I might go for the 4 inch pipe over the 3 inch then just turn the air down if need be.
The only sad thing is that I won't be able to report back until this winter as that's when the rebuild starts 🙁🙁
But thanks again for your help trace 👍👌
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17-01-2017, 12:53 AM #18
Go 4" and buy the pipe and fittings over the counter at your local Toolstation for best value ....
What is your pond volume?
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17-01-2017, 08:14 AM #19
Yeah good idea, also makes it easier to take anything I don't use back.
I'm planning on making it approx 3000 gallons
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17-01-2017, 10:20 AM #20You get what you pay for...
https://www.koiforum.uk/water-treatme...y-easypod.html
https://www.koiforum.uk/water-treatme...tom-drain.html
Best plants to remove Nitrate
pug has a very impressive veg filter on his pond, have a look at some of his his youtube videos....