
RFF overflowing while moving bed drains fine
Hi,
I'm building a DIY aquaponics/pond filtration system and can't figure out this problem.
From right to left: a 600L radial flow filter (RFF), a 300L moving bed with K1, and three IBC bog filters.
Flow is:
Pond → 14,000 L/h pump → RFF → Moving Bed → Bog filters → Pond
The RFF and moving bed are connected with 2 × 63mm pipes. The moving bed also drains through 2 × 63mm pipes and maintains a perfect water level about 20cm below the top.
However, as soon as I turn the pump on, the RFF fills completely and overflows, while the moving bed level stays fine. If I seal the RFF airtight, pressure builds and it works, but obviously that's not how I want it to operate.
The RFF → moving bed pipes have a couple of 90° bends and drop about 50cm.
Why can't the RFF gravity-feed the moving bed fast enough when the moving bed itself drains perfectly through the same 2 × 63mm pipe size?
Thanks in advance,
Dwayne