18 Reasons Why Air Lift Pumps Will Revolutionise Aquaponics

Not bad, seen it before. Glenn Martinez lifts water much higher that that. It is all good. Much still to be discovered I feel.

Hi, depends on demand.
Earliest would be for our March 2016 class here in Brisbane.

Hi Frank,
Thanks for your post but I have held the content over until I check with Glenn M.

Posted by Murray from an email sent by Glenn Martinez and published with his permission.

Ah, it almost 3am…..I will try to respond to Frank…….

18 reasons why air lift pumps make so much sense and why you should seriously consider this methodology for your Aquaponics system. (Yes your home Aquaponics system will benefit as well)
Here is the list. Glenn responds in Blue..

Frank: Glenn:
1. No more submersible pumps.

Okay.. I will restate this….airlifts are viable alternative to submersible pumps….a method to rid ourselves of them or Turbo them for increased performance and head.

2. Lower install cost….

It is not just the purchase cost of the pump…it is the cost of installing the GFI or safety outlet and protective float switches to prevent running dry.

3. No need for additional Earth Leakage Safety cut out switch. (GFI outlet) Higher safety threshold.

4. So simple even school children can do the install.
We have school children drilling the pipe and assembling them in competition in minutes. The kids understand WAY faster than adults!

5. Virtually maintenance free.

6. No moving parts. K.I.S.S.

7. Easily pump solids.

8. Stock separation.

9. Increase water lift.

10. Save electrical energy cost.

11. Go way beyond common lift provided by a regular submersible.

12. Pump higher than ever before.
It seems to be is accept fact in literature and practice at colleges that airlifts are only practical for a maximum of 24 inches! We have posted YouTubes of water pumped 24 foot! We do four foot head and pump 1200 gallons er hour with a 60 watt air compressor (Hakko diaphragm)

13. Turbo drive your water pump.
Not a slogan….the Turbo is our design of adding air immediately above a submersible pump…..for GREATLY added height, twice what the submersible could do alone. We have posted YouTube videos of this and demonstrated a submersible pump and air lift “Turbo” at Murray’s March one day training. Folks built them and took them home. We pumped 15 o 20 feet high with the “Turbo Submersible/airlift combo"

14. Turbo drive aeration.
We use compressed air to lift water up to 25 foot, we have tested the water in the tank (using Nitrogen to drive the Oxygen down to less than 1ppm and run the pump, shooting up 12 to 15 feet and collecting the water in a down pipe, and testing it and having raising the water 2ppm in a single pass. We ran the test for 5 minutes and raised the reading to 7ppm. That was in a 75 gallon tank pumping 400 gallons per hour.

15. Verticals easily supplied, such as Zip Grow towers or Greenlife Pocket towers. (this feature alone is amazing)

16. Repair and replacement costs greatly reduced.

17. Very long service life.
The intake filter in our airlift compressors are checked every 90 days…..submerged water pumps every day. We have 7 year old air compressors, only rebuilt 3 in the seven years….customers, not ours. Theirs were 2 to 5 years old and fixed for $40. We throw out most submersibles, because the housing the secures the back bearing is worn out. We can replace the front, the impelller and such, but once the housing is good, trash it.

18. Never run dry.
No airlift is damaged by running dry not is the pump stained or overheated, it just idles till water returns. No switches or float valves. Air lifts can be dropped into a two inch sump well, hard to get protective switches in a two to four inch well.

Franks conclusions: Glenn responds in italics...

conclusion 1: all points mentioned in favor of airlift pumps are sloganesk
Wow, slogans….just abbreviate text, such as Turbo (see our Patent drawing book) and Never Run Dry…sound like slogan….simple truths.

conclusion 2: unless airlift pump manufacturers procure real (measured, not guessed) performance data and show these in a regular pump chart, they will never obtain credibility.
Show me accurate specs on air compressors and water pumps!!! Good luck!! We test most of our pumps by measuring ACTUAL pumping speed by filling a nice gallon bucket and timing it! We test at a minimum 12 inch, 24 inch, 36” and 48” and publish our results and performance. We even post videos on YouTube of us doing the performance tests!
We would welcome someone funding the testing and documenting the pumps. It takes time and money. We have published many videos of our actual tests

conclusion 3: I am not satisfied with only 3,85 to 6.41% energy efficiency
I would like you to share how you come up with these efficiency numbers without running an airlift and measuring it’s performance

conclusion 4: The only true arguments remaining for airlift pumps are simplicity and electric safety.
Wow, what happened to picking up solids? no electrical installation costs? added aeration? Only ONE Pump in the system, the airlift pumps the water and provides the aeration! everyone else has TWO pumps, one water, one air for the fish to breathe! Long life? Less wear and tear? Not being outside getting stolen? Salt water and corrosive environments not an issue with PVC airlifts and no moving parts? Never being damaged by running dry? We use airlifts to transport baby shrimp, baby fish and do it without damaging them…..what submersible pump can have life fish or shrimp go thru it? What submersible pump can you pour 1/2 inch rocks and 3 inch leaves thru without damage or concern?

Thanks for your kind words Benjamin. Yes, we are still here and Aquaponics is getting stronger and stronger. Aquaponics is now seen to be the wonderful food production system that it is.

Yes, we wre working on that. Takes ages to put that kind of thing together between the normal daily activities.....but, yes working on it for sure.

Hi Scott,
I go to Perth twice a year. I was there in September so maybe in the next few months we can go back and run a one day training. Is that what you had in mind?

Regards

Sorry, I live in Australia, where is the "Lower 48"? Is Texas included in that?

Well, thanks for commenting. I am always amused by the 40-year claim. I am sure that very soon it may reach 50 years. Many people think that longevity is a proof of authenticity. He actually has a patent pending last time I checked. Anyway, good on them, and thanks for the info. I was only a few minutes ago watching a YouTube clip by one of my students who first attended my training class 6 years ago in Florida. He says he has been doing AP for 10 years. Amazing. By the time he has been doing it for 12 years he will be able to claim 20.
Anyway, may their fish taste good and their veggies grow rapidly.

Hi Simon,
Sunday session might suit you. See the bottom of the page of the booking button for the sunday session.
8:30 registration for 9:00 start
Regards
Murray

Hi Ranga,
Really low cost, that is so true. Glad you noticed that. Glenn Martinez has really perfected the methodology and is one of the very few true innovators in the world of Aquaponics.

Hi Mick, We are developing and on-line video based Master Class course so perhaps that will be good for you. Keep an eye on the newsletters or put your name down to be informed on progress. You will see a link in the newsletter about that.
Regards