Reddit reviews Homasy 400GPH Submersible Pump 25W Ultra Quiet Fountain Water Pump with 5.9ft Power Cord, 2 Nozzles for Aquarium, Fish Tank, Pond, Hydroponics, Statuary

I intend to cover it with more of the black walnut that's used above, but in a Japanese shoji lamp-style, so there will be a lamp at the bottom.

Basics of the setup:

• Grow area: 3" PVC pipes with 2" net cups spaced every few inches. The pipes have water running to each row and can be detached separately for cleaning.
  
• Overflow gutter: 4" PVC pipes cut lengthwise hold the 3" PVC pipes so that in the event of an overflow, the water goes into these gutters.
  
• Overflow + pipe routing: The overflow gutters are part of a frame that contains the supply lines (going up on the left) and the drainage lines (going down the right). Any overflow will go into the frame and down into the reservoir.
  
• Reservoir: 4" PVC pipes with enough capacity to hold 2x the water capacity of the 3" pipes up above. Not visible in the picture is a ball valve to drain the system for refilling. You can kinda see it in the bottom right of this IMAGE. I mounted it to the wall with heavy-duty brackets.
  
• Lights: These and these are mounted on the underside of the wooden covers.
  
• Pump: This
  
  The grow area is physically separate from the reservoir so I can detach and clean it. Some have critiqued the design for not being true NFT, saying that water remains in the system; and also because the channels are not square. So there are surely design improvements that can be made.
  
  The wood is black walnut that I coated in teak oil; and are slid onto brackets I made so that (in case of leakage) I can pull them right off without unscrewing anything.

I use something similar with great success.

Use this pump https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LHC8UX8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

along with an old 5 gallong igloo cooler like this https://www.lowes.com/pd/Igloo-5-Gallon-Plastic-Beverage-Cooler/999949202

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I pre-chill around 5 gallons of water the night before in my fermentation chamber freezer down to as cold as i can get it, so that the water is ice cold.

When it comes time to chill the wort, i run the ice cold water first but rather than re-circulating right away i dump the initial really hot water out into another bucket until i have about a gallon to a gallon and a half left in the igloo cooler.

i then add start recirculating the warm water into the cooler and add a bag of ice.

Gets me down to ale pitch temperatures within 15 mins and i only use 5 gallons of water plus a bag of ice to chill around 5.5-6 gallons of wort. If brewing a lager i need to use 2 bags of ice to get down to about 50F.

That's pretty much the definition of a well pump. About $100 bucks for the cheapest one, which should serve you fine.

https://www.amazon.com/Happybuy-Submersible-0-5HP-Stainless-Industrial/dp/B07JV8B3V2/

It's literally made to be dropped down a well and operate while completely submerged. That tank won't even come close to straining the pump. Even the cheap ones can lift 150 feet.

Heck, if you don't really need pressure or a fast flow, you could even just use a submersible fountain pump.

https://www.amazon.com/Homasy-Submersible-Fountain-Aquarium-Hydroponics/dp/B01LHC8UX8/

That one is $20 and will lift 7 feet, which looks like it might even be enough for your needs.

Edit: You could also get a "transfer pump" for about $50

https://www.amazon.com/VIVOSUN-Transfer-Utility-Impeller-Gasket/dp/B07R7V1HJW/

It has the advantage that you can actually install it inside the cabin. The disadvantage is that it needs to be primed (filled with water) before it works, and if the hose between the transfer pump and the water source gets air in it, you need to prime it again. So you'll need to install a one-way valve after the pump to ensure water can't drain out. It's also limited to a rise of a maximum of about 33 feet, possibly less depending on the strength of the pump. That's the limit for raising water by pulling it from the top (rather than pushing from the bottom, like submersible pumps do). But, again, that doesn't look like it will be much of a limitation for this specific application.

Sounds like you have a liebig condenser. Shotgun condensers have multiple internal tubes, to shorten the condenser length while keeping more surface area.

In my experience (I've used all 3), the liebig sounds like the best option... mostly because you already have it, but also because my liebigs work better than a worm with a flakestand.

Get a quieter (aquarium) pump and keep the water flowing constantly. When your condenser heats up and cools down repeatedly you will upset the balance of the system and run less efficiently. Your outer tube on the liebig is oversized, so you'll only need very little cooling water flow.

Something like this should be plenty...

https://www.amazon.com/Homasy-Submersible-Fountain-Aquarium-Hydroponics/dp/B01LHC8UX8

Album here, sorry for the crappy phone pics.

This was my first time using this setup as well as my first time using this pump, but I think it worked pretty well. The flow rate was definitely good enough for my needs, but it took a while to cool because I ran out of ice pretty quickly. Link to it here.

I'm in a similar situation to you. My setup is that I have one of these little pumps: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LHC8UX8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have a bucket filled with water from my tap (that I carried over). At the start of the chilling phase I run water from that bucket through the chiller to another waste bucket (don't recirculate at this stage). After a few minutes, I add a couple bags of ice to the water source and start recirculating (I move the output hose from the waste bucket to the source bucket). Also top up the water a bit (and make sure you run the pump on the lowest flow rate).

I also have an immersion chiller with connections for a garden hose. I have since removed the garden hose connection and hook it up to a submersible pump in a cooler of ice and water. For me, it works considerably faster than having it hooked up to the hose. That could be due to warmer ground water temps where I live though.

This is the pump, and yeah just put a "T" to send the water up both sides. I would recommend it. It works great.

doesn't need to be anything fancy. something like this should work fine.

https://www.amazon.com/Homasy-Submersible-Fountain-Aquarium-Hydroponics/dp/B01LHC8UX8

This would be FAR more than powerful enough, including head pressure, but its adjustable so you could turn it down.

Driven by a fountain pump

Homasy 400GPH Submersible Pump 25W Fountain Water Pump with 5.9ft Power Cord, 2 Nozzles for Aquarium, Fish Tank, Pond, Statuary, Hydroponics https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LHC8UX8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_EeeIDbB39X0A8

https://www.amazon.com/Homasy-Submersible-Fountain-Aquarium-Hydroponics/dp/B01LHC8UX8/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1523813315&sr=8-7&keywords=submersible+pump

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https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-Brass-Quick-Disconnect-Garden-Hose-Adapter-Set/3111057

Something like this with quick disconnect fittings installed on the input and output of your immersion chiller or plate. Blue hawk makes great quick disconnect fittings that will last a good while. I will quick disconnect ground water to ground temp then switch to the submersible in ice water for the drop to pitch temp from ground.

Here is a picture of my setup. Ground water is hooked up in the photo but it should give you a visual of what I am doing.

https://imgur.com/a/DFuGY

Well that's great to hear it didn't affect pH in anyway. As far as the system goes, I've already went through and built the setup in the video. I'm making a few modifications to link together another tote to the current one. I'll likely use the same pump for both systems.

Here is the pump on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Homasy-Submersible-Fountain-Aquarium-Hydroponics/dp/B01LHC8UX8/ref=sxin_2_osp105-95984b9e_cov