I love this!!
I am definitely saving this info for when we start our system back up!
I like how you have the expanded clay in the trough to keep crap and leaves from draining back into the tank.
Also love the way the drippers drain into the towers, no little tube to get clogged, it just pours straight down. And there are two per tower vs. our one, so even if one managed to clog, there is still the second. That vibration motor is just a stroke of genius! I wish I had thought of that! I spent so much time unclogging tiny tubes...
And of course the filter to clean the water prior to pumping it into the towers is, I guess, necessary. Like you, we were hoping that the fish crap would break down some in the sump and then go into the towers to feed the plants. I dont think that can feasibly work unless you have large drip feeders, and even then its iffy. We actually even had redworms in our towers to break down fish poo. The worms thrived in there, but that didnt help the problems with clogging. And the worms actually would frequently crawl up in the tubes and clog them, although with your system and the water pouring like that, it wouldnt be an issue.
Im kind of rambling here... anyway, thanks for posting! Im going to show this to my husband and we can think about plans to fix it so it works right!