DWC Changing the Res

Indoor Growing Hydroponics
#47

Your buddy is buying shit air pumps. Ive had my dual diaphragm for 9 years and they still kicking ass.

I still use air pumps cause I like all the turbulence…

Another tip is find a way to elevate your sites.

U can see mt 27gal system has CMUs under them. This makes it so I can get the water level in my control bucket higher since water always wants to level itself. This makes the time between top ups shorter. And allows u to use a bigger pump which generates more power from the waterfall.

My 27gal system I have to throttle the pump with a ball valve because it has a 1000gph pump and it sucks water out hella fast and makes the pump gurgle.

I dont get this issue with mt 12 gal totes and 550gph pump

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#48

Make sure u use botanicare bulkheads. I cannot stress this enough. My shop was out one day and I had to get a system done.

Had heard activeaqua was junk but threw caution to the wind. Every…single…bulkhead leaked. Switched them out for botanicare and not one leak. Talk about a waste of 4 hours. The gasket on the active aqua Isnt tacky rubber and is more like a hard plastic and doesnt seal well. Also the screw nut slips in the hand and is hard to get a grip on to tighten up well.

Trust me spend the $1.8 per on the botanicare. Unless u like chasing leaks and spilling water on your floor

I also like to use some screw clamps for extra precaution. My hydro store carried some harder and thinner wall poly tubing that went on way too easily and I would get leaks if I bumped them. The older thicker rubbery poly I needed petroleum jelly to get the hose on the barbs. Not one leak with that poly

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#49

Also its important to have the delivery manifold 1" and the branch to each totes waterfall 1/2"

Its all fluid dynamics. Water follows the path of least resistance which is the 1" pipe. So it floods the 1" and then equally, well close to equally, branches out to the 1/2" piping. Its like a self balancer.

If the pipe was all the same size it would go to the branches and the last branches would have a trickle

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#50

I get high, I drop shit accidents happen.

I’d rather not have to lift out the plant from its environment at all if possible, just more shit I have to do

In addition, pumps and fittings can fail; with hydro there are many potential points of failure not present with coco/soil.

in the end, you’re still filling a bucket and mixing nutes either way, soil or hydro.

the more I think about it the more I just want to stick to soil but I’ll try these buckets out and see if its worth doing again.

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#51

Yeah its not for everyone. Do what youre comfortable with. I do hydro for yield. Its also the only way I know how to grow. Cant pull 20oz plants in soil

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#52

I recently started using hempy buckets, and I’m in love. Give em a whirl, its like half hydro, half soil-less. Foolproof. :v::peace_symbol::call_me_hand:

https://overgrow.com/t/my-first-hydro-setup/40646?u=nefrella

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#54

Not familiar. Sorry

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#56

Damn, I gotta look around harder for parts then.

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#57

It doesnt take much to achieve optimal DO levels

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#58

What size pvc pipes are you using?

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#59

One inchhhh

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#60

I think that’s where I went wrong in my pricing. My dumbass looking at 3in pipes and bulkheads but If 1in works thats a whole different story.

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#61

I used 1 1/2", my research led me to using this size :v:t4:

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#63

I would go for 1.5 inch to be safe.

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#64

ID ditch the clear tubing. Prime for algae build up. Does the gravity fed cause a lot of surface turbulence?

#65

Do whatever yall want its your money. Ive been running these systems for 4 years now and never an overflow and trust me when I say ive had them 27gal totes filles with roots.

1.5" bulkheads get spendy and I grow in a basement. If I had an overflow it wouldnt be the end od the world

#66

Yeah thats it, it all depends on each situation. I had 1 inch pipes a while back and had a few troubles and it was in a bedroom so it wasnt worth the risk. You are correct that the bulkheads can get really expensive.

#67

Yeah especially when you are running 4 per site. Well worth the investment if it means preventing water damage. And you may be able to get away with less outlets if they are bigger. I still would have 4 though. The chances of all 4 getting plugged up before you notice is next to zero. You will notice a huge drop in your control bucket before any spill over would occur from the individual sites. This would starve the pump and cause it to burn out and not pump anymore which would prevent a spill over. I imagine this wouldnt be the case if u say had 2 sites and a control. But with 8 sites if one was blocked the pump get starved.

Also the 27gal totes gives your roots plenty of space to grow and not risk going into the pipes. This is the main reason I only use 12gal totes in my veg setup or for smaller flowering plants. I have flowered in the 12gal setup with 2-3 footers. But the 5-6 footers I grow in my flower room I wouldnt trust the 12gal

#69

If you don’t want to replace the tubing, you could cover the tubes with the black round pipe insulation and cover the tubing where it goes into your buckets with some black electrical tape. I have read that clear tubing where it enters the bucket can act like a flashlight shining into your bucket and would definitely cause algae problems.
I am running a 6-27 gal tote system and a separate res tote 60 some gal. I’m only putting 1 plant per tote. I’m thinking about building a smaller system for my autos after this run for my autos and ditching soil all together inside. :v:t4:

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#70

My dad is doing DWC now and crushing it.

I hooked him up with my 5gal bucket DIY aerocloner and this hydro is twice the size of his soil.

Gave him my nutrients and feeding instructions and hes doing a good job I must say. He only started growing in May. If he can do it anyone can do it.

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