Dr. Funkenstein

I'm scouting out options for my flower room. Debating which would work the best for me and my limited space, while keeping maintenance down allowing me plenty of time to focus on research and my studies to move the grow along nicely.

I first looked at Rumpleforeskin's Bubble Bucket thread with built in sight indicators. Yet this system does not use a reservoir, requiring me to tend to each individual bucket. This could be a problem when it comes to drains, fills and just monitoring pH. Especially in a tight space under SCRoG.


Then I heard of Blazeoneup's thread on icannmag.com, where he builds a recirculating DWC system. This uses a reservoir with a controller tank that automatically tops off each bucket, and recirculates the water back to the main reservoir. Yet his instructions and over all design seems pretty complex, maybe too complex for my first flowering cycle.


Then I was looking at this Waterfarm reservoir with control tank and I wondered if it could be modified to be used like an Under Current system, yet would it be necessary to have an extra main res when the Under Current seems to run from the control tank reservoir alone. The reason behind going with the Waterarm res is because it fits my space perfectly. Larger totes just won't do.




The Under Current System by Current Culture H2O. It's basically a recirculating system that recirculates constantly. The system seems built with less clutter compared to Blazeoneup's recirculating DWC system. I like the idea of using the pvc pipe instead of the hoses, running through 4 buckets, keeping their footprint tight and compact. When I see hoses I picture kinks in garden hoses and the lack of water pressure that occurs.



Also, it looks as if these Under Current systems do not need a large reservoir. They appear to be running from the single control tank res.


I'm just unsure of the differences, the pros and cons, etc. They all seem to run air-stones at the bottom of each bucket. They also all seem to have a main pump in the control tank reservoir that pumps water or air to the buckets or air-stones, with the exception of Rumpleforeskin's bubble buckets.

Can anyone clarify for me? Thanks in advance.

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Dr. Funkenstein

>>>Fisher Price: My First Grow Lab
>>>A Noob's Guide to FIRST Grow Room Set-Up: And a Reference for Everyone Else
>>>Ask Indiegurl: Electrical Advice from an Electrician
>>>Revised: The Complete Guide To Sick Plants, Pest & pH Troubles
>>>Burndt's Guide: How to Search GC.com Effectively

W33DM4N420

Whoa. Little too complex for my skills at this point. The last picture looks really cool.

Dr. Funkenstein

Ok, I'm trying to figure out the best option for me, and have been focusing on a recirculating system as opposed to the constant recirculating or one of the others I have listed here.

I suppose I could effortlessly convert my system into a constant recirculating if the recirculating gives me trouble.

I want to make sure I get this set up right with no drain issues, and want to build the most pH stable system possible. I understand most waterfarm systems tend to give beginners, as well as experienced gardeners, problems as far as pH stability goes. Dealing with a reservoir is one thing, dealing with all the modules and then the res and then a control seems to be more trouble than simply monitoring the modules alone.

This is why a recirculating system sounds appealing. My choice. I'm planning to use the Waterfarm control tank with reservoir, and I hear they sell a recirculating kit for this unit. If I'm lucky I may be able to find it.

The thing that confuses me is, won't the return solution have to end up in the main tank reservoir before it gets to the control tank and fed to the buckets? Yet the main tank sits on top of the control tank, pretty far from the ground. Won't this present a problem when it comes to draining the modules back to the main tank reservoir on the Waterfarm?

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Dr. Funkenstein

>>>Fisher Price: My First Grow Lab
>>>A Noob's Guide to FIRST Grow Room Set-Up: And a Reference for Everyone Else
>>>Ask Indiegurl: Electrical Advice from an Electrician
>>>Revised: The Complete Guide To Sick Plants, Pest & pH Troubles
>>>Burndt's Guide: How to Search GC.com Effectively

Dr. Funkenstein

Anyone? I need to start building soon, and need help making a decision.

__________________
Dr. Funkenstein

>>>Fisher Price: My First Grow Lab
>>>A Noob's Guide to FIRST Grow Room Set-Up: And a Reference for Everyone Else
>>>Ask Indiegurl: Electrical Advice from an Electrician
>>>Revised: The Complete Guide To Sick Plants, Pest & pH Troubles
>>>Burndt's Guide: How to Search GC.com Effectively

420Stylez

why not a ebb and flow, i had a problem with watering individual plants, over 7 gals at a time.. there real easy fill and let it cycle, check the ppms, and ph. good to go... PEACE

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California Dreamin!
You gotta keep on keepin on!

Dr. Funkenstein

No go.

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Dr. Funkenstein

>>>Fisher Price: My First Grow Lab
>>>A Noob's Guide to FIRST Grow Room Set-Up: And a Reference for Everyone Else
>>>Ask Indiegurl: Electrical Advice from an Electrician
>>>Revised: The Complete Guide To Sick Plants, Pest & pH Troubles
>>>Burndt's Guide: How to Search GC.com Effectively

hydrolized

Here is a system I put together for someone...if it looks interesting enough to you I will post the specs and costs...

Dr. Funkenstein

Something like this is what I was going for. I wonder though, how are you able to drain your buckets with the pvc running near the top of them? Are those Uniseals you are using with the pvc pipe? Does this rig leak much? I like the use of the cut off valves, what are the purpose of these?

Would you post a birds-eye view of your rig?

I was planning on running a 4 bucket system, with the pvc pipe running through 2 rows of 2, similar to the Under Current system by Current Culture H2O.

Thanks for your help.

__________________
Dr. Funkenstein

>>>Fisher Price: My First Grow Lab
>>>A Noob's Guide to FIRST Grow Room Set-Up: And a Reference for Everyone Else
>>>Ask Indiegurl: Electrical Advice from an Electrician
>>>Revised: The Complete Guide To Sick Plants, Pest & pH Troubles
>>>Burndt's Guide: How to Search GC.com Effectively

hydrolized

Sure....This is a different view. As you can see, this is a constant recirc. system. The top 3/4" lines are the feed lines...at the bottom of each bucket are 2" Bulkhead fittings (tried uniseals on the bottom but once the water level went up and pressure increased they leaked like heck, the bucket wall is too thin for the uniseals, they require at least .125" wall thickness and the buckets are only 0.70") and PVC for the return flow to the control bucket. The tops are indeed uniseals and are just there to keep light out, as the water level never gets that high. The valves were installed in case the flow was uneven to the back buckets, but they were not needed as the flow was equal to each bucket (by eye) without any valve manipulation... if I built an identical system I would leave them out as they are $3 each.







The water pump is a 480GPH unit, giving each bucket about 1GPM flow. Each bucket also has a 3' bubble diffuser and a 1440 GPH diaphram pump gives the system about 2000cc/min/gal airflow, which is more than adequate for a DWC system IMO. The strainer is a 50 micron type, mainly to just keep dead roots and plant matter/loose hydroton out of the loop. A chiller was later plumbed into this system after the strainer and pumps the chilled water into each bucket. The little valve you see with the MPT adapter is so you can shut the valve before the strainer, attach a garden hose to the MPT, and open the lower valve, and the pump will pump out your old nutes in a few minutes making for easy res changes

Dr. Funkenstein

Do you suppose the Uniseals would be sufficient enough to prevent leaks at the lower end of the buckets, had you been useing the square 8 gallon buckets, as depicted in the Under Current system? I'm unsure of the exact wall thickness of those square buckets though.

I was considering locating these and useing them in place of the round buckets to make the construction phase easier.

Have you been having algae problems with your pvc run? Is this why you have it wrapped in insulation?

__________________
Dr. Funkenstein

>>>Fisher Price: My First Grow Lab
>>>A Noob's Guide to FIRST Grow Room Set-Up: And a Reference for Everyone Else
>>>Ask Indiegurl: Electrical Advice from an Electrician
>>>Revised: The Complete Guide To Sick Plants, Pest & pH Troubles
>>>Burndt's Guide: How to Search GC.com Effectively