2 bucket UDWC with waterfall - intake/outake manifold question?

Hi,

I'm not understanding something...I'm setting up a 2 bucket RDWC with water falls in each site bucket intaking from a 250 GPH pump which is outtaking into my control bucket. The length of the entire system is less than 8 feet to and from each bucket returning to the water pump. Each bucket intakes equally in length from a teebar connected to a hose with ball valves on each intake hose for each bucket and outtakes equally in length to a tee bar which connects to a ball valve and Y inline filter and then to a return hose that connects to the intake on the water pump. The outtake from the water pump can't really go directly into each bucket without it going to a control bucket I want to use and drain each week with fresh nutes and bottled water. So how does it go from the water pump into the control bucket and then backout to each bucket without there being another water pump between the water going into the control bucket and then out to the site buckets? Does the water level in the control bucket have to be higher than in each site bucket? Does the control bucket need to be larger and air tight or have a higher water level than in each bucket? And how would circulating back to the control bucket on top of returning it through the return hose work if the negative pressure created by the water pump is sucking it through the return? I don't get how you could have it recirculating without the other buckets also sucking in water from the control bucket as a result of the negative pressure from the return hose. How does the DO retain it's state after being sucked through a filter in the return hose going back to create more DO on the waterfall on the return to the control bucket/reservoir. Sorry these are probably stupid questions, i'm just working with limited space and opting for simplicty, and im not a fluid dynamics guru. Would appreciate some schooling from an old schooler.

MJ aka Bluto

A picture would really compliment that block of text.

Ahhh...ok

Scratch the control bucket. Tee the pump suction to the bottom of the buckets and tee the discharge to the top.

Ahhhhh...that makes sense to me...genius! grazie amico...that simplifies my setup tremendously (however, I've already drilled the holes in the front and back of each bucket and the seals are solid...BUT, since ive got so many extra 1" uniseals, I probably could connect the 2 buckets so that there would be a way to prevent an overflow in either bucket since ive got extra 1" PVC pipage-i overordered thinking that I was going to punch 2 holes in each bucket so that more DO water would come at different levels spaced diagonally)...but can I get away with throwing some blue ice packs (each in a Ziploc) in each bucket to chill the nutes and generate more DO for the roots? I know its going to get hot in the 2x3x4 grow space Ive got, but ive also got 2 20"x20" floor fans I was going to place them so that they are vertically spaced intaking at the bottom of the buckets and outaking into a carbon filter at the top of the setup (over the HID lamp reflector). That should generate enough airflow to cool down the grow space but doesn't address the nute chilling unless I get a chiller. Any ideas? Thanks a lot master jedi, that is a super idea!

Okay, I got around to putting together a diagram of this system. See below.

-Bluto



Delivery manifold on front face side of diagram
from outtake on H20 pump to intake tee bar
to inline shutoff ball valves to intake elbows
to tee spouts for waterfalls on L and R of bucket
1/2" ID from Water Pump to 1/4" ID waterfalls
5" from top of netpot lid

Return manifold on back side of diagram
from outtake on back of bucket outtake tee bar
to inline shutoff ball valve to Y filter
to return hose to intake of H20 pump
1" ID to 3/4" ID at Tee
1.5" from bucket bottom

Over fill pipe into either bucket
1" ID
4" from top of netpot lid