First time hydro, going to try Ebb/Flow - is this a reasonable plan?

Budley Doright

Well-Known Member
Neat
Never heard of em

but id say the same thing
In a cold climate im not paying to cool anything ha ha. But if i was somewhere hot i probably would
Well it's minus fucking 26 here today lol. I was the same as you but if I push my indoor past April and into May then shit happens and I struggled. I also built the chiller to hopefully be able to handle the cooling load of the shed as well if kept going through the summer, will see this year when it becomes legal and people aren't questioning the air conditioner in a garden shed lol. Im just about to head out and drill a hole for some fishing ;).
 

Cold$moke

Well-Known Member
Well it's minus fucking 26 here today lol. I was the same as you but if I push my indoor past April and into May then shit happens and I struggled. I also built the chiller to hopefully be able to handle the cooling load of the shed as well if kept going through the summer, will see this year when it becomes legal and people aren't questioning the air conditioner in a garden shed lol. Im just about to head out and drill a hole for some fishing ;).
Ha ha yea you gota do what you gota do lol

Im trying to keep myself from getting a ac and chiller and co2 if i can help it .

Wouldnt mind trying co2. One of these days though :)
 

Budley Doright

Well-Known Member
I've got everything to do cylinders c/w a stepper valve and controller .... kind of forgot about it actually. But yes if I do keep it going in the summer I'll get it running I guess.
 

Budley Doright

Well-Known Member
Its supposed to be an option to beat the heat

I just try to simplify and cheapen these days ha ha
Ya me too, sadly life seems to be getting more complicated lol. And yes higher temps are one thing that it allows for. I was using it in the winter to supplement the lack of ventilation but it was costing more than having to heat the fresh air lol. I really had no controllers though, just full time metering of small amounts, another epic fail lol. Being in the Hvac trade allows for some pretty innovative controls/components at a reasonable price so I guess I should take full advantage. Besides, it's kind of cool lol.
 

Budley Doright

Well-Known Member
I was going to run RDWC and just curious why your moving on CS? Bored lol? I got a dozen square pails and access to any size CPVC. I was also thinking individual flood and drain buckets with shared res but that's getting a tad more complicated lol. Blue mats are also tweaking my interest but I just built the chiller and god why if I just unplug it lol.
Edit: oh ya and I need to build some COBS.
 

Cold$moke

Well-Known Member
Well to be honest, i think there is more of a cool factor then anything
if not you would see all the major hydro farms using it like the dutch for instance.

But i dont think outside of smaller ops any one is running a rdwc set up for major agriculture.

I love rdwc setups (this pertains to mine as everyones is different)

Here are my design pros and cons
Pro super oxygenates the water
Via waterfall, flooming(ish), sufrace disruption, and airstones (they add fresh air in the system and churn the bottom up).

Very nutrient efficient as i dont run high ppms.

If the air pump fails i have the circ pump still going. Providing plenfy of DO

If the circ pump dies it will essentially be a dwc setup.
So pretty safe as oppesed to a aero pump failure . Or just plain dwc ait pump failure.


I built mine specifically to run a semi small res.
About 30 ish gallons max and im running 28 currently but ill probably go higher next run. To try it.

Now for the bad stuff lol......

All hydro setups have their pluses and minuses so far in my exp.(lp aero,nft,dwc, aero/dwc, and coco)

For rdwc the cons in my opinion are.

Huge nutrients usage most people are running like 50 g setups and if you dump every two weeks it adds up.

They can be a pain to clean completely .

They are prone to root issues if the conditions allow it. Ie low flow,aeration,water temps ect.

The circ pump adds heat either to the room or the res i have mine in the res and it tuns about 72-77 on hot days so far .

But i havent taken huge measure to drop temps as im running hydroguard to see if it works .so far so good. But its in the back of my mind.

The air pumps add heat to the water as well :( this is offset by a cooling fan the airpump but its still there.

Leak potential . (I have a love hate relationship with bulk heads and uniseals lol )

Difficulty inspecting the roots if you scrog them cause sometime the plants pin down the lids lol.
These are the cons i can think of for now.

So my criteria for my next system is as follows.

Circ pumps and air pumps optional.

Leak proof for real :)

Easy to clean

Easy to inspect roots.

No chiller required or dependant on constant pumps (reduces energy costs equipment costs ect)

If i can figure out how to do those thing with the next system ill be quite happy :) end of novel
 

Budley Doright

Well-Known Member
I've got the leak thing pretty much solved with fixing what I've had lol. I use shower drain fittings and boat hull fittings now and as long as I don't step in em (yes it happens) they work well. The roots are an unstoppable animal lol I've finally started to use silkscreen (had lots for DIY hash machine) which works well and have it incorporated in all of my ebb and flow fittings. I love hydroguard and it saved my crop a while back, wish I could still get it :(. I can get about 24/36 hours of pump down time which my setup now before the death zone but it's still a concern. I'm trying to use shit I have, as money is tight, got two weddings to help pay for this year, one in Bermuda, trying to save :(. Thanks for the ideals, still waffling. Throwing the beans in this week lol.
 

Larry3215

Well-Known Member
The roots are an unstoppable animal lol I've finally started to use silkscreen (had lots for DIY hash machine) which works well and have it incorporated in all of my ebb and flow fittings.
Ive been worried about roots growing into drains. I dont have silk screen, but would window screen work?
 

Budley Doright

Well-Known Member
Ive been worried about roots growing into drains. I dont have silk screen, but would window screen work?
No it doesn't, I've tried everything and the only thing I've found that actually works is the silk screen which I buy from an art supply but you can get it online as well. It's pricey but I've used mine for 2-3 years now, after 5 years of hash making, it is synthetic though.
Edit: make sure you provide access to clean it, I have to rinse it once or twice a run.
 

Budley Doright

Well-Known Member
I cut what had went down the drain to unblock it, not sure what percentage but I prefer to just leave roots alone if possible :). Seems to work better in my setup :).
 

Cold$moke

Well-Known Member
The way my rdwc set up is
I have my airstones kinda under my return pipe and the air keeps the roots from growing in there so far though. Ill let you k ow in 8-10 weeks if it satuas that way lol
 

Cold$moke

Well-Known Member
Ive been worried about roots growing into drains. I dont have silk screen, but would window screen work?
Would that dacron fabric you have still allow waterflow?

Ive thought about this thats why i built my latest setup with taller containers hopefully to give roots room .

But i read that roots will not grow into copper and thought about copper mesh.
But i did not want anythong weird to happen like copper toxicity but i always wondered if it works :)
 
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Larry3215

Well-Known Member
The dacron I have (actually I think its rip-stop nylon) wont let enough water through. Its definitely just a slooow trickle.

I'll have to look for some silk screen I guess.
 

Larry3215

Well-Known Member
No it doesn't, I've tried everything and the only thing I've found that actually works is the silk screen which I buy from an art supply but you can get it online as well. It's pricey but I've used mine for 2-3 years now, after 5 years of hash making, it is synthetic though.
Edit: make sure you provide access to clean it, I have to rinse it once or twice a run.
Dos it matter what mesh size? Ive seen it from 120-160 so far.
 
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