new diy rdwc build can i get some advice

squidgy pete said:

i might just stick a bucket of water in my grow room now and see what temps i get, i think it will give me an idea of how warm the water will get, im still hoping i will manage without for the next few months

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The problem with that is a big heat load in these systems is from the pump.

squidgy pete said:

im thinking of fluming rather than air stones, if ive got an 8 x 30lt bucket system i want to flume into 6 of those at the back then the water from them will pass through the last 2 buckets at the front,
what size water pump do i need to be looking at?

also how does the water pump for the chiller fit in? should i be pumping in from one of the grow buckets and out into the control tank or just in and out of the control tank? what size do i need for that?

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Youre gonna wanna have a pump in the control bucket feeding the chiller input. The chiller output should then feed cooled water to the totes.

firsttimeARE said:

im building one out now...i could take some pictures...if ttystikk lets me share his design.

well its already built...but since im waiting on a chiller its not functional so I could take pictures of it

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I don't remember telling you anything proprietary...

@squidgy pete ask away, I'll tell you whatever you need to know to build a killer RDWC.

8x8' tent with four 600W HPS, right? It all depends on how many plants you want.

A little Bubble Gum for a visual treat;



This is a good look at the RDWC system that grew it;

firsttimeARE said:

Youre gonna wanna have a pump in the control bucket feeding the chiller input. The chiller output should then feed cooled water to the totes.

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ok would there be enough pressure/ water flow rate from the chiller to use as the pump for fluming?

ttystikk said:

@squidgy pete ask away, I'll tell you whatever you need to know to build a killer RDWC.
8x8' tent with four 600W HPS, right? It all depends on how many plants you want.

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thats great cheers ttystikk, yes an 8ft square tent with 4x 600w the tent will be treated as 2 flowering rooms with 3 weeks apart, i dont know how many plants thats still a bit of a mystery cause i dont know how big they will get, idealy least amount of plants that will fill the area but may try 4x in 8gal buckets under each light.
if thats too many then i will cut back too 3 or even 2 under each light,

they will be getting 3 weeks veg time thats why im thinking i may need 4 under each light to fill the space

Yeah...I used 27gal totes from walmart. they come in a 4pack for like $50.

Yourr kinda stuck with matching the pump with the chiller. My chiller needs 600-1400gallons per hour of flow. So I bought a 1000GPH pump since it was in the middle.

The way I see it was I could lower the flow if I wanted.

Ill take pictures of the system when I get home.

4 under a 600w is fine. a 600w should have a 4x4 footprint. i made screens that mount to netpot lids that are 2x2 so 4 of them fit under a 600w.

16 plants if u want them 8 per harvest youre gonna want 2 separate systems since the feed will be stronger in weeks 4-8 than weeks 1-4.

firsttimeARE said:

Yeah...I used 27gal totes from walmart. they come in a 4pack for like $50.

Yourr kinda stuck with matching the pump with the chiller. My chiller needs 600-1400gallons per hour of flow. So I bought a 1000GPH pump since it was in the middle.

The way I see it was I could lower the flow if I wanted.

Ill take pictures of the system when I get home.

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You did good, because the pump has to push water through chiller and supply manifold. The mfr was drastically overstating the necessary flow rate; my 24,000 BTu website mount chillers only need 4gal/15 litres per minute to work lol

Well im figuring about a 800-900GPH flow once elevation and friction and fitting loss is calculated.

firsttimeARE said:

Well im figuring about a 800-900GPH flow once elevation and friction and fitting loss is calculated.

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I'm going to bet it's closer to 500 or even less- which is still plenty.

800GPH did well with x4 27gal totes. Roughly 70gal water total w/small res when filled. If you avoid multiple smaller units in a row than you can avoid the awkward plumbing mechanics behind the different water levels in each bucket. Unless you just go crazy with bulkheads. I don't recommend uniseals for anything more than a very small mother 5gal rdwc design.

ttystikk said:

I'm going to bet it's closer to 500 or even less- which is still plenty.

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Well no...Theres only 2 feet of head loss to get the water from the pump to the chiller. And whatever friction loss in the chiller fittings and pipe.

The chiller will definitely not get only 500GPH...Maybe the last run in the system would get that.

Yo his water pump makes 800GPH at the crank....... thats like atleast 650GPH to the chiller bro, dyno'd and everything mad torque.

Vumar said:

Yo his water pump makes 800GPH at the crank....... thats like atleast 650GPH to the chiller bro, dyno'd and everything mad torque.

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Every flow restriction adds up and impedes flow throughout the system wherever it might be, because water is an incompressible fluid. What comes out at the back IS the flow rate for the whole system.

Regardless its enough flow

It was just supposed to make you laugh man. /shrug

ttystikk said:

A little Bubble Gum for a visual treat;

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Very nice ttystikk looks like youve been doing this for a while, dont very often see vert grows but looks like youve got it down.

soooo this pump and chiller thing can i just make sure that one water pump to feed the chiller and the output of the chiller will be enough to use for fluming and recirculate the buckets?

Ive also got a question on temps, if ive got a chiller/heater keeping the feed at the right temperature is that enough to keep the plant at the right temperature is air temperature still just as important?

firsttimeARE said:

Yeah...I used 27gal totes from walmart. they come in a 4pack for like $50

Ill take pictures of the system when I get home.

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$50 for 4 27Gal totes! fuck me you get stuff cheap over there im looking at $11 for one 8Gal bucket and forget uniseals $25.50 for one yes one 3incher!!

still like to see this set up of yours firsttimeARE

@squidgy pete Thank you for the compliment. We work hard at it!

The water will be aerated as it falls through the netpot with rocks in it.

Air temperature, RH and CO² content is still important.

I use 1" lines and bulkhead fittings. 3" is simply ridiculous- it was originally used because Current Culture's Undercurrent systems were engineered poorly.

theres some £££ pre made systems here that are using 4" piping in rdwc, not sure why probably to get more cash out yer pocket,
i can get 40mm pipe and fittings tub connectors very cheap so going for them,

what was it that made you go for a vertical grow ttystikk? i looked at it a few years back but never gave it a try