Aeroponics/Undercurrent Hybrid Project

I have been thinking about trying something new and cant seem to find anything on the unit im building and could use some help. The system is set up like a Undercurrent pulling water from the buckets. Instead of the water running from pump the a res or control bucket I am going to have my 1000 GPH pump pump the water to the buckets through a PVC pipe that circles the bucket and has spray nozzles. I would like an opinion on how to set up my air pump. I also drew a Picasso for the world to see what its going to look like.

Only problem I imagine is that the roots being right above the spray heads
will eventually kill off any kind of aero effect rather quickly and leave you
with just the DWC effect left. Also, with the pipe for aero coming in half
way up the 5g bucket, that's not gonna leave a whole lot for the system
to hold. Running my system (which is identical minus the aero part) I can
only hold 15g during start of system and am down to about 13g that I can
fit after the roots have bulked up. In week 4 my plants drank about a gallon
each plant per day and they tear through those roots.

Maybe look into coming into running the pump like normal, but also having another
pump for aero purposes pumping from the epicenter to the individual buckets
to the top as to not lose the aero effect, and still maximize amount of water
your buckets can hold. Not to mention this will give you the ability to pull out the
sprayer heads and maintain them if need be.

Not bashing your design, I've just had a similar idea and that's where my thinking
went.

I thought about the fact that they will drink a lot of water, and came up with the idea that current culture uses. I will have a 18 gal tote with ph balanced water that connects to the epicenter with a float valve to make sure they always have water. Never thought about the height placement of the PVC/sprayer bar. Do you think if I just kept the spray heads right below the bottom of the net pot, a little about the roots it will work if the spray heads are aimed right at the roots?

I would avoid coming in from the sides using PVC all together, there was a
badass who used to visit the site and gave great hydro walk throughs by
the name of earl.

https://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-aeroponics/38569-aeroponic-space-shuttle.html

His method of spraying I really prefer over the "stinkbud" method of pvc, and here are
my reasons why.

- Coming in from the top using earls method you don't have to worry about putting more
holes in the side of your bucket leaving more chances for leaks or having to buy more
uniseals.

- Using earls method putting the spray heads in is a piece of cake, stinkbuds method is a
pita and usually renders the thread on the spray head mangled afterwards.

- With earls method you can easily pull the head out of it's spray position and unclog the
spray head if need be within seconds.

After using a stinkbud style system vs an earl style system I really began to love the
thought that earl puts into his design.

I just saw a forum of his and would like to say thank you. I see how he PVC'd from his pump into a quick release into tubes with the spray heads going down into the top. I really have to say, your set up is nice! How do you like the under current? I would like to stay with just that, but the thought of less water/nutes seems really nice. After a night of thinking about it I don't really know if I want to do the aero hybrid system. I just built my system, and it looks nice. On my PVC running to all buckets I did just like current culture and cut my pipe at a 45 degree angle and staged it just like they do. I think with the angle it must mix up everything better. Did you do this as well? http://cch2o.com/images/Under Current Instructions 12-16-10.pdf This is what I went off of, the 4 bucket system, look at how the pipe is going into the buckets, that is if you have never seen it before, LOL.

Yeah I wasn't sure what the angle was for and it was much easier for me
to just cut straight with my saw. I figured the reason they used angled
cuts was to help the pipe slide into the uniseals better.

I really like under current so far, this system is the easiest I have used as
far as maintainence and upkeep goes. I also feel like with the high level of
DO that the plants are the healthiest I've seen. I would like to continue
the system but I'm looking to go vertical as to decrease the amount of
light/heat and get a perpetual cycle going while still staying under my plant
count. UC is definitely a great system though!

What about your PVC, mine lets light go through, does yours? I think im just going to stay with the under current, easy and I wont have to go crazy. I grow 4 plants for me and my chick, so its not really like I have to produce the biggest plant, would be nice though. Have you seen any other aero systems that were bad ass?

And about the pipes being cut at a 45degree angle, I dont think they did it to make it more easy because it was really more of a pain in the ass. When I was doing a test run I put my hand in, and I know this sounds weird but it seemed as if the water was doing a spiral effect. I think they do it so it really mixes everything up a little better. I dont know, I just know I made mine to there specs, besides I used 1" PVC. I cant see spending over 5 dollars for a 2" grommet, when the 1" are under a dollar. I guess when I decide to stop being a cheap fuck ill buy the 2" grommets. Do you really think the 2" really makes that much of a diff between how good the system/plants do?

When I built mine I intended on growing larger plants as I feel that's what
the system is designed for. I had heard of some people who were getting
sporadic clogs in their 2" and I don't wanna take a chance of any clogs. I
had thought at first about using the 1" to save money as well, but figured
there's a reason they designed it like they did.

You could be right about the spiral effect and the 45* cut, but that could
also be attributed to the fact that you're using a pump that's much more
powerful than the ones that come with the system, last I heard it was about
a 600gph pump.

The pump they use for the 4 bucket system is 250gph. More then likely after my current grow ill spend the cash on the uniseals. What problems have you had with your setup?

I have had a few problems, but mostly my own fault.

- It was hard for me to cut perfect circles into the rounded
edge of the buckets, one of them was a bit off and leaked a
bit so I used some silicone aquarium glue to fix it.

- Gave them way too much veg time for the lighting I'm using,
the canopy is completely out of control, next time veg for less
than a month, unless doing a proper scrog.

Other than that I'm happy with everything right now.

I have some 1200gph pumps that I might try out if I give this
system another go to see if a higher rate of flow would help
things even more.