Is this enough flow for my rdwc?

Having some root rot issues so I'm changing this up a bit and eliminating my air pumps and the top feed system as I found out my tubing wasnt light proof enough.
(Outside res is 65 AND I'm using hydroguard so idk what else it would be)

I have a 1200gph pump on 6 17 gallon totes with about 50 gallons total in it.
1" "manifold" to 1/2 heads in each box.
Am I too close to the water level?!

(I cleaned all the mess up right after this picture)

Id like to know also. Im using a 396 gph per 2x4 table. 8 plants per table

damn no one?
usually all kinds of ppl wanting to give their 2 cents on this topic lol..
Within the first few minutes of the pumps being on and circulating water, my outside res spiked up several degrees. So the air pumps were definitely heating up the water in the totes and the low flow I had from the top feed wasnt enough to keep them cool.

rule of thumb for rdwc flow rate is fast enough to turn the whole system over every 3.5 minutes or so. adjust to even out the water levels in your bins as best you can without slowing the water down too much
i use these https://www.amazon.com/General-Hydroponics-1250-Water-Pump/dp/B008UF9XBO
theyve been running for a year now in 90 gallon systems, no issues
your waterfalls might not be agitating the surface of the water enough if you are not running air stones. id just put them back in for now, rework your system after this run if you need to

well I was hoping to go without the air stones. 2 of these waters pumps use the same power as 1 of my air pumps.

Would some kind of sprayer nozzle on the elbows help?

With how its set up now, it should be enough to circulate the whole system every 2.5 mins
Water level came up about an inch in all my totes but it seems to have stabilized at that level even with the pumps full out. I have 2" drains.

fragileassassin said:

well I was hoping to go without the air stones. 2 of these waters pumps use the same power as 1 of my air pumps.

Would some kind of sprayer nozzle on the elbows help?

With how its set up now, it should be enough to circulate the whole system every 2.5 mins

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you dont want your water moving too fast either, your chiller will have trouble keeping up(among other things). you might want to try a smaller pump or putting a shutoff valve on the intake line of your current one to slow it down a bit
elbows or nozzles are worth a try, angle them for maximum surface agitation

thenasty1 said:

you dont want your water moving too fast either, your chiller will have trouble keeping up(among other things). you might want to try a smaller pump or putting a shutoff valve on the intake line of your current one to slow it down a bit
elbows or nozzles are worth a try, angle them for maximum surface agitation

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what are the "other things"?
the pumps are adjustable so i can dial them way down if i need to, but the water isnt getting agitated very much, i think i should have used smaller elbows inside

fragileassassin said:

what are the "other things"?
the pumps are adjustable so i can dial them way down if i need to, but the water isnt getting agitated very much, i think i should have used smaller elbows inside

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uneven water level (which will end up choking your pump eventually). you want that as even as you can get it while staying within optimum flow rate

Way overkill for a 6 site 17gal rdwc

I used a 550gph for my setup which is the same.

For my 6 site 27 gal tote I use a 1000gph.

Use air pumps if not enough agitation. I use 1 inch manifold and half inch run outside and elbows like you but I put the elbows closer to the actual pots

I warned you about the tubing, friend!!!

This is why I suggested my build to you in the very first place. You'd he surprised how much a 2" return line is needed to get that water back to the res quick enough for the pump. I see zero difference in any of the buckets or res even when filling it because of the 2" returns and 1600GPH pump.

Airwalker16 said:

This is why I suggested my build to you in the very first place. You'd he surprised how much a 2" return line is needed to get that water back to the res quick enough for the pump. I see zero difference in any of the buckets or res even when filling it because of the 2" returns and 1600GPH pump.

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The drains are plenty. I have 2x 1200gph pumps in it right now and all 12 totes are within 1/4" of each other.
The row furthest away from the outside res stays just slightly higher, but the levels have been rock solid for like 18 hours now.
Watched and measured for several hours last night.

Chiller is also seems to be running a lot less than it was to keep at 66.

I have an idea for a cheap solution to get some agitation.
I put a small piece of pvc in the out side of each elbow to restrict the water a bit. I could get a bunch of 45 degree bends and some kind of sprayer heads or simply a plug in the end with some small holes or a horizontal slot drilled in it.

take your 90 elbow, put a short piece of straight pvc in it with a pvc cap on the end. drill about 8 really small holes 1/8" in it.

think of the kitchen faucet sprayer with multi streams coming out of it.

rkymtnman said:

take your 90 elbow, put a short piece of straight pvc in it with a pvc cap on the end. drill about 8 really small holes 1/8" in it.

think of the kitchen faucet sprayer with multi streams coming out of it.

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Yes, this is pretty much what I was getting at.
If I use some 45s with a plug I can do the same thing and aim it a bit.
Going to go grab some parts later and play around with a few different things and see what i like best.

fragileassassin said:

Yes, this is pretty much what I was getting at.
If I use some 45s with a plug I can do the same thing and aim it a bit.
Going to go grab some parts later and play around with a few different things and see what i like best.

Click to expand...

only other thing: dont' glue the cap on the end so if you get any clogs, you just pop it off, clean and replace.

So finally got it all finished up today.
Here's the finished results. Makes a ton of bubbles now!