RDWC project let me know what ya think.

polishfalcon420

polishfalcon420

Well-Known Member
Hey whats up everyone? just sitting here doing some work on the new project thought Id throw up some pics while Im taking a toke break. the only 3.5g buckets I could get my hands on were white so I had to wrap them with some panda film, man what a pain in the ass. but I got her done along with the walls. I also was contemplating how to run the feeder tubes so I could spin the tops without having issues. I decided to use the same brass t connectors that I use for my airlines. they are cheap and can be found at a meijers if you have one local. when I first built my 6 site tote I used a 264g sub pump and my feeder lines had pretty much a constant flow of solution which I felt was a little to much after reading more of ROSEMANS post. by using the t connector it slows down to a nice constant trickle and I will have a tube on each side of the rockwool cube. I feel it will help to evenly dampen the wool. I could be wrong but we'll see how it works this time and if one gets clogged the other will still function. the hardest part I feel building this kit is the actual hooking together of the buckets. the drainage kits I got from SH work nice cause if need be I can shut off and remove any bucket at any time so if you do get a male no need to chop roots and deal with that scenario. for me that was a pain. the downfall is the hose I got from SH kinda sux well really sux you cant get it to seal for crap even with hose clamps. after a couple of hours fighting the leaks I went to the garage and found an old garden hose that was of better qaulity and started to change the plumbing over. the hose I found is a bitch to get on the connectors but it doesnt leak at all. I can tell you good luck getting it off once you get it on especially right at the bucket drain. if you look close in the pics I didnt change it all over yet until final assembly after I do some more things in the room like install a real carbon filter and figure out a way to wall mount my oscilating fan. after three or four weeks veg I will remove the two tubes from the netpot and just let them dangle in the bucket to keep criculating the system. the system will contain about 17.5g of solution including the res. I feel it will take more nutes to mix initially but require much less topping off inbetween changes. well guys there it is tell me what ya think any input or advise welcome or toss me some rep if ya like what ya see.
 

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polishfalcon420 said:
Hey whats up everyone? just sitting here doing some work on the new project thought Id throw up some pics while Im taking a toke break. the only 3.5g buckets I could get my hands on were white so I had to wrap them with some panda film, man what a pain in the ass. but I got her done along with the walls. I also was contemplating how to run the feeder tubes so I could spin the tops without having issues. I decided to use the same brass t connectors that I use for my airlines. they are cheap and can be found at a meijers if you have one local. when I first built my 6 site tote I used a 264g sub pump and my feeder lines had pretty much a constant flow of solution which I felt was a little to much after reading more of ROSEMANS post. by using the t connector it slows down to a nice constant trickle and I will have a tube on each side of the rockwool cube. I feel it will help to evenly dampen the wool. I could be wrong but we'll see how it works this time and if one gets clogged the other will still function. the hardest part I feel building this kit is the actual hooking together of the buckets. the drainage kits I got from SH work nice cause if need be I can shut off and remove any bucket at any time so if you do get a male no need to chop roots and deal with that scenario. for me that was a pain. the downfall is the hose I got from SH kinda sux well really sux you cant get it to seal for crap even with hose clamps. after a couple of hours fighting the leaks I went to the garage and found an old garden hose that was of better qaulity and started to change the plumbing over. the hose I found is a bitch to get on the connectors but it doesnt leak at all. I can tell you good luck getting it off once you get it on especially right at the bucket drain. if you look close in the pics I didnt change it all over yet until final assembly after I do some more things in the room like install a real carbon filter and figure out a way to wall mount my oscilating fan. after three or four weeks veg I will remove the two tubes from the netpot and just let them dangle in the bucket to keep criculating the system. the system will contain about 17.5g of solution including the res. I feel it will take more nutes to mix initially but require much less topping off inbetween changes. well guys there it is tell me what ya think any input or advise welcome or toss me some rep if ya like what ya see.
Click to expand...
Howdy PF, Looks like a good set-up, and I really like the shut-offs and accessibilty.:cool: My 6-site rubbermaid 37 gal tote is a beast to move and manuver, as well as hard to check inside. Having single buckets gives you complete access, compared to the limited access I'm having with the tote.
I'm working on a 5gal bucket system myself, for my next batch of aero-clones that will go to the flowering chamber.:mrgreen: I already started buying orange buckets and lids at Home Depot.
I have a few questions if you don't mind: 1. Why 3.5 gallon buckets? Is there an advantage? 2. So you basically have a drip fed DWC with a separate res, how big of a sub pump? Or were you able to utilize the 264 gph? 3. How big is your res in gallons?
I am not sure if I would prefer the DWC system you are going with, or if I would be better off staying with aero-ponics like I currently have only using 5 gal buckets. I know another grower here on RIU is using ebb and flow with 12 x 5 gal buckets and having SERIOUS SUCCESS. I'll have to come over and check it out when I get the chance. Keep up the good work, as I know the results of your labor will be worth the wait!:eyesmoke:
 
thanks for the comments and stopping by everyone. Im just waiting on some black airline to make the other feeder tubes and another airpump to arrive in the mail along with the carbon filter. do you guys know if you can get a wall mount setup for a oscilating fan anywhere? Id rather not buy another fan I just need to figure out a way to clear the floor space that it takes up once I have to raise it. last time I used some upside down buckets and shoe boxes to raise it and it took up to much valuable space.
 
hey hairpulled, I chose the 3.5g buckets cause of my height issue the 5g was just to tall for what I wanted and I think the 3.5 will be enough for adequate root growth as in the tote res they were quite cramped and all grown together. I cant see it being any worse with the buckets I actually feel that this gives the individuals much more room. so far I think the 264g pump should be just fine. the res is just a 3.5g bucket when filled to the proper level it is about 2.5g. it wouldnt take much to convert what you got to the bubbleponics all you need is the irrigation manifold and some airline. Id say about $15 bux or so. if I were you Id try and do just one of your tanks that way and compare side by side to see the difference. I mean what you got going seems to be working quite well and really the two setups are pretty close in function but I personally would do a comparison like I said just to keep things interesting. thanks for stopping by.
 
our systems are very similar


polishfalcon420 said:
Hey whats up everyone? just sitting here doing some work on the new project thought Id throw up some pics while Im taking a toke break. the only 3.5g buckets I could get my hands on were white so I had to wrap them with some panda film, man what a pain in the ass. but I got her done along with the walls. I also was contemplating how to run the feeder tubes so I could spin the tops without having issues. I decided to use the same brass t connectors that I use for my airlines. they are cheap and can be found at a meijers if you have one local. when I first built my 6 site tote I used a 264g sub pump and my feeder lines had pretty much a constant flow of solution which I felt was a little to much after reading more of ROSEMANS post. by using the t connector it slows down to a nice constant trickle and I will have a tube on each side of the rockwool cube. I feel it will help to evenly dampen the wool. I could be wrong but we'll see how it works this time and if one gets clogged the other will still function. the hardest part I feel building this kit is the actual hooking together of the buckets. the drainage kits I got from SH work nice cause if need be I can shut off and remove any bucket at any time so if you do get a male no need to chop roots and deal with that scenario. for me that was a pain. the downfall is the hose I got from SH kinda sux well really sux you cant get it to seal for crap even with hose clamps. after a couple of hours fighting the leaks I went to the garage and found an old garden hose that was of better qaulity and started to change the plumbing over. the hose I found is a bitch to get on the connectors but it doesnt leak at all. I can tell you good luck getting it off once you get it on especially right at the bucket drain. if you look close in the pics I didnt change it all over yet until final assembly after I do some more things in the room like install a real carbon filter and figure out a way to wall mount my oscilating fan. after three or four weeks veg I will remove the two tubes from the netpot and just let them dangle in the bucket to keep criculating the system. the system will contain about 17.5g of solution including the res. I feel it will take more nutes to mix initially but require much less topping off inbetween changes. well guys there it is tell me what ya think any input or advise welcome or toss me some rep if ya like what ya see.
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whats with the pvc setup as in whats its function? it looks like so far it is working fairly well for you I like to see that. I actually got the Idea from an ebay store that sells a setup called the V-Drip. I almost went lazy and just ordered one of their setups but I figured that I already had half of what I needed from my tote setup so I built it myself and saved about $150 bux. the only thing that I had to purchase were the buckets, panda film ( which I needed anyways ), another airpump, and the drainage kits along with a few small things like the air dividers. so all in all it cost me about $125 to convert to this setup.
 
As long as we're comparing systems, here's mine (took it down and am building a different one as we speak).

The issue I had was that the 185GPH pump I had in there was too strong for the way I had the system designed - instead of using "T" fittings as the guy at the hydro store suggested, I went with a straight barb on each side of the buckets, thinking that would "push" the water through better.

I was wrong, and am currently building my new system using "T" fittings.

Sorry for the threadjack, just wanted to give a heads-up to anyone who might be as dumb as me.

DSCN0496.jpgDSCN0497.jpgDSCN0498.jpgDSCN0506.jpg
 
Hey no prob Bob glad to see your post. I love being able to compare things with other people it opens the mind to other options and points of views. I see that your setup is a little different as you are circulating in alittle different way. mine is a slower type of circulation my pump just runs the feeder tubes to each pot and the system relys on water pressure to get back to the res. nice job though for sure, it looks like your going for the gusto sog with that one eh.
 
polishfalcon420 said:
Hey no prob Bob glad to see your post. I love being able to compare things with other people it opens the mind to other options and points of views. I see that your setup is a little different as you are circulating in alittle different way. mine is a slower type of circulation my pump just runs the feeder tubes to each pot and the system relys on water pressure to get back to the res. nice job though for sure, it looks like your going for the gusto sog with that one eh.
Click to expand...

Lol, and "therein lies the rub" - my system doesn't work like I wanted it to, and the bucket that the pump feeds into overflows with the pump running. Therefore, I'm constructing a system more like yours with one "T" fitting per bucket as opposed to two straight barbs per bucket.

And no SOG going on in there, that's just my veg tent - going to have a 16 bucket system in each of my 4x4 flowering tents, though :mrgreen:

Speaking of which, I should get back to work on that :blsmoke:
 
how how does this sys work exactly.. pump in rez drip feeds them bubbleponics style...and it accumlates to the point of DWC , but then pressure forces it back to the rez? and u only have to change the rez or do u weekly change all buckets out? man would love to see some pics of the drain kits for those buckets and how to do that shit. i have 2 6 site buckets and changing them is a pain in the arse. same with my tub. So stealth hydro carrries all this stuff i gather?
 
you pretty much got it there tilemaster. as the pump draws solution from the res bucket and sends it to each pot the water level slowly drops in the res and the water level gradually rises in the plant buckets, but the added water in the plant sites causes water pressure causing the water to flow back to the res until the pressure is balanced between the system. so all this happens slowly makeing the water level consistant and slowly circulating at all times. I think I figured out that the system will actually recirculate about 2g an hour. I am not sure as to the res change yet Ill have to see how it goes. I talked to a guy that just opened a new hydro store in my area and he said with his waterfarm setup he only drained and replaced the whole system solution once every four weeks. I dont think Im going to go that far maybe every couple of weeks and see how that works. the drainage kits, t connectors, and elbows for the plumbing bucket to bucket I got from SH. I cant recommend there hose though as it was not up to my standards I couldnt get it to not leak very brittle stuff too.
 
Bob Smith said:
Lol, and "therein lies the rub" - my system doesn't work like I wanted it to, and the bucket that the pump feeds into overflows with the pump running. Therefore, I'm constructing a system more like yours with one "T" fitting per bucket as opposed to two straight barbs per bucket.

And no SOG going on in there, that's just my veg tent - going to have a 16 bucket system in each of my 4x4 flowering tents, though :mrgreen:

Speaking of which, I should get back to work on that :blsmoke:
Click to expand...
wow 16 buckets in a 4x4 I had a hard time figuring out how to do my six in a 5x5. lol
 
polishfalcon420 said:
you pretty much got it there tilemaster. as the pump draws solution from the res bucket and sends it to each pot the water level slowly drops in the res and the water level gradually rises in the plant buckets, but the added water in the plant sites causes water pressure causing the water to flow back to the res until the pressure is balanced between the system. so all this happens slowly makeing the water level consistant and slowly circulating at all times. I think I figured out that the system will actually recirculate about 2g an hour. I am not sure as to the res change yet Ill have to see how it goes. I talked to a guy that just opened a new hydro store in my area and he said with his waterfarm setup he only drained and replaced the whole system solution once every four weeks. I dont think Im going to go that far maybe every couple of weeks and see how that works. the drainage kits, t connectors, and elbows for the plumbing bucket to bucket I got from SH. I cant recommend there hose though as it was not up to my standards I couldnt get it to not leak very brittle stuff too.
Click to expand...

For rez changes just use a separate pond pump (I use a 633GPH one) and it does the job for ya.

Two Rubbermaid 50 gallon trash cans (one for draining, one for mixing the new nutes) and you're good to go.

A nice feature (if you can do it) is to have your rez slightly below your feeder buckets to ensure that you get every last drop out of them that you can before refilling with fresh nutes.
 
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