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System Design Advice? Rdwc Flower


pic book

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need advice re the plumbing of an rdwc layout for 20 ladies that perpetually flower and are purchased weekly as 12-week vegges in 30 gals (coco...coco so they can be moved, any other medium is too heavy to wrestle from a van down into a basement with 15 steps.  9.5 foot ceilings--didn't need the hi ceilings, but they was there).  i'm not worried about putting plants from smart pots of coco directly to hydro.  i've done it by pulling the smart pots off the block, and putting the bottom of the block at water level.

 

what i've got so far:  a res bot off cl, one of those 250 gallon tanks in a wire cage, cost $70, and greased along the sides it was jammed down the stairs.  and i also have a chiller sufficient for the 250 gals.

now, how to layout the pumps and constant feed of 20, twenty-eight gallon pots and the return to res?  and how to incorporate auto feed and monitoring?  I'm willing to hire someone with plumbing and layout credentials, or to do it myself, with some great design advice which i'm here asking for.

 

 

Edited by pic book
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A fairly easy way to go about this is to buy up some 1-inch drain bottoms (two per bucket).

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mister-Clone-1-inch-25mm-DRAIN-BOTTOM-Ebb-Flow-Fittings-Hydroponics-IGS-/251050372872?pt=US_Hydroponics&var=&hash=item3a73c4af08

 

Then insulate your system with pipe insulation on the 1" lines and this stick-on HVAC insulation on the containers: 

 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-King-E-O-12-in-x-15-ft-Self-Stick-Foam-Foil-Duct-Insulation-FV516/100028603

 

You can make as many or as few loops as you want.  I do this and don't even use a reservoir.  I have 12 buckets per loop, and each loop connects to a supply bucket and a return bucket.  Then there is a relatively small pump (about 250 gph) in the "supply" bucket.  The pump pumps the solution through a chiller and into the "return" bucket.  I don't worry to much about the level of the solution.  I've had it down to 1" in the bottom of the buckets with no issues.

 

If you can eliminate using a reservoir, you can save a lot of chilling costs.

 

Monitoring is easy.  Get a tri-meter or something similar and put it in your supply or return bucket.  Make incremental adjustments to pH and ppm at that location. 

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You should copy an undercurrent system.  They are cheap to make.  The bigger the containers you can put the plants in, the bigger the yields.

what's been your biggest container and biggest yield?  

maybe wisest to pm the answer?

Edited by pic book
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Its the same thing. but I made it in their solid modeler, the Inventor, and it makes this Autocad like 2d thing /w views etc. All from the same mfgr: AutoDesk.   Autocad is fairly powerful these days, probably do the same thing. It used to be just 2d but not any more.  

 

The buckets turned out to be 6,450 cu.in. = 27.9 gal so that would be the size of the water and the bucket slightly larger. So yeah, I just naturally grab the Inventor cause its mo natural to do things with. Then I was practicing my dimensions there, ...cause I was hiiiii.... coulda did some more but ...it was late ...  

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All plants are going to get fed the same all the way through?

 

With the combo of mediums + the very nature of that system, can you afford the gamble at this time? In other words, if it doesn't go ideally, can you & the pats deal?

 

I've been around these, very few perform proper, time in & time out. And dropping coir in the mix is only adding to the variability.

 

This is sincere, honest advice. Stop now & reconsider while it is still cheap to do. Read about your woes, and you don't need anymore.

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highlander:  in your set-up above, how do you get by without a reservoir?

 

I just add water/nute solution as needed to keep the level where I want it.  The only time I worry about the buckets being too full is when the chiller might not keep up.  Once I left for a 4-night vacation.  I knew I had water on the floor, but it wasn't a lot and looked like it was probably condensation from the buckets.  When I got home, the buckets had maybe an inch or less of solution in them.  All of the plants were perfectly fine.

 

I really don't even need to check the water level manually.  I have a Tri-meter in one of the buckets.  When the temperature elevates, I know that there isn't enough water to keep the circulation going through the chiller.  Then I add more water and nutes as needed.

 

As far as the question above yours - feeding everything the same, I have not had an issue with that at all.  Early on, I ran a few different loops and would feed differently in each.  Of course that gave the need for multiple chillers and multiple Tri-meters and a lot of work.  Then I started using Lucas formula only with the occasional enzyme additive.  I ran all of the bucket loops to a common circulation point.  So each 12 bucket loop was connected to a common bucket with a pump.  That pump moves the water to a another bucket, which is plumbed to the first bucket in each loop.  With about a 200 gallon per hour pump, I see excellent circulation, and the solution level in the buckets stays fairly level across each bucket.

 

I have run my solution anywhere from about 500 ppm to over 1,000.  I noticed no improved growth or quality with the increased ppm's; however I did experience meds that were tough to burn is grown in 1000 (+/-) ppm nute solution.

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I have run my solution anywhere from about 500 ppm to over 1,000.  I noticed no improved growth or quality with the increased ppm's; however I did experience meds that were tough to burn is grown in 1000 (+/-) ppm nute solution.

hard to burn, my exp with high ppm meds as well.  

 

which tri-meter?

 

which chiller?  you hold 61f?

 

amazing no res with loops...is there a site or thread or layout?

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"tough to burn" grown in 1000 ppm's ?

 

Many nutrient systems direct users to

1000ppm's and higher. Flushing a hydro grown plant

or at least tapering the nutrient strength to 0 towards the end of cycle

is suggested by the best of them to avoid any nutrient buildup

in an otherwise photosynthesizing/healthy plant.

Edited by grassmatch
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