recircilating hydroponic system (UPDATED WITH PICS AND MORE INFO)

[dolmio]

perhaps a few photos would clear things up?

 

 

sorry i havent set this system up yet and i do not have anyhting to show exept a normal room atm,

[merl1n]

Its not so much 'a root' that blocks things up but a bunch of them clogging hoses and restricting flow to the point that the resi runs dry. There is a return flow but not enough to keep up with the pump and your using a HUGE pump compared to mine. I must admit I veg for longer than most and this increases the amount of root growth

 

It ain't that I'm a DumbF%#K, I am genuinely interested in your setup, so more questions

 

Now you say your pots and resi are the same size.

Does this mean your resi and tubs water level is equal when the system is running or

that you have 65ltr resi and 65ltr pots x 2

I'm still wanting to know about the 40ltr/pot bit?

 

Photos would help but not having it setup makes that impossible

 

 

Merl1n

[dolmio]

Its all good thank you for your interrest in my project!

Yes mate it means there is always a even level of water in both bottom tubs plus th resivour.

also the 40 or 45liter top tubs just sit on top of the 65liter tubs. Hope that tells u what u want too know.

[merl1n]

So the 45ltr are not taking up any space of the lower pot.

Now thats making sense I now understand

With mine the 2 pots are the same size and one fits inside the other

There would be a max of 4 inches between the two bottoms and trying to fit 40ltrs or anyting like it would be impossible

But sitting on top makes sense.

I do have another query when you fill your resi and pots, with a 65ltr resi you want 40ltr x 2 you would need to top the resi up for each nute mix or do you fill the whole system up to the 40ltr level in the resi. How do you make sure your pH and ec are stable through the whole system. As you dose the resi the levels in the pots would vary quite a bit and depending on your circulation might take a while to equalize throughout?

Now that I finally get what you're on about, the topfeeding I would probably continue as the root like to be moist and although they will pull moisture up, giving them a hand can't hurt.

 

Merl1n

[dolmio]

yep correct mate.

they sit on top and i loose no space;)

 

i fill the res and top up with nutes and turn all taps off so only my res gets filled then i ajust the nutes and ph and let it flow though the system then i mix up more nutes and 30 liter buckets and put in my res to top it off.

 

ok thanks alot mate:)

[bilabonic]

Awesome system, much better than my attempt...

[Sytha]

You really dont need to tubs...just get one really big one for each plant. check my setup...similar to what you want to run. You could just upsize it.

 

[dolmio]

You really dont need to tubs...just get one really big one for each plant. check my setup...similar to what you want to run. You could just upsize it.

 

 

yeah cheers im not doing tubs no more just basic garden pots with good drainage. also ill just use tubs or buckets for the drainage to go into.

Edited February 16, 2011 by dolmio

[roseta_stoned]

heath robinson.. all that needs to be said he does exactly what you want to do the way you want to do it search for some of his threads hes bee around for years

[Ex.]

after reading this whole thread now, i have to say, check the link in my sig for a 2 plant, 2 bucket DWC system, with a third bucket as a resoviour, which sounds simillar to what you want to do, but on a smaller scale.

all you would have to do it increase the scale of my system to suite your own needs. 3500l/h pumps are massive overkill. I have a $20 500L/h pump from bunnings which is more than sufficient. The water doesn't NEED to move in DWC, but in this system, it pumps water out of the resoviour to the buckets, and the buckets connect to the res at the bottom which levels out the water. this is important so my nutes stay mixed properly, but thats about it. what is much more important than water in a DWC is air, so get yourself a good air pump and some big air stones and you will be laughing.

 

If you have any questions about my setup I will be happy to answer as its working very well.

 

DWC is actually very very simple once you get your head around it. since i started my DWC cannabis grow, I also made a DWC windowsil herb garden too, to great success.

 

cheers,

E.

Edited March 17, 2011 by Ex.