Still a little confused about RDWC

[herby]

At the moment i am running a 6 bucket DWC setup but it is not a RDWC setup and its getting very annoying having to individually adjust ph and top up each bucket separately, so im going to start building my RDWC but i am still a little bit confused on how to create the flow or current in the setup.

Using the photo below as an example, you can see the big black pump in front of the control bucket, connected to the last 2 buckets from a T-Piece, and im guessing the pump is PULLING from the t-piece and feeding back into the control bucket, Is this all that's needed to create a current and get the water to flow through all the buckets?

 

also what happens with the resistance of the water flow if one of the plants root systems is bigger than the other, wouldn't it then make the pump pull more water through the other row of buckets due to resistance?

 

Also with the control bucket / reservoir, if you have 6 buckets holding 10 liters each, does that mean you need at least 120ltrs all up for the system to run ?

 

Can the control bucket be outside of the grow area, and elevated or propped up on a bench or does it need to be the same height as the rest of the system?

Cheers!

[Naycha]

 

Using the photo below as an example, you can see the big black pump in front of the control bucket, connected to the last 2 buckets from a T-Piece, and im guessing the pump is PULLING from the t-piece and feeding back into the control bucket, Is this all that's needed to create a current and get the water to flow through all the buckets?

 

I would have the flow going the other way but it's probably a moot point. I've seen this kind of setup referred to as 'undercurrent'. This setup will recirc fine.

 

 

also what happens with the resistance of the water flow if one of the plants root systems is bigger than the other, wouldn't it then make the pump pull more water through the other row of buckets due to resistance?

 

The roots should not affect the flow unless they are clogging the pipes, with pipes that size it should be fine.

 

 

Also with the control bucket / reservoir, if you have 6 buckets holding 10 liters each, does that mean you need at least 120ltrs all up for the system to run ?

 

6 buckets of 10 litres would only need 60 litres.

 

 

Can the control bucket be outside of the grow area, and elevated or propped up on a bench or does it need to be the same height as the rest of the system?

 

The control bucket can be anywhere. it doesn't strictly need to be the same height as the other buckets but you will not be able to raise the bucket and fill it to the brim, the water level will match that of the other buckets; ie they will overflow if you raise the control bucket and overfill it.

 

I would use a regular aquarium pump to make it a bit easier and cheaper, you would just have to recirc seperately to the drain lines.

 

Naycha

[herby]

I would have the flow going the other way but it's probably a moot point. I've seen this kind of setup referred to as 'undercurrent'. This setup will recirc fine.

 

 

The roots should not affect the flow unless they are clogging the pipes, with pipes that size it should be fine.

 

 

6 buckets of 10 litres would only need 60 litres.

 

 

The control bucket can be anywhere. it doesn't strictly need to be the same height as the other buckets but you will not be able to raise the bucket and fill it to the brim, the water level will match that of the other buckets; ie they will overflow if you raise the control bucket and overfill it.

 

I would use a regular aquarium pump to make it a bit easier and cheaper, you would just have to recirc seperately to the drain lines.

 

Naycha

 

Hey man thanks for the reply!

 

Ok so its also reffered to as undercurrent? i will do a bit more reading on it.

 

Also after reading back my question about the 120ltrs for the 6 buckets i dont know what i was thinking , for some reason i thought i would need more total water in the system than what the buckets hold .

 

Thanks again mate!

 

 

 

[antiskeptic]

Best advice I can offer is, finish the cycle you have now. Do not try to turn dwc into rdwc whilst growing, asking for a major disaster. Next would be to build your system, fill it right up and test it for 48 hours to ensure no leaks, water levels stay correct and it is circulating correctly. Then I'd use that system. Not being an ass, but these are things I have learnt from prior nightmare experiences