Howdy all, Not new to farmin herb but new to the hydro scene. Have about 30 individual DWC buckets going in both my veg/flower rooms and have come to the realization that while I love this hobby as much as brewing beer...it, JUST like brewing beer can CONSUME your time. ABout tired of mixing individual buckets nutes, especially in a 3 stage perpetual bloom room. So I started lookin for a better mousetrap and stumbled onto the added inital in the acronym...RECIRCULATION. Only changing out or adding to 1 main rez just makes sense. Here are my thoughts and near future plans. I just added a 240 leg to my FR and added a second 6" cool tube with a second 1KW HPS on a Light rail. Should be ample coverage for two complete side by side 8 bucket systems. 2 resevoirs to faciilite shifting new girls once a month...8 at a time. SO, now that you have my parameter ballpark, A)How big a Resevoir do I need for an 8 bucket setup with return ports about 1/3 up the the 5 gallon buckets(so maybe a fairly constant 1.5-1.75 gal in each bucket at a time. And how big a pump do I need? I also wanted to mention that my lamps are close loop vented with 540CFM Dayton blower and My plan is to run a portable two hose portable A/C for temp control. Thinkin it might actually worth the extra cost of mag drive pumps plumbed via a bulkhead fitting outside my res for further temp precautions and eliminate the need for a chiller by supplimenting the scant few REALLY hot days a yr we get in the PNW with frozen water bottles in rez. Any holes in my theories? Fatal design flaws or just plain stoner thoughts appreciated. What the point of havin access to such an epic knowledge base and not picking its brains once in a while? BTW, My 4 strains are Purple Kush, White widow, Pre 88 G-13HP and Critical Mass WW
With regards to the resevoir, it depends on a few things. How often are you going to check the nute water? (daily, weekly, etc.) What's your average water loss in your buckets each day? As to the pump: How much turnover do you want in terms of gallons per hour? Have you considered a self-priming design in case of power failure? If it were my grow, i'd probably use one of the big sterlite storage tubs that run about 40 gallon capacity. They're pretty cheap and easy to work with. I'd get a self priming pond pump rated at whatever turnover volume I wanted (wouldn't have to be that much) and use the pump to "push" water into the buckets, then have a slightly larger diameter overflow tube tapped into the tops of the buckets with pvc tubing and run to a hose (gravity fed) back to the resevoir. This would mean elevating the buckets above the resevoir (if that's feasable).
Its a bedroom in my house so I am able(and typically do) check it daily but occaisionall leave on 2-4 day fishing trips. The project is still new enough I don't have a reliable daily loss number yet. Power outtage not an issue. I have a generator. Learned my lesson in January... No idea what is optimum in terms of hourly turnover. Sorry I dont have more for ya. WW
You are going to want a BIG RETURN Line, so you can get a good sized Fill Pump and not have to choke it back. Get a Pump that you can use Inline instead of keeping it in the res to help keep your water temps down, and you will probably be looking for something in the 500-800gph range. I also installed my Return bulkheads as low on the buckets as possible to help facilitate water changes and flushing. As for Controller Res Size,, You will want something in the area of 40-50 gallons. Not that you will ever have that much in the Controller, but its nice to have the space if needed. I am finishing up a grow now with 4 buckets and a 5 gallon return bucket. My next controller will be a 30 gallon, and I am working on it now. Good luck with your build!
i think its an awesome idea... the larger the res the less often you need to do res changes... larger res's just add more over all water available to the plants, as well as the convenience of having a easy place to do nute changes If your grow were my grow I would create a undercurrent system... it would require more money to be spent, but its a better system and it can be made for pennies on the dollar compared to purchasing one most of those white pipes are 2 inch or larger... there's a math equation some place on THCFarmer in the undercurrent section of the forum... they actually have a whole DIY I think.... Undercurrents have a massive amount of water moving threw them with those mag drives... the only real cost is the uniseals... but they have a link some place to get them fairly cheap... but each bucket needs two of them and they are like four bucks a piece... but the growth rate warrants the cost of upgrading the system... the downside of using inline pumps is the heat created.... if you have no way to sufficiently cool your water your going to have more problems than its worth... so basically if your not going to get or use a chiller i wouldn't build one.... maybe consider a ebb and flow style of system.... it still has all the convenience of the style of system you have now... but it just has a controller bucket and one huge res... two pumps are inside that controller.... you can purchase the controller separate from the system and get your own tank locally for about a hundred.... and be off and running very quickly... I would suggest putting your res outside the grow space for easy changes as well as being able to help maintain temps of the soup.... if you used your current buckets it would require very little modification to your system and all your plants could be on a single res rather than two if you wanted either way your going to be spending money.... but pick and choose what sort of growth rate your looking for as well as ease of growing.... one more thing to consider when upgrading your system... make sure you have a drain you can pump your system too... your going to be introducing a massive amount of water to your grow space... if you can pump water in and out your going to be saving yourself a bunch of time... I'm very happy i made mine and it works like a champ, versavacking the water out sucked
great recirc system. works. http://forum.grasscity.com/do-yourself/600352-budslingers-recirculating-bubble-buckets.html
Like Tihspeed says, I recommend an undercurrent system, over the recirculating buckets. It oxygenates the water way better, and is easy to maintain. Results are incredible!! See my signature, I built my own undercurrent DWC for about half the cost of a commercial system. It's the epitome of lazy man's setup. It requires so little maintenance. I don't change my nutes for the entire grow! Just top off fresh water, add nutrients, and adjust ph, when needed (ph only needs to be adjusted once every week or two, once it's dialed.) I will say, though, drip feeding (drain to waste) Hempy buckets is so stinking easy/effective/inexpensive that the new closed growing environment I'm building as we speak will use this very low-tech method.
The only problem "perpetual" grows that share a common reservoir have is when it comes to flushing. I have heard of valving to isolate for this.