I have been growing for a while using DWC bubbler buckets. After a lot of research I decided to build a undercurrent DWC system. I went to my local grow shop to try to find some larger square buckets and ended up purchasing this: This was a slightly used Current Culture System 4 they sold me for $200! I reasoned that I couldn't buy the parts to build a system like this for that cheap. So, I got a great deal. I do have a question. For those of you that are using or are familiar with these systems, the system came with an Ecoplus 185 pump. You can see this in the picture to the right of the larger air pump. This seems a little small to me. I do have a larger pump that I could use on the system but if this one will work, I will just use it. Any thoughts?
Sounds like a good deal on the system. I'd shitcan that pump if I was you. Do yourself a favor and mail it right back to China with a big middle finger on the top of the box. I set up a 185 in my 3 bucket system, and didnt' really like the overall flow. With the fluid dynamics of those CC systems, I'd sure be inclined to go bigger myself. Additionally, most of those CC systems I've seen utilize an inline pump set external to the water system essentially right above the control bucket, drawing water from the grow buckets and cascading down into the CB. Of course it doesn't need to be this way, but I do believe that is that manufacturers intended design with those. That 185 is submersible only. I think you'll find some conjecture out there that they can be run inline, but I believe that's a bunch of horsewarsh. My biggest wince with that 185 is that I had been running a 284 for a minute or two...damn thing would bind up every single fucking time I simply unplugged the son of a bitch. I'll prolly never by another Sunlight Supply made pump again. Even e-mailed and very diplomatically expressed my dissappointment since I purchase many of their products....no response, pretty much sealed the deal for me.
Sorry, just went to their site, and I'm sure you've seen this, but at least it paints a picture of what I so poorly describe above. Home : Current Culture Hydroponics, superior hydroponic systems.
I'm curious about those though. Just in my horribly confused mind, it seems like having the inlet and outlet essentiallly directly opposing one another and down at the bottom of the bucket does not do the best job of maximizing flow throughout the entire root system. Of course it's all gonna flow eventually, but I question the eddy currents and so forth that might tend to trap some fluid in the top portions of the bucket for longer periods of time. Not that this is necessarily catastrophic or anything like that, but it forces me to guess that that is the most desirable reason to go with a big, big pump in those CC systems. Really couldn't say what kind of pump they recommend, but that's my relatively uneducated and grossly inexperienced take.
Hey Marsdude, Congrats on the decent deal on an undercurrent DWC system. Unfortunately, that pump is by FAR, subpar. I built my own UC-DWC system, and used all the components that Current Culture uses, when possible. I used far superior airstones, but everything else is the same as what they ship. That said, I have a Danner Mag-Drive pump, which is rated 250gph @ 1 foot head. Head pressure calculation is critical! This is a top of the line pump, but in hindsight, I could have used the slightly larger pump (the #3 would have been good, I'd suggest that one as a minimum). Unfortunately, this adds to the cost of your system, and may somewhat negate the "good deal" part of the deal. But no use crying over spilt milk, right? Here's my pump: Danner Mag-Drive Supreme Water Pump Mine works great, I'm 3-4 weeks away from completing my second grow with it. It's been running 24/7 for about 6 months, without a hitch. I'd suggest a larger one, for you, though.
Thanks for the info. When I first saw that pump I thought it was too small. I actually have a magnetic pump. It is this one: Iwaki Aquarium Pumps I wonder if this pump might be too big. It is rated at 1500 GPH although my pump is a 200V and I run it on 120V so it may be pumping at slower rate. I think I will try the Iwaki first and see how it does. I will plumb the pump in with a valve so I can remove it easily from the system.