Not your avarage WaterFarms...

[Haps]

I like the whole set up , especially your mods, nice work. I call that an air column, and a very effective method in vert. Happy buds.
H

 

[Raphael]

i thought i already subscribed to this thread haha wow this blue dream is good your setup looks dialed in already man keep it up cheers

 

[Stay Frosty]

Haps, Raphael thanks for the kind words. Your right Haps, the air column works very effectively. I get them girls nice and close.

 

[Stay Frosty]

And now for the PORN!!

And now for the PORN!!

View image in gallery​

View image in gallery​

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View image in gallery​

 

[turbolaser4528]

Gc finishes anywhere from 45-65 depending on preference. Ima prob let them go 55-60 and try to pull the GC and the MKxBK at the same time. The kush is 55-60.

I havn't had any problems with the rez size. The float valve keeps the control bucket at the level I want. PH is stable as can be. I havn't had to use any ph down. I top up with tap(my tap here is 80ppm) and let the ph drift from about 5.2 to about 5.8, about 3-4days, before I add more nutes to bring the ec back up and ofcourse the ph drops aswell, back to 5.2ish.

Why do you think I should raise the lights? Just curious.

Ill post pics tonight of the inner workings of the buckets and some ROOT PORN. The tweaking of valves was actually easy. Just had to pretty much choke the buckets farthest from the control bucket and can just about leave the ones closest wide open. Just want good flow back to your control so the pump doesn't empty it. At first I had just one return back to the control and the pump would fill the buckets faster than drain them. So I split it up and put 2. Solved that problem. 2" return would probably work as well.

No clogs or leaks(knock on wood). The plugs i have drilled out are not glued so I can pop them out and clean them if need be. With using just micro/bloom, nothing really in the water to clog them tho so I dont really check them too often.

The fittings I use are actually very cheap and are not bulkhead fittings. They are just electric PVC pieces fit together with a rubber washer in between. You have to use the electric PVC(gray) because the regular white pvc doesn't screw together tight. Ill show pictures of what I use. Cost less than 5$ each this way. Even 2" are around 5$

Interesting, the fittings look like the expensive ones, thats cool you found a way to make them super cheap. I'm a bit leary about leaks (can't have them no matter what, or I am screwed!!) so i'll prolly go with the expensive ones (www-plumbingsupply-com/bulkhead-html) just replace - with . to see what me and LB are talking about. nice job tho looks clean, feel free to show us how you did it

I say raise the lights because the tops of the plants appear dark, while the buckets are getting more light then they are, just makes sense to raise them a bit as to light the whole plant more, and place more emphasis on lighting the top buds rather than the bottom ones, Just my humble opinion though.

I'm going without a float valve I think, just going to refill the res every few day with tap by hand before it gets to the bottom. I like to measure ppm also, so i know if im over or underfeeding them.

2 inch return you think will solve the problem? is that 1200gph not a 1800 gph pump? looks the same.

also, you might want to cover your carbon scrubber with a pre-filter to keep dust and whatever from clogging up your carbon. It'll be more efficient, keeping your carbon cleaner will result in more surface area and more effectiveness, just a thought not extremely important.


overall, very clean organized innovative system you have here. putting the original waterfarm to shame lol



do you think the roots can/will clog the returns even with the 2 inch ones, do you need to keep rearranging them so they don't grow down the pipes or what?

glad getting the pressure right was pretty easy, I wonder if the pressure equalization loop would make this much easier, or just slow down waterflow and pump gph, hmmm.....

ah i know his is a lot but I wanted to know how you feed them, do you slowly up ppm each week, if so by how much? or do you use another method?


also, maybe consider adding a sponge prefilter on the control bucket pump intake, this will keep everything cleaner, the pump safer, and will harbor beneficial bacteria which will help everything all around, I think that pump comes with one actually.


anyway, nice job man, beautiful room and setup, plants look healthy, everything is very good. take care and god bless. rep + good karma comin your way

o yeah, and was the chiller really neccessary? and how loud is this sytem? does the pump make a lot of noise? I was thinking of blowing air over it to cool it down or plug in a cheap, small, toaster-size mini freezer and sit the water pump inside of it (if its the pump that is causing the high water temps), thus acting as a chiller, or do the diy chiller with coiled tubing in a mini freezer/fridge, just a cheaper alternative, and to save wattage for us broke growers trying to keep electric down. peace

 

[2fast4u2]

intuitive, interesting and it works.
seems efficient.

just how growing should be!

subscribed.

 

[Lightning Bug]

:jawdrop:
Simply awesome man, great job. Also nice work on the DIY bulkheads, everything is looking clean!

Nice root porn, those are going to be some monsters. I am taking notes on your vertical style for my new room, looks really well thought out.

 

[cbp420]

Very cool setup. I dig it.

 

[Stay Frosty]

Interesting, the fittings look like the expensive ones, thats cool you found a way to make them super cheap. I'm a bit leary about leaks (can't have them no matter what, or I am screwed!!) so i'll prolly go with the expensive ones (www-plumbingsupply-com/bulkhead-html) just replace - with . to see what me and LB are talking about. nice job tho looks clean, feel free to show us how you did it

I'll prob stick w/these untill they prove me wrong. I actually got the idea off the web, just searched DIY Bulkhead Fittings. I have yet to see a drop of water.

I say raise the lights because the tops of the plants appear dark, while the buckets are getting more light then they are, just makes sense to raise them a bit as to light the whole plant more, and place more emphasis on lighting the top buds rather than the bottom ones, Just my humble opinion though.

Ive got the lights pretty center on the plants. There are 2 plants that are alil taller would prob benifit from me lifting, but it would be too high for the rest so those 2 are alil dark at the tops. When they stop stretchn', ill prob lift them alil. Good looking out tho.

2 inch return you think will solve the problem? is that 1200gph not a 1800 gph pump? looks the same.

2" would have, but i just split them up to 2 returns worked fine. Tis is a 1800gph.

also, you might want to cover your carbon scrubber with a pre-filter to keep dust and whatever from clogging up your carbon. It'll be more efficient, keeping your carbon cleaner will result in more surface area and more effectiveness, just a thought not extremely important.

Carbon filter is on its last run, have had it for years. Still working well tho. I figured id just ditch the prefilter for this run before I refill.

overall, very clean organized innovative system you have here. putting the original waterfarm to shame lol

Thank you, thank you. The waterfarm itself just doesn't cut it.

do you think the roots can/will clog the returns even with the 2 inch ones, do you need to keep rearranging them so they don't grow down the pipes or what?

I don't rearrange them. Doesn't appear that the roots are really heading down the return. I pick them up and check every few days. Would really suck if they did but dont think they will. Ive ran rdwc with smaller return lines and had buckets completely filled with roots and no clog. So I think ill be fine.

ah i know his is a lot but I wanted to know how you feed them, do you slowly up ppm each week, if so by how much? or do you use another method?

8/16 from start to finish.

also, maybe consider adding a sponge prefilter on the control bucket pump intake, this will keep everything cleaner, the pump safer, and will harbor beneficial bacteria which will help everything all around, I think that pump comes with one actually.

I might add the filter. Didn't really need it. 8/16 makes for a clean res. No ben bacteria in the micro/bloom I thinks. I might be wrong tho.

anyway, nice job man, beautiful room and setup, plants look healthy, everything is very good. take care and god bless. rep + good karma comin your way

Thank you very much man!!

o yeah, and was the chiller really neccessary? and how loud is this sytem? does the pump make a lot of noise? I was thinking of blowing air over it to cool it down or plug in a cheap, small, toaster-size mini freezer and sit the water pump inside of it (if its the pump that is causing the high water temps), thus acting as a chiller, or do the diy chiller with coiled tubing in a mini freezer/fridge, just a cheaper alternative, and to save wattage for us broke growers trying to keep electric down. peace

I bet if I insulated everything I prob wouldn't need it. But without it I get temps in the 80's which I don't like. My chiller is only like 200w, ill check when the lights turn on. But it barley runs to keep my nutes at 68. I honestly didn't even notice a jump in electricity usage with it. System is way quiet. I sleep right next to the room and barley notice it. It IS LOUD AS HELL with the rings plugged in. The air bubbles would vibrate the buckets something fierce. But once the roots hit the bottom. Peace and quiet.

 

[Stay Frosty]

intuitive, interesting and it works.
seems efficient.

just how growing should be!

subscribed.

Thanks checking things out and the kind words!!

 

[Stay Frosty]

:jawdrop:
Simply awesome man, great job. Also nice work on the DIY bulkheads, everything is looking clean!

Nice root porn, those are going to be some monsters. I am taking notes on your vertical style for my new room, looks really well thought out.

Thanks alot bro!! You were more help than you know. Can't wait to see that screen full!!!

 

[daemos]

Fuck yeah another quality grow goin on... great work there frosty!

im learning heaps from you and LB keep it up and thanks for the inspiration!

Ez...Mos

 

[Trend]

Awesome. Fucking cool design and healthy

 

[Stay Frosty]

Hey daemos and Trend, thanks for checking things out. I'll post some more pics tonight. Day 16 12/12 Happy Pumpkin Day!!

 

[DHF]

Killer setup.......

Killer setup.......

Major respect ........You gotta be old head to have seen one of our posts bout the electrical fittings with o-rings being made into bulkhead fittings on a budget.......maybe not , but I call em like I see em........

Using Heathie`s design for maximum flow and usin basic GH nutes almost brings a tear to my eye...........Your plants look healthy Bro and the rule of thumb on bare bulbs hanging vertically is the bulb`s socket should always be at the top of the plants........Once the stretch is over , then you can drop the lights if you`ve got bushier strains but no more than the top third of the plants.........

I ran ebb and flow buckets with 3-600`s exactly like your souped up waterfarms but 35 of em in 5 gal buckets.......fans beneath each bulb as well except lil muffin fans that sat flat on the floor and blew heat straight up that got sucked out thru the scrubber..........

Yrs ago Heath came up with exchanging the room`s air twice per minute with the proper sized active intakes and exhausts while all but doing away with a/c and dehuey needs in the smaller rooms with 12-1800 watts while constantly supplying the flip rooms with CO2 free 24/7 just in lower ppm amounts but constant........

You`ve obviously done your homework with such a tight setup so good luck and add another light..............lol...........

Take care....DHF.........

 

[Lorenzo]

nice setup! i just got the waterfarm 8 pack with GHs recirculating kit. just wondering if you tried that out or just wanted to upgrade to this from the get go? they look very healthy and those roots got huge fast!

thanks, be safe.

 

[Teresa]

Major respect ........You`ve obviously done your homework with such a tight setup so good luck and add another light..............lol...........

Take care....DHF.........

I would listen to Fred and add another light..he know's his shit ......you did a great job ...........

 

[turbolaser4528]

I'll prob stick w/these untill they prove me wrong. I actually got the idea off the web, just searched DIY Bulkhead Fittings. I have yet to see a drop of water.



Ive got the lights pretty center on the plants. There are 2 plants that are alil taller would prob benifit from me lifting, but it would be too high for the rest so those 2 are alil dark at the tops. When they stop stretchn', ill prob lift them alil. Good looking out tho.



2" would have, but i just split them up to 2 returns worked fine. Tis is a 1800gph.



Carbon filter is on its last run, have had it for years. Still working well tho. I figured id just ditch the prefilter for this run before I refill.



Thank you, thank you. The waterfarm itself just doesn't cut it.



I don't rearrange them. Doesn't appear that the roots are really heading down the return. I pick them up and check every few days. Would really suck if they did but dont think they will. Ive ran rdwc with smaller return lines and had buckets completely filled with roots and no clog. So I think ill be fine.



8/16 from start to finish.



I might add the filter. Didn't really need it. 8/16 makes for a clean res. No ben bacteria in the micro/bloom I thinks. I might be wrong tho.



Thank you very much man!!



I bet if I insulated everything I prob wouldn't need it. But without it I get temps in the 80's which I don't like. My chiller is only like 200w, ill check when the lights turn on. But it barley runs to keep my nutes at 68. I honestly didn't even notice a jump in electricity usage with it. System is way quiet. I sleep right next to the room and barley notice it. It IS LOUD AS HELL with the rings plugged in. The air bubbles would vibrate the buckets something fierce. But once the roots hit the bottom. Peace and quiet.

thanks for the detailed response, ill be watching, cant wait to see these bitches flower!

 

[Dopeboy668]

Love the setup! I've got 4 waterfarms im thinkin about convertin over ta superfarms. lol. I've done alota research and it really seams to be the way ta go, especially when your using vertical lighting and bigger fewer plants. Keep up the good work! K+

 

[turbo14]

Very nice setp brotha! I'm likin' the DIY work you did on the waterfarms. My new setup is very similar to yours. I am running the under current 8XL system under 3 600's. Vegged 3 weeks in 4x8 hydrohut. What wattage are your lights? Do you do any LST or any training? very healthy looking plants my man!

turbo