12 pot dwc

[elmer budd]

my plans r too setup a 12-17 gal dwc system few questions i would like the experts here chime in and share some thoughts
strain will GOD BUD
things i have already
1)my room is 12x16x8
2)10-1000 watt hps lights 8 inch radiant hoods
3)4-Eco Air-8 air filters
4)1-C.A.P. MLC-16X Grow room control lighting relay
5)100ft of 1 inch pluming and fittings
6)12-17 gall barrels
7)3-8 inch vortex fans
things i think i might need
1)what size rez do u thing i would need
2)wut size control bucket
3)what size sump pumps
4)air stones or defussers
5)8 inch pluming for hoods
6)what size net pots 10-12 inch
if more things r needed please help me out first dwc system also wut nutes r best for that strain

 

[mpd]

Welcome to ICMAG!

If it were me, I would:

1. Use a 20-gallon reservoir.
2. Control bucket would be the reservoir.
3. I would use a 160-gallon sump pump.
4. I would use six dual-output air pumps so each bucket had a dedicated line.
5. 8" works, I dunno about 3 fans. Sounds like overkill.
6. Use the net pots that have a built-in lid and you'll be happier.

Good luck.

Don't forget the smoke detector.

Don't forget to get an air filter. I use CAN air filters and have had great success. Oh, you are using Eco's.

A lighting relay controller? Really? Isn't that overkill?

 

[FlowerFarmer]

Welcome to ICMAG!


A lighting relay controller? Really? Isn't that overkill?

Isnt that necessary?
As opposed to trying to run 10 lights on independent circuits/timers?


1)what size rez do u thing i would need
- Get like a 100gal rubbermaid stock tank from tractor supply

2)wut size control bucket
- 17 Gallon..just as your plant sights. Auto topped via gravity float valve from that 100gal reservoir up above the 17 gal controller on some concrete blocks or some fashion.

3)what size sump pumps
- not sure. Less air power..go higher flow. Good air supplementation would allow for lower speed recirculation.

4)air stones or defussers
- Alita air pump.. sweetwater airstones. Making aeration "stones" out of Alita silica diffuser hose is also a superior route to go if you got cash. www.alita.com

5)8 inch pluming for hoods
- Sounds good to me for you've gotta stick with AC hoods.

6)what size net pots 10-12 inch
- What do your 17 Gal sites look like? Might be hard to fashion net baskets into them. Might be easier to use some smaller "totes" or buckets with holes drilled out for one giant net pot that can be nested down into your barrels.



Also, I'd opt to 10" Max fans for everything you do..even if needing reduced for your AC hoods. They are badass and quiet.


Looks like you'll be growing trees. I say screw the reflectors and grow some vert trees. The DWC system you are proposing seems more fit for it. Max 10s.. as ALL 3 being exhaust power with appropriate filters (Can 150s..imo).. Just like what Lazyman was doing in his 16k basement thread. This will give you air exchange at roughly 2x minute.


Keep us posted..

 

[Sativa Dragon]

One 8 inch fan will move a truck load of air full speed, I think three is just going to suck more power and create more noise pollution. Plus with three big 8's you will need to think about make up air for the room or the fans will not perform and your brains will explode from negative pressure, Air out equals air in. The lighting relay is a good idea for switching 10 kilowats, plus they look super cool and if you decided to run those other fans anyway you could run them off the panel during lights on and they would shut off at night with the lights. Bonus about being safe is that IF anyone with any credetials ever has to assess your room and decides it is unsafe or a hazard you know that will be very bad indeed my friend. I would mae a trip[ to the pet shop for the air stones and buy the patty shaped ones and hot glue them to the bottoms of your buckets and put a massive one in the rez. Don't forget your safety glasses hee hee.

Peace

 

[FlowerFarmer]

huh, hows that possible?

I didn't see any mention of AC?
Don't see how one would keep 10k cool with a single 8" fan.


Overkill is underrated. The more exhaust power the better. I'll take all the negative pressure I can get in a non-sealed room. Bugs/Powdery Mildew cant even hang on..lol

Air exchange at 2x per minute will allow you to not fuck with trying to keep 10k cool and focus on other aspects of the garden.


Per Lazy man.. save yourself the $$ and trouble of AC hoods and just drop bulbs + major air exchange. Emulate the below with 2-3 Max 10s and you'll like what you have.

 

[elmer budd]

thanks MPD,FF and SD
1)forgot to mention he air filter is a 10x39 phresh filter,i was planning on using on of the in my veg room the other two 1 for the lights the other for the filter.
2)the relay controller might b overkill but I all ready have it from another setup.
3)was planning on cutting the tops of the barrels to fit the baskets(was more concerned on the size square or round)
4)tryna get another 17 inch barrel for the control bucket, the guy doesn't have any more might just get a 20 gal tote a prop it up too the right height
5)those Alita air pump r bad ass but really wasn't tryna spend money on things I already have gonna use the round air stones 4inch in each pot and 8inch in the rez
6)will a 100 gal rez do the trick for me

 

[elmer budd]

FF
would I need any special type sockets to run my bulds vert

 

[elmer budd]

that setup sounds great it wouldn't wor with the 3 8inch vortex fans I already have

 

[Sativa Dragon]

LESSON IN HVAC

LESSON IN HVAC

Air exchange at 2x per minute will allow you to not fuck with trying to keep 10k cool and focus on other aspects of the garden.

If you have no makeup air your room would have to be Swiss cheese to support an air exchange of 2x a minute, I am not surprised that you would require three large fans to suck it through the cracks in the walls and the sewer drains and where ever it will get it. Long term negative air pressure will over time cause some problems. Most of the time airborne particulate such as mold spores will hang in the air and find places to rest.
To find out what the required make up air is for your fan to be effective at doing it's required purpose without needlessly spinning it making lots of noise and producing no results look at the CFM’s and go online and find out how big of a hole you need to put in the room for makeup air and filter it as required.
If you want to know what a fan with no makeup air sound like in comparison. Get your Vacuum and turn it on, the makeup air is the sucking end, now cover the sucking end half way with your hand that’s what a fan does when it has half the makeup air it needs, it spins loudly and needlessly with no load burning up precious kilowatts of power.
more fans does not mean more cooling unless you have somewhere for that air to come from and leave to.
Part of growing indoors for some is regarding the fact that resources are not unlimited and attention to detail requires a keen eye for find ways to be as efficient as possible, that way your cost per weight is not off the charts and you get a better turn over for your investment. That’s how you grow smart.

Peace

 

[elmer budd]

dragon thas my reason 4 having multi fans to pull fresh cool air into the room while using the other fan to remove the heat from the lights out the room,i truelly appreciate the advise please continue too help

 

[FlowerFarmer]

If you have no makeup air your room would have to be Swiss cheese to support an air exchange of 2x a minute, I am not surprised that you would require three large fans to suck it through the cracks in the walls and the sewer drains and where ever it will get it. Long term negative air pressure will over time cause some problems. Most of the time airborne particulate such as mold spores will hang in the air and find places to rest.
To find out what the required make up air is for your fan to be effective at doing it's required purpose without needlessly spinning it making lots of noise and producing no results look at the CFM’s and go online and find out how big of a hole you need to put in the room for makeup air and filter it as required.
If you want to know what a fan with no makeup air sound like in comparison. Get your Vacuum and turn it on, the makeup air is the sucking end, now cover the sucking end half way with your hand that’s what a fan does when it has half the makeup air it needs, it spins loudly and needlessly with no load burning up precious kilowatts of power.
more fans does not mean more cooling unless you have somewhere for that air to come from and leave to.
Part of growing indoors for some is regarding the fact that resources are not unlimited and attention to detail requires a keen eye for find ways to be as efficient as possible, that way your cost per weight is not off the charts and you get a better turn over for your investment. That’s how you grow smart.

Peace

Well I digress, but still not cooling 10k with a single 8" fan without living in a very cold climate. Add forced intake fans if you must, but you won't be doing much with inadequate air exchange to keep you cool.


Big exhaust power... big passive intake (or supplement with more intake fans to balance it out more), but you need mega air exchange to cool 10,000w without AC.


Normally be good with around 200CFM per every 1K of light. 10 lights.. I'd start with 2 10" Max fans (around 1000 CFM) on exhaust and see how we looked from there.

But since you've already got a few 8".. might as well try those 3 and see how it goes.



just my 2c.

 

[elmer budd]

FF
thans bro set up is the basement and I have a 18k ac unit down there but the two rooms r sectioned off tryna figure out to plump the ac into the flowing room no windows on that side might have too reconfig things

 

[Sativa Dragon]

Well I digress, but still not cooling 10k with a single 8" fan without living in a very cold climate. Add forced intake fans if you must, but you won't be doing much with inadequate air exchange to keep you cool.


Big exhaust power... big passive intake (or supplement with more intake fans to balance it out more), but you need mega air exchange to cool 10,000w without AC.


Normally be good with around 200CFM per every 1K of light. 10 lights.. I'd start with 2 10" Max fans (around 1000 CFM) on exhaust and see how we looked from there.

But since you've already got a few 8".. might as well try those 3 and see how it goes.



just my 2c.

I agree one hundred percent as long as there is sufficient makeup air. Plan Plan Plan. Thos ewho fail to plan, plan to fail they say.

Peace

 

[elmer budd]

just askin my ppl will this or can this work with the 10 lights
x x x x
o o o
x x x x
o o o
x x x x

x-being the 12 plants
o-being 6 lights hung vertical
and use the other 4 lights hung horizontal on 2 movable light tracks,do u think the yields would be any greater than just hangin all 10 lights horizontally is it worth the effort
SD thats y im here planning i kno alot of things that is learned doing this is trail and error but if i can learn from others that have tried different things i might save my self some time and money

 

[Bassy59]

Ok call my an odd ball, but I think 1" line to run your plumming is horribly low for the volume of water being used and number of plants. Cooling the water temps is going to be a huge issue imho as dwc vs rdwc. I could be totally wrong, but I think you're just asking for root rot.

Bad shit won't grow in water sub 68*. Cooling that room with that many lights will be an issue I think.

If I had the room, and the lights, and inclination to do something that big, I would go with 1.5" pvc at minimum, maybe 2". As mentioned before, 5 gal buckets with the 6-8" netpot lids already in them.

Now I am a bit biased. But because I live in the dessert, and as a renter I can't do what I would like to cool the room. But I use a water chiller and recirculate. Prior to rdwc with chiller, I had issues with water temps. 18 months later I still dont even look at my water temps and the roots do great. But I am also only cooling 4 plants in 5 gal buckets and 1k hps. You're going 3 x the plants and 6-10 times the light.

In your x o diagram above I think you're setting the lights and plants out less than optimal for the theory behind vertical. I don't do vertical personally, but I have a grasp of it. You're losing out on a lot of light to plants I think. I'd seriously reconsider setting up rows like that when going vertical and look for ways to surround every single plant with light.

I think you're on a good path. Just think about some adjustments.

 

[elmer budd]

B59
thanks was kinda thinking out loud about using the lights in a vert setup think im gonna use them the way i planned