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Micro Can you get into your drip system. how many GPH on what intervals r u running. what "manufacturer" r u using
I am looking into using the home depot build-a-drip stuff they have But would totaly be down for a better way.
Your set up is beautiful and I appreciate your sharing I am running coco under 3k but want to get away from hand watering and automate more
I have a couple of drip system questions. Is there a trick to getting even amounts of water for all of the plants (or does the 1000gph pump just evenly pressurize the entire line... guessing with 4 tables per room you have some fairly long feed line runs) ? Do you have those little things that control flow inline, think I have seen gal per minute or something like that?
How do you control the amount of runoff? Do you measure from time to time and make adjustments as the plants use more or less nutes or am I overthinking that?
Also would you mind sharing the brand name of the pumps...guessing not all 1000 gph pumps are created the same, quality/reliability/etc?
And could you share your thinking on dtw vs a recirc system like Ebb and Flow? In other words what made you choose your setup vs the other popular commercial choice.
Sorry for all of the questions. I am still in the deciding phase of how I want my next grow to be and it is just a privilege to be able to ask people that do it so well...so I probably go a little overboard.
micro, (1) is there a reason you're not air-cooling those lights? I'm sure this was a conscious decision, I just wonder if you'd share the reasons. Do you just totally not care about heightened A/C usage? (2)Also, have you ever heard of using lengths of 6" or even 8" pvc drainage pipe hung with a pulley system, punctuated by a series of inline-air-cooled lamps, instead of the flex piping which creates so much drag/noise?
YosemiteSam, thanks for the excellent questions particularly one about not all 1000gph's being equal. This is especially true in multi-site, potentially pressure-based drip systems such as the fixed-flow button or flag drip emitters.
Yes there is a bit of plumbing in between the pump and the plant (a 1/4" tee on one 1/4" line for two water sites per plant). This open-ended watering system is based more on gravity than pressure... as long as all watering sites are at equal elevation, it should get pretty even amounts of water output. Typically in a setup like this the length of tube & its elevation on/in container or medium will determine that.
The type of pumps being used for this application are the $35 "standard hydro" (ceramic shaft, impeller) submersibles. I believe the brand is "ActiveAqua", but I've seen identical/nearly identical pumps in just about every hydro shop labeled under different brands.
The amount of runoff is controlled by timing. With 48-60 sites and multiple daily waterings, whole minute waterings were determined to be too long and wasteful, so a delay timer is used to decrease the timing down to ~30 seconds. Adjustments are made along their life cycle, but more in frequency of watering rather than length.
My personal take on DTW is that it keeps things much simpler (rez of all shapes and sizes in any location you want w/o need for a complicated valve system and such, knowing exactly what you're feeding to your plants at all times) and cleaner (no dirty / "living" reservoirs), and those are coincidentally the key reasons on why.
DTW really does seem pretty simple, I'm thinking about going that route next round, mainly to make my life easier as far as rez maintenance goes. I like the idea of using one reservoir at a time so I can have my spares off to the side, already filled and pHed. That way I yank the pumps out of rez A and put them into rez B and refill rez A at my own leisure.
Thanks for sharing with us, Micro. I'm learning alot.
Nice grow micro, just got around to checking it out. I see some similarities in design like the tanks, etc. Did I have any influence or do great minds think alike?
I saw your comment about the nail gun. We bought a $300 combo from Home Depot that included a small compressor, a staple gun, and 2 finishing nailers. Then we got the $99 home depot framing nailer. We ran the piss out of those things. All the building, tables, other misc items hung. Well worth the money. The plastic coated nails did eventually cause me an issue as it eventually jammed the gun. Like you I am not a builder but kind of figure it out as I do it. So finally I took the magazine apart and cleaned with some alcohol and it has worked fine since. Just FIY if you have that issue.
2 weeks to build? I am impressed. Mine took much longer but there were factors beyond my control.
Very nice and I wish you the best of luck
PS Rambam, you could use solid round ducting for the lights. It would be ALOT lighter than PVC. But it would make adjusting height an issue
I'm sure great minds think alike: I've seen your thread, but I've dreamed of using these 275 gallon totes for longer than I've been growing commercially.
Yeah I saw the HD air tank combo; I would have easily gotten that kit, had if it had come with a framing nailer instead. I have nearly no use for the rest (maybe a staple gun, but electric or spring is more convenient), making it a ~$300 air compressor. Never saw such a low priced framing nailer at Home Depot... what brand/model/specs? Haven't had any issues with plastic collated nails yet. Except shrapnel flying near eyes. Alcohol? I recommend a can of lithium grease.
2 weeks for the "essentials" build-out that enabled us to go live with room #1, but took quite a while longer to put the finishing touches in... as well as room #2. Pace slowed down tremendously after room #1, though.
rambam, (1) I'm with Eminem. I would imagine there could possibly be some heat related issues (PVC getting soft and wobbly? gases?) with heated air flowing through 'em? Plus at those diameters, I think PVC will cost much more than round metal ducting.
(2) It was a conscious decision made to experiment with the concept that the simplicity and "purity" (no loss through glass, ducts, etc) of non-air-cooled lights will outweigh being able to run a few more air-cooled lights in the A/C's place. So far, mixed feelings.