a ppk for a 6 plant limit

[mufinman]

I trust d9's opinions here. id start out with the larger air gap, so u don't over water right away. if they seem like they can drink more u can always reduce it, or increase ur watering length or frequency.

d9's right about the relation between the pwt n the 3" drains vs the 3.5 gal buckets. but I run plenty of them with success. just pulled down a 350g plant with 300w of flower light, with the 3" drain in the 3.5's, so id say u can dial it in.

350gr must be dry, wet would be easy but that is very impressive, MM.

 

[JamesFarmer]

wrong screen. use this;

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?productId=3087579

is fiberglass and has a larger mesh size and is less likely to clog.

next time try 3" pvc as it cuts smoother than abs

OK....

I made it down to Lowes to pick up the proper screen. It fits nicely. Looks good.

Something occurred to me as I assembled the first one. I had read the threads regarding PPK and seen 6" tailpieces the norm.

I cut mine 6 1/2" long.

As I assembled the first one I realized that the cleanout that holds the screen in place is 1 1/2" long. This will make the portion of the tailpiece/wick that is filled with Turface 5" long.

I would think that with that configuration that I cannot run anything more than a 5" (Or slightly less) air gap.

Am I headed for disaster? Or am I still ok??

Thanks Everyone for all of your assistance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[delta9nxs]

OK....

I made it down to Lowes to pick up the proper screen. It fits nicely. Looks good.

Something occurred to me as I assembled the first one. I had read the threads regarding PPK and seen 6" tailpieces the norm.

I cut mine 6 1/2" long.

As I assembled the first one I realized that the cleanout that holds the screen in place is 1 1/2" long. This will make the portion of the tailpiece/wick that is filled with Turface 5" long.

I would think that with that configuration that I cannot run anything more than a 5" (Or slightly less) air gap.

Am I headed for disaster? Or am I still ok??

Thanks Everyone for all of your assistance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

howdy, i cut the tube at 8" to compensate for the inset screen. i think you should cut new ones just in case. especially considering the 3" tube in a 3.5 bucket.

just a few more feet of pvc now could potentially save your crop later if the 3" tube transports too much water.

 

[panick503]

Could someone direct me to what page the plant pics are on?

 

[av8or]

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=298002

 

[Miraculous Meds]

Glad to hear that.

I try to make sure that I have a good workable plan before I start spending $$ and building systems.

Would you recommend that I start with a 6" gap?

I will be veg'ing 6 plants under 1200 watts of MH and flowering 8 smaller plants under 3k of HPS.

I am hoping for a 7-10 day perpetual cycle yielding 300-400 grams per plant (I hope..).

that is doable. don't expect it right away. u cant replace runs under ur belt, n learning ur strains to nail them with the right amount of food n training to fill in the canopy perfectly. by the way, all that was probably a dhf quote. lol

 

[Miraculous Meds]

I want more details of this, I was disappointed you didn't have a grow thread

sorry no pics n thread. there will be a time, but its not now. what details can I help u with though.

the flower set up is a 4 site ppk, vert stacked 600's, with each plant getting its own 2'x4' screen. copied the screens off Ichabod crane, hes got a good thread in the vert section if ur interested. and of course d9 has been matriculating along this ppk thing for a few years now. ask away if u want details. as long as it pertains a bit to ppk ill answer here, but otherwise u might wanna pm me.

 

[McKush]

that is doable. don't expect it right away. u cant replace runs under ur belt, n learning ur strains to nail them with the right amount of food n training to fill in the canopy perfectly. by the way, all that was probably a dhf quote. lol

no yin yang, far too few elipses for a DHF post.

 

[JamesFarmer]

howdy, i cut the tube at 8" to compensate for the inset screen. i think you should cut new ones just in case. especially considering the 3" tube in a 3.5 bucket.

just a few more feet of pvc now could potentially save your crop later if the 3" tube transports too much water.

Thank you for the direction. I went ahead and cut new 8" long tailpieces and replaced them all.

Disassembling them was a bit of a PITA. I managed 7 complete units after a bit of carnage....

I took note of the "vibratory screen" earlier in the thread and cobbled something similar but used a reciprocating saw bungeed to a post and the end of the screen suspended from the blade.

Not a perfect solution but I managed to screen a 50# sack in about 15 minutes. I ran the material over the screen twice for good measure.

I was a bit surprised that I only managed to fill two of my 3.5 gallon buckets from the 50# bag. I started a third but did not have enough.

I am filling the buckets to a depth of 6". Am I putting too much Turface in my buckets??

 

[funnymath]

sorry no pics n thread. there will be a time, but its not now. what details can I help u with though.

the flower set up is a 4 site ppk, vert stacked 600's, with each plant getting its own 2'x4' screen. copied the screens off Ichabod crane, hes got a good thread in the vert section if ur interested. and of course d9 has been matriculating along this ppk thing for a few years now. ask away if u want details. as long as it pertains a bit to ppk ill answer here, but otherwise u might wanna pm me.

Oh I misunderstood, I thought you meant that you only had 300w of lights and pulled 350g off one plant. I am going to build a system much smaller than all of you guys and I'm always looking for other small ppk systems.

 

[av8or]

Thank you for the direction. I went ahead and cut new 8" long tailpieces and replaced them all.

Disassembling them was a bit of a PITA. I managed 7 complete units after a bit of carnage....

I took note of the "vibratory screen" earlier in the thread and cobbled something similar but used a reciprocating saw bungeed to a post and the end of the screen suspended from the blade.

Not a perfect solution but I managed to screen a 50# sack in about 15 minutes. I ran the material over the screen twice for good measure.

I was a bit surprised that I only managed to fill two of my 3.5 gallon buckets from the 50# bag. I started a third but did not have enough.

I am filling the buckets to a depth of 6". Am I putting too much Turface in my buckets??

Everything sounds right. It takes me a bag for two sites at around 6". Keep on truckin', boss. You're doing it right!

 

[theplaya]

Hey delta was trying to pm u but apparently not enough posts. But as soon as I reach it expect a pm from with some off the wall questions

 

[SecondAttempt]

why not just ask them here... someone will answer them.

 

[RamCTD1027]

Planning for second run...coco?

Planning for second run...coco?

Couple weeks left till I finish my first run in a PPK setup and I am more than impressed. I'm trying to line everything up for the second run to minimize downtime. Went to buy turface yesterday and my supplier is closed for the season. I live on the east coast so I don't have access to pumice either. How about coco?

Anyone have success running coco? What changes need to be made? What did you do with the screen to prevent coco from falling thru? Did you amend the coco with amy thing to promote rapid drain? Changes in feeding time/frequency?

I understand that coco has a different air-filled porosity and different wicking characteristics but that doesn't scare me all that much. I love the PPK for the ability to remove the PWT. I have a back-up stand by generator on a transfer switch incase power goes out so I can lower the air gap and remove the wicking ability all together if this will help.

As a side note, these are all hypothetical questions. If I can find turface, I'll run it. If not, I have to search for available alternatives. One benefit to coco is that I don't have to screen/wash all of it.

Thanks.

 

[Miraculous Meds]

Couple weeks left till I finish my first run in a PPK setup and I am more than impressed. I'm trying to line everything up for the second run to minimize downtime. Went to buy turface yesterday and my supplier is closed for the season. I live on the east coast so I don't have access to pumice either. How about coco?

Anyone have success running coco? What changes need to be made? What did you do with the screen to prevent coco from falling thru? Did you amend the coco with amy thing to promote rapid drain? Changes in feeding time/frequency?

I understand that coco has a different air-filled porosity and different wicking characteristics but that doesn't scare me all that much. I love the PPK for the ability to remove the PWT. I have a back-up stand by generator on a transfer switch incase power goes out so I can lower the air gap and remove the wicking ability all together if this will help.

As a side note, these are all hypothetical questions. If I can find turface, I'll run it. If not, I have to search for available alternatives. One benefit to coco is that I don't have to screen/wash all of it.

Thanks.

lucky u. u ran into the coir ppk guy. its lonely here in coir ppk land. but come join the fun! Ive had my personal best yields running this style.

So im constantly experimenting but I would recommend 50% coir 50% ur choice of hydroton, perlite, grow rocks etc... if u want a more heavy n stable base out of ur pot, then the hydroton or rock/clay product would be best.

wicking seems to be ultra effective n u have to watch not having too much or u will cause stalled growth n root rot. so a larger air gap seems to be required. im usually at 5" air gap. with coir able to hold water for so much longer than turface, I like to start the ppk actually below the drain, so theres no wicking till the plant is established n growing rapidly. this way I know the roots have filled in the pot n theres less chance of drowning them.

with heavier % of just coir in the pot I have had to lower the water level to the point of no wicking. then u lose the advantage of being able to keep the plant wet during pump failure or elec outages, but u still have the advantage of the reduced pwt.

u also would do better to water slowly with a smaller pump n less flow rate. the faster flood style of watering is no Bueno for coir.

before I load the newly planted coir ppk plant, I water dtw for a few days, to remove any inbalanced cation probs that coir has, n also its a good chance to flush out the small coir that will flush thru, n the off colored water that flushes out when first watering coir. the standard screen is fine for coir.

any specific questions or concerns, fire away.

 

[theplaya]

why not just ask them here... someone will answer them.

It's a Lil off topic and I didn't want to clutter the thread up.

 

[theplaya]

And for anyone having any type of doubt with the ppk. I first started over a year ago from flood and drain. Setups. Pulling in a # every 4 plants. Ever since I switch I am able to get 1.5 # a plant consistently. Following deltas advice and everyone's input also

 

[delta9nxs]

perlite 85% coco 15% grows some nice plants with a wave pulse.

it's just enough coco to improve capillary action and slow down the drying tendency with perlite. adds a little cec capabilty to perlite which has none.

 

[delta9nxs]

Couple weeks left till I finish my first run in a PPK setup and I am more than impressed. I'm trying to line everything up for the second run to minimize downtime. Went to buy turface yesterday and my supplier is closed for the season. I live on the east coast so I don't have access to pumice either. How about coco?

Anyone have success running coco? What changes need to be made? What did you do with the screen to prevent coco from falling thru? Did you amend the coco with amy thing to promote rapid drain? Changes in feeding time/frequency?

I understand that coco has a different air-filled porosity and different wicking characteristics but that doesn't scare me all that much. I love the PPK for the ability to remove the PWT. I have a back-up stand by generator on a transfer switch incase power goes out so I can lower the air gap and remove the wicking ability all together if this will help.

As a side note, these are all hypothetical questions. If I can find turface, I'll run it. If not, I have to search for available alternatives. One benefit to coco is that I don't have to screen/wash all of it.

Thanks.

this plant was grown in atami loose fill only with a wave pulse.

 

[Miraculous Meds]

perlite 85% coco 15% grows some nice plants with a wave pulse.

it's just enough coco to improve capillary action and slow down the drying tendency with perlite. adds a little cec capabilty to perlite which has none.

interesting. I think I will try more along the lines of ur ratio next transplant. ill probably start with more like 30% coir though. ive still got a lot of coir to use. lol