What's new
  • As of today ICMag has his own Discord server. In this Discord server you can chat, talk with eachother, listen to music, share stories and pictures...and much more. Join now and let's grow together! Join ICMag Discord here! More details in this thread here: here.

a ppk for a 6 plant limit

Globule

Globule

Member
PPK'ing like a boss

PPK'ing like a boss

G'day everyone

After a couple of years away from growing I have finally finished my new growspace and adorned it with a new PPK system (11-litre/2.9gal top buckets with Turface on top of 20-litre/5.3gal lower buckets) which has been operating like a well-oiled machine for 3 days now.

It's early veg days yet and will get a grow diary up and running soon-ish but just wanted to thank you all for the wealth of info and experience shared in this and the other PPK threads.

Still got a bit more work do do on the room but for now a few pics:



Cheers!
 
J

JamesFarmer

Member
av8or said:
Everything sounds right. It takes me a bag for two sites at around 6". Keep on truckin', boss. You're doing it right!
Click to expand...

Thanks Av8or!!

My next little stumbling block has presented itself ....

I had planned on using an EcoPlus 600gph pump to water my 6 site system. I got it all plumbed up. See the pic.

When I run the pump it does not deliver enough water to fill up to the top of the turface.

I eliminated two of the six sites and tried watering jut four of them. It still won't fill to a standing water depth of more than about 4 1/2 inches. I think I am going to need to at least double my pump capacity.

I wanted to check in here to make sure that I am correct in expecting the buckets to fill rapidly enough that the nutes should fill the bucket to the surface of the Turface?

Thanks again.
 

Attachments

  • ppk12.jpg
    ppk12.jpg
    64.1 KB · Views: 24
Last edited:
T

theplaya

Member
Yea that pump is way too small. I believe it needs to be at lead 250 each site to completely flood. I use a 2400 gph pump for 8 sites
 
av8or

av8or

Member
JamesFarmer said:
Thanks Av8or!!

My next little stumbling block has presented itself ....

I had planned on using an EcoPlus 600gph pump to water my 6 site system. I got it all plumbed up. See the pic.

When I run the pump it does not deliver enough water to fill up to the top of the turface.

I eliminated two of the six sites and tried watering jut four of them. It still won't fill to a standing water depth of more than about 4 1/2 inches. I think I am going to need to at least double my pump capacity.

I wanted to check in here to make sure that I am correct in expecting the buckets to fill rapidly enough that the nutes should fill the bucket to the surface of the Turface?

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

If you desire a flood, yes, Playa is right. However, you dont have to flood. You can pulse feed about a quart every 30 to 45 minutes. Your pump should be just fine for that. I do both ways and notice zero difference in growth.

Editing to say that you'll need to build a halo to disperse the nutes if you're going to pulse feed. There are pictures some pages back, if you look.
 
Last edited:
R

rover747

Member
delta9nxs said:
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.
Click to expand...
Hi .So it this mix could be used ,instead of turface ?
 
T

theplaya

Member
And if u decide to use that one. It's extremely strong by the way. I used zip ties to tie the float up so it would engage to let the pump turn on
 
T

theplaya

Member
I also did an experiment. When I screened mine I got tired and lazy of using the metal screen to screen them. So I used a metal trash can u get from office max. It had bigger holes in them. It sped up the screen time but removed a lot of material. Left me with mostly bigger ones. Well I did an experiment yesterday one cup with the ones I screen. Another cup with some of the smaller sized turface. Put both cups into a bucket of water to see the wick action. After 1 day the cup with the smaller material was able to work twice as much as the bigger materials. So I think for me this whole time my tubs were not wicking at all
 
D

delta9nxs

No Jive Productions
Veteran
rover747 said:
Hi .So it this mix could be used ,instead of turface ?
Click to expand...

yes, with the wave type pulse method of feeding, which is frequent small amounts instead of a huge ones further apart.

you don't let the medium dry out. since it is always wet the new water travels and disperses like a wave, displacing gases, refreshing nutrients, correcting ph, and eliminating salt build up as it goes through.

this method virtually eliminates the clogging some have experienced with the full flood method.

lets you use a wider variety of media although you should still check the air filled porosity. for example the atami loose fill coco is 30% right out of the bag.

always check the porosity of any new medium. 30-40% range is what you want.

i found that the choice of material is secondary to the mechanical properties.

with the full flood you must have a medium that doesn't float. turface, 8822, other diatomaceous earth products, and now pumice all meet that requirement.

with the wave pulse those will all still work but also coco and perlite will work.

but almost any material has it's special preparation requirements.

some coco can be used right out of the bag without even washing but will still have cation exchange issues, other coco is filthy and full of bugs. i have never been able to get through a coco grow without fungus gnats.

perlite is good stuff but still needs to be rinsed really well to get the fine material out. perlite and coco together can form a hydraulic plug that will trap water in the upper container and drown the plant.

i think what happens here is that the fine particle from the perlite gets trapped in the coco fiber inside the tailpiece. that's why i recommend a 85/15 perlite/coco fiber mix. preclean and rinse them both separately and then mix them.

coco fiber by itself is ok except for the bugs but perlite always needs to be amended with something as there is absolutely no cation exchange capability. every straight perlite grow i've ever seen shows tip burn. this forum used to be full of pictures of 100% perlite grows. check some out and you will have a hard time finding one without tip burn.

i've used perlite amended with a little coco or turface or 8822 to eliminate it.

the tip burn is also indicative of too rapid drying and the subsequent concentrating of dried salts, even if temporarily.

i never get tip burn in turface.

i will be using a full flood from now on in the clone area only to ensure rapid rooting. once roots are established i intend to use the wave pulse in the power vegging and flower rooms.

wrote another novel! time for bed.
 
T

theplaya

Member
Hey Av8or have u got your trellis support up? I'm changing my layout and trying to think of way to support the monsters. Can I see pic if u have them. Thx
 
McKush

McKush

Éirinn go Brách
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Globule said:
G'day everyone

After a couple of years away from growing I have finally finished my new growspace and adorned it with a new PPK system (11-litre/2.9gal top buckets with Turface on top of 20-litre/5.3gal lower buckets) which has been operating like a well-oiled machine for 3 days now.

It's early veg days yet and will get a grow diary up and running soon-ish but just wanted to thank you all for the wealth of info and experience shared in this and the other PPK threads.

Still got a bit more work do do on the room but for now a few pics:

[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=56697&pictureid=1487210&thumb=1]View Image[/url] [URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=56697&pictureid=1487211&thumb=1]View Image[/url] [URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=56697&pictureid=1487214&thumb=1]View Image[/url] [URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=56697&pictureid=1487753&thumb=1]View Image[/url] [URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=56697&pictureid=1487754&thumb=1]View Image[/url]

Cheers!
Click to expand...

G'day mate and welcome back jack!

only thing I notice in your pics is that your tailpipe seems awfully short. You may not be completely removing the PWT from the grow container.

I could be mistaken tho.
 
av8or

av8or

Member
Playa, this is the best pic I could find. It's hard to see but I tossed plastic trellis netting over the whole plant in veg, another one at the beginning of stretch and another once she buds up. The whole plant holds itself up as it grows. I'll use yoyo's clipped to the netting and attached to the ceiling to balance the big bush. It's all very easy. If you're growing anything larger than two pounds, I would recommend using a welded wire cage stood on end in a cylinder around the plant. Flower Farmer did a good.job of this in his most recently completed grow. Check his thread for pics on that. Hope this helps!
 

Attachments

  • IMAG3697.jpg
    IMAG3697.jpg
    56.7 KB · Views: 20
Globule

Globule

Member
McKush said:
G'day mate and welcome back jack!

only thing I notice in your pics is that your tailpipe seems awfully short. You may not be completely removing the PWT from the grow container.

I could be mistaken tho.
Click to expand...

Hey McKush and thanks for the kind welcome :tiphat:

The tailpipe extends 3.5" below the bottom of the top bucket.
It is submerged about 2" into the nutrient solution when everything is at equilibrium (leaving an airgap of 1.5 inches)

Do you think I could do with a couple more inches on my tailpipe? (said the bishop to the actress...)
I'm thinking it would be tricky but could be achieved with a conduit connector and some extra pipe if it would be worthwhile?

How deep do you think my tailpipe would ideally need to dive into the Atlantis of nutrients in the lower bucket?

Thanks for looking out for a brother.
Cheers!
 
RamCTD1027

RamCTD1027

Member
Globule said:
Hey McKush and thanks for the kind welcome :tiphat:

The tailpipe extends 3.5" below the bottom of the top bucket.
It is submerged about 2" into the nutrient solution when everything is at equilibrium (leaving an airgap of 1.5 inches)

Do you think I could do with a couple more inches on my tailpipe? (said the bishop to the actress...)
I'm thinking it would be tricky but could be achieved with a conduit connector and some extra pipe if it would be worthwhile?

How deep do you think my tailpipe would ideally need to dive into the Atlantis of nutrients in the lower bucket?

Thanks for looking out for a brother.
Cheers!
Click to expand...


Your air gap need to be larger than 1.5". Shoot for 4" with thr ability to adjust in both directions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Latest posts

Top