passive plant killer

[*mistress*]

hi, mistress!

organization has never been one of my strong points.

my ideal of perfection is chaos.

thank you for the ideas. i need all the help i can get.

thanks for getting all that blue stuff off!

later

--

i really don't know how to approach this organization thing. i hadn't thought about an index disappearing. we need some way for new people to fast track building and operating.

see edited post https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=4677568&postcount=2519 see edited post https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.ph...postcount=2519 what exactly do you envision as an index? only technical matters? no online user personas? would that capture the fullness of the thread? do you want a full backup of the thread? do you want you builds seperated from your operations? either/or, it can be done.... how you want the index to `flow`... .

 

[Snook]

see edited post https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=4677568&postcount=2519 what exactly do you envision as an index? only technical matters? no online user personas? would that capture the fullness of the thread? do you want a full backup of the thread? do you want you builds seperated from your operations? either/or, it can be done.... how you want the index to `flow`... .

I'm with 'mistress'.. Links at the first post. Not that your 'indexes' arent working, zeke and IF, but shes right the thread would loose its'........ 'personality' and past incarnations, which will/would answer many questions already asked and answered.. but ya gotta find them, in order for them to be of any use.. a conundrum. Not to mention lost post count... HAHAH!!

 

[ImaginaryFriend]

I currently have a 2.5 Gallon recirc bucket system that I can fix res height (in all buckets in series) by the height of the closest buckets drain fitting that returns to the lower res. Do you see any flaws in maintaining res's this way, as long as the upper bucket is identical to yours? Pulse would be delivered from lower (Master) res.

In my opinion it would be more than fine, and suspect you might find some secondary benefits.

 

[bloyd]

Hey D9. Are you planning to reuse your rice hull/turface mixture or will you use new medium. I know turface is infinitely reusable and I assume the rice hulls with their high silica content should hold up well throughout several grows so was wondering if you would reuse your medium or just start fresh. If re-using how will you go about cleaning prepping the mix for the next go round.

Are you not using the cheap 1/4" od drip line for anything anymore? Do you think their would be too much back pressure using the 1/4" od drip line on a 396 gph pump with 4 buckets? Just trying to get everything together and want the newest and best as found through your trials and tribulations.

 

[zeke99]

i don't plan on deleting my account but if anyone wants an email of the forum code for the index I will gladly send it. http://anonymbox.com/

the index is not anything more than how i needed to organize the thread in order to understand it and implement it. the pdf is the handy mini printable version. i don't plan on making any major changes to these, but for the time being will continue to add nuggets of info to the index. Creating the PDF was easy. I simply downloaded the pics, inserted them into a Word file and added the corresponding text.

 

[zeke99]

delta where you some kind of engineer in a prior life?

it occurs to me now that I've asked some questions that you've already answered repeatedly. Thanks for having tremendous patience with us!

 

[nrgpill]

d9 and others,
First, thank you so much for all the hard work and info provided. I spent a good week to read every page of this thread (170 pages the last time I checked) and refrained myself from asking questions that have been posed many times before.

I just have one question about the PPK build - how big are the holes drilled on the bottom half of the top bucket? I see that you have them in 12 equally spaced out vertical rows with 5 holes per row, but I never saw the hole diameter being discussed (or maybe the size does not matter, I don't know). Maybe the hole size does not play a big part in the overall functionality of the PPK setup since the water level can be controlled using a cyclestat and it is infinitely tunable. Thanks in advance.

 

[delta9nxs]

I currently have a 2.5 Gallon recirc bucket system that I can fix res height (in all buckets in series) by the height of the closest buckets drain fitting that returns to the lower res. Do you see any flaws in maintaining res's this way, as long as the upper bucket is identical to yours? Pulse would be delivered from lower (Master) res.

i would have to see a photo or a drawing to be sure but it sounds like you would not have the ability to adjust the air gap. if this is true and you are pulsing then i think a 4" gap would be the best compromise.

so it is auto topped every time you pulse and the overflow goes back to the res where the pump also resides? this means the buckets are elevated on a bench or something? how is the entire system auto topped? are you using a separate volume tank?

does this mean that you have to do the add-back routine?

 

[delta9nxs]

Hey D9. Are you planning to reuse your rice hull/turface mixture or will you use new medium. I know turface is infinitely reusable and I assume the rice hulls with their high silica content should hold up well throughout several grows so was wondering if you would reuse your medium or just start fresh. If re-using how will you go about cleaning prepping the mix for the next go round.

Are you not using the cheap 1/4" od drip line for anything anymore? Do you think their would be too much back pressure using the 1/4" od drip line on a 396 gph pump with 4 buckets? Just trying to get everything together and want the newest and best as found through your trials and tribulations.

hey, bloyd! i don't reuse mine anymore as cleaning is very time consuming.

you could reclaim the turface by throwing the whole mix in a trash can full of water with a hose in the bottom letting the trash can overflow. the rice hulls and roots will go out with the water. let it dry first.

i wouldn't reuse the rice hulls as they eventually will decompose. this decomposition will collapse the media structure and decrease air porosity. it will also tie up nitrogen. they hold up fine for a grow.

i'm now using a 1/4" id, 3/8" od tubing in an effort to get the pulse event over as fast as possible and to get the entire system to equalize faster.

but the 1/4" od drip line worked fine for over a year. towards the end of that period it started clogging up.

i grew the biggest plants so far using it and stock tire valves.

now i also drill out the tire valves to 3/16".

 

[delta9nxs]

d9 and others,
First, thank you so much for all the hard work and info provided. I spent a good week to read every page of this thread (170 pages the last time I checked) and refrained myself from asking questions that have been posed many times before.

I just have one question about the PPK build - how big are the holes drilled on the bottom half of the top bucket? I see that you have them in 12 equally spaced out vertical rows with 5 holes per row, but I never saw the hole diameter being discussed (or maybe the size does not matter, I don't know). Maybe the hole size does not play a big part in the overall functionality of the PPK setup since the water level can be controlled using a cyclestat and it is infinitely tunable. Thanks in advance.

hello, nrgpill! welcome! your first post on icmag. how did you find this thread?

i drilled all holes 7/16" after doing the math trying to achieve a 2-3% hole to sidewall ratio. this worked fine for coco fiber but i now use a piece of fiberglass window screen on the inside to contain the turface and rice hulls.

the water level is controlled using a float valve. the cyclestat is used to control the pulse. if you are thinking of buying a repeat cycle timer i suggest the cap controllers. a lot cheaper than the cyclestats and does the same job.


welcome again!

 

[zeke99]

now i also drill out the tire valves to 3/16".

Just to clarify, you actually the drill the tire valve or this is the hole that the valve goes into?

 

[nrgpill]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I actually purchased some 3.5 gallon buckets but I think I am going to go the 2 gallon bucket route. 3.5's stacked on top of each other robs precious vertical space in a small tent setup. I hope going to a 2 gallon bucket ppk setup does not skew the functionality too much. For one, the wick diameter to the bucket diameter ratio will be greater so I guess I will just have to test it out.

hello, nrgpill! welcome! your first post on icmag. how did you find this thread?

i drilled all holes 7/16" after doing the math trying to achieve a 2-3% hole to sidewall ratio. this worked fine for coco fiber but i now use a piece of fiberglass window screen on the inside to contain the turface and rice hulls.

the water level id controlled using a float valve. the cyclestat is used to control the pulse. if you are thinking of buying a repeat cycle timer i suggest the cap controllers. a lot cheaper than the cyclestats and does the same job.


welcome again!

 

[delta9nxs]

Just to clarify, you actually the drill the tire valve or this is the hole that the valve goes into?

hi, zeke! i drill the tire valve. if you look closely at the tire valve you will see that it is about 3/16" id already. the constriction occurs at the valve seat inside. i am really just drilling the seat out.

the hole for the complete valve is 7/16".

 

[delta9nxs]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I actually purchased some 3.5 gallon buckets but I think I am going to go the 2 gallon bucket route. 3.5's stacked on top of each other robs precious vertical space in a small tent setup. I hope going to a 2 gallon bucket ppk setup does not skew the functionality too much. For one, the wick diameter to the bucket diameter ratio will be greater so I guess I will just have to test it out.

56956 3 Gallon 16" x 10 3/4" x 7" Dark Indigo Rubbermaid® Roughneck

this is the usplastics.com part number and description for their 3 gal totes.

2 3.5 gallon buckets are 22" high

2 2gal buckets are 18" high

2 totes are a total of 13" high as the top one will nest 1" into the indented top of the bottom one.

just install a single tailpiece. the dark indigo will not grow algae but you may be able to find black ones in the stores because of halloween.

 

[nrgpill]

Speaking of usplastics.... I spend more time on that site and Amazon than any of the hydro shops. USPlastic's shipping is incredible - it is pretty much like having Amazon prime and I almost always get my stuff in 2 days.

The 3 gallon tote idea is interesting. I did not even realize they had such totes and I love the fact that stacking it actually gives you back an inch. Thanks for that suggestion, now I have more choices to ponder.

56956 3 Gallon 16" x 10 3/4" x 7" Dark Indigo Rubbermaid® Roughneck

this is the usplastics.com part number and description for their 3 gal totes.

2 3.5 gallon buckets are 22" high

2 2gal buckets are 18" high

2 totes are a total of 13" high as the top one will nest 1" into the indented top of the bottom one.

just install a single tailpiece. the dark indigo will not grow algae but you may be able to find black ones in the stores because of halloween.

 

[MedScientist]

i would have to see a photo or a drawing to be sure but it sounds like you would not have the ability to adjust the air gap. if this is true and you are pulsing then i think a 4" gap would be the best compromise.

so it is auto topped every time you pulse and the overflow goes back to the res where the pump also resides? this means the buckets are elevated on a bench or something? how is the entire system auto topped? are you using a separate volume tank?

does this mean that you have to do the add-back routine?

I believe I can adjust the airgap with a tube attached (inside, cut to height) to my return lines.

And Yes, the buckets are raised above the System res w/pump. I Top-Off the Master Res every day or 2 (or 3) similar to Lucas Add-Back routine, but alot cruder technology!

I am having a difficult time finding Turface and Rice Hulls locally. What % loss would I experience going with easy to get Media like CoCo and Perlite? Or is there something else close, or another name for turface? I keep skimming through the thread for answers, but I am getting frustrated!

 

[dgr]

MedScientist,
You're misspelling turface when searching the thread. Try searching for "napa." It'll lead you to Napa 8822 floor dry. John Deere also rebadges turface. What area of the country you in (if you are in this country)? Rice is grown in California and the south. The hulls are available at feed stores for horse bedding.

 

[Snook]

MedScientist,
You're misspelling turface when searching the thread. Try searching for "napa." It'll lead you to Napa 8822 floor dry. John Deere also rebadges turface. What area of the country you in (if you are in this country)? Rice is grown in California and the south. The hulls are available at feed stores for horse bedding.

Not all NAPA stores carry NAPA floordri. ask for 8822, if they look at you weird, they carry another brand. Must be cheaper for NAPA store to buy the 'off' brand..

 

[delta9nxs]

hey, people! napa floor dry#8822 is diatomaceous earth, turface mvp is calcined clay, two completely different substances with almost identical physical properties.

turface is sold by turf care companies. it is used by golf courses, baseball fields, and running tracks.

 

[delta9nxs]

I believe I can adjust the airgap with a tube attached (inside, cut to height) to my return lines.

And Yes, the buckets are raised above the System res w/pump. I Top-Off the Master Res every day or 2 (or 3) similar to Lucas Add-Back routine, but alot cruder technology!

I am having a difficult time finding Turface and Rice Hulls locally. What % loss would I experience going with easy to get Media like CoCo and Perlite? Or is there something else close, or another name for turface? I keep skimming through the thread for answers, but I am getting frustrated!

upon re-reading your post i just want to say that coco and perlite work fine together and if that is what you have available go ahead and use it. i would say something like 25% perlite. i'm getting nice growth with the turface/rh mix but it has not been proven to grow a heavier plant yet. i like it as there is no salt in it. using coco, especially the atami brand, i got salt rings around the holes in the sidewall. with turface and rh i don't.

i'm wondering why you bother with an add back routine when you could be mixing a fresh batch in a separate container each time and adding it to the system?

i still think you have a turface distributor near you.

http://www.turface.com/turface-products/infield-conditioners/turface-mvp has a dealer locator.