Flooming vs Air stones

**GroElite420** · 22-07-13, 09:35 PM

Hey, thanks for the reply.

I already have a DWC going that's about to harvest in 3 weeks. That was my first grow. Made DIY DWC buckets linked in a system. Two big plants in a scrog screen, with 2 extra buckets as buffers (thought I was gonna do 3 plants but changed my mind)

I got sick of not being able to recirc without fear of flooding because of shitty 1/2" lines connecting them. So that's what made me start looking into things. All things considered, after reading all of your thoughts on flumes in the bucket, waterfalls. I think a guy at one point in this thread posted a youtube video of his system with the 30l auto pots and the elbow waterfall back into the res. Then I read through a collaboration of stuff Heath Robinson threw together twice as well.. So I really liked what he had going with the large bin of hydroton that was removable. The water flow hitting the rocks and thinning out the roots so they are fine and not big gnarly root clubs.. I havent seen my DWC roots yet as I havent opened the lid since I put in the clones.. but in any case the bunch of tiny holes idea for the fine root system looked really nice in his set up. He just does rdwc I know, but I'm hoping with UC I'll help eliminate salt build up that will be accessible to the drip ring for clogging issues in the air tube like water farms have happen, or at the drip ring, tho since its DIY i'll have control on hole size and flow rate ect. but it still will be an air lift like a waterfarm, just some pcv pipe instead. Trying to decide on a diameter. You can see a descent flow rate on youtube with airlifts on a regular GH air pump, but Since I'm not using air stones in there I thought it would perhaps increase water flow pressure if I did it 1/4 inch?? Idk really I suppose I'd have to just test it.

So after searching I came up with water farms , that I could mod to be UCRDWC / drip ring.. but who wants to pay that and then still have to buy uniseals and risk messing up a hole a tiny bit and making the thing leak.. psh yeah right..

So i went searching to figure how to DIY a water farm at reasonable cost. So i found a site with square 5 gallon buckets. I only need 4, and one doesn't need a top section, only a lid, as a control.

So I'll build 3 units with one control bucket. I'll run my ideas across and make sure they seem sound. I figure if I get a 5 gallon square bucket, with a 2 gallon square resting in it, that's got to be almost exactly a water farm.. Drill the holes, Get a piece of pvc with an airhose at the bottom(from the outside, drilled hole to fit snug so it barely pokes into the airlift tube) , which is cut diagonally so it can't sit flat and plug up.. the open side facing the intake, right next to it in each, to lift water to the T piece with some form of circle hose with holes drilled. and also split the intake into a Y stream I have a GH dual diaphram pump that i got for 60 bux for this current grow. That i will use 3 of the outlets to the air lift tubes, and the fourth to a top off res with an airstone, kept outside of the grow box.

Then have a 3000lph? pump, google can put that in GPH for me so i can come close, or order one off ebay in LPH just get a 3000.. You were saying that's what it should be for one bank.. thats still correct with just 3 in the whole system? That's gonna be some crazy flow somethin like (total guess based on other people's numbers..) like 30 cycles , where someone said all you need is 10? I know i could look up the math, and will sometime soon, I've passed it before. Gonna get a ball valve for the res so it keeps the system full all of the time. But with 4" holes a vacume sucking effect would be lessened yes?

What i also wonder is heath was saying he had his water level right up against the bottom of the container holding the hydroton? All this just kinda worries me as I got my 6" net pot full of hydroton to wet, I think i covered the bottom inch in water, and it was a small plant got top droopy ( over watering ) so I'm just nervous about all this but , I want to try and maximize this one, take my time, get it all pro. Perhaps build 2 sets one for veg and one for flower, Leaving the Veg one as a normal RDWC to make sure the roots don't get sucked down the holes??

Then I could just lift off the 2 gallon bucket with plant / hydroton in it, and drop it right into the flower system. In theory anyways.... Sorry for such a long post, want to make sure I'm fully understanding everything and get it right the first time. I have limited mobility and it is complicated to do plant maintenance, so I'm trying to get everything lined up so there is as little "required" of me as possible, so I can focus on the details(Ph/ppm tracking, making Heisenberg Tea, ect) and not be stressed trying to make sure I get all the maintenance done. (right now I drain with a 400gph pump my whole system, into a garbage can to ph and add water each day, and I lug RO by the gallon across a room to do it. (I can walk for short periods if I'm holding onto something (one gallon at a time), but i get really tired easy as most of my time is spent sitting or laying. Even sitting and moving around to do maintenance gets it hot enough where I need to change my shirt after.... Anyways.. Thanks for the help in advance, and all the time you and others put into this thread helping behind the scenes already.