Turbo, can you put up a pic of what you are working with? I struggle when trying to visualize what people are saying......a pic would work best for me to see what you are talking about.
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Turbo, can you put up a pic of what you are working with? I struggle when trying to visualize what people are saying......a pic would work best for me to see what you are talking about.
What she said...:thumbsup:
Turbo are you making it fresh all homemade or using the preexisting waterfarm and it recirculating kit? Are you trying to upgrade with a 1/2 line? What size is te pump you are using? How many buckets are you trying to connect? Whats the space limit? ect ect I can offer my support I just need to know more about what the goal is :stoned::stoned::stoned:
Thanks
Booya
Booya, I'm trying to make the pumping colunm. I wasn't really trying to up grade to the 1/2 line, I'm only recirculating 2 5 gallon buckets, thats just what fit on the tee fitting I had. It's a 1/2 stright fitting with 1/4 od. as the tee off. Does it have to be in the shape of a y or would the tee work? I think the bubbles might be to small for the 1/2 line. Thanks for your help.
Hey there weedhound. Thank you for the very informative thread here on the waterfarms. :thumbsup:I have Been using the waterfarm method for years. I run 25-30 buckets. But I use a 55 Gal res and a 32 Gal controller. I would like to do this upgrade to my system. In the past I have manually hooked up a submersible pump to pump out all of my nutrients from my buckets when I do reservoir changes just because of that lack of circulation the waterfarms have. Its a real pain to do it, making sure each bucket is drained of its old nutrient contents. Im thinking of adding a second controller to my grow. I think if I split the grow in half and operate on 2 controllers instead of the 1 it would be more efficient. Just my thought. Kinda curious of your opinion. My question is If I want to recirculate my system with 25-30 plants how big of external pump is gonna be needed. I think obviously it has to be bigger than the one made for the 8 pack up grade.
Here are some pics of my setup.
http://www.420genetics.com/gallery/f...7/PDR_0068.JPG
http://www.420genetics.com/gallery/f...7/PDR_0067.JPG
http://www.420genetics.com/gallery/f...7/PDR_0043.JPG
http://www.420genetics.com/gallery/f.../7/Mainres.JPG
http://www.420genetics.com/gallery/f...7/PDR_0103.JPG
This is the air pump that powers all of the pumping columns. Very efficient and quiet. Could definitely handle more buckets if needed.
http://www.growkind.com/gallery/data...m/PDR_0024.JPG
Hello all, I just joined a few days ago I been a soil grower forever I decided to try hydro bought the WF 8 pack, I just finish adding a 1/15hp Current USA chiller to it and I like it a lot it down to 63! I set to 62:thumbsup:
Each bucket has 2 shut off valves. All buckets res, controller wrapped in double reflectix.
http://www.weedfarmer.com/pictures/d...2/DSCF0285.JPG
Dual overflow just incase 3 pc fans on res cover.
http://www.weedfarmer.com/pictures/d...2/DSCF0286.JPG
Need to add another float or larger, flow too slow to controller. Just testing for leaks and operation for now.
http://www.weedfarmer.com/pictures/d...2/DSCF0283.JPG
http://www.weedfarmer.com/pictures/d...2/DSCF0282.JPG
Dual mock up fans for now started at 71 so far in about 15 mins dropped to 67. Now at 66!
http://www.weedfarmer.com/pictures/d...2/DSCF0288.JPG
Planning on using the hut exhaust fan ducting to the front of the chiller and then the rear ducted to the outside.
http://www.weedfarmer.com/pictures/d...2/DSCF0287.JPG
How much did that chiller cost ya bud??Quote:
Originally Posted by CaStoner
Hi the chiller cost me $271.99+shipping $17.99 total 289.98
I'm gonna make my own chiller out of a hot/cold water dispenser...I know it definitely won't be a nice looking as a store bought one, but Damn will it be nice to not spend alot of money to have chilled water in my dro system...
D:thumbsup:
Any chance of you throwing up the link for that chiller. Where ya ordered from, brand etc etc. Ive been wanting one for a while now.:thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by CaStoner
Sure np, I bought mine from Drsfostersmith.com must of been on sale because they now want $359?
anyways I just google for the lowest prices, But I did find these guys. Free shipping over $150 even better than my deal.
Current USA 1/15 HP Prime Mini Chiller - Dual Stage - (2680) Chillers
For your larger growing system I would recommend a bigger chiller, mine perfect for my 8 buckets and small res etc. less than 50 gallon for the whole system.
Courtesy of IC Waterfarmfan.
http://www.weedfarmer.com/pictures/d...kets_final.jpg
Hi guys, thanks for dropping by and adding to the thread. :)
Green you must have the largest WF setup in history!! You GO with that stuff!! I have to say I have zero idea on the pump size and/or power.....the process is slow enough with two or three buckets not to mention all the ones you have.
I don't seem to need a chiller, thank goodness so can't help anyone with that q. And quite honestly....don't know what to tell you about the larger setup/pump size either.
BUT.....I do know who to ask who will know and I will ask them (mmy hydro guy who's a genius imo) and let you know what he says. There are several different things to accomplish by recirculating your system.......I do it mainly to keep ph in balance in all the buckets because as you know they're all different despite GH's claim that the central rez is all you need. Recirculating also can add extra O2 to your solution and keep it mixed together better as well.
You will get better flow and better recirculation I would think with a water pump as X-Crispi used to do with his. Imo, there seems to bea point where the air pump is too strong to pull the water through the pumping column and all you end up with is extra air instead of the "drip ring" effect you are looking for. However, others here have mentioned they moved to stronger air pumps (i use the teeny pump that came with the kit) and said they preferred it. I can't quite wrap my mind around how they are making it work....but they are and like it.
I will return later today with answer to green's question......hydro store not open yet. :D
Foster and Smith LOL!! I love it!! I get alot of my animal stuff there but never thought about using them for hydro stuff.....and I'm sure Drs F and S didn't know either you could use their stuff for growing ganja either. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by CaStoner
Hi Weedhound must be nice not to worry about hot temperatures. I thought I could get away with it by vegging in the winter but then I forgot about global warming what winter? I live in the desert like weather in So,Calif. Probably hit triple digits this weekend.
Yah I will be pissed if I lost my harvest to root rot especially if I could have prevent it somehow.
I toke up too much! :stoned:
I have it set at 60.
http://www.weedfarmer.com/pictures/d...2/DSCF0289.JPG
Supposed to be 80 here this week
I trust my cannazym and rhizotonic to keep root rot at bay. Costly solution but that's just us.
Green,.....I called my hydro guy and he suggested that if trying to keep ph and nutes balanced in a 25 w/f setup hooked together to a central rez he'd up to the pump shown below. It's pretty strong so he also suggested placing a stop valve inside the main res in order to control the speed of flow/air power you would need.
Forgot to mention the pump shown below is an eco pump 3 if you would like some useful info vs a just a picture.......:D
I been using Hydroguard and Hygrozyme as a precautionary measure, before adding the chiller and still using it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Weedhound
Is Cannazym and Rhizotonic basically the same thing? and is it better?
Hey Ca S,
My hydro man recommmends the CANNA line for root products and the man has never steered me wrong yet in the three years I've been learning under him. He feels cannazym and Rhizotonic are the best root products out there and they work great for us so we have to agree. Make sure your stuff is fresh.......I let some cannazym get too old (like six months old) and it stopped working for us. The result was we immediately began to have root issues with EVERYTHING. A new batch of each and no problems whatsoever.
I don't have the "science" brain as someone like Stinky to tell you exactly how they work but Rhizotonic helps you grow big strong roots and helps treat root rot (don't ask me how......) and cannazym takes your dead and dying roots and turns them into some sort of inert material so they don't rot. Now excuse me......but I think that's brilliant of a a company to think of.
So the rhizo help keeps roots from dying or becoming unhealthy but through the life of your plant some root death is normal. That's where your cannazym comes in.
Good luck.
Thanks weedhound. I use that exact pump to power all of my pumping columns in my grow. I think that is the absolute best little pump out there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Weedhound
So did your hydro guy suggest I use that same pump to power the waterfarm recirculate upgrade kit to my 25 buckets? not sure if thats what you mean or not.
Yes, he said that he would change out the weenie pump and use the Eco three in the central rez. A half inch stop valve placed on the insdie of the rez (which then connects to the pumping column) will help you to make the airflow as strong or as weak as you want it by simply adjusting the stop valve this way or that way.
Hey there Weedhound, I wanted to thank you for taking time out to help me with my questions about my grow. Be safe.. GTD
I'm using four wf's separate everything and what a PITA! IT's alot of work. I want to increase my units but I can't get my head around the res/controller/upgrade kit. I'd love to see a step by step or sketch kinda thing. GH has an install pdf on their site but I must be fried! It seems like it could prob. be made out of rubbermaid tubs and stuff but I'd be willing to get the kit from them just not feeling confident on getting it installed. Anyone willing to help please let me know with message or something. Thanks to all for the efforts, sorry some of us seem so dense! LOL.
Are you using a central rez for the four of them or just doing each one individually?
Right now I'm doing four wf's separate without the res or controller and what alot of work. Don't get me wrong I've used the wf's for awhile and have had great success but it's alot of work and yes in the end it's usually worth it but I am def. interested in switching over to the controller/res recirculating deal. I've been reading and reading and like I said I just can't get my head around how to set it up and I'm usually not very dumb when it comes to this stuff. I sent GH an email and have asked them to post a video or some sort of tutorial. Even their pdf's aren't the greatest but hey they do have them so it's better than nothing. Thanks to all who are helping.
yes, you'll need a central res. Let me see if I can find a pic of the systm connected; i'll look through my photos If you buy their kit it has everything you need except the actual drill. Even has the correct sized drill bits in the kit. It also cost about $70 when I bought it.....and I know it can be put together for less because I made a second one myself and stil use the recirculating system even for just one plant because it REALLY seems to help growth and DEFINITELY keeps the ph more stable in all your buckets.
I really appreciate your help and willingness to assist me with this. Pictures are great, like i said i'm usually pretty good with this stuff, I even made my own aeroponics cloner so as long as pictures are good i'm usually pretty visual. Maybe if others send GH an email they'll put out a little how to video and spare you guys the headache! Thanks again!
hey there, just checking in with you to see if you've been able to dig anything up. I hate to be a pest but I was going to add my buckets soon so I'd like to get this thing going. I kinda get that I put another hole on the other side of my buckets and they're all linked together and then the multi port pump just uses the skinny tubing to the drip ring like usual. What I don't really get is the whole res/controller thing and that just putting one of the tubes with a pump into the res is going to circulate the nutes through the entire system of buckets constantly so they're all still on the drip? Thanks for your time, appreciate it!
You're not a pest or I would have sprayed you with Dont Bug Me by Fox Farms. :D
I've looked through all my photos and unfortunately last month I went through and deletted a BUNCH of older photos......including the ones I took when making the waterfarms recirculating..
Did you buy your waterfarms individually or as a set of 8 w/controller? You say you run them all seperately.....do you have a cenral res? If not you can buy a rubbermaid tub that will work fine as a central rez.
I have a pretty detailed diagram on the back of the instructions that came with the upgrade. I will try for a photo of this if you would like. but it is most likely the same thing GH has on its website. I can't really think of how else to explain it.......but I sure love the fact that GH thought it up! :D
Yes, keep them all on drip. You will need a seperate airpump (get a single imo) and to daisy chain your buckets together. Your central res will have two holes as well.......one for the water to be pulled in (the exact same way it does in your drip ring in each bucket) with the pump; the other the lets water back to the first waterfarm. The waterfarms work on gravity right?Quote:
Originally Posted by Thuwadpumper
I think perhaps it seems confusing because yours all all seperate. Once connected together; what happens is basically this. The drip ring in the res pulls water from the first w/f. So what happens? the first one pulls it from the next one (because of gravity the water will want to stay level in all the buckets) and on and on around the circle. The last w/f pulls water from another outlet in the central rez......where guess what???? The water is there because it pulled from the first w/f. Then it all repeats.
Think gravity and leveling water.
re-circulating system done easy: I just connected both of my waterfarms, with a cheap $15 water pump in the extra reservoir (rubbermaid tub outside of the cabinet), the pump continuously feeds into the top of the waterfarms, and the solution returns to the reservoir (water seeks it's own level) ... my waterfarms still used air pumps to drip thru the rings, (became it's own backup system), in case a pump would fail, my plants will be fine ... (look close, see why Mylar sucks ?) ... :jointsmile:
Dude mylar is so YESTERDAY omg!! :D
He's got four waterfarms. can you connect all four with the water pump IR and just daisy chain them together?
I think I understand in theory, like how to physically do it but how it's going to work is what I think is scaring me. I think I'm just going to go for it. I got mine all individually because I was only going to do one waterfarm (yeah right!) than two, than three and so on and so on! So I don't have the controller and res. things. Do you have two, like the 13 gallon and 8 gallon or are you just using one to recirculate. I was thinking about just doing one, I don't know if it's really neccessary to have the extra res just sitting on top. It's just now isn't the most opportune time to experiment ya know what I mean. Thanks alot for trying to help me understand, glad I'm not a pest to you or anyone else that has tried to help!
hey there, thanks for trying to help out. I saved the pic but I couldn't really see when I tried to enlarge the pic. I think I see what you're doing but can't say for sure. Thanks again!
maybe if you have time you can click a pic of your res/controller part from inside and out. I get the linking all the buckets together part. PRETTY PLEASE!!!!
Thuwad, check on the photos in post # 26 and 27. shows the inside perfectly; next post shows same sytem filled with water and running. See if those work for you because that's exactly the photos I would take again
Your problem in understanding, I thiink, is the your lack of your central res....you don't need the float and all that.....with 4 w/fs I'd go with a 30 or 40 gal rubbermaid to hellp with keeping the solution stable as a central rez. Also if you buy the upgrad kit you get everything you need....for a price If you piecemeal it start with buying an exra pumping colum and drip ring.
OK, I'll check those other pics out. I only have four but ideally I'd like to add the other buckets I have, up to eight, at a minimum six. Do you still think I just need the one reservoir? Do you really need that big of a res, each waterfarm only holds like two gallons right, I know the bucket is bigger but to the fill line it's only a couple of gallons. If you have six or eight would you use the second with the float and all of that or just use the one res? Thanks again for all of your help. I'll make sure there's something extra in your stocking this Christmas! :rastasmoke:
and more 1/2 inch grommets, L connecters (or stop valves which I like) and 1/2 inch tubing.. All in the kit but the $$$ to buy.......either way works.
Shit the post is totally confusing me know. I don't know what the hell I've done her. :D:stoned:Quote:
Originally Posted by Weedhound
Thuwad ignore last post. :D
Yes, it helps to have that big a res; especially if you want to add w/f's as you go. Yes, they only hold 2 gals apiece but they're going to eat a fair amount daily as they get bigger and larger amounts stay more stable. If you don't mind adding a LARGE amount of new nutes DAILY during flowering (when they really eat) then of ok but I would go with no LESS than a 20 gal res and a 30 would be much more likely. With 8-40 absolutely. And a good water pump and a place to access and dispose of your water......closer the better.