DougV said:

Probably way too late to answer, but as needshelpguy woke this thread back up:

Bonjour, comment ca va?

I use Current Culture, but I looked Alien up and they both use similar drain systems. You already have a drain line on your system. It will work fine. You can add a pump to the line if you want or need to pump uphill, if you can drain downhill you won’t need it. You can switch out their fittings, the barbed hose fitting, with threaded male hose fittings. This allows the use of an inexpensive garden hose to drain your system wherever you wish, including using runoff for grass or garden.

I do use a remote tank for filling. I’ve got a well system, highly filtered, which I run through an RO unit. I store water, as needed, in a stock tank. I used to premix nutrients in the tank and use a sump pump to pump to my system. I quit that as I need different chemistry for different grows, at the same time, and I was wasting too many expensive nutrients. Now when I do changes I bring in a 5 gallon bucket and a battery transfer pump. I fill the bucket, add all the nutrients I need for 35 gallon and stir it all up. I toss my water hose into what Alien calls a header pot and start adding water. After it has filled about 25% I use my transfer pump to gradually add the nutrient solution while continuing to fill. Once I get about 3/4 filled I add the balance of nutrients, then finish filling. Any fine tuning I do after it’s filled. I then fill three 5 gallon buckets with water and set them nearby. Those I use, with my transfer pump, to do daily additions. I also purchased a 20 gallon reserve tank I can hook up to a float switch, just in case I have to go out of town. Never used it though, my wife and a nearby grower have made it redundant.

If you do update this, let me know how the venturi system works out.

Doug

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DickieTea said:

Bonjour!

I’m looking at my first RDWC setup.

Couple of queries I’ve thought of whilst I’m making the shopping list.

• I’m purchasing the Alien Silver Pro 4 bucket system, but unsure if I’ll require extra pipe work if I’m keeping the brain bucket and res out the tent?

• Do people normally buy a second res-sized container to make the fresh batch of nutes for the weekly water change?

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natedowg2000 said:

Is the current culture system worth it?

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DougV said:

Yes, no, maybe, and not really. Current Culture is really well made. Bulkhead fittings seal well and are easy to disconnect. It is easy to disassemble, clean, and reassemble, making cleaning easy and because it’s easy more likely to get cleaned. Components a all heavy duty, well designed, and extremely functional. The supplied pumps, air and water, are off the shelf heavy duty components. I bought extra pumps, because I’m paranoid that way. But in three years I’ve not needed them. Piping is oversized, well built, and made for expansion. They have optional quad lids allowing 16 plants in a 48” x 48” area for SOG fans. Well built, commercial quality, tough, bulletproof, close to idiot proof, easy to maintain. For a commercial grow, yes it’s probably worth it.

For a home grower, it’s a bit like buying a 60” Zero Turn commercial mower for a 1/4 acre lot. DIY would have saved me a lot. Amazon has 4 five gallon pot systems ranging from 100-500 a system. I like the 8 gallon pot size better than the 5 gallon version. I can drop things from time to time. If my lights fell down, my plants would be crushed, but I bet my CC system would be chugging away. On a single grow basis, it is not worth it, but as time, as in years, goes on, yes its value starts to shine. I regretted the cost in year one, I don’t regret it at all in year three.

I use DIY DWC in 5 gallon buckets. I made them to use the same net pot as CC, 5.5”. I veg in my cheap pots and flower in my CC system. Three flowering turns a year helps offset the costs, too.

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