Anyone have some used good equipment for sale in Denver ?

[Bud Spleefman]

I think that with a typical 10 week stay in a UC bucket you will be fine with 2" or greater PVC.... It's not like you'll develop any 2" thick roots, so if it does clog, it will clog slowly......you'll notice a decrease in the flow into the control bucket. Because you have the airstones, your plants won't die, and once you run it a few times you'll know what to expect. A SCREEN WILL ONLY MAKE IT CLOG QUICKER! Been there, done that!

I worry a lot more about environmental problems like root aphids.... pythium, things of that nature can straight out kill a crop... a clog... not so much.

 

[RMCG]

What just happened with mine was the water level of the last bucket was 1/3 of what the front bucket was.

 

[Bud Spleefman]

What just happened with mine was the water level of the last bucket was 1/3 of what the front bucket was.

What diameter PVC, and over the course of how much time? I bet it took a week for that kind of clogging, no? In any event, other than the flooding, I'll bet there wasn't any real negative effects... the roots must have been in contact with the nutes, even at 1/3 full...........

When I was a rookie and first did DWC, oh maybe back in 2001, I remember leaving the system for the last 4 weeks, just topping with plain water when I had a chance, and towards the end virtually all the liquid/nutes would be gone..... nothing to even dump! I was getting huge yields.... the plants seemed like they loved it.

 

[RMCG]

2" PVC

Coming in to 8th? week now. Yeah, plants are still healthy, no issues.

It's in a scrog, so its not easy to lift the lid to take a peek at them.

The roots near the net pot had dried out a bit but the majority of the root mass was submerged in the tub.

I need to find that post where Jack had the same issue and CC/Daniel had him run a line to the back bucket. See if I can incorporate something like that into the system.

 

[Green Mopho]

When I was a rookie and first did DWC, oh maybe back in 2001, I remember leaving the system for the last 4 weeks, just topping with plain water when I had a chance, and towards the end virtually all the liquid/nutes would be gone..... nothing to even dump! I was getting huge yields.... the plants seemed like they loved it.

Thats what I do...a la BioBuckets....

 

[RMCG]

3" Atrium Grate


Thoughts?

I don't mind if some stringy roots go down the tubes, but it was like a damn baseball sized clump in there. And considering most of the roots are just in a 'mass', it ~may~ keep them from restricting all of the flow.

 

[LocalGrowGuy]

3" Atrium Grate


Thoughts?

I don't mind if some stringy roots go down the tubes, but it was like a damn baseball sized clump in there. And considering most of the roots are just in a 'mass', it ~may~ keep them from restricting all of the flow.

It's special for new growers to see good results locally, thank you for posting as much as you do. I have a single harvest under my belt and am in between suitable living arrangements where i can grow.

I'm planning on running undercurrent. I've been doing a lot of reading and I think I am going to run what might be described as a lazy river. I have questions about having more than 12 plants. I am thinking about 4-6 buckets. Growing in tents is likely as I like how clean they are. I like how clean vertical growing is, but I'm not sure if it's worth the cost or if heat would be too much of an issue in the tent.

In your opinion, would the 27 gallon yellow tops be any better than the undercurrent system (8 or 13gal)? Assuming I'm DIYing if possible, I am planning on using 3" PVC. I also share your concerns about the roots. Keep in mind I don't know what I'm doing. Would it be possible to 'train' the roots away from the pipe until they've established themselves, then add that drain grate? Assuming I'm using the black buckets, is there anything wrong with putting an additional PVC pipe? Two pipes with two of those drain grates would decrease the flow rate between buckets therefore lowering the 'pull' of the water? Would over a hundred gallons of water affect the heat in a tent? Is a water chiller going to be a requirement in this situation?

Also, do these systems need some sort of filter where the water pump is? It seems like it would be pretty easy for a piece of the root to break free and clog the water pump causing failure. The two valve fix mentioned earlier seems like it would work, but I would rather be preventive.

Thanks for the feedback, keep rockin.

 

[Mr.Sputnik]

So it was actually a clump of root mass from within the container that got sucked up into the outlet drain of the plant container?

 

[RMCG]

It's special for new growers to see good results locally, thank you for posting as much as you do. I have a single harvest under my belt and am in between suitable living arrangements where i can grow.

I'm planning on running undercurrent. I've been doing a lot of reading and I think I am going to run what might be described as a lazy river. I have questions about having more than 12 plants. I am thinking about 4-6 buckets. Growing in tents is likely as I like how clean they are. I like how clean vertical growing is, but I'm not sure if it's worth the cost or if heat would be too much of an issue in the tent.

In your opinion, would the 27 gallon yellow tops be any better than the undercurrent system (8 or 13gal)? Assuming I'm DIYing if possible, I am planning on using 3" PVC. I also share your concerns about the roots. Keep in mind I don't know what I'm doing. Would it be possible to 'train' the roots away from the pipe until they've established themselves, then add that drain grate? Assuming I'm using the black buckets, is there anything wrong with putting an additional PVC pipe? Two pipes with two of those drain grates would decrease the flow rate between buckets therefore lowering the 'pull' of the water? Would over a hundred gallons of water affect the heat in a tent? Is a water chiller going to be a requirement in this situation?

Also, do these systems need some sort of filter where the water pump is? It seems like it would be pretty easy for a piece of the root to break free and clog the water pump causing failure. The two valve fix mentioned earlier seems like it would work, but I would rather be preventive.

Thanks for the feedback, keep rockin.

I have 2 girls/1 tub in my DIY UC with 27g tubs, not vertical, but scrogged in a tent.

The larger the pump, the more the 'pull' through the pipes. No way you are going to train the roots. They do 'ball/mat' up in the tubs, so its really only stragglers that got pulled down the tubes, I just need to watch it a bit more closely.

I thought about dual pipes too, esp after seeing it last night, not sure if that would help or hinder the design, but it's really more for recirculation, you're not looking to have a raging torrent going through the buckets. My pump is a bit oversized, so I have a bit more pull than I probably should.

I would ~plan~ on getting a chiller. I've got 85g in there and a 1/3hp chiller keeps it 66* running maybe 10-20 mins an hour during lights on, your mileage may vary.

As far as a 'prefilter' before the pump, I will be incorporating one of these in there to catch random roots, hydroton, etc.

Sherwood Intake Strainer

 

[RMCG]

So it was actually a clump of root mass from within the container that got sucked up into the outlet drain of the plant container?

yep. Most of the root ball is in a large mass/ball/mat on the bottom of the tubs and not going down the tube. This was like a root tendril that started down the tube, then kept building in the tube as more and more got pulled in, once flow was impeded, just sort of snarled in there like a blood clot.

Hard to explain I guess.

 

[Mr.Sputnik]

the tap roots drug the mass into the pipe. maybe a piece of 1" plastic mesh around the basket, kinda like an upsidedown scrog for the roots. Big enough so it doesn't impede the flow but small enough so nothing clogs the pipe. It won't get all of the roots but at least it will keep about 2/3 of them somewhat in place, keep the mass from going up into the drain.

thanks for posting this up RMCG, it's giving me great ideas for my system.

 

[RMCG]

I was thinking of something like that too after looking at the dog/child gate on my stairs...

Something like this, but rigid and cut to fit, drop to the bottom, lay flat, on top of the pipes:

 

[sky high]

Hey...... speaking of used equipment...... does anyone here in CO have a used tent they'd like to part with? I'm on the verge of just building something for the garage but thought if someone had a good size unit (one of the 5 x 7 x 10 or so is what I want) sittin around maybe we could make a deal....

anyone?

Otherwise I'm probably gonna make something with pvc and panda plastic....

gotta start getting ready for those zoning changes...LOL.

s h

 

[LocalGrowGuy]

I have 2 girls/1 tub in my DIY UC with 27g tubs, not vertical, but scrogged in a tent.

The larger the pump, the more the 'pull' through the pipes. No way you are going to train the roots. They do 'ball/mat' up in the tubs, so its really only stragglers that got pulled down the tubes, I just need to watch it a bit more closely.

I thought about dual pipes too, esp after seeing it last night, not sure if that would help or hinder the design, but it's really more for recirculation, you're not looking to have a raging torrent going through the buckets. My pump is a bit oversized, so I have a bit more pull than I probably should.

I would ~plan~ on getting a chiller. I've got 85g in there and a 1/3hp chiller keeps it 66* running maybe 10-20 mins an hour during lights on, your mileage may vary.

As far as a 'prefilter' before the pump, I will be incorporating one of these in there to catch random roots, hydroton, etc.

Sherwood Intake Strainer

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I hope I'm not derailing the thread.

I've only seen one 'live' UC system at a local hydro shop, and the pump they used was closer to a 'raging torrent' than a 'lazy river'.

With your system (scrog), it doesn't seem practical to lift the lid enough to mess with the root mass. I was thinking that if the taproot can get that long, can I install a few 'pegs' in the bottom, and then 'train' the tap root/longer roots in a ball at the base of the tub? The best way I can describe this is to think of a stripping basket that fly fishermen use when doing things like tarpon fishing, where they need to strip large amounts of line. That reminds me of the tap root going through the pipes. It seems worth it.

A quick google search yielded the following, which looks promising. Thoughts?
http://flytubez.com/CIMG2711.JPG

Where do problems like root aphids and pyrithium come from? Assuming I start with a sterile grow, intake in my tent is through HEPA filter. There's so much to read on UC/rdwc it's difficult to find time to 'research' preventive, proper growing techniques.

 

[Bud Spleefman]

Where do problems like root aphids and pyrithium come from? Assuming I start with a sterile grow, intake in my tent is through HEPA filter. There's so much to read on UC/rdwc it's difficult to find time to 'research' preventive, proper growing techniques.

If you have a sterile grow you'll be fine for awhile. You get bugs and fungus from other people's plants, like clones from a buddy, or the Dispensary.
You can also get them from the garden center, letting another grower see your garden, a BAG OF SOIL (that one kills me!) or they can slip in from outside. Bugs can walk under the walls of a tent, or through a zipper, etc.... depending on what kinds of bugs are outside. Root Aphids live in Pine Trees all over Colorado, so beware of those fuckers!!!!!

 

[Green Mopho]

Uh..pyrithium isn't a plant disease last time I checked...and I believe its spelled "Pyrethrum"

 

[LocalGrowGuy]

Uh..pyrithium isn't a plant disease last time I checked...and I believe its spelled "Pyrethrum"

I thought there were more "E's" but google liked pyrithium better. So much for googling before posting.

 

[RMCG]

Pyrethrum is organic bug killer (chrysanthemum flowers <sp>?)

Pythium is fungus/rot.

 

[Mr.Sputnik]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythium

Pythium is some nasty shit, it occurs in RDWC and DWC systems like a plague. You can kill it with peroxide in your res solution (1.5-2ml per gallon 29% h202) or run a live res and keep it at bay with a mixture of enzymes and benneficial bacteria. Just make sure your bennies have trichoderma in them, that's what does the trick. the enzymes break down decayed root mass to be eaten by the bacteria, hence a benneficial relationship.

RMCG, the grate looks good but I would put it about 8" back from the front of the pipe inside the plant container or else it will still clog the pipe. I think leaning it in here would work just make sure there is enough clearance between the outlet and the screen so the outlet doesn't clog.

 

[TheGreenHand]

hey do ya have lights?