Building another RDWC system for VEG

medhatgrower · Oct 4, 2020

Hey Everybody,
I'm at it again with another DIY RDWC build... :)
I've been wanting to build this for a very long time... Finally gonna pull the trigger!!!
Please keep in mind that this build is for my 4' x 4' VEG tent...
I plan on building the same but with 13 Gallon EZ STOR Buckets for my 6' x 6' FLOWER room...
Please give me your thoughts...

N4M · Oct 4, 2020

Looks good. The top valve is pulling from the bottom of the epicenter and feeding to the top of the 8gal buckets?

medhatgrower · Oct 4, 2020

N4M said:
Looks good. The top valve is pulling from the bottom of the epicenter and feeding to the top of the 8gal buckets?

Thanks, Yes a waterfall effect

medhatgrower · Oct 6, 2020

I have revised my design...
Please give me your thoughts...

medhatgrower · Oct 23, 2020

* I've revised my original design a little...

Chillers are expensive, so I've decided to pro-long its life and NOT run nutrients through it...
With a 400 GPH water pump I'll circulate RO H2O through this closed loop system from an insulated 5 Gallon chiller reservoir to 1/4 HP Active Aqua water chiller and then onto 3/8" OD wort coil (stainless steel) in VEG epicenter and returning back to 5 Gallon bucket to complete the closed loop...
I can also expand this closed loop system by adding another wort coil to my FLOWER epicenter using only 1 chiller...
This will bring power efficiency and save me from adding another breaker box and keep the system clean!

Removed the Manifold and put a 3/4" Tee after the 1000 GPH water pump with valves and quick connectors on Sample line so I can easily Drain the system.

Added a 3/4" line from Top-Off Reservoir to Epicenter to make flushing simple and fast.

Added 1/2" PVC with 10-32 tapped holes for each bucket to create a waterfall effect.

Added an Alita al-40 linear air pump to pump clean filtered air to home made 1/2" air diffusers in each bucket.

All 2" is PVC except a couple Fernco 2" Rubber connectors with clamps for separation when cleaning between runs...
All 3/4" is PVC and 1" Black Vinyl Tubing"...

Check below: and give me your thoughts...

airedog · Mar 14, 2021

If you are running a closed loop chiller why go with RO water? That water is going to leach minerals and chemicals out of whatever it flows through unless the material has been designed to handle RO water. For example, if you have RO water tap in your kitchen and want to plumb the ice maker in a fridge, you need to run through PEX or LDPE lines rather than copper tubing. I think i'd go with a larger chiller reservoir as well in order to buffer the temperature better and keep the chiller from constantly cycling ON and OFF.

medhatgrower · Mar 14, 2021

airedog said:
If you are running a closed loop chiller why go with RO water? That water is going to leach minerals and chemicals out of whatever it flows through unless the material has been designed to handle RO water. For example, if you have RO water tap in your kitchen and want to plumb the ice maker in a fridge, you need to run through PEX or LDPE lines rather than copper tubing. I think i'd go with a larger chiller reservoir as well in order to buffer the temperature better and keep the chiller from constantly cycling ON and OFF.

In my closed loop chiller system i'm running RO water with a little H2O2 to make sure nothing builds up. My cooling coils are not copper, they are food grade Stainless Steel 304 wort coils connected with black vinyl tubing. I got a coil in both VEG & FLOWER Reservoirs and they work great!

Xebediah · Mar 28, 2021

So have you finished your build? Any pictures? Would like to see how it turned out.

medhatgrower · Mar 28, 2021

Xebediah said:
So have you finished your build? Any pictures? Would like to see how it turned out.

Yes and it works like a champ
I have pics of my whole build.
Stay tuned...

Cashmeh · May 20, 2021

Id ditch the chiller, chiller res, 400gph pump, Inline that wort coil and bury it under the room very close. I cant argue the chiller vs no chiller, but im running 72, and near every grow diary ive seen runs at 72. The ground temp chilling it slightly would probibaly be enough to keep it at 72 depending on the lighting. - - - If you dont, I would ditch the 400gph pump and coil, and just inline the chiller before the manifold using 3/4. . .the coil just seems a bit much given chillers are overrated in my newly formed opinion :)

Didnt realize you built it already, im a little slow. Anyways, is it a variable 1000 pump? Hows the flow coming out of those drips? Is it spraying?

Im litterally building my system right now. 6 plant top fallponics 3 inch drain, 1/2 in feed. 5.5 gallon buckets, dunno the size of my res yet. I wont have a top off system. I am use to letting the level drop quite a bit, the roots seem to like it more than being flooded. Im still very new again. . Pretty good success thus far though, only because of others on here much better than myself. Chances are im just repeating someone lol.

oldCC · Oct 27, 2021

Cashmeh said:
Id ditch the chiller, chiller res, 400gph pump, Inline that wort coil and bury it under the room very close. I cant argue the chiller vs no chiller, but im running 72, and near every grow diary ive seen runs at 72. The ground temp chilling it slightly would probibaly be enough to keep it at 72 depending on the lighting. - - - If you dont, I would ditch the 400gph pump and coil, and just inline the chiller before the manifold using 3/4. . .the coil just seems a bit much given chillers are overrated in my newly formed opinion :)

Didnt realize you built it already, im a little slow. Anyways, is it a variable 1000 pump? Hows the flow coming out of those drips? Is it spraying?

Im litterally building my system right now. 6 plant top fallponics 3 inch drain, 1/2 in feed. 5.5 gallon buckets, dunno the size of my res yet. I wont have a top off system. I am use to letting the level drop quite a bit, the roots seem to like it more than being flooded. Im still very new again. . Pretty good success thus far though, only because of others on here much better than myself. Chances are im just repeating someone lol.

a chiller is a must if you can afford it in any hydro setups. vastly eliminates bacteria issues and keeps the root system in its sweet spot to intake nutes

Cashmeh · Oct 28, 2021

oldCC said:
a chiller is a must if you can afford it in any hydro setups. vastly eliminates bacteria issues and keeps the root system in its sweet spot to intake nutes

My advice for him would be to ditch the chiller and run 72f with bbs

From my own grows its noticeable how much faster the plant grows when running warmer Temps.

Of course it increases the chances of root rot, but that's why I like hydroguard.

In my opinion people who use chillers are missing out on alot of growth, which is why they went hydro in the first place. I'm thankfull I never went down that road. Plus my 80 gallons lasted a month and still no root rot.

Id say try it before ya knock it.

smokedareefer · Oct 28, 2021

I've used a chiller since my 2nd rdwc run. Yields are good.
Temp always set at 68 deg f
Live, use no hydroguard

Smokey0418 · Oct 28, 2021

smokedareefer said:
I've used a chiller since my 2nd rdwc run. Yields are good.
Temp always set at 68 deg f
Live, use no hydroguard

What live if no guard .

Smokey0418 · Oct 28, 2021

I run a stainless wort in a 35 gallon system .
Tote is outside tent and I have an airconditioner chiller,
67 setting , cycles 66 to 68.2
45 min runtime, 1.5 hrs off.

smokedareefer · Oct 28, 2021

Smokey0418 said:
What live if no guard .

Yes for the last maybe 7 yrs

Smokey0418 · Oct 28, 2021

smokedareefer said:
Yes for the last maybe 7 yrs

You say Live , if you run no bacteria as in hydroguard.

What live item would that be then?

smokedareefer · Oct 28, 2021

Smokey0418 said:
You say Live , if you run no bacteria as in hydroguard.

What live item would that be then?

Natural bacteria.
I add nothing to the water to kill the bacteria (dead/sterile) and i add no "bennies " to make it live"
When i do a water change during a cycle ill always leave a gallon or 2 of the old water to mix with the new so it's live once the bacteria is established

Onelow1 · Oct 28, 2021

I posted on here a little while back, Airdog and I were having the same conversation. I tried a 5 gal Liglo cooler as a chiller rez, with a 1/10 hp working on 18 gallons with a wort coil. Chiller ran way to much. Tried different pump speeds. Nope. Increased rez size to 12 gal chiller rez trying to cool 18-20 gallons and still too much heat. Now I run straight through the chiller which I hate to do. So I have to flush the chiller once a month, even with a in-line mess filter cleaned daily. I run a live grow and am ready to turn off the chiller. I just ditched my air pump so I'm airless too. I grow Auto's and they are big. I put a extra one in an 8 gallon bubble bucket and she's been sitting at 77-78 degrees for 8 weeks, no problem, just Hydroguard.

Smokey0418 · Oct 28, 2021

Did you run a glycol mix through your wort also when chiller ran too much?

once I turned my pump off roots started really kicking ass .
I have added it back as a stiring up tool. 3m/1h.

Building another RDWC system for VEG

Building another RDWC system for VEG

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