DIY - Over, Under, Sideways, Down...Sky High builds an Under Current knockoff

[Shady]

Thx for the info! Very nice to know that CO is treating you right! I miss my trips out there... :cool

 

[Papa]

Great DIY!! I love it!!




Papa

 

[Loudblunts]

props homie!!!

 

[Loudblunts]

so sky.... any recommendations versus your unit and the uc unit itself?

like must have upgrades?

any reason you didnt go 3" pvc instead of using the uc standard of 2" ?

how are the light leaks in those buckets? any plants to light proof? or the reflectix taking care of that?

 

[sky high]

2" is Hella big, loud. I didn't even give 3" a thought to be honest. After using 1/2" vinyl on my 5 gal buckets (mistake)...the 2" was givin' me a woody as it was...

I think the reflectix is doing a good job with keeping the light leaks at bay. Prolly have leaks in the lid because I've yet to revisit the store I got the reflectix @ to get more to cover the lids. Dunno if you noticed, but I also covered all of the 2" pvc in the room with the reflectix material...laying it out so it is double-thick on the top of the pipe. (1/2")
All-in-all...while it would have been great if the buckets were darker in color...I think I would have covered them in the reflectix regardless. The water temp on my system is staying well below 70F running full-tilt (80F in the space) and i think the reflectix is definitely helping keep the water temps in check.

While I don't own a stock UC....I would still buy the AP-100 over the AP-40 that CC sends with the out-of-the-box unit...but 2 AC-100 pumps is more than likely gonna be overkill. We shall see.... never say never.

"so far, so good" as they say....

 

[Loudblunts]

hahaha i just realized i said "any plants to light proof" talk about stoned off... my ass glad you translated hahaha


aight cool, yea i dig reflectix too, just wondering...b/c on all my diy projects i give 2 coats of rust-o-leum or however you spell that shit....one flat black coat, then another white coat when it dries.....

just wondering if it was worth the extra effort....

stock holes placement for the pvc, and float valves and all the other tees standard just like the undercurrent does? or maybe spacing the pvc and its adapters more apart? does that make sense? if not maybe this will refresh your memory: i remember you saying you think some companys just make shit just to get by and you was tryna see if you could improve...any findings on that?

again nice job

 

[sky high]

Well I THINK the reflectix is doin the job, loud.....but it's hard to see if the bucket is truly light-proof. I tried stickin my head in there but figured out quickly that I needed a snorkel....LOL. Blubblubblub.....

I've never seen a UC in person. I basically just put it together the way I THOUGHT it should go. About the only thing I thought about dickin with was to stagger the tubes inside the bucket to see if it would create a whirlpool effect/etc.....but in the end I was crunched for time and just piped it "straight' through. Dunno if it'd make a difference/work/etc...but I kept thinking that 22 or 45 degree ells in there pointing on opposite directions might make a serious swirl in the bucket....but again...if that is beneficial or not...I dunno.

i think my "improvements" are small and I sure didn't recreate the wheel... but doin' it myself was fun and I'm glad I went that route over buying an off-the-shelf unit.

I have ideas for an "in the round' system but i'm gonna play with what i have all summer before making any real adjustments or alterations. Could be cool though....

thanks fo stoppin in, loud

s h

 

[Loudblunts]

my pleasure bro.... always up for a good diy project and a good read

thanks for the show and for answering my questions.... mucho props bro

 

[Socachi]

Sky I'm really diggin your setup, much props for doing this DIY UC and sharing with everyone. After seeing TK and JMO it really got me curious. Look forward to your results of DD's system and the UC. Which one so far is giving you better results?

 

[sky high]

I WISH I had the room to rock 'em both and make comparisons, socachi, but the DIY UC is all I'm running/have ran. My last system was a 5 gallon DWC with a crappy recirc pump.....

So far, so good folks. Went to 18/6 last night just to give everything a break. Been HAMMERIN the light at em lately.... fuggers are >>really<< starting to jam!!

s h

 

[CelticEBE]

sky high

Great journal here. I'm about to starting ordering all my parts for a diy uc. Couple of questions for you.

With the 13 gallon module do you think 2" pipe is enough or should I go with something bigger? Would 4" just be too much?

Instead of Reflectix do you think you could paint the buckets? A search for paint suitable for HDPE turned up Krylon Fusion.

Thanks again for posting this. I look forward to seeing how your grow turns out.

 

[sky high]

Good question about the larger piping between buckets. Loudblunts mentioned/asked about the same question.

I think someone is gonna have to be the guinea pig on such a set up. I personally would think that you'd also have to upsize your inline water pump....but then again...I just don't really know.

What I can tell ya is that the 2" and a 1200gph mag drive moves a shit-ton of water as it is.

I thought about the Krylon....but i then thought about all the times I read threads about the UC or MPB or other hydro systems and it doesn't take long to read "and I got a _____ chiller..." (or I "need" a chiller). Sooooo....my thinking was that the reflectix may kill 2 birds with one stone. I mean..what was I gonna do...paint em black? THAT would sure help with heat...huh? Thus..the reflectix....which, IMO...seems to be working well as the water temps are running 10-15 degrees cooler than the space itself on 24/0 veg lighting. I also covered all of the 2" PVC between the buckets with the reflectix...doubling it on top where the heat is always blasting down on the pipe.

Thanks for checkin in. I'll post up some pics of the progress soon. The roots are really taking off in there........and the bushes are formin up nicely.

s h

 

[CelticEBE]

G I mean..what was I gonna do...paint em black? THAT would sure help with heat...huh?
s h

Oh shit.....that made me laugh my ass off. I think I may wind up doing a combination of paint and reflectix. Call me paranoid but I don't want any light gettin in those buckets.

Maybe I will be the guinea pig on the bigger pipe. I did manage to find a 3" pipe. But if the 2" and the 1200 work fine and roots dont get clogged why reinvent the wheel.

 

[sky high]

Time will tell...but I think the extra height of the 13 gallon modules will help on the root end of things. We shall see.

Yeah...kinda bein' a smart ass with the "Paint it Black" comment. LOL It's all a balance, huh?

I'll be interested to see what you guys all come up with. Like I say...it's just gonna take someone (with a good stash built up...LOL) who has the 'nads to change things up...pump sizing...pipe sizing...etc. and see WTF happens.

onward, through the fog!

s h

 

[UCMENOW]

On tha UC horizon

Nice grow so far sky.

Looks like there's no need for a Guinia Pig....3" is standard issue for the new UC 13 gallons......as well as many other cool ass innovations soon to be released.

I recently had the pleasure of checking some CC R&D.... all I can tell you is shits getting interesting.....they've developed a system that can run (4) 16XXL13's off one centralized Epicenter....and the new UC's all have remote Epicenters .....standard, Evolutions and the new Double Barrels like Jack's gonna run in his veg....fuggin bad asz.

I love knowing people on the inside. ;}

 

[sky high]

Cool. Kinda figured they had the $$$ to R&D this all over the place and were probably on it...

The way this is all exploding into the HUGE...I'm thinking that @ some point we'll all be able to grow pot AND raise our own whales in these things!

Shamu bud, anyone? ;-)

Thanks for the update, UCMENOW

s h

 

[Loudblunts]

yea i was just about to say that the standard for the 13 gallon buckets are 3"

just didnt know how that 3" would work on the 8 gallon or even if that would be beneficial or would it negate itself

 

[Loudblunts]

and LMAO @ shamu bud

bwahahah sky high yer a trip bra!!

 

[TyKaycha]

....3" is standard issue for the new UC 13 gallons......as well as many other cool ass innovations soon to be released.

....they've developed a system that can run (4) 16XXL13's off one centralized Epicenter....and the new UC's all have remote Epicenters .....

Sweet updates coming down the line!

Now like Sky said, need to search for either Shamu or Free Willy strain or heck, Moby Dick!....

 

[sky high]

I think I need a bigger room....