ehole makes the "below current"

[ehole]

so i made my own knockoff... i'm using 19 gallon brute rubbermaid totes (the brute is important) and instead of uniseals i opted to use 2 in gray threaded male and female pvc adapters $2-3 each and at most hardware stores. drilled hole out with a 2 3/8 hole saw (i can always go larger to 3" hole for uniseals if i ever feel the need). threw in 4 silicone 2 1/4:fixed: o rings per tote-2 per connection. it was water tight after the gluing the pvc slip fits into the adapters, and the 4 corner 90 elbows. it unscrews and breaks apart less than 5 minutes after drained. glue the male ends on the pvc and females go inside the "bucket"
the long pvc piece where the pump pulls from the connector there is 2 x 2 x 1/2 female threaded with a threade barb attached to the pump line. if i were to do more than then 4 i have i'd upgrade to atleast the 3/4 inch.
oh yeah this is my first post with multiple pics so i hope it lets me label under them if not sorry i'll take care of descriptions next post

 

[Radio_Dread]

Lookin really good dude. Really impressive for a DIY. Keep up the awesome work

 

[ehole]

you know what most of these are self explanatory. 4th from the bottom pic you have to support the corners or it will leak due to the sagging/flexing. sorry water is heavy, but you can see i found a simple fix in like 8 second... ask ?'s if you want. it's on 48" centers currently plan on running 5000 on it, but i can't right now due to legal situations. i'm just bored and love to build stuff and can't wait to toss it outside this spring with tomatoes as a test run before moving west....

 

[FastForward]

Duuuuuuuude! Great work fella!!!

 

[Rolln J]

right arm!

I asked for it and you delivered!

 

[BiggerTom]

I'm lovin' it!
You're going to KILL them tomatoes. Can't wait to see what you can do when you get out West!

 

[ehole]

one more thing my camera got snatched last raid so i borrowed the dad's old old one and don't know how to change the date these photos are from yesterday not 1/1/2003 as it took me that long to figure out how to get it to my computer doh!

 

[ehole]

right arm!

I asked for it and you delivered!

yeah you got me to do it. i figured since i jacked several off the ideas in my contraption from people sharing online it seemed like the thing to do. even if only 1 person gets something that's more than enough for me :)

 

[aldus]

Very nice craftsmanship. Should crank out some awesome plants especially with 5k watts.

Are the brute tubs available at home depot or did you have to order them online?

 

[lollipopman]

i like the air stones, where did you get them and how much?

i use the same air pump on my dwc setup, just to let you know mount that pump up high... i was told by the guys at the hydro store to mount them above my tubs cause when the power goes out then comes back on sometimes they suck the water up and out the pump.. so i didn't listen, came home one day and there was water every where, power went out and sure enough my tubs had no water, my air pump was sucking all the water out... hard lesson learned

 

[ehole]

aldus-i had to order them online from a restaraunt supplier or something of that nature... they ended up being about 20 each including shipping. they say they're rated for 500 lbs so i figured they could put up with my abuse. they are industrial! they come in a 14 or 19 gallon variety and an option of gray or white (i swear i'm not selling rubbermaid tubs).

lollipopman- i ordered these from horticulturesource.co m and they were 19-20 bucks each. apparently i stretched the budget a bit there but i'm a huge believer in it for the application. heads up though they are 3/8 barb on the back not 3/16 like most are. i appreciate the heads up on the pump elevation situation!

 

[easypleasie]

Thanks for sharing man. Hope your situation changes sooner than later! Would like to see this thing in action :)

 

[Jalisco Kid]

I like to see people build their own systems. Do you think you have enough water movement with that 7? You could put some screens in the last 2 inline to help with your rez and pump. I think they would screw into your inside fitting. Suerte JK

 

[ehole]

JK that is exactly what makes you so damn awesome that screen piece like that is brillant. unfortunately the inside piece is slip fit it but i know a little primer + glue goes a long way.
i am entirely unsure if the 700 gph is enough!!! i figure i'm running 70 gallonsish on full so under "ideal" pump conditions i'm circulating 10 times and hour or evey 6 minutes. the system is still jumping sitting during its 2 week water test- when that is done i'm gonna add food coloring to the control reservoir and see give or take how long it takes to even disperse. any clue what numbers i should be aiming for on the recirculation?

 

[space101]

Thats one sweet setup

 

[Jalisco Kid]

You could just swap out those last 2 male adapters for a threaded piece but the one shown should be snug enough to slide it in and out for cleaning. You do not want to glue it in place.
That 7 is what is used on an ez cloner 60. I believe it will not be enough.When you get that full of roots ,the first tank will fill up more then the second one etc. The min I would use would be an 1800gph. JK

 

[Lost]

Just a little input from someont still working ot the bugs in their system... I have found with 1 3/4 inch holes can get clogged with roots. I have had spill over from this. You did the correct thing by putting it on the ends which (unlike the under current system), is good, but since there is no backup tube, your gunna end up with 30 plus gallons of water on you floors. I would simply double you tubes or piping. I cannot tell if your piping is over 2 inch id. If so it may not be a problem, but I can tell you from experience that the worst things about these systems is getting the flow correct and not having spillover. Good Luck :)

 

[ehole]

Lost- i am 2" inner diameter... you're 1 3/4" clogging saddens me as 2 is not much larger, i'll have to tune in to what you're doing so i can adjust as necessary.

JK i used the 7 cause it went with chiller i have... i was trying to be fancy and run the pump straight to the chiller then to the control. 1800 seems like a lot, but i can't recall you ever steering anyone wrong, so it's doing on the to buy list for sure. the spring test tomatoes will only get the 7 i'd hate to lose a bigger one to expousure. do you have a source on that filter by chance?

i appreciate everyones input & comments much- e

 

[Lost]

Notice in my pic tho, I put it in the middle so it was right next to the roots. The problem is tho, after 2-3 months in the 27 gallon tote, its pretty full in there.. please let me know. My next build coming in January, will make 2 connections at the long end of each tub. Im probablly going to stay with the flexible tubing but id love to know how rigid PVC works. And ideas about how to make my system better, im all ears :)

Edit: Also I started with a 5/8 tubing and a 1/ 3/4 and had to add another 1 3/4. I think 2 1 3/4 on each long end should be plenty.

 

[Feijao]

Would it be better to use a shallow 20 gallon tote or one that also held 20 gallons but was quite a bit taller?

Also lost are those just uniseals that you are using with that flexpvc?