help with sizing a reservoir for drip with coco in pots

[Smokey503ski]

I dissagree about the post talking about how drain to waste there is more to deal with than a recerculating one.

I used more water in a recurculating top feed.

For me the advantage of feed to waste is....You only fill the res 1 time a week, also you only PH and set the PPM's 1 time a week also. Each time the plants get fed they get a fresh batch of nutes each time.

 

[DoubleDub]

Good points smokey I've never run recirc so I wouldn't know lol

 

[Cagedxj]

I am running 32 Gallon Res w/ Drain to waste and I refill it every 4 days right now So I am looking for a larger res, I water 3 times a day for 1 min and the plants are very happy. I am running the Tupar Mix Royal Gold Products and it works awesome!

 

[Shady]

Sweet thread! Lots of good info and great pics everyone... :cool

Here's my setup for my second run in Coco with chunky perlite in a 1:1 ratio, DTW with a 40 gal res that lasts 2 weeks between res changes... 600W HPS and a 3x3 tray...

:tongueout Ahhh… No rest for the wicked… After the usual wipe down of the Shady Bloom Room, I’m ready for the next round…
http://i858.invalid.com/albums/ab146/ShadyRoundFive/ShadyRound70.jpg

http://i858.invalid.com/albums/ab146/ShadyRoundFive/ShadyRound71.jpg

Here’s a good shot of the setup…
http://i858.invalid.com/albums/ab146/ShadyRoundFive/ShadyRound72.jpg

And the 2 gal Smart Pots ready with the West Coast Growers manifold…
http://i858.invalid.com/albums/ab146/ShadyRoundFive/ShadyRound73.jpg

 

[Dirty White Boy]

I dissagree about the post talking about how drain to waste there is more to deal with than a recerculating one.

I used more water in a recurculating top feed.

For me the advantage of feed to waste is....You only fill the res 1 time a week, also you only PH and set the PPM's 1 time a week also. Each time the plants get fed they get a fresh batch of nutes each time.

Hmm, i wouldnt say its easier. You still have to top off and ph the reservoir of an ebb n flo table as often as you check any reservoir, i would NEVER go more than 2 days without checking, shit i dont even go one day, scratch that 12 hours without checking all my reservoirs. The positive points of a recirculating system is the plants take what they need from the nutrient solution when they need it. The ph in recirculating systems tend to stay rock solid, thats kinda one of the perks of these systems. So I have to completely disagree with ya, i prefer a recirculating system over an ebb n flo anyday of the week, shoot id take one waterfarm bucket over a 4x4 table. Different Strokes for different folks.

 

[motherlode]

...

 

[leadsled]

posted up a DIY tutorial on how to make a top drip setup (Manifold can be build just like what Shady is running)


I have ran both top drip and ebb and flow. I prefer top drip for a few reasons.

I find that less water volume is needed for top drip. For most scenarios, Less water waste than using ebb and flow as well. (also enough that I can use it for house plants, draining 40+ gallons from ebb and flow into the yard wont cut it here)

Recirculating have to check ph and adjust each day (or every other day).

(Pro: that can tell you what is going on with the plants. ph riding or falling, tds)

I find with top drip I get better performance and yield. (both rockwool and coco) With ebb and flow I need to flush one a week or ever 2 weeks. That can mean changing out the res flushing empty res, refill then add nutes. Even then I feel feeding from the top works better for flushing out the excess salts (rockwool and coco) and to prevent any problems.

1 4x4 tray needs 40-50 gallons to ebb and flow and that does not fill the tray. I would still need to top feed by hand.

For 1 4x4 tray I can use as 8 gallons for 8 - 5 gallon containers for each watering or feeding.

For me to use 4 - 4x4 trays with ebb and flow I would need at least 160gallons.
If using tall pots with coco ebb and flow will not saturate entire container.
You will need strong stands for your trays to support the weight of trays filled with water.

For top drip I can get away with 60 gallons and keep topping off.

IMHO, Much less water used and less work for top drip.

Ebb and flow is little cheaper equipment wise to setup, but I find the water waste is 3-4 times as much. Even with rockwool cubes on slabs still need to use alot of water to saturate then when flooding.

Most everyone I know that uses rockwool switched to top drip from ebb and flow. This increased there yields and now do less work and use less water.

Do not know any ebb and flow coco users. I did try ebb and flow with coco but saw inferior results.

YMMV

 

[brookstown]

Man I freakin love coco. It's super forgiving and yields like hydro.

Here they are 22 days into flower

http://i755.invalid.com/albums/xx196/C4ked/Day%2022/DSC_0273.jpg

QUOTE]

What do you typicaly expect to yield from one of those tables. Running vert now but i like the density and was wondering about yields

 

[entrails]

Hmm, i wouldnt say its easier. You still have to top off and ph the reservoir of an ebb n flo table as often as you check any reservoir, i would NEVER go more than 2 days without checking, shit i dont even go one day, scratch that 12 hours without checking all my reservoirs. The positive points of a recirculating system is the plants take what they need from the nutrient solution when they need it. The ph in recirculating systems tend to stay rock solid, thats kinda one of the perks of these systems. So I have to completely disagree with ya, i prefer a recirculating system over an ebb n flo anyday of the week, shoot id take one waterfarm bucket over a 4x4 table. Different Strokes for different folks.

I agree about being all over your plants and resos!! You need to keep a daily log. I track the time of day, the temp, the humidity, the ppm and the ph. Everything is detailed and noted. All of this needs to be tracked very carefully imho for many reasons......

Its strange ive only grown in rocks in 4 x 4 flood trays, so I dont know anything different. I seems so simple ebb and flow.....reso is maintained and very stable....plants seems happy....I dont feel like im working to hard with the medium...but i dunno....maybe im missing something.

 

[HortiLab]

As far as res' go get the biggest one possible..

Exactly, when it comes to reservoirs, bigger is better! Helps to keep the pH more stable.

 

[HotLooSey]

Great Forum...
I want an auto drip system but have a few question.
I have 3x6 trays, 3 gallon pots, and use BioBizz coco and drain to waste. Using Organics with Iguana Juice as the base.

Waste? When top watering i've got it down to a trickle. I'm watering every other day but would like to set up so it's getting enough water to stay wet all the time. (yes, i was a dirt farmer before the coco!!!)

How do I avoid clogging? Will odor (the fishy organic smell) be a challenge?

Shady, will your setup handle organics? Is it open 1/4" tubing? What type of timer/pump do you use? Can you tell me your parts list?

You are inspiring me. thanks

 

[Shady]

Shady, will your setup handle organics? Is it open 1/4" tubing? What type of timer/pump do you use? Can you tell me your parts list?

You are inspiring me. thanks

Thx brah... I've got a Sentinel Master Digital Timer and a 40 GPH pump attached to my West Coast Grower's manifold. All set to drain onto a 3x3 Botanicare tray from the 1/4 feed lines... I suppose it could work with organics. You could always add a small amount of SM-90 to improve spray coverage and prevent clogging the lines... :thinking

 

[HotLooSey]

Shady,
I googled West Coast Grower's manifold, and guess what i found!!!

These guys have already done the work!!!! by the way, what is a manifold?

Thanks,,,,,

 

[Shady]

Shady,
I googled West Coast Grower's manifold, and guess what i found!!!

These guys have already done the work!!!! by the way, what is a manifold?

Thanks,,,,,

no problem, the West Coast Grower's manifold works great. A manifold simply takes a large single input from the pump supply and distributes it evenly amongst several smaller lines... :cool

 

[antimatter]

To prevent siphoning all you gotta do is add an air hole in the line(must not be submerged), I just add a 1/4 barb in my line and it squirts out water when the pump is on back into my res and when the pump shuts off it releases the air pressure in the line preventing the siphoning action that I normally would get draining my res. Same thing for drainage if things don't drain properly you need to release the air out of the line and a barb isn't gonna be enough for that at least for me, I have to actually add a t with 3/4 line to release the air out of my line so things drain properly (depends on your setup).

 

[Cagedxj]

Here is my recirculating Top Feed System at 5 Weeks.

 

[Cagedxj]

Lower half and Tray shot:dance

 

[Jalisco Kid]

Man I freakin love coco. It's super forgiving and yields like hydro.been hooked on coco for a few years now. I run a drip to waste and water three times a day with a small runoff each time. I don't let nutes go above 850. I find my girls like 450 -800 depending on size, week and strain. All I feed my girls are gh three part, quantum growth light, ro and rarely hydrogen peroxide. My nutes are usually at a 1-1-1 ratio till stretch then transition to about a 2-2-5 ratio. Each week i try to increase ppm by about 50 starting at 500. till nug production then i slowly decrease till flush.


yo lead I like the design with the rubber grommets inside the pvc to connect to the 1/4 in tubing. I thought about doing something similar myself but ended up doing this.
http://i755.invalid.com/albums/xx196/C4ked/Warehouse%20Build%20to%20day%201/DSC_1047.jpg

http://i755.invalid.com/albums/xx196/C4ked/Warehouse%20Build%20to%20day%201/DSC_1045.jpg


That auto drain thing is pretty sweet i never knew they made those. I found hauling my waste to be so annoying that i just installed sbs drain. man it makes it so much easier.

http://i755.invalid.com/albums/xx196/C4ked/more/DSC_0325.jpg

As far as res' go get the biggest one possible.. but be careful how tall your drippers are compared to the top water line of a full res. If the res fills taller than your drippers it will siphon from the res through your pump and into the bags. I use low profile norwesco tanks and that can be filled with 120 gallons.

http://i755.invalid.com/albums/xx196/C4ked/Warehouse%20Build%20to%20day%201/DSC_1028.jpg

http://i755.invalid.com/albums/xx196/C4ked/Warehouse%20Build%20to%20day%201/DSC_1031.jpg

Here they are 22 days into flower

http://i755.invalid.com/albums/xx196/C4ked/Day%2022/DSC_0273.jpg

http://i755.invalid.com/albums/xx196/C4ked/Day%2022/DSC_0281.jpg

http://i755.invalid.com/albums/xx196/C4ked/Day%2022/DSC_0244.jpg

http://i755.invalid.com/albums/xx196/C4ked/Day%2022/DSC_0295.jpg

http://i755.invalid.com/albums/xx196/C4ked/Day%2022/DSC_0270.jpg

If you ran the pvc inside the tray and used say an 8 emitter manifold your feed lines would be shorter and have a better flow with less clogs. I use rainbird's manifold the best I found as far as maintenance. JK