Post UC Questions and Concerns Here

[hollywood7]

No generator handy but home depot has them and just 10 minutes away i guess i will wait for a need then go get it

 

[letsgrw]

UC clean out

Hi Folks,
I am doing my first UC clean out. I am considering using Muriatic Acid for the initial clean out then Physan 20 for the final.
I do not plan on replacing any equipment with the exception of air lines.
Unfortunatily I did have root rot which was my fault for the most part.
My next grow I will be using UCROOTS and anything else I need to do to avoid root problems.
Let me know what you think about the muriatic acid approach.
Letsgrow

 

[smokey_waters]

Hi Daniel,
I know we talked about it today, but I think it should be mentioned somewhere on the site whether to adapt the chiller to the system or the system to the chiller. I'm running a 16 XL double barrel and a 1/2 HP Eco Plus Chiller. In a nutshell, the chiller tubing is bigger than the 3/4" chiller adapter. So the two options are either put a reducer on both inlet and outlet of chiller or put a bigger chiller adapter on the relay and epicenter barb. I'm pretty sure after speaking with you to put a reducer on the chiller inlet/outlet.

ps. I re-watched the video on your "Resources" page. I see the air hoses going into each module, but what's the black tubing going into each net pot?

 

[UCHQ]

We'd previously (4 years ago) included a drip system which has since been excluded.

 

[smokie]

UCHQ you have the best customer service in the industry keep up the good work:banana1sv6:

 

[smokey_waters]

No one seemed to know so I thought I'd bring it up here. To avoid bending the chiller tubing 90 degrees I found turning the relay (water pump) on it's side prevented any tube bending. Does this affect the relay in any way though??

I'm having trouble placing my air pumps outside the tent. I don't want to cut holes in the tent, but if I route the tubing thru the port hole, the air pump manifolds are both on one side of the tent. Will this reduce the air pressure going to the furthest modules in the back? I'm running a 16 xl double barrel system

Thx,

 

[UCHQ]

Pump can run on it's side...it's ok.

Try to position the air pumps as close to the termination point as possible.....if your going to run an extended distance consider using larger hose (3/4") from the pump into the manifold splitter.

 

[smokie]

Do you see any problem with me adding another module at the end of the run for a catch module, for root overgroth N hydroton always causing me a issue. It seems like it would be alot easier to clean out roots & hydroton. Or am i not thinking of something. Just like a extra epicenter on the opposite end with out the flexair membrane in it. Prior to the 3/4 in reduction/Y clean out filter.

When is the ECO going to be released.

Thanks again you guys are the best.

 

[UCHQ]

Do you see any problem with me adding another module at the end of the run for a catch module for root overgroth N hydroton always causing me a issue like a catch module it seems like it would be alot easier to remove stuff or am i not thinking of something. Just like a extra epicenter on the opposite end with out the flex air membrane in it prior to the 3/4 in reduction/Y filter

When is the ECO going to be released

That could work....can't imagine it causing you any issues assuming u plumb it correctly.

If by the ECO you're referring to the budget minded ECO UC, we will have that available about the end of the year....we'll be releasing the Earth first with the ECO soon to follow. Thanks for asking.

 

[smokie]

Thx
Cool maybe the extra module on the end could double as a bubble cloner in veg if the clones could handle the nutes.

1 more question, I have a slow leak under the uniseal off to the side 1/2 in. Can I use JB Water Weld so i don't have to dump the buckets and wait 4-6 hours for the regular one to cure it says it can be done under water.

What is your preferred method ?


http://jbweld.net/products/water.php

 

[UCHQ]

Just knead it together and apply a thin, but ample veneer to the crack on the inside of the mod directly over the crack...waterweld can set up under water and is completely plant safe. contact us asap so we can get you out a replacement mod.

 

[Chronic Monster]

hi, hoping to get some scientific type explanation if you wouldn't mind Dan or anyone else with a background in horticulture.i was talking to a gentleman from our local university, who happens to have a PhD in agriculture/horticulture. we have a starting EC of. 9 out the tap. he said the starting EC does not matter and that it was wasteful using RO water in water culture applications. which seems wrong to me on so many levels. it seems the high starting EC would effect dissolved oxygen as well as nutrient uptake. but I was having trouble explaining myself and have no "education" on the terms or science of how it woild effect the plants, or really any talking points regarding the.subject other than my own experience.

 

[woodsmaneh]

Chronic I think your Prof is smoking something or just knows dirt. IMHO My water from the well is almost 400ppm, most of which is calcium. So if my target is 800ppm I can only add 400 ppm of the right food? Just don't see him being right.

 

[woodsmaneh]

Some suggestions to consider...

I had a bucket crack so took it to a buddy who is a mold maker for his opinion. He suggested that the hole be moved up a little higher and that would allow more stress re-leaf and help stop cracking. This would also increase the survivability of the plants by having more water left in the system should you have a crack. He also suggested you use a different plastic for making the buckets.

Peace

 

[woodsmaneh]

Thx
Cool maybe the extra module on the end could double as a bubble cloner in veg if the clones could handle the nutes.

1 more question, I have a slow leak under the uniseal off to the side 1/2 in. Can I use JB Water Weld so i don't have to dump the buckets and wait 4-6 hours for the regular one to cure it says it can be done under water.

What is your preferred method ?


http://jbweld.net/products/water.php

I had a bucket crack at week 5 and did not want to drain it all so I got some socks and stuffed them in a ziplock and stuffed them in the 3" pipe that went into the bucket. Vac out the water, some windex blue and off it came. Real slick and did not lose anything. I decided to buy a 3" inflatable packer like this .

The soxs and bag worked great so you don't need the packer just another way to skin the cat.

 

[UCHQ]

CM....simply put, as long as you balance the mineral diet for the plants so as to give them proportionally what they need, in theory it will be up taken. The only way to make the nute balanced when combining with high ppm tap is to analize the water and make a custom nute that compensates for the mineral inputs that are naturally occuring in the parent water. Albeit practical for large scale hydro green house ops to do this, not so for the vast majority practicing indoor hydroponics like yourself.

What some (those who don't use water culture on the reg) tend not to factor in is that when roots are constantly emersed in nute solution, if the EC is too high plants will cease in being able to uptake water. If this happens it doesn't matter how balanced the minerals in solution, there is no way the plant will be able to uptake and/or metabolize these minerals. This is different in substrate/media based systems as the medium can tie up some of the excess mineral which aids the plant in uptaking water and minerals.

As for RO being practical to use.....in a closed loop, zero dump out rdwc it can actually be very feasible, especially if your water is convoluted with mystery minerals out of the tap and crop failure is likely without it.
Though whenever possible we would recommend trying to avoid the need for RO, given the waste water (concentrated waste stream) component is still the weak link in RO.

In the event RO is necessary, seek out RO machines that have the most favorable pure to waste water ratios. Companies like Growonix and Hydrologic are both making strides in this respect so check them out.

 

[UCHQ]

Woods...thanks for the input.

Main problem with raising the holes is we need the water level at drain down to be as low as possible as well we need our "current" to pass through the very bottom of the module.

As for dif plastics....though we would like to work with abs, it has proven cost prohibitive (check the price on a 10 gallon abs res from botanicare as a point of ref) as we are always looking for ways to improve our already durable systems. HDPE has actually proven extremely durable so for the time being it's what we'll be using moving forward.

 

[smokie]

My apologies, fellas I probably should have stated that on my specific slow leak issue it was probably due to me not the module itself. My bad
Will give an update on the jb water weld fix in a few



Update
The JB WaterWeld did its job and now there is no leak. :fixed:

Thanks again UCHC for the help. :hi:

 

[smokey_waters]

Nute change out

I've got a 100 gallon Rez filled only w/ water going to a 16 xl double barrel system. I guess I don't understand how the water goes from the Rez into the system. Do I run a hose from the bottom of the Rez to the drain barb in the epicenter? Would gravity prevent water from cOming out or will it come out b/c it's 6 feet high and the pressure would push it out?? Would I need to lift The rez off the ground, that won't be easy as it's full. Please clarify. Thx.

 

[smokie]

@Smokey_Waters My 55 gal Res is lifted above the epicenter for gravity fed refills of the UC, you do not have to do it this way but then you will need a pump and a float switch etc. Easiest way is to get it lifted above the modules and gravity feed it into the float. Other wise if the res is left at ground level the pressure of your rez will probably only refill the UC until the water in your res reaches the height of the float and then that's it. Hopefully I explained it correctly for you. You plumb it to the float not the drain valve. Set your float at your desired water level and tighten the butterfly nut and it will stop accepting water from your res at that level.