Rdwc Bucket Size Question

[EventHorizan]

It is a job!
I'll post some pics and explain after I get the water flowing. May still have to make a few changes. Looks like I am going to have to find a way to tap the cold water down there too since there is no easy way to fill 'er up. Also need to cut a hole to outside to drain but I'll wait until a day my wife is working for that :).

Lol :) :) :)

 

[HydroGuy]

It is a job!
I'll post some pics and explain after I get the water flowing. May still have to make a few changes. Looks like I am going to have to find a way to tap the cold water down there too since there is no easy way to fill 'er up. Also need to cut a hole to outside to drain but I'll wait until a day my wife is working for that :).

Haha yes even a small grow always turns out to be a much bigger beast than you anticipated. If you are in a basement i just popped one of the egress windows out replaced it with a treated board and screwed it down to the brick walls. Then u can cut all the holes you need for venting or draining water through the board. Although it is pretty frowned upon to dump fertilizers into your yard haha. Just an idea not sure what kind of space you are working with. Adding a water faucet is super simple just youtube it. Definitely dont need to be a contractor to figure it out. Glad its coming along!

 

[peta1111]

Haha yes even a small grow always turns out to be a much bigger beast than you anticipated. If you are in a basement i just popped one of the egress windows out replaced it with a treated board and screwed it down to the brick walls. Then u can cut all the holes you need for venting or draining water through the board. Although it is pretty frowned upon to dump fertilizers into your yard haha. Just an idea not sure what kind of space you are working with. Adding a water faucet is super simple just youtube it. Definitely dont need to be a contractor to figure it out. Glad its coming along!

That is a good idea to keep in mind for the future. I'm working with limited space and my basement is not the best place for a grow but we'll see what happens. All set with venting and drain line -just need to get it outside now. I am planning on dumping it out into the yard next to where the A/C run-off is dumped. Wish I could get it over to the other side of the house to my wifes flower garden.
I think I can do the faucet. Ever since I discovered Shark Bites you'd think I'm a plumber. I have a water line right above the tent that I can get at easily. It goes to the ice maker so I should be able to split that off. Just have to figure out where to run it and how I want to do it. But for a small grow tent this feels like the project that never ends.

 

[EventHorizan]

That is a good idea to keep in mind for the future. I'm working with limited space and my basement is not the best place for a grow but we'll see what happens. All set with venting and drain line -just need to get it outside now. I am planning on dumping it out into the yard next to where the A/C run-off is dumped. Wish I could get it over to the other side of the house to my wifes flower garden.
I think I can do the faucet. Ever since I discovered Shark Bites you'd think I'm a plumber. I have a water line right above the tent that I can get at easily. It goes to the ice maker so I should be able to split that off. Just have to figure out where to run it and how I want to do it. But for a small grow tent this feels like the project that never ends.

Lol that's because it is the project that never ends :)

 

[peta1111]

I filled the system with water this afternoon. So far so good, keeping fingers crossed. After a little while I noticed two very small leaks/drips. I tightened the screws on those two hose clamps and that seems to have fixed the drips. Watching it carefully now.
Two things I noticed.
-The air pump is loud as hell. I already know I am going to have to replace it with a higher quality pump. It is an active aqua 70L pump and I tried all sorts of things to quiet the vibration/hum including hanging it via a bungee. It is just LOUD and that kind of sucks.
- The other thing I was concerned about was the water pump. I decided to use the active aqua 1000gph pump inline for the system. Originally it was to be used only to drain the system. I was afraid it would be way too much to use inline with my system. It turns out not to be a problem at all. It is far from overkill and I am actually a little concerned that it is not going to pump the water high enough for what I bought it for (to drain) even though the specs say it should. We will see.
In meantime two of the 3 seeds have sprouted. Kewl.

 

[peta1111]

A few pics...

Res and air pump are outside the tent. The water flows from the buckets via 2" pvc return line in the back. The buckets are slightly higher than the res which is slightly higher than the water pump.
The water pump sucks water from the res and pushes it to the buckets. There is a T with 2 lines +ball valves that control the flow either through the buckets or outside to drain. The line on the right feeds the two buckets from the top, 3/4" line, creating a waterfall like effect. I also have 1 air stone in each bucket. The flow is good as is the aeration and turbulence. The two buckets are not connected for now.

 

[EventHorizan]

A few pics...

Res and air pump are outside the tent. The water flows from the buckets via 2" pvc return line in the back. The buckets are slightly higher than the res which is slightly higher than the water pump.
The water pump sucks water from the res and pushes it to the buckets. There is a T with 2 lines +ball valves that control the flow either through the buckets or outside to drain. The line on the right feeds the two buckets from the top, 3/4" line, creating a waterfall like effect. I also have 1 air stone in each bucket. The flow is good as is the aeration and turbulence. The two buckets are not connected for now.

View attachment 660064 View attachment 660065 View attachment 660066 View attachment 660067 View attachment 660068

Where did you get the buckets with the foldable lids?

 

[peta1111]

Where did you get the buckets with the foldable lids?

I bought them at a local hydro store. I searched and searched online but shipping is crazy high for them. Not sure what is with that but most of the local stores seem to carry both sizes.
I just noticed I've got a little leak at the inline filter connection. I'll deal with that tomorrow.

 

[EventHorizan]

I bought them at a local hydro store. I searched and searched online but shipping is crazy high for them. Not sure what is with that but most of the local stores seem to carry both sizes.
I just noticed I've got a little leak at the inline filter connection. I'll deal with that tomorrow.

How much did your hydro store charge for them?

 

[peta1111]

How much did your hydro store charge for them?

I do not recall exactly but I think the lids were $5/each and the buckets maybe 10-15/each. So not cheap but it was either these or Brute totes which are not cheap either.

 

[smit h]

That is a good idea to keep in mind for the future. I'm working with limited space and my basement is not the best place for a grow but we'll see what happens. All set with venting and drain line -just need to get it outside now. I am planning on dumping it out into the yard next to where the A/C run-off is dumped. Wish I could get it over to the other side of the house to my wifes flower garden.
I think I can do the faucet. Ever since I discovered Shark Bites you'd think I'm a plumber. I have a water line right above the tent that I can get at easily. It goes to the ice maker so I should be able to split that off. Just have to figure out where to run it and how I want to do it. But for a small grow tent this feels like the project that never ends.

You think shark bites are great (I agree) try pex.. So great

 

[peta1111]

You think shark bites are great (I agree) try pex.. So great

I've been eyeing that stuff but it looks like you need to buy all those specialty tools to use pex.

 

[smit h]

I've been eyeing that stuff but it looks like you need to buy all those specialty tools to use pex.

All you need is a crimper.. Like $35 on amazon and you're off. I redid my whole house in one day and have no leaks. Froze a couple times too..

 

[AnEn]

That air compressor is loud no matter what you do with it. Get a diaphragm air pump if you wanna get rid of the noise.

 

[peta1111]

That air compressor is loud no matter what you do with it. Get a diaphragm air pump if you wanna get rid of the noise.

Yeah I learned that the hard way. Any suggestions on a replacement?
I found one that is supposed to be very quiet called Air Force Pro 60 but it is much more $, of course. Will have to wait a little bit for that.

 

[HydroGuy]

Yeah I learned that the hard way. Any suggestions on a replacement?
I found one that is supposed to be very quiet called Air Force Pro 60 but it is much more $, of course. Will have to wait a little bit for that.

The air force pros are awesome and very quiet. I used to use alitas which are almost double the price of the air force pros. After comparing them air force pro is just as quiet if not quieter and move air just as well. They can also be taken apart for cleaning and replacement parts can be ordered which are easy to replace by yourself.

 

[AnEn]

What HydroGuy said. Diaphragm pumps cost more, but : they stay cooler, run quiet, and can be maintained. Once pump start making noise, you change diaphragm and it it good to go again. Alita and Airforce are top notch, have mine for 8 years now. Don't have experience with other brands.

 

[peta1111]

Thanks for the tips on the air pumps, much appreciated. I'll probably go with Air Force Pro one of these days.

So the system has been recirculating with tap water since Sunday, so almost 4 days. I just went down to check on things and to put the heater in the tent and noticed the water seems to have developed a little bit of a smell. It is circulating well, and there are air stones in each bucket including the res but the smell does seem to be coming from the water. I changed the water in the tray under the seedlings but I think the main system water is what is starting to smell. There are no plants or anything in it and the water temp is 69 degrees. PPM is roughly 260 which is what it was out of my tap and PH is 6.5. I did add some PH down to bring it there. Seems odd with as much movement in there as there is that it would smell.
Geez I haven't even got the little girls going in the water yet!
Also, they started getting really leggy so I turned up the light. Still got leggy, realized I had the timer set wrong and they were not getting enough light hours. Now set to 18hrs ON, 6 OFF and watching to see if I need to turn the lights up at all (dimmer).

 

[AnEn]

What is the water smell like?

 

[AnEn]

Sorry about my ignorance, but what lights are you using?