Asad2k6
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Uni leaks are meant for curved surfaces. Bulkheads need to be positioned properly to allow the plastic to flexI've always felt Uniseal is the answer for bulkheads in plastic buckets. I ran 12 buckets with two uniseals each for nearly a year with no leaks. I struggled with getting bulkheads to seal on the curved surface of a bucket, especially buckets that were thicker. The firm rubber of a uniseal plus the strength of the PVC seems to flex the bucket itself into position.
Never had a leak in mine either. Bulkheads on reg 5 gal pails. Life aquatic I think... Cheap off Amazon brand.I never used uniseals because I thought they were garbage from the first time I bought some. I looked at them and never used them. Instead I bought Current Culture 2" bulkheads. They are installed on 5 gallon rectangular buckets with 2" PVC return. Never had a leak but I am only finishing my second grow in my RDWC system. I have some plumbing experience and they are a solid product. Just need to use the correct glue. I also installed cheap bulkheads from ePay for the supply (fallponic). No worries about leaks there as those are always above the water line. Gary from All Good Garden supply has some great youtube build videos. Just my 2 cents. Good luck with your build.
Yes I used 1.5" for that exact reason.I have a 50 gallon RDWC. I use Hayward bulkheads with great success. Bulkheads work great for flat surfaces. You can put them on a curved surface, but the diameter of the bulkhead through hole will determine how big of a radius you can seal on the mounting surface... for instance, you will probably never see a 2 inch bulkhead on a 5 gallon pot. But a .75" would probably work just fine. You can "flatten" an area with a heat gun if you need to. My bulkheads are $27 each, but the Current Culture units work just fine and are much cheaper. Be sure you put the correct size hole in your tubs and be sure to use a holesaw, don't even try it with a jigsaw
I've never used Uniseals, but ive known a few that have. I guess they don't last forever. I dont know of anyone using them now.
My opinion as to which grow method is best from the 2 you mentioned is easy. RDWC. I like to grow large plants. This method is the easiest way to do that. I just finished 4 plants, one was 23oz. Its fast, economic (once put together and growing, it can be very expensive to put the pieces together), and easy... i can leave my grow unattended for over a week if i want to.
In the pics... the top of a bud from the big plant, and a half gallon jar
The plant to the right of the picture was 23oz. The grow area is 6 feet wide
The last pic is of a different plant... still growing
You will. RDWC is a great first step. Next, you will need to get familiar with using Silica. It CAN be a handful sometimes. For instance, pH is a common problemWow! I hope that I will be able to grow budz that big when I get better at this. I also love the RDWC systems for growing big plants.
Welcome to the farm brother. Great to see a knowledgeable rdwc guy join upYou will. RDWC is a great first step. Next, you will need to get familiar with using Silica. It CAN be a handful sometimes. For instance, pH is a common problem
Gen Hydro's Armor Si can make your nutrient water as high as 11. Botanicare's Silica Blast is the easiest (that i have used), and isn't too crazy price wise. I use Facilitor or Power Si. Both are amazing in their capabilities, but both are nose bleed expensive. Some will say you shouldn't have to pay big prices for a simple product like Silica... you can buy it from RAW for penies by comparison. I agree, if the product from RAW worked the same I would use it. Theres another issue with Silica. You NEED to add it first to a new batch of nutes. It doesnt play nice with any other elements. I fill my res. with RO, add Silica and I let it run overnight. This thoroughly mixes the Silica which helps keep future pH swings to a minimum. To be fair Calcium and Micro nutrients can be an issue with other elements too... they are the next ones I add. Read up on Silica if you dont already know. Its an amazing additive.
Use a root booster. House and Garden Accelerator (Silver bottle for hydro). Rapidstart from Gen Hydro (my favorite), and theres also a new one from Botanicare. Ive only used it once, so i can't really say how it works... i forgot the name.
Buy the best lights you can afford. Even HPS, or CMH aren't a bad way to go other than the heat issues and $60 lightbulbs.
I like LED, but it can be a chore to find a truly great light. I wouldnt bother with Mars or lights like them. I would seriously look at HLG, ChilLED, if you're handy build them yourself. Some other forums are really good for light building knowledge.
Theres a lot to it. But once you have everything together you only need 1 more item, well a handfull actually. You are gonna need yoyos to keep your buds off the ground.
Thank you. Ive been growing since 2016, I started in DWC, but I also go in soil, usually the same strain as what's in the water.Welcome to the farm brother. Great to see a knowledgeable rdwc guy join upand great advice.
Stltoed. I cannot thank you enough for all of that info. The silica sounds like something I need to look into further. I check my PH every day and sometimes there are huge swings. I can go from 6.0 to less than 5.0 in the same day. I have to add GH PH up almost daily during flower. I do have the HLG 550 and will probably upgrade to the HLG600 since they just came out. I have also been using rapid start on this grow and I noticed faster and bigger growth. Thanks again as I have some research to do. I posted some photos yesterday, hopefully folks will help me determine if I am ready to harvest. Then I will clean and get started with grow 3. I love this forum and it's people like you who are awesome sharing info. I want to learn more. I think I found something I am good at and want to get better. Take care!You will. RDWC is a great first step. Next, you will need to get familiar with using Silica. It CAN be a handful sometimes. For instance, pH is a common problem
Gen Hydro's Armor Si can make your nutrient water as high as 11. Botanicare's Silica Blast is the easiest (that i have used), and isn't too crazy price wise. I use Facilitor or Power Si. Both are amazing in their capabilities, but both are nose bleed expensive. Some will say you shouldn't have to pay big prices for a simple product like Silica... you can buy it from RAW for penies by comparison. I agree, if the product from RAW worked the same I would use it. Theres another issue with Silica. You NEED to add it first to a new batch of nutes. It doesnt play nice with any other elements. I fill my res. with RO, add Silica and I let it run overnight. This thoroughly mixes the Silica which helps keep future pH swings to a minimum. To be fair Calcium and Micro nutrients can be an issue with other elements too... they are the next ones I add. Read up on Silica if you dont already know. Its an amazing additive.
Use a root booster. House and Garden Accelerator (Silver bottle for hydro). Rapidstart from Gen Hydro (my favorite), and theres also a new one from Botanicare. Ive only used it once, so i can't really say how it works... i forgot the name.
Buy the best lights you can afford. Even HPS, or CMH aren't a bad way to go other than the heat issues and $60 lightbulbs.
I like LED, but it can be a chore to find a truly great light. I wouldnt bother with Mars or lights like them. I would seriously look at HLG, ChilLED, if you're handy build them yourself. Some other forums are really good for light building knowledge.
Theres a lot to it. But once you have everything together you only need 1 more item, well a handfull actually. You are gonna need yoyos to keep your buds off the ground.
Absolutely no problem! There's a lot to learn. I love to tinker which leads me to going in different directions than the common methods sometimes.Stltoed. I cannot thank you enough for all of that info. The silica sounds like something I need to look into further. I check my PH every day and sometimes there are huge swings. I can go from 6.0 to less than 5.0 in the same day. I have to add GH PH up almost daily during flower. I do have the HLG 550 and will probably upgrade to the HLG600 since they just came out. I have also been using rapid start on this grow and I noticed faster and bigger growth. Thanks again as I have some research to do. I posted some photos yesterday, hopefully folks will help me determine if I am ready to harvest. Then I will clean and get started with grow 3. I love this forum and it's people like you who are awesome sharing info. I want to learn more. I think I found something I am good at and want to get better. Take care!
You're using 2 inch bulkheads on a 5 gallon bucket?I have 2" bulk heads on my RDWC system. They are cheaper than you think. I think I paid 12.99 cdn per 2" bulk head from Home Depot. Heavy duty and perfect for round pails. You need to screw tight and I went a bit further and added silicone seal as I do not want 100 gallons on my floor. It flattens 5 gallon pail out when screwed in place and forms a seal. For a simple 4 pot DWC system, you cannot go wrong for 4 x 2" bulkheads that will cost you a tad over $50.
Looks good!Yes. I wanted to be able to remove any individual pail if need be. Over engineered but I wanted it this way.
Yes. I wanted to be able to remove any individual pail if need be. Over engineered but I wanted it this way.
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