So The Diy Undercurrent Begins

[Shawnery]

I was thinking that by not having airstones you might be able to get away with not creating these huge root ballls.

 

[Shawnery]

You know who my Great great grandfather was don't you, Thompson, the man who created seedless grapes. One day I'm destined to do great strange things with cannabis.

Or at least that's what I tell myself every day when I realize how awful I am at green thumb endeavors.:cry:

 

[Shawnery]

I'm not saying it won't start but for the last 10 minutes there's been absolutely zero leaks. I think one of the reasons adding silicone directly to the mating surface of the uniseal and bucket works is it fills any inconsistencies in the hole drilled for the uniseal. On the inside of the bucket you can see where it may have leaked but is seeping with silicone instead. Even though it won't stick to plastic very well it does fill those gaps perfectly.

We'll see in a couple hours how it goes.

 

[DGP]

Shawnery,

Did ya fill em all the way full? Mine didnt leak at first then i filled em all the way to normal levels and they did then. Filling em all the way adds a little more water pressure to the seals. However good to know they arent leaking so far .

Dee

 

[Shawnery]

I know you guys don't agree with waterfalls for this size grow but I'm going to give it a go. I built a 9 way 1/2" manifold that will connect to the 1" hose leaving the cooler and then split between the epi and the plant buckets.

I'm interested to know how long it will take to recoup cost of hosing through savings in energy from no air pumps.

 

[DGP]

It is no so much about agreeing or not but Current Culture has done tons of research on the setup of the classic UC system and so I am a fan of following their recommendations pretty closely. I use a waterfall in the epi bucket and the airstones as well.

Dee

 

[heisen]

I know you guys don't agree with waterfalls for this size grow but I'm going to give it a go. I built a 9 way 1/2" manifold that will connect to the 1" hose leaving the cooler and then split between the epi and the plant buckets.

I'm interested to know how long it will take to recoup cost of hosing through savings in energy from no air pumps.

I doubt you will get enough DO unless you put.some thought into it and push alot of water.

 

[Shawnery]

One thing that I didn't think about is the loss of spurting water on the surface of the water from bubbles popping. Do you guys consider the splashing of water on roots from bubbles or only DO production?

 

[SinCity]

One thing that I didn't think about is the loss of spurting water on the surface of the water from bubbles popping. Do you guys consider the splashing of water on roots from bubbles or only DO production?

i think it's best to answer your question re the humboldt county laws in this thread, because heisenbubble can REALLY help you out setting up an optimal legal grow..work smarter, not harder.

without lifting a finger for a license or even a prescription from a doctor, anybody can grow 6 mature plants or 12 immature plants--per residence. listen up...per residence, not per person.

also, instead of doing all the work it takes to be a licensed care provider to medical patients, just be a medical patient. your doctor can customize your prescription to allow you to have as many plants, flowers, and/or concentrates as your medical condition or conditions require...

 

[SinCity]

View attachment 815667 undercurrent IS RDWC .Recirculating Deep Water Culture.
I mix the nutrients in the top off res and PH it to Steer the system.Thats what this board is for,Write down the numbers of the system and the top off to drive the system in the direction you wanna go,Dont add PH directly to the buckets,Your top off res and how you mix it is the single most important thing.It also builds the Beneficial bacteria colony that goes into your system.My 12 plant uses around 3 gallons a day at the peak

i love this site...such generous, kind people

 

[Shawnery]

It is no so much about agreeing or not but Current Culture has done tons of research on the setup of the classic UC system and so I am a fan of following their recommendations pretty closely. I use a waterfall in the epi bucket and the airstones as well.

Dee

Good point!

Filled it up to the bottom of the net cup and still no leaking but we'll see by the end of the night. I assume if it's going to leak it already would have unless I smack into it. Who knows only time will tell if it will last the distance. One other benefit of bulkheads, they most likely are useful for longer.

 

[SinCity]

Not everyone is you or wants to do everything the same. Some people want to do things differently for no other reason but to lead their own path. That path may get me to the same place as you in the end or it may not but it will be mine. I sit on here and the internet and read, I would assume more than most, loads of information and opinions about what is right, wrong or just different.

I like to pull ideas from everywhere and the come up with my own design. It's simple really. Water flows through pipes, oxygen is added and nutes are feed to the roots. You can get there is a Porsche or you can get there in a yugo. I like to believe my grow setup is much like my car, a Kia Niro. The car does everything I need it to do even though it may not be as beautiful or as perfect as the Lamborghini.

If the only thing I do is use more water and nutes I'm ok with that. You really think 5 more gallons per container compared to last grow is the difference between a working system and failing?

unlike many people, you shawnery can be totally safe and legal. if you keep it at 6 plants--so you want big containers, right? or if you go the medical prescription route, the doctor still can only prescribe a reasonable number of plants. moreover, local ordinances and neighbors are going to be a factor. fewer plants, bigger containers.

 

[Shawnery]

i love this site...such generous, kind people

I'll give Heisen one out of two of those from my limited experience, he's definitely generous.:D

 

[Shawnery]

Luckily 80% of my neighbors smoke or use or have family that do. Most of those know I grow and love checking out my grow. I know it sounds so wrong and strange but it works for me. I hate hiding things and being sneaky.

Considering the times we live in I'm 100% sure of the neighbors that know and the others aren't part of the smaller group we have within the neighborhood.

 

[DGP]

One thing that I didn't think about is the loss of spurting water on the surface of the water from bubbles popping. Do you guys consider the splashing of water on roots from bubbles or only DO production?

My understanding is the bubbles rising through the water add virtually no O2. When the bubbles break at the surface is when the O2 exchange occurs as it falls back into the surface. Anyway, I could be wrong but I remember reading this in multiple places.

Dee

 

[Shawnery]

That's right but I was asking more about the benefits of the moisture added to the inner atmosphere of the buckets from bursting bubbles.

Independent of o2 production which is yes achieved through surface agitation of some sort, bubbles being the least effective.

 

[Shawnery]

All is as water tight as you could hope considering the use of uniseals. It will be interesting to see if they lose any retention over time.

This is the pic of the 5' end of my tent. The pvc is coming from inside the tent through the wall and into the epi. Through the hole on the right I have routed the return line. The cooler is sitting on the right next to the epi. The water pump will be placed to the right of the cooler. The reservoir will sit on a raised platform to the left of the epi.

Thanks to everyone on here who has shared their work and hard effort in order to make the journey a little easier on the newer DIY's.

I couldn't have got this going without a few people on here and you all know who you are!

 

[Shawnery]

One other thing I tried that seemed to work pretty well was closing off the end of the 1/4" air lines and sticking a needle through the end of the lines. A little bit of work but for someone on a budget it should work very well.

I was getting just as much surface agitation with my simple mod as I was with an overpriced airstone.

 

[Shawnery]

No leaking after about 24hrs so I call it, as tight as a frogs ass, done!

Is it really necessary for there to be an airstone in each individual bucket? Let's say you could introduce the same amount of o2 into the epi that you do when having stones in each bucket. Or is the argument that the plants in the beginning of the solution path would consume most of that o2?

I'm not asking anything other than this specific question.

 

[Shawnery]

I got screwed! I moved the direction of my tent and just realized that my water level is about 1 1/2 inches higher from one end of my system than the other.

Damn it! I liked it this way much better.