Some questions about adding an in-line fan.

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MacroLogos

MacroLogos

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No Worries Brother! That's what this whole community is about. Sharing ideas and growin' sticky icky! 🤘

Obviously, you understand the concept but for those still scratching their heads, I'm going to run a nutrient reservoir outside the tent with an adjustable pond pump so that I can vary the pressure while I dial in the water volume I want to give to the girls. Nutrient tank pump will be connected with 1/2" hose to the riser/distro head. I use a 5 gallon bucket and time the amount of water that flows out of all the lines, testing each one individually to make sure I get volume parity throughout the system. The Distro head also has adjustable water flow so I can also fine tune from there. I test in increments and mark the water volume on the pond pump so when the girls are getting bigger I can adjust the pump and know how much increase on the water volume I'm giving them. The pond pump will be run off a timer which will give me another point of adjustability. I can set the timer to go on and off at a set time according to the volume I want to deliver. I usually just set the timer at a set time and do the adjustments from the other two points but, again, flexibility.

I'm doing a drain to waste system this run so I like to see around 20% runoff into my Dollar Store tubs. I'll hot glue vinyl tube to the inside of the tub pointing down to the floor of the tub and run each individual line into a plastic line manifold and attach the manifold to a pump on a timer. I set the timer to turn on for a few minutes 30 minutes after the Nutrient tank pump timer turns off giving the pots 30 minutes to fully drain. This will automatically drain the waste tubs and I can direct the waste into whatever flower bed that's nearby or back into the nutrient tank(not technically drain to waste anymore but you get the picture!) . No nutrient waste!!😁

I know....I'm nuts but years of large grow ops you get ideas.......😄
I dump my RO system's exhaust water into a honeydew melon patch. They love it... and it got rid of the little swamp starting to form where I was draining it before.
 
RootsRuler

RootsRuler

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I dump my RO system's exhaust water into a honeydew melon patch. They love it... and it got rid of the little swamp starting to form where I was draining it before.
Doesn't the waste water have high levels of minerals and salt?
 
BigBlonde

BigBlonde

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Doesn't the waste water have high levels of minerals and salt?
I'm looking forward to getting a dehumidifier just so I can test the condensate.

Well, no, not really, but I am curious. It seems to me that the condensate should essentially be distilled water, and distilled water is supposed to have a pH of 7.0, because it's basically pure water. So I'm wondering what the dehumidifier could have removed from the air, other than water, that could affect the pH. Then again, aside from my curiosity, it probably doesn't matter.
 
RootsRuler

RootsRuler

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I'm looking forward to getting a dehumidifier just so I can test the condensate.

Well, no, not really, but I am curious. It seems to me that the condensate should essentially be distilled water, and distilled water is supposed to have a pH of 7.0, because it's basically pure water. So I'm wondering what the dehumidifier could have removed from the air, other than water, that could affect the pH. Then again, aside from my curiosity, it probably doesn't matter.
I usually just dump the condensate directly into my nutrient reservoir unless I notice any oil film the condensate may have picked up from the dehu.

The way I do it is to mix a full strength mix and let the dehu and waste pumps drop back into the reservoir. I check EC every day and let it drop to a certain level. After around a week or two I'll dump the reservoir into my garden start with a fresh nutrient mix.

I've been thinking about pulling out the air stones and aquarium air pumps out of storage to oxygenate the feed water. I also have an aquarium chiller to drop feed water temps to 68* but I'm not sure if it's going to make all that much difference for the hassle and electricity it's going to use in such a small grow.
 
RootsRuler

RootsRuler

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I'm looking forward to getting a dehumidifier just so I can test the condensate.

Well, no, not really, but I am curious. It seems to me that the condensate should essentially be distilled water, and distilled water is supposed to have a pH of 7.0, because it's basically pure water. So I'm wondering what the dehumidifier could have removed from the air, other than water, that could affect the pH. Then again, aside from my curiosity, it probably doesn't matter.
Waste water we're talking about is from RO water treatment! 😄
 
BigBlonde

BigBlonde

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I usually just dump the condensate directly into my nutrient reservoir unless I notice any oil film the condensate may have picked up from the dehu.

The way I do it is to mix a full strength mix and let the dehu and waste pumps drop back into the reservoir. I check EC every day and let it drop to a certain level. After around a week or two I'll dump the reservoir into my garden start with a fresh nutrient mix.

I've been thinking about pulling out the air stones and aquarium air pumps out of storage to oxygenate the feed water. I also have an aquarium chiller to drop feed water temps to 68* but I'm not sure if it's going to make all that much difference for the hassle and electricity it's going to use in such a small grow.
My thinking is that if the condensate doesn't test like distilled water, then there must be contamination coming from somewhere. Crud in the dehumidifier would be the first place I'd look, but it's also possible there may be something from the air, because other volatile substances are possible contaminants. I'm not sure what that might be, though.

I like the idea of aerating the feed water--a lot. Aeration is a common method of treating waste water, but I doubt that's much of a concern. It certainly would oxygenate the water, though. I'm currently using tap water and let the water sit for several days before using it to let the chlorine dissipate. Aeration would make that happen faster, so I may try aeration after I resolve some of my other, more pressing problems.

Speaking of more pressing problems, I'm ready to order the AC Infinity S6 fan. The 69 WiFi controller is supposed to be available today, but I haven't checked yet. I'm thinking I can run the fan with the basic controller till I can get the one I want. I chatted with a representative from the company and she agreed that's the best way to do it.
 
RootsRuler

RootsRuler

2,389
263
My thinking is that if the condensate doesn't test like distilled water, then there must be contamination coming from somewhere. Crud in the dehumidifier would be the first place I'd look, but it's also possible there may be something from the air, because other volatile substances are possible contaminants. I'm not sure what that might be, though.

I like the idea of aerating the feed water--a lot. Aeration is a common method of treating waste water, but I doubt that's much of a concern. It certainly would oxygenate the water, though. I'm currently using tap water and let the water sit for several days before using it to let the chlorine dissipate. Aeration would make that happen faster, so I may try aeration after I resolve some of my other, more pressing problems.

Speaking of more pressing problems, I'm ready to order the AC Infinity S6 fan. The 69 WiFi controller is supposed to be available today, but I haven't checked yet. I'm thinking I can run the fan with the basic controller till I can get the one I want. I chatted with a representative from the company and she agreed that's the best way to do it.
T6
 
BigBlonde

BigBlonde

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To follow-up on a few things mentioned in this thread...

The AC Infinity Controller 69 WiFi is available now. I have one on order and it should arrive by the end of the month.

I think I leaned why the condensate from a dehumidifier has a low pH. According to sources I found, the condensate mixes with carbon dioxide in the air to form carbonic acid.
 
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