PK1
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Thanks for the write up. Space is definitely key here, but this explains exactly why you don't care for algae. One thing i have read is that UV light does effects nutrients. Obviously you don't seem to have this issue.I want to talk about something I've discussed in my other threads, but after a couple years of playing with this system I believe it has been a real game changer. This is really valuable info for anyone doing drain to waste hydroponics at scale. But I know many in the industry already use similar systems to this. This is just a simple way to scale it down to homegrower size.
One of the single best investments I have made is installing this UV sterilizer. The stainless steel cylinder strapped to the corner.View attachment 1202788 It let's me recycle all the runoff as well as the dehumidifier water.
I have 2 reservoirs, stage 1 is a "dirty" 50 gallon holding tank and stage 2 is a "clean" 20 gallon reservoir that the plants are fed from.
I start by filling the 50 gallon stage 1 holding tank with nutrient solution at about 1.2ec, 5.7ph, then I fill the 20 gallon res by passing the nutrient solution from the dirty res through a 5 micron and 1 micron canister filter, then through the UV chamber into the clean res. I'll then dose it with H2O2 and add any additional nutes if I desire a higher ec or whatever.. and that 20 gallons is now "clean" and ready to feed the plants.
Over the next week or so my runoff gets dumped back into the dirty holding tank along with the water from the dehumidifier, they generally combine to balance out pretty well and mix with the remaining fresh nutrient solution. This makes the 50 gallon tank get used up a lot slower than if I were doing drain to waste, and I use all of the nutrients, very little gets wasted.
After about a week when the 50 gallon tank is getting low I rinse the plants to reset the ec in the wool and start over again with a fresh 50 gallons of nutrient solution.
It's an excellent hybrid way of using up runoff while still using a large portion of fresh nutrients. If I were growing on a large scale, this method would be 100% used to save on nutrient costs. But even at a small scale I've found it's made nutrient handling much simpler.
A float switch in the clean res to keep it always full, and a condensate pump to direct runoff to the dirty tank are the last things this system needs to be kinda hands off, as it is I dump runoff manually every couple days and top up the clean res manually once a day. It means I only need to make nutrients once every 7-10 days, otherwise it's just keeping the res topped up.