Low Pressure Aero build...it has begun!

[myke]

Ya u only need a little slope for gravity to feed back.So res can be anywhere really.I prefer outside the room just for convenience.

 

[diggs99]

Ya u only need a little slope for gravity to feed back.So res can be anywhere really.I prefer outside the room just for convenience.

Ya i dont have that luxury, this is a secret room that i built, its off a room in my basement, it has a secret door that looks like shelves and everything lol, so everything must stay in the room.

Cant really gain much if i put res at the end and by sloping the table or plumbing, i would still need to keep the plant totes higher than the top of the res tote so the drain line would fall into the res. i think? lol

 

[dstroy]

I keep going back and forth on what to do with runoff. Part of me wants this first run to be as problem free as possible and figure just allowing the runoff to drain to waste would be smart. The other side of me says why waste water and nutes, run it back to the res and reuse.

I planned to put res under the table and just allow gravity to feed runoff back to the res. Not sure how to place the drain to ensure all water drains off, it seems no matter where i put it, theres gonna be a bit left in the bottom somewhere. Maybe im overthinking it and its no biggie either way in aero and sterile.

Im hoping to start putting things together within the next day or two. I am doing some work in my room( building a new table, running more fans and new filters etc) The plants are doing well and should be ready to start taking clones within a couple weeks.

I have all the parts for the plumbing, minus 2 ball valves that im waiting on, they said they would be in this week. Ill check with them tomorrow.

Don't recirc unless you can be there to ph the water a few times a day. Or get a controller. My aero isn't sterile. The table should be tilted slightly to wherever the drain is.

You don't have to waste the runoff, use it to feed your house plants, garden, yard etc.

 

[diggs99]

Don't recirc unless you can be there to ph the water a few times a day. Or get a controller. My aero isn't sterile. The table should be tilted slightly to wherever the drain is.

You don't have to waste the runoff, use it to feed your house plants, garden, yard etc.

Thanks for the info man, appreciate it.

So you just drain to waste your runoff? I dont have a ph doser, def cant be in the garden multiple times daily ph`ing , i was hoping a large res would remain stable enough this wouldnt be an issue. Im guessing all that aeration will constantly be driving the ph all over the place?

Are you using a chiller?
You have a journal or a thread somewhere showing your setup?

Thanks man

 

[dstroy]

Thanks for the info man, appreciate it.

So you just drain to waste your runoff? I dont have a ph doser, def cant be in the garden multiple times daily ph`ing , i was hoping a large res would remain stable enough this wouldnt be an issue. Im guessing all that aeration will constantly be driving the ph all over the place?

Are you using a chiller?
You have a journal or a thread somewhere showing your setup?

Thanks man

Nope, I recirc but I have a doser. Yeah aeration does and so do the plants (and microbes in mine) interacting with the nutrient solution. You can DTW with hp aero cause when it's dialed in it only uses a few quarts of water per plant/day and less than 1/3 of the volume of feed ends up as runoff.

I use a chiller.

I do, at the beginning of my tennessee kush 2 journal, and in "the ultimate growing competition". I post in the daily nugg frequently as well but those are just plant shots mostly.

 

[diggs99]

Nope, I recirc but I have a doser. Yeah aeration does and so do the plants (and microbes in mine) interacting with the nutrient solution. You can DTW with hp aero cause when it's dialed in it only uses a few quarts of water per plant/day and less than 1/3 of the volume of feed ends up as runoff.

I use a chiller.

I do, at the beginning of my tennessee kush 2 journal, and in "the ultimate growing competition". I post in the daily nugg frequently as well but those are just plant shots mostly.

Ya that makes sense, it dont seem like there would be a ton of waste per plant once dialed in.

I was going to use 27g Totes for the plants and a 40g res, you think the sizing is ok for both?

 

[diggs99]

@ASSOG
@OldGrower

what size pumps are you guy using?

i have 2 x 396 gph pumps and 1x 800 gph pump at my disposal.

 

[OldGrower]

How many sprayers?

 

[diggs99]

How many sprayers?

I think im gonna use 12 sprayers per tote....4 totes for plants with a 40g res at the end

You said less is more in a earlier post, so 12 should be a decent number for a 27g tote?

 

[OldGrower]

Use the 800 put the system together and see if you like the spray. I use a Rio 32HF pump for 30 sprayers, head height is about 36 inches so puts me around 45 GPh per sprayer. I highly recommend the Rio hf line have been using this same pump for 6 years without a problem even with cycle timing 1 on 4 off. I run 1 sprayer between each plant.
In my system each tube holds 5 net pots and I have 6 sprayers each tube so i have one sprayer between each plant and one on each end. Hope this helps

 

[diggs99]

Use the 800 put the system together and see if you like the spray. I use a Rio 32HF pump for 30 sprayers, head height is about 36 inches so puts me around 45 GPh per sprayer. I highly recommend the Rio hf line have been using this same pump for 6 years without a problem even with cycle timing 1 on 4 off. I run 1 sprayer between each plant.
In my system each tube holds 5 net pots and I have 6 sprayers each tube so i have one sprayer between each plant and one on each end. Hope this helps

Is there a certain range of GPH we want to each sprayer?

for instance, if i use 40 sprayers total on a 800gph pump, would this mean each sprayer is getting roughly 20gph? is this enough?

if i like growing this way ill look at upgrading to better pumps and stuff, but for now i would rather try and use what i got on hand.

 

[OldGrower]

You will not get 20gph because of what is called head pressure, distance the liquid must travel vertically. Look up your pump online and you should be able to find this info from manufacturer. I know of no gph figures just gave you mine as an example. Like I said build it and see how it sprays.

 

[diggs99]

You will not get 20gph because of what is called head pressure, distance the liquid must travel vertically. Look up your pump online and you should be able to find this info from manufacturer. I know of no gph figures just gave you mine as an example. Like I said build it and see how it sprays.

Ya that makes sense, its why AW mentioned using a taller res for the head pressure.

My 800gph has a 10` lift, so im gonna set it up using that, we will see how it goes. If its not powerful enough ill buy bigger

 

[OldGrower]

How many plants you putting in each tote?

 

[diggs99]

How many plants you putting in each tote?

I have no idea yet.

Originally i was gonna put 4-6 plants per tote for the first run . Since then ive been thinking about running 1 or two plants per tote and just veg a little longer.

Dont want to go too crazy and overwhelm myself on the maiden voyage lol

 

[OldGrower]

You do not need 12 sprayers per tote, way overkill. The sprayers have a 360* pattern for 2 plants I would use 3 sprayers. Just my opinion

 

[OneHitDone]

Ya that makes sense, it dont seem like there would be a ton of waste per plant once dialed in.

I was going to use 27g Totes for the plants and a 40g res, you think the sizing is ok for both?

I haven't dug too deep into your thread here but will share a few observations I have made growing hydro for many many years and lots of different systems.
It is a fallacy that drain to waste "wastes" some ungodly amount of nutrients. Every overlooks the fact that your never dumping a full res to do a change out. Anyone growing in water that has had a root health issue knows what I'm talking about with the vicious pump and dump circle jerk trying to cure a root health problem.
I tried Low Pressure Aero and that was short lived. Roots exploded with growth at first but then reality set in. Whatever the temp of your room is will be the temp of your root zone. And a chiller ain't really gonna help cause your not circulating water constantly.
I am honestly uncertain how true High Pressure Aero systems have any success unless they have the root chambers buried in the ground in a cool climate or some type of root chamber cooling system in place.
Good luck on your project!

 

[dstroy]

Ya that makes sense, it dont seem like there would be a ton of waste per plant once dialed in.

I was going to use 27g Totes for the plants and a 40g res, you think the sizing is ok for both?

Sure, as long as you have even coverage when it's full of roots and good drainage.

 

[diggs99]

You do not need 12 sprayers per tote, way overkill. The sprayers have a 360* pattern for 2 plants I would use 3 sprayers. Just my opinion

You think that will be enough sprayers for good coverage of the root zone in the 27g totes? Especially in flower when roots are down near bottom of tote? I was planning to place 4-6 sprayers up top on a perimeter manifold and another 4-6 running down pvc legs ... obv prob overkill as I'm prob overthinking most of this stuff lol

I haven't dug too deep into your thread here but will share a few observations I have made growing hydro for many many years and lots of different systems.
It is a fallacy that drain to waste "wastes" some ungodly amount of nutrients. Every overlooks the fact that your never dumping a full res to do a change out. Anyone growing in water that has had a root health issue knows what I'm talking about with the vicious pump and dump circle jerk trying to cure a root health problem.
I tried Low Pressure Aero and that was short lived. Roots exploded with growth at first but then reality set in. Whatever the temp of your room is will be the temp of your root zone. And a chiller ain't really gonna help cause your not circulating water constantly.
I am honestly uncertain how true High Pressure Aero systems have any success unless they have the root chambers buried in the ground in a cool climate or some type of root chamber cooling system in place.
Good luck on your project!

Thanks for the response and info, I guess I'll plan for insulating all the totes and res. hopefully keep the heat out as best I can. I have great success with my diy aero cloner and that probably gave me a false sense of thinking this was gonna be easy lol. Nevertheless. I'm going to try it for myself and hopefully with all the knowledge dropped in here , I'll make it work.

Sure, as long as you have even coverage when it's full of roots and good drainage.

Ya hopefully that won't be an issue with the big totes, you think 1 good sized drain will be enough? Or should I be looking at plumbing 2? Any ideas for the best drainage?



I can't thank you all enough, this is a true learning experience

 

[OldGrower]

I would only shoot up. Water will run down roots and drip. Roots will lay in water once they hit the bottom. I tried top feed and went back to bottom feed.