aeroponics vs dwc

Mike Young

Mike Young

Well-Known Member
I'd say you have to venture out of the sump pumps into diaphram pumps to get any kind of decent psi. You may notice that your sump pumps are rated in gpm or gph, and not in psi? I learned about this the hard way. Went through several sump pumps, last one being 1200 gph. Gotta love home depot's return policy. The pump I use is 45 psi. It runs 12 misters, and seems to be perfect. That's kind of the low end as far as psi is concerned. Serious peeps are using 1000 psi agricultural pumps. That would be waaaay too much for most growers. It's been a fun learning experience for sure. I'm on my first grow now. I posted a follow-up vid a week or so ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWLotebrQts

I started flower shortly after posting this. I'll make a few more as things progress..
 
rosecitypapa

rosecitypapa

Active Member
Your first grow? Nice, you should start a journal. My girls have been in flower for a week. My rig is a bit contrary to yours, my lighting is vertical and my nutrient delivery is horizontal. It's a bit of a aero/dwc/nft hybrid.

I'm impressed with that bush you have, it's about twice as wide as my plants.
 
Mike Young

Mike Young

Well-Known Member
Thanks! You have any pics/video of your setup? Is it diy? I like seeing different ideas people have. There's so many ways do things, and as soon as you think you've seen it all, something comes along to make ya scratch your head. I'll probably wait til next grow to start a journal. I want to get all 3 pots goin with equal sized plants.
 
Mike Young

Mike Young

Well-Known Member
I like your style, dude (big lebowski.) If at first you don't succeed, try again. And again and again, if necessary. Very clean as well. Being that you are a man of evolution, you should bump up the pressure and join the fishbone party. Seeing you go through all those dif types of systems makes me feel kinda lucky I got so close to my goal on the first try. I didn't get it perfect, but when I do rebuild... I should have it pretty close. I would love to start adding more to it now, but I spent enough already. Sort of my christmas present to myself. I have about 25' of the 10" pvc left. :)
 
Mike Young

Mike Young

Well-Known Member
I'll be documenting with pics/vid throughout. That is the correct style of pump, but for whatever reason the one you found is crazy expensive. I went with a shurflo, as have others I've seen. Here's a link to a site that has smokin deals on em. http://www.steam-brite.com/store/pumps-shurflo-water-pumps-c-3_430_720.html I didn't find out about this place until I'd already purchased mine for more.

They are louder than what you're used to, I'm sure. They aren't submersable, so that doesn't help. If you use high pressure soft tubing instead of pvc, it will help with the sound. I really don't have to worry about sound where I'm at, and it's not in my house.
There is vibration, again probably more than with a sump pump. If I had to worry about noise I'd build an insulated box around it, and for shits & giggles throw in a biscuit fan to ensure it didn't overheat.
I run my pump harder than it should be ran for a pro areo setup. I should have an accumulator tank to store pressurized water, and only mist 3-5 sec every minute or two. But that's the next level, and a whole other discussion.

If you ever decide to try it out I would be glad to advise, as well as a few others on this site.
 
rosecitypapa

rosecitypapa

Active Member
Hmm, those pumps pull a lot of amps. Thanks for the tip about that psi pump.

On another note, I took back an air pump like this I had running:
Commercial Air Pump
because even after I built a pimpin' sound proof enclosure for it (three nested boxes to create a broad serpentine channel for air flow, all covered in carpet), it was still loud. The sound just traveled through the air lines coming out of the box.

I like looking at whole systems. Eventually with my grow, it will run off solar PV panels. It's quite cost effective, will pay for itself in three years so I need to keep my power consumption balanced.
 
A

Atomizer

Well-Known Member
The quietest pumps are made by aquatec, cdp-8800 is a good all rounder or a cdp-6800 for a small setup. You wont realise a 6800 is running unless you have your ear on it and the 8800 isnt much louder.
 
rosecitypapa

rosecitypapa

Active Member
Thanks Atomizer, excellent suggestion. Do you have a tip on the quietest air pumps available? I've been using the Whisper Quiet from aquarium suppliers, it doesn't have great capacity but it is way quieter than that commercial air pump mentioned above.
 
B

Bob Smith

Well-Known Member
rosecitypapa said:
Hmm, those pumps pull a lot of amps. Thanks for the tip about that psi pump.
Click to expand...
Everything's relative; the pump mine replaced was a 1/6HP pump pulling five amps and running 25% of the time.............so in comparison, a 1.2 amp pump running 1% of the time is a little better :)

I have the Shurflo 8030-863-239, and it's certainly not quiet..........that being said, my room is insulated enough (room inside attached garage) that I can only hear it inside my house if no TV or appliances are on, and even then it's not very bad at all.

Might build a soundproof box for it, or might take a look at those pumps that Atomizer recommended and make the Shurflo my backup...........time will tell.
 
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