Hob,
Since you are using a cooler for your rez, did you just use a normal uniseal or grommet? i ask because im planning out my parts list and was thinking that perhaps the thick wall of certain coolers might be TOO thick. i have a decent heavy duty rez now but was thinking that a cooler would be nicer to help with temperature management.
my original idea was to do round 5gal buckets as plant pots, all linked to a 27gal control rez, and have a 27gal top-off rez of fresh water. my concern with using the round 5gal buckets is leaking, i dont know how the uniseal would take to a rounded surface. ideally i would like to do 12 buckets, but im not sure the best way to configure the pipes and link it all up. i could settle on 6...
i wish i could find some square buckets, 5gal or larger. something like 7-8-gal would be ideal i think, with 2" pipe. i know they exist but not sure how to get them. i was even thinking of using those 27gal totes for each plant site. LOL would be great for root growth, but i dont think they would be able to take advantage of it with just 1x 1000w.
what about water pump sizing, know any juicy details for picking the right size? thanks hob...
mr.bond
The wall of any cooler is going to be thin plastic filled with insulation, so you have to think about that. I used a hole saw and drilled through it all, being careful to stay straight when going through the insulation and starting the inside hole. Your pipe will be crooked if you don't drill straight through. Next I took the 1 inch pipe I cut and inserted it into the hole with about 2 inches protruding from either side, and filled the cavity around it with silicone, just inside the wall on both sides. Then a little baby oil on the grommets, pipe surfaces, and cooler walls, and i just took a butter knife and worked the grommets into the walls. I cut the walls a little small and used a dremel to expand them slowly to fit the grommet, no sense in screwing it up. Take your time. Also, the cooler I got had a drain plug with a cap in the bottom for emptying water out. I took 2, 1/2 inch irrigation fittings and PVC glued one on the inside into the drain, and the other from the outside into the drain making my return. Also went around the inside grommet with a small amount of silicone to make sure it stayed sealed.
The ends of my pots are curved slightly, but not as much as a bucket curves. I used 2 PVC connectors that screw together with a rubber drain washer for the pots. The washer I used is raised in the middle, and the PVC screws up tight, pushing the raised part and sealing the pot. I used silicone also. Guessing the pot would crack before the seal does. Never used uniseal, and the 1 inch grommets can be found at Lowes, find an associate and ask them where the specialty connection and rubber washer area is, usually in what looks like a huge toolbox full of everything from washers, grommets, plugs, etc.
One pointer for you when picking all your pots out. The more water you have to run through this system basically means more nutrients to get the PPM's up. And last time I checked, nutes are expensive. So try to stay low as you can in profile, you still need to get up to the net pots with the water. So imagine 6 27 gallon totes full up to the net pots. That's alot of nutrients. My advice, make a list of every store that sells buckets, and make a day of it. Don't sweat the color, HVAC tape will work for blocking light. My Pump is by Ecoplus, 200gph, and has an inlet and an outlet. Really depends on your pipe size, mine is good, and I run it half speed. Hope I got to all of it, if not let me know.
