RDWC Waterfall design critique

snap360 · Oct 25, 2018

Hi all. Just wanted to gather feedback on the the design and nutrients and parts.

Water pump - 1600 gph
Ecoplus airpump - 1300 ish
Planning on using banjo threaded bulkheads with PVC 40 MPT X S male adapters to connect the 2" PVC pipes between buckets.
The waterfall effect will be an elbow reducer into each bucket.

Hydroton will be the medium.

Nutrients are:
GH Maxigro
GH Maxibloom
GH CALMAG
Hydroguard
GH Diamond Nectar

TIMtoKILL · Oct 25, 2018

From personal experience I would use the slip bulkheads with some abs glue. But that’s just me.

Flagg420 · Oct 25, 2018

Got several eco air pumps....... in case of emergency.

I use an Alita... its OMFG level quieter, and produces WAY more airflow.... easy to replace the diaphragm too!

Airwalker16 · Oct 26, 2018

Go with first design. Only one hole per tote. Check out my thread if Ya want.

https://www.rollitup.org/t/i-gotta-lose-the-air-pumps-how-plus-my-awesome-mini-dwc.960807/page-2#post-14251657

https://www.rollitup.org/t/i-gotta-lose-the-air-pumps-how-plus-my-awesome-mini-dwc.960807/page-3#post-14262160

By the way, the whole point of doing waterfalls is to lose the air pump. If you're set on using air stones, don't even run waterfalls, just do normal undercurrent.

Airwalker16 · Oct 26, 2018

Only thing I can reccomend is that you create a lot of unions in the 2" pipes to break it down in to short enough pieces that you can actually get in there and clean it after a few runs. If you want to keep things clean, you absolutely must use a chiller otherwise it's slime city. A 1/10HP will do fine with your setup.

snap360 · Oct 26, 2018

Airwalker16 said:
Go with first design. Only one hole per tote. Check out my thread if Ya want.

https://www.rollitup.org/t/i-gotta-lose-the-air-pumps-how-plus-my-awesome-mini-dwc.960807/page-2#post-14251657

https://www.rollitup.org/t/i-gotta-lose-the-air-pumps-how-plus-my-awesome-mini-dwc.960807/page-3#post-14262160

By the way, the whole point of doing waterfalls is to lose the air pump. If you're set on using air stones, don't even run waterfalls, just do normal undercurrent.

Both designs are the same system. The waterfall design is for the upper, smaller PVC pipes connecting to water pump. Second design shows the bigger PVC pipes providing water flow back to controller. I separate out the two for cleanliness and easier to read and identify.

I get what you're saying about waterfall providing enough DO. However, this is my second attempt after failing on first try using 6 x 7.5 gallons buckets with uniseals. The air pump was what was savageable.

snap360 · Oct 26, 2018

Airwalker16 said:
Only thing I can reccomend is that you create a lot of unions in the 2" pipes to break it down in to short enough pieces that you can actually get in there and clean it after a few runs. If you want to keep things clean, you absolutely must use a chiller otherwise it's slime city. A 1/10HP will do fine with your setup.

Can you elaborate on unions? I thought with unions you still use PVC cement to join the two pipes together. If using PVC cement, then it doesn't come apart.

Would I need chiller if growing in basement where air temp is around 68 and floor is laminated on top on cement?

I do plan on using dehumidifier.

snap360 · Oct 26, 2018

Flagg420 said:
Got several eco air pumps....... in case of emergency.

I use an Alita... its OMFG level quieter, and produces WAY more airflow.... easy to replace the diaphragm too!

I would love to use air Force pro pump but budgeting reasons. This air pump was from my previous rdwc which failed.

Airwalker16 · Oct 26, 2018

snap360 said:
Can you elaborate on unions? I thought with unions you still use PVC cement to join the two pipes together. If using PVC cement, then it doesn't come apart.

Would I need chiller if growing in basement where air temp is around 68 and floor is laminated on top on cement?

I do plan on using dehumidifier.

The 1600GPH pump will heat your water up. Try it and see what temps you get. But youre shooting for 66*F.

This is a coupling. My bad for saying union.

Airwalker16 · Oct 26, 2018

What you want for bulkhead is a Slip X Slip style. Threaded works okay too, just need to use a lot of Teflon tape to ensure a tight seal.

snap360 · Oct 26, 2018

Airwalker16 said:
What you want for bulkhead is a Slip X Slip style. Threaded works okay too, just need to use a lot of Teflon tape to ensure a tight seal.

I am thinking of threaded bulkheads for two reasons.
1 - I can unscrew from both ends of pipe and service it. This helps eliminate the union/coupling you suggested.
2 - I like to use this on the other end inside the buckets for loose particles/roots collection in addition to Rainbird.

snap360 · Oct 26, 2018

Airwalker16 said:
The 1600GPH pump will heat your water up. Try it and see what temps you get. But youre shooting for 66*F.

This is a coupling. My bad for saying union.

View attachment 4221931

Good point on the heat of 1600 GPH water pump. Never actually consider that and since it'll be the central point of where water comes in and out, it makes sense that water temp will rise due to that. Should the chiller be inline where the water comes out into the waterfall PVC pipes? A separate pump for the chiller?

Airwalker16 · Oct 26, 2018

snap360 said:
Good point on the heat of 1600 GPH water pump. Never actually consider that and since it'll be the central point of where water comes in and out, it makes sense that water temp will rise due to that. Should the chiller be inline where the water comes out into the waterfall PVC pipes? A separate pump for the chiller?

First of all, those net filters are useless. What you'll do is use a micron mesh filter bag (search large tea bag on eBay) on your pump and that will accumulate any shiz in your system for you to take off and clean. Secondly, the coupling I told you about is truly a lot easier than undoing tefloned threads and then retaping them.
And lastly. Yes the water chiller will need to be on a separate pump. Most 1/10HP models use 100-300gph ones. If you're doing a waterfall system, I just have the water come right out of the reservoir and right back in. The 1600gph pump is moving the water so fast that it should be evenly mixed and give a correct reading. If it was slower, you'd wanna take water from the res and have it be coming back out to like a back tote or something.insulate your lines with foam.

snap360 · Oct 26, 2018

Airwalker16 said:
First of all, those net filters are useless. What you'll do is use a micron mesh filter bag (search large tea bag on eBay) on your pump and that will accumulate any shiz in your system for you to take off and clean. Secondly, the coupling I told you about is truly a lot easier than undoing tefloned threads and then retaping them.
And lastly. Yes the water chiller will need to be on a separate pump. Most 1/10HP models use 100-300gph ones. If you're doing a waterfall system, I just have the water come right out of the reservoir and right back in. The 1600gph pump is moving the water so fast that it should be evenly mixed and give a correct reading. If it was slower, you'd wanna take water from the res and have it be coming back out to like a back tote or something.insulate your lines with foam.

What about this?
2" bulkhead slip x slip
2" union slip x slip. One side of union goes into bulkhead. The other side goes to PVC pipe.

This way, if I need to service, I can unscrew from union while maintain bulkhead intact.

PetFlora · Oct 26, 2018

I recommend this https://greenenvysupply.com/brand/oxygen-pot-systems/

and I use these bulk heads which have slip fittings on the inlet side, but they are fragile

Airwalker16 · Oct 26, 2018

Cheapest bulkheads you'll find around.

https://alliedaqua.com/equipment-and-supplies/plumbing-and-fittings/bulkheads-and-uniseals/2-inch-bulkhead-fittings/

maxamus1 · Oct 26, 2018

For my set up i went with an 1 1/2 bulkheads from marine depot and 1/2 bulkheads for the waterfalls i did slip slip on both sizes. I also didnt use glue or anything on my pipes but im using flex pvc, so far no leaks. Im using a ghetto style water chiller which is just a tote outside the tent with about 30' of hose in it filled with water. I have a pump inside one of my reses that pumps the solution through that tote and keeps the water nice and chilled. This is just a temporary set up but pretty close to what my final set up will be.

Airwalker16 · Oct 26, 2018

maxamus1 said:
For my set up i went with an 1 1/2 bulkheads from marine depot and 1/2 bulkheads for the waterfalls i did slip slip on both sizes. I also didnt use glue or anything on my pipes but im using flex pvc, so far no leaks. Im using a ghetto style water chiller which is just a tote outside the tent with about 30' of hose in it filled with water. I have a pump inside one of my reses that pumps the solution through that tote and keeps the water nice and chilled. This is just a temporary set up but pretty close to what my final set up will be.

Did you look at the build I posted of the 8 bucket setup?

maxamus1 · Oct 26, 2018

Airwalker16 said:
Did you look at the build I posted of the 8 bucket setup?

I didnt boss, where did u post it at?

Airwalker16 · Oct 26, 2018

I mentioned you in the thread. Pics are on page 2&3.

RDWC Waterfall design critique

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