Undercurrent 4 Station Footprint?

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elrodvoss

Well-Known Member
Afternoon,
I am curious if anyone knows the minimum foot print for the undercurrent RDWC system.

I currently have a 4 foot by 4 foot tent. My plan is to keep the epicenter outside, but will the four 8 gallon stations fit in the tent with the piping as well?

Their website does not states footprint with or without epicenter, nor does it state distance the piping takes up.

Thank you for your time.
 
blackforest

blackforest

Well-Known Member
elrodvoss said:
Afternoon,
I am curious if anyone knows the minimum foot print for the undercurrent RDWC system.

I currently have a 4 foot by 4 foot tent. My plan is to keep the epicenter outside, but will the four 8 gallon stations fit in the tent with the piping as well?

Their website does not states footprint with or without epicenter, nor does it state distance the piping takes up.

Thank you for your time.
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I don't think you want to put 4 UC's in a 4x4 tent. The plants grow very big very quickly. On their website they show the 'grow area' is 4x5, so it would be close. I have a diy 6 site I have in my 4x8 tent and have thought about reducing it to just 3 because of how large they get. If I were going to do a 4x4, I think I would just do one large tub with 2 or 3 sites. check link in my signature to see how big they can get. Those were in 5 gal buckets, I just changed to 8 gal and put the epicenter, air pump, and water pump on the outside. Working great.
 
redi jedi

redi jedi

Well-Known Member
If you go with 18" centers it will fit but like blackforest said it will be tight in there...
 
firsttimeARE

firsttimeARE

Well-Known Member
blackforest said:
I don't think you want to put 4 UC's in a 4x4 tent. The plants grow very big very quickly. On their website they show the 'grow area' is 4x5, so it would be close. I have a diy 6 site I have in my 4x8 tent and have thought about reducing it to just 3 because of how large they get. If I were going to do a 4x4, I think I would just do one large tub with 2 or 3 sites. check link in my signature to see how big they can get. Those were in 5 gal buckets, I just changed to 8 gal and put the epicenter, air pump, and water pump on the outside. Working great.
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I agree.

I do regular dwc and my 2x2 screens turn into 4x4 real quick.
 
fanleaves

fanleaves

Active Member
If you were to do a 4x4x4 setup with a RDWC system, you'd start flowering your plants when they're small. The preflower stretch is typically 2-3x what is advertised by the breeder. The buckets themselves, if plumbed close together, can fit 12 into a 4x8 tent.

Plants get big quick as noted, 1-2 inches a day is typical for the first 10-14 days, so a 1 ft plant can easily get to 3-4+ ft in that stretch period. x4 would fill the space fairly well. It works well if you have a small veg area, can keep 4 systems fed with plants with a 2 bucket system, I ran this way for a long time.

But, it's not really taking advantage of the size of the plants you could grow in these systems. If you're not worried about plant counts or yield/plant it'd work out. Gives you a chance to expand easier in the future, just replumb the buckets further apart to fill a bigger area.
 
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elrodvoss

Well-Known Member
fanleaves said:
If you were to do a 4x4x4 setup with a RDWC system, you'd start flowering your plants when they're small. The preflower stretch is typically 2-3x what is advertised by the breeder. The buckets themselves, if plumbed close together, can fit 12 into a 4x8 tent.

Plants get big quick as noted, 1-2 inches a day is typical for the first 10-14 days, so a 1 ft plant can easily get to 3-4+ ft in that stretch period. x4 would fill the space fairly well. It works well if you have a small veg area, can keep 4 systems fed with plants with a 2 bucket system, I ran this way for a long time.

But, it's not really taking advantage of the size of the plants you could grow in these systems. If you're not worried about plant counts or yield/plant it'd work out. Gives you a chance to expand easier in the future, just replumb the buckets further apart to fill a bigger area.
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Well my current experience is from seed to harvest is taking about 4 month with DWC. I have 3 2x2 tents and 1 4x4 tent and been doing 1 plant at a time in cycles to try and have a perpetual harvest every month. Have alot of dead space since using the smaller tents. I can fit 4 4x4 tents in there almost perfectly.

So my though is to move up to 4 plants per month in perpetual harvest. Let the plants grow and veg in the same tent, vs grow->move to bigger tent->bloom.

I know I will have to go smaller per plant and involve a lot more pruning to keep light hitting all of them, but IMO If i'm using 42 inch tomato cages, then the plants would be 28 inches at the top of the cages from the top of the bucket.

If I got 3-5 ounces from each plant per month, I would be very satisfied. So that is my current goal

I know i could easier go more if I just went without tents, but they are needed for stealth and security.

Thank you for advice everyone. If you have more helpful suggestions, please feel free,
 
fanleaves

fanleaves

Active Member
Be careful with sativa dominant from seed. Some of those will explode, 4 in a tent will be a very tight fit without some pruning and training. But you've been doing from seed for awhile, so you prob know what to expect.

I prefered to run clones in these, different phenotypes would take different nutrient levels to get dialed in. When running at <400ppm 20ppm makes quite a difference.

Was not in a legal area so was worried about 12/12 signature. Had half my tents lights going while the others were off. F'in digital power meters made me little paranoid. Be easier to fill the space vegging in the same spot, so I'd think 1/4 lb per plant will be fairly easy. I was pulling 5-6 oz with crappy pruning/training skills.
 
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elrodvoss

Well-Known Member
fanleaves said:
Be careful with sativa dominant from seed. Some of those will explode, 4 in a tent will be a very tight fit without some pruning and training. But you've been doing from seed for awhile, so you prob know what to expect.

I prefered to run clones in these, different phenotypes would take different nutrient levels to get dialed in. When running at <400ppm 20ppm makes quite a difference.

Was not in a legal area so was worried about 12/12 signature. Had half my tents lights going while the others were off. F'in digital power meters made me little paranoid. Be easier to fill the space vegging in the same spot, so I'd think 1/4 lb per plant will be fairly easy. I was pulling 5-6 oz with crappy pruning/training skills.
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Mostly do seeds. Clones are only 75% successful currently. mostly stick with hybrids like blue dream. air filters are not up to par so avoiding sour and diesel strains.
 
firsttimeARE

firsttimeARE

Well-Known Member
elrodvoss said:
Mostly do seeds. Clones are only 75% successful currently. mostly stick with hybrids like blue dream. air filters are not up to par so avoiding sour and diesel strains.
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Do you use an aerocloner?

My success rate skyrocketed close to 100% with one.

And it needn't be expensive either. I built mine for like $30 from a 5 gal bucket, cheap small pump, a lid, 2" netcups and neoprene collars, sprayers and 1/2" cpvc.

I even start seeds in it now. Day 1 of transplant I have roots into the water. Minimizes veg time.
 
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elrodvoss

Well-Known Member
firsttimeARE said:
Do you use an aerocloner?

My success rate skyrocketed close to 100% with one.

And it needn't be expensive either. I built mine for like $30 from a 5 gal bucket, cheap small pump, a lid, 2" netcups and neoprene collars, sprayers and 1/2" cpvc.

I even start seeds in it now. Day 1 of transplant I have roots into the water. Minimizes veg time.
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Mixed results with aero cloner. little better with humidity dome and rockwool. still learning though.
 
firsttimeARE

firsttimeARE

Well-Known Member
Its so easy.

I turn it on, slice a clone off a plant, cut a 45 right before a node, scrape the epidermis and put it in a sleeve.

Roots in as little as 4 days when the water is like 85F
 
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elrodvoss

Well-Known Member
Ya I've done that before. it's been hit and miss.

Had success with clone bucked and failure.
Had success with rockwool and humidity dome and failure.

I know the steps, just something in details that fails me at times.

I know with success, it had always taken 10-14 days for good roots.

Using clonex gel and water additive and under a 4 foot t5.

Just something I need to practice on more.
 
firsttimeARE

firsttimeARE

Well-Known Member
I guess I was lucky in the sense that I never struggled with the aerocloner.

Only clones that die were from my own doing.

RW I had like 10% success rate lol.
 
fanleaves

fanleaves

Active Member
Just thinking in a 4x4 the buckets will be tight, and they are at a slight angle where the plumbing connects. This might be a source for some leaks because if the buckets are that close together it'll be harder to get a seal with that angle. Maybe try using an extra gasket, one on each side of the bucket wall to give a little extra protection. In any case, you might need to put a little work in to ensure water tightness, caulking or something if an extra gasket doesn't do the trick.

And you'll want to run sterile or beneficial bacteria. I highly recommend brewing some beneficial bacteria, Heisenberg tea. With 4x8gallon buckets I was adding 1 gallon every 3 days and it kept any root issues away. That's probably more than you really need, but root problems suck ass (I assume you don't like sucking ass) and I couldn't keep the water under 78 degrees. The bonus is the tea is absolutely fantastic with clones, without any gel, just the tea diluted with 50% water soak some rockwool/rapid rooters, squeeze until not dripping and stick under a dome for a week you'll have roots. Fantastic strong white roots. Put some weak nutes in the tea and the clones really don't stop growing. Prevents stem rot too.
 
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elrodvoss

Well-Known Member
fanleaves said:
Just thinking in a 4x4 the buckets will be tight, and they are at a slight angle where the plumbing connects. This might be a source for some leaks because if the buckets are that close together it'll be harder to get a seal with that angle. Maybe try using an extra gasket, one on each side of the bucket wall to give a little extra protection. In any case, you might need to put a little work in to ensure water tightness, caulking or something if an extra gasket doesn't do the trick.

And you'll want to run sterile or beneficial bacteria. I highly recommend brewing some beneficial bacteria, Heisenberg tea. With 4x8gallon buckets I was adding 1 gallon every 3 days and it kept any root issues away. That's probably more than you really need, but root problems suck ass (I assume you don't like sucking ass) and I couldn't keep the water under 78 degrees. The bonus is the tea is absolutely fantastic with clones, without any gel, just the tea diluted with 50% water soak some rockwool/rapid rooters, squeeze until not dripping and stick under a dome for a week you'll have roots. Fantastic strong white roots. Put some weak nutes in the tea and the clones really don't stop growing. Prevents stem rot too.
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Not using bulkheads, but the huge rubber uniseals. they are suppose to be much better for round surfaces.

I've seen these new sluckets and may use those next upgrade around, which I would use bulkheads.
 
blackforest

blackforest

Well-Known Member
elrodvoss said:
Not using bulkheads, but the huge rubber uniseals. they are suppose to be much better for round surfaces.

I've seen these new sluckets and may use those next upgrade around, which I would use bulkheads.
Click to expand...
I just wanted to give you a fair warning about using round buckets with uniseals. I did it for 2 years and they were always leaking to some degree. Switched to the square buckets and have had zero issues. I'm using 2" uniseals btw.
 
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