Which would produce more DO in a DWC?

JSB99 said:
Anyone think this thing will split or flex too much filled with water? My bubble cloner has a couple pieces of wood that keep the tote from flexing. It works really well. I didn't like how the lid had a hard time fitting correctly when filled with water.
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I had the same thing with the taller RubberMaid totes that hold 50L when full to working level so wrapped a double layer band of duct tape around the middle while squeezing the sides in a bit. Seemed to keep it from bulging so much tho I had run them lots of times with no problems. The lid is harder to get on but not that bad.

I have a water softener system that we haven't used in over 10 years and the salt tank from it would make a dandy rez if I ever need one.
 
OldMedUser said:
I had the same thing with the taller RubberMaid totes that hold 50L when full to working level so wrapped a double layer band of duct tape around the middle while squeezing the sides in a bit. Seemed to keep it from bulging so much tho I had run them lots of times with no problems. The lid is harder to get on but not that bad.

I have a water softener system that we haven't used in over 10 years and the salt tank from it would make a dandy rez if I ever need one.
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I had wrapped my cloner tote with a band of duct tape, like what you're talking about, but it really didn't seem to be that effective. When I added the wood rods to the outside edges, the cloner became absolutely sturdy, and didn't really add any weight.

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I'll get a barrel someday. But for now, this will have to do. I'm tapped LOL
 
Last night I did a pressure test, with success. Today, I secured the pipes.

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Reservoir:
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Float valve:
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Left pipe w/black valve (going from wall into bucket) is a fast-fill pipe for when I flush the system. After dumping the old water, I want to be able to fill and drain the system with tap water before filling it from the reservoir.

Right pipe/black valve (pointing straight up) is a hose attachment for a utility hose.
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Reinstalled my ceiling fan. It was getting so hot in there working. The fan helps a ton.
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Next I'm sealing the outlets by the controller and reservoir. I'll be tapping into an outlet on the opposite side of the wall, which is the kitchen. It's 4' high, so it'll be safe from spills and sprays.


 
rkymtnman said:
i prefer the black and yellow 27 gallon totes from walmart/home depot. they are way more rigid and don't flex near as much as those grey ones.
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You talking about the hdx totes? Yeah, they're pretty tough. If it looks like it'll be a while before I can get a barrel, I might pick one of those up until I can get one. Would have gotten one initially but it wasn't in the budget.
 
JSB99 said:
You talking about the hdx totes? Yeah, they're pretty tough. If it looks like it'll be a while before I can get a barrel, I might pick one of those up until I can get one. Would have gotten one initially but it wasn't in the budget.
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make a few calls to some local food/beverage manufacturing companies. most of those places will give away food grade 55 gal barrels for free or just a few bucks. or check on craigslist.
 
Got things up and running.

I have a slow drip on one of the bulkheads, but I think it may have to do with trying two washers on each one instead of just one, like I originally tested. I also notice that I lose some power with the water pump, with the inline filter. I'd say about 20% at least. It's still pretty powerful though. I might go up a size or two at some point if this becomes an issue.

Sharing the air pump with the cloners reduces the amount of bubbles in the buckets quite a bit, but it's still producing quite a bit. I may either go up to the 110L/min pump, or use my smaller pumps for the cloners. I'll have to see.

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JSB99 said:
Got things up and running.

I have a slow drip on one of the bulkheads, but I think it may have to do with trying two washers on each one instead of just one, like I originally tested. I also notice that I lose some power with the water pump, with the inline filter. I'd say about 20% at least. It's still pretty powerful though. I might go up a size or two at some point if this becomes an issue.

Sharing the air pump with the cloners reduces the amount of bubbles in the buckets quite a bit, but it's still producing quite a bit. I may either go up to the 110L/min pump, or use my smaller pumps for the cloners. I'll have to see.

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BTW, I'm using a rubber coupling to connect the 2"pipe behind the tent to the manifold in the tent. Way cheaper than a 2" union.
 
When I was draining the system, I expected the water to be jetting out of the pipe with a little force. But it just kind of poured out and drained slowly. I noticed a big difference when I bypass the buckets and pipes, and use the pump manifold's second intake to draw the water directly from the controller bucket. The pressure and flow are probably twice as much. I expected to see significant turbulence in the buckets, but it's not noticeable. I've got 3/4" going into and out of the pump, which has 1/2" in and out. I wouldn't expect there to be any bottlenecks or anything. Is this normal? Should I be looking at something more powerful than the 400 GPH pump I've got? This one...

Something that didn't occur to me when putting this together is that the pump needs to be primed in order to work. I was thinking it would act like water vacuum. Any suggestions on getting the remaining water out of the buckets. I used a cup and a spare bucket. Only took about five minutes. I imagine a small pump just for this purpose would be handy.

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To anyone using this thread for your own build, here's a really helpful tip: don't try to loosen/tighten the bulkheads bare handed. You'll tear up your hands in the process. Wear rubber kitchen gloves. The thicker the better. I use thick chemical gloves. they grip like crazy and make it easy to tighten the bulkheads.
 
JSB99 said:
...I expected to see significant turbulence in the buckets, but it's not noticeable.
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After checking out a few vids and doing a little reading, it looks like you don't want too big of a water pump with Under Current, and what I have will probably work fine. What do you guys/gals think? Bigger is better, or is mine okay?
 
JSB99 said:
After checking out a few vids and doing a little reading, it looks like you don't want too big of a water pump with Under Current, and what I have will probably work fine. What do you guys/gals think? Bigger is better, or is mine okay?
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Im not 100% sure but I thought if you have a pump too large you can end up with uneven water levels. The pump sucks the first buckets and gravity pushs the second buckets through to the first.
 
JSB99 said:
After checking out a few vids and doing a little reading, it looks like you don't want too big of a water pump with Under Current, and what I have will probably work fine. What do you guys/gals think? Bigger is better, or is mine okay?
Click to expand...

yours is fine.

and for a previous question, wet/dry vac to empty the res also works great.
 
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