Drip Drip Goes The Uniseal (Leaking!)

Sour Wreck

Sour Wreck

Well-Known Member
N.R.G. said:
Yeah I know that feeling. Having to replace stones every cycle gets old. Do you replace your hydroton every grow? Or just replace the ones you can't dig out of the roots? I like the idea of bulkheads underneath so you can get 100% flush. Are you putting in some kind of float switch or something so that if you have a pump failure you don't flood the controller? I think I might try to elevate my diy system and put bulkheads underneath as well.
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I usually boil hydroton rocks before use and only use once, slacking on that helped introduce problems into my hydro system I believe.

Someone suggested just soaking in bleach which is a better option but still a pain.

Didn’t consider a float, but if the pump stops working, won’t the water just level in all reservoirs?
 
Sour Wreck

Sour Wreck

Well-Known Member
Cold$moke said:
Ok since you already have your bulk heads that squashes that shouldnt be much difference with 1.5 to 2 inch return lines but i have never tried runnin smaller then 2 inch.


Your intake lines are what i would bumb up to 3/4 or if you buy a bigger pump 1 inch


The way to eliminate air stones would be through your waterfalls

BUT BUT .... THATS ONLY IF YOU CAN GET THAT DO TO THE ROOT ZONE (not yelling)

So the limiting factors on your setup would be return line size
And pump size

Definitely go with a spill over setup if your running a small pump (400and below)

If your set on a bottom drain i would put your drains in the opposite corners of your feed waterfall

This way you get that WHOLE TOTE TO FLOW
With 0 dead spots (will help with draining as well)

I would advise airstones on hand as backup just incase you see something get froggy
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Got a shitload of backup air stones, unfortunately, lol
 
N.R.G.

N.R.G.

Well-Known Member
Sour Wreck said:
I usually boil hydroton rocks before use and only use once, slacking on that helped introduce problems into my hydro system I believe.

Someone suggested just soaking in bleach which is a better option but still a pain.

Didn’t consider a float, but if the pump stops working, won’t the water just level in all reservoirs?
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I'm sorry I might have misunderstood. I thought I read that you were going to have the controller down lower than the buckets up on blocks. That may have been someone else's post, I was browsing through the forums during some down time at work so wasn't 100% focused lol.
 
Sour Wreck

Sour Wreck

Well-Known Member
N.R.G. said:
I'm sorry I might have misunderstood. I thought I read that you were going to have the controller down lower than the buckets up on blocks. That may have been someone else's post, I was browsing through the forums during some down time at work so wasn't 100% focused lol.
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you are correct, that was me. we are only talking about 6" cinder blocks, but shit, i see what you mean, 6" per tote equals over in the control rez.

thanks man, you saved me a flood for sure. just a power outage away. so i either need to elevate my control rez or use a barrel...
 
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Michael Huntherz

Michael Huntherz

Well-Known Member
Great thread, everyone. In reading it I realized how much my aquarium hobby and growing hobby have real synergy in terms of transferable skills.

I am going around in circles trying to decide between media-free aero and rdwc, or maybe simply running my Blumats in big (expensive) rockwool. I am tired of messing with coco and soil, don’t love buying messy dirty media every time, so it’s time for a change. I have a 4x4x7 flower tent, can run up to 10 plants at a time on the drippers I already own. Thoughts, suggestions and warnings are welcome.

I am leading toward rdwc today, lol.
 
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Cold$moke

Cold$moke

Well-Known Member
Rdwc is great i love it that said im almost done with it ;)

Every set up has its pros and cons

Ive done low pressure aero/nft,dwc,dtw with coco,aero/dwc, and now rdwc

I really liked low pressure aero nft except for clogged sprayers its a real bitch.

So im designing my next system to have the following requirements
No media if possible
No chillers or circulation pumps
Easy to clean
No drips ;)
No airstones

Still finishing up differnt designs will start building in 2 weeks when i got room :)
 
Michael Huntherz

Michael Huntherz

Well-Known Member
Cold$moke said:
Rdwc is great i love it that said im almost done with it ;)

Every set up has its pros and cons

Ive done low pressure aero/nft,dwc,dtw with coco,aero/dwc, and now rdwc

I really liked low pressure aero nft except for clogged sprayers its a real bitch.

So im designing my next system to have the following requirements
No media if possible
No chillers or circulation pumps
Easy to clean
No drips ;)
No airstones

Still finishing up differnt designs will start building in 2 weeks when i got room :)
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Hurry up, I need to steal all your ideas! I sort of suck at hardware, but I am getting better.
Is your system going to have a battery backup?
Clogged sprayers ain’t gonna fly with me, unless I can manage to clean them only between runs, otherwise aero seems pretty compelling.

I am pretty good at making non-leaking wet dry filters and plumbing aquarium systems, so RDWC is tempting.

Gravity fed drippers and Rockwool is pretty cheap at the scale I would go through it, and it is a fire-and-forget solution for me.

Really interested to see your new design, man.
 
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N.R.G.

N.R.G.

Well-Known Member
Michael Huntherz said:
Great thread, everyone. In reading it I realized how much my aquarium hobby and growing hobby have real synergy in terms of transferable skills.

I am going around in circles trying to decide between media-free aero and rdwc, or maybe simply running my Blumats in big (expensive) rockwool. I am tired of messing with coco and soil, don’t love buying messy dirty media every time, so it’s time for a change. I have a 4x4x7 flower tent, can run up to 10 plants at a time on the drippers I already own. Thoughts, suggestions and warnings are welcome.

I am leading toward rdwc today, lol.
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That is what lead me to DWC and then to RDWC. I got tired of hauling soil in and out all the time. Hydro is so much easier, cleaner, faster, you name it. I know some say organic soil is the best tasting but I don't notice a difference personally. It's all in food used, the flushing process and then the cure IMHO.
 
Michael Huntherz

Michael Huntherz

Well-Known Member
N.R.G. said:
That is what lead me to DWC and then to RDWC. I got tired of hauling soil in and out all the time. Hydro is so much easier, cleaner, faster, you name it. I know some say organic soil is the best tasting but I don't notice a difference personally. It's all in food used, the flushing process and then the cure IMHO.
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I don’t buy the “organic tastes better” thing for the same reasons. There are benefits to organic agriculture particularly at a large commercial scale, but most folks don’t understand what the benefits of organic growing are and are not. Lots of magical thinking out there. I support organic ag, but the organic enthusiasts make it hard sometimes. :wink:
 
N.R.G.

N.R.G.

Well-Known Member
Michael Huntherz said:
I don’t buy the “organic tastes better” thing for the same reasons. There are benefits to organic agriculture particularly at a large commercial scale, but most folks don’t understand what the benefits of organic growing are and are not. Lots of magical thinking out there. I support organic ag, but the organic enthusiasts make it hard sometimes. :wink:
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Exactly. I know my organic grown tomatoes taste much better than any thing in the stores which I assume are hydro of some sort but we are talking about cannabis. Smoke tastes like smoke lol.
 
Michael Huntherz

Michael Huntherz

Well-Known Member
N.R.G. said:
Exactly. I know my organic grown tomatoes taste much better than any thing in the stores which I assume are hydro of some sort but we are talking about cannabis. Smoke tastes like smoke lol.
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Your tomatoes, my tomatoes, organic folks’ cannabis...the reason it tastes better to all of us is a result of cognitive biases none of us are in control of. There is ample science on our faulty cognition in this regard.
Dan Pink’s books are a great place to start, rigorous cognitive science for the layperson, for anyone interested.
 
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