It can be as simple as a 1/2" barb inside the bucket. Works and has worked for 2 years straight. Just need to have the water fall in to the water below. That's it. Plus your answers to your poll are basically all the same thing.
Only suggestion I have is for you to plumb your pump inline using a smaller 3/4" bulkhead off the front bottom of the reservoir(control bucket) rather than using a submersible. It helps greatly to cool the pump by ambient air and not your systems water being used as a heatsink
I use exactly like the first method on both my systems, no airstones needed.
That's great tip. I'll give that a shot. Thanks Airwalker. And it doesn't matter how the waterfall hits the surface of the water itself as long as it does?
Technically, the space will be 3' x 5' of grow space but the plants itself will be 3 x 2 each tote.
Correct, the dissolved oxygen is introduced when the surface of the water is disrupted. A more powerful stream might create more disruption, but the same can be achieved with a low-pressure spray bar. Plants only benefit from dissolved oxygen levels up to 8 mg/L, which doesn't take much, assuming your water temperature isn't exceedingly high. Levels beyond that will only provide marginal benefits if any, and too much (upwards of 30 mg/L) can reduce yields.
What makes you say plants only benefit up to 8ppm of dissolved oxygen? Although it may not be hard to reach 8ppm of DO the key thing to doing it as water temp. If your water isn’t cold enough then it won’t matter how much you disrupt the water surface. I think the max saturation level is 13ppm of DO and if I remember right, the water has to be at/below 58f to reach that. Got a link for the 30ppm impacting yield?
It's like 65℉
Sorry, I should have worded that differently. They will technically benefit from levels up to ~30 mg/L, but anything over ~8.5 mg/L is trivial. I couldn't find the exact paper, I'd have to dig through school shit, but here's one with similar findings for tomatoes:
It’s definitely not 65 for 13 ppm
60-65 is where you need to be though to get maximum growth rates without stunting your root zone.
I like your setup! Is it 7 Gallon? I have a very similar one in both 7 & 13 Gallon EZ Stor buckets... But where did you get those fancy lids for the EZ Stor buckets? I wonder if they have them for my sizes?
EZ stor lids are the same fit for 8 & 13gal sizes. So they'll fit. And you're ez stor is 8 gallons, not 7. Unfortunately, the buckets he's using are not EZ Stor containers. They're API Kirk 5.3gals. I walked him through his whole build.
Yeah, Correction mine are 8 & 13-gallon buckets. Was just looking for a solid lid like the current culture without the added brand price tag...
EZ stor lids are the same fit for 8 & 13gal sizes. So they'll fit. And you're ez stor is 8 gallons, not 7. Unfortunately, the buckets he's using are not EZ Stor containers. They're API Kirk 5.3gals. I walked him through his whole build.
You can order new lids and just cut away at the tear tab in certain spots to allow it to peel off instead of locking. you'll most likely cut out a good portion of the seam right in the middle so some reinforcement along the remaining seam would be a good idea.
What @Airwalker16 said is correct. I'm not using EZ Stores, but I believe the Current Culture lids fit the EZ Stor containers. They may have altered them by now, but they used to fit perfectly. The price will be higher, but not outrageous.
This is another good option. Use some corrugated plastic sheets, cut them out to fit the spaces on the lid, stick them down with some mounting tape, and then cover them with foil tape. Make sure to tape over the outer edges of the lid so that you get the extra durability.
