4 inch Tube Aero with Chiller

curious.george

Well-Known Member
Thanks for all the info Earl. I guess I will go back to 1000 since it seemed to be working fine. Have you ever heard this theory that if the ppm in your res stays stable that means that the plant is using nutes and water at the same rate?
 

Earl

Well-Known Member
Not all theories have proofs.

Just because the PPm changes
doesn't really tell you which minerals
the plant has used.

The tds should stay very close to the starting point.
.
 

curious.george

Well-Known Member
Not all theories have proofs.
indeed, so should I assume that in your opinion this theory is not proven.

Just because the PPm changes
doesn't really tell you which minerals
the plant has used.
yes that is logical, if the plant uses more of one mineral than another it could get a nutrient deficiency even with high ppm. This has more to due with nutrient balance than total concentrations. I guess the more accurately the nute soup is ballanced with what the plant actually uses the lower the total concentration.

The tds should stay very close to the starting point.
.
What is weird is mine does at 1000 or 1400, it stays that way while my 40gal reservoir goes from 40galons to 10 over a 2 week period.

It seems the plant will use more or less nutes depending on how much they are given, I mean if you add extra N the plant will become more leafy. i have never been sure to what extent this is the total N or the mix of N to P & K.
 

curious.george

Well-Known Member
So back to that system you built, are you going to construct a version 2?

What do you think of a similar system that would use a bunch of vertical tubes, with the plants growing out of end caps?

After building this system what do you see as the pro's and con's of building this tube style aero system vs some other aero setup?
 

Earl

Well-Known Member
This is version 2.0

I would love to see you do a tubular vert grow.

When you do, be sure an post a link here.

I am pretty happy with the design I have,
there are always couple of new ideas on the drawing board,
but you will have to wait and see if they work out.

Right now, all engineering projects are on hold,
due to my personal economic crisis.

All resources are slated to more lighting for the existing machines,
before I venture into any new projects.

.
 

curious.george

Well-Known Member
This is version 2.0
sorry, I was not paying attention. Its not that I actually thought you needed another version. Its just that I figured with such a cool system you must be one of those dudes that is always engineering stuff. Its like if you met a guy that built the fastest car, you might start to wounder what the next even faster one that guy might build. Or maybe you are not that way.

I would love to see you do a tubular vert grow.
I would like to see me do that too. For now I will just have to get by being jealous of your system.

When you do, be sure an post a link here.
If I do, I will. Truth is I can barely keep it together to get a good ebb-flow system running. So the closest to any cool areo system I will get is talking about one. Maybe in 16 years my kid will move out and I will retire and do nothing but.



I am pretty happy with the design I have,
there are always couple of new ideas on the drawing board,
but you will have to wait and see if they work out.

Right now, all engineering projects are on hold,
due to my personal economic crisis.

All resources are slated to more lighting for the existing machines,
before I venture into any new projects.

.
sounds like good plan.
 

Earl

Well-Known Member
Since DirtBag is showing his,
I will show mine.


The last week of veg
I ran out of AN nutes and switched to DM.

I am going try to finish this grow with DM nutes
because I have them left over.

I'm pretty sure I have enough.

By the way,
you might notice I had to get a new meter.

The Milwaukee took a dump.

I am all Pinpoint for pH.

I'm averaging about two grows per meter,
with the purchase of two probes per grow.
( I like my meters to work fast)

I don't trust one meter.
If they disagree more than .03
I do a calibration on both.

 

Derivs

Active Member
My apologies for not posting that pic on yours :-) ... Didn't even realize you had a live one up. Certain there will be more to come.... This is so far beyond where I can go right now. Makes me want to take a wrong turn when I go to Chicago in March.
Hope all is well.
 

mardavarot

Well-Known Member
Hi Earl.
Read all yours posts, impresive m8. Look, can you teel me for flushig in hydro for last 2 weeks do you need PH water to 5.5-6.2 or just used normal tap water (7.0-7.3)
I would appreciate the help.
Regards
 

AeroKing

Well-Known Member
Earl,
I've read many threads by you. Much Respect.

A couple questions that I'm hoping you can help me with:

I believe I've seen you use a couple different sprayers, can you comment on which you like the best and why?

Are the spray lines simply jambed onto the end of the mister and then shoved into the grommet to hold it in place?

Can you conceive a rough formula of # of misters to GPH for pump sizing?

Do you have any safeguards in place to protect your op from power outages?

Aside from initial investment, do you see any other benefits of using 4"?

If money was not an issue, would you see any benefit of using the 6"?

What's your opinion of PVC fence post for aero systems vs DWV Pipe?

Is that black polyethylene tubing? Have you ever experience kinking with it?

The adapters from your manifold - 1/2" NPT to 1/4"OD compression?

Do you still use Coco for seeds?
Any debris in the res/misters from it?
Have any thoughts on using rockwool instead?

Sorry for so many ?s. I have several projects in the works. My next is a vertical version of your spaceship, it will probably be about mid year before I get started, and I'm really hoping you'll be around to help!
BTW, I use an aeroflo2 system. If you have any questions about it's design, I'd be happy to answer.
 

Earl

Well-Known Member
I believe I've seen you use a couple different sprayers, can you comment on which you like the best and why?
I like the green 360 spray jets.
You can get them from emrealdelectronics .com
http://www.emeraldelectronic.com/store/proddetail.cfm/ItemID/428954/CategoryID/20000/SubCatID/1851/file.htm
You can find the 6mm grommet and the black poly tubing there also.

Are the spray lines simply jambed onto the end of the mister and then shoved into the grommet to hold it in place?




Can you conceive a rough formula of # of misters to GPH for pump sizing?
There is a formula, but here is the easy way.

Use a big mag drive pump.

I like the danner 950, I have two.

I also have a danner 1250
and I have a Via Aqua 600 on the chiller,
and a few walmart powerheads,
in all of my rez',
except this one,
which has the chiller pump,
to keep things stirred up.

Hydro Ponic=water working

Place the spray jet close enough on each side of the plant,
to spray the roots on both sides.

I have the spray jets every 15 centimeters on this 4 inch tube,
and the plants are in between,
so about 7 centimeters on each side of the plant.

Do you have any safeguards in place to protect your op from power outages?
No.
I had a 12 day power outage last fall after hurricane Ike.

A back-up generator is high on "the list"

If you have a power outage of a few hours
you could use batteries and a inverter.

Or you could hand spray inside the tube
if you can reach in from both ends
like the space shuttle.

The plant in the middle would suffer in this system,
but probly the nutrient flow though the tube
would be enough to sutain life.

As long as your nutrients are cool
and have enough DO
you could hand feed every hour or so
and keep them going,
until you got stoned and forgot.

Use an egg timer.

I have left them for three hours with the pumps off,
with absolutely no affect.

Late in the grow
I do let them go to wilt,
and it takes a few hours,
depending on the outside air temp,
and the humidity and lighting.


Aside from initial investment, do you see any other benefits of using 4"?
If money was not an issue, would you see any benefit of using the 6"?
What's your opinion of PVC fence post for aero systems vs DWV Pipe?
I like the tube because it is cheaper.

That is the only reason.

If they were all the same price
I would use the 4 inch pvc tube
because it is easy to handle.

Square might be just as good,
I've never used it,
so I can't really judge it,
but I don't see any obvious drawbacks.

Is that black polyethylene tubing?
Yes
Have you ever experience kinking with it?
No

The adapters from your manifold - 1/2" NPT to 1/4"OD compression?
Here is a link to the male Tee.
You have to purchase ten for $46
Male Branch Tee

Do you still use Coco for seeds?
Yes
Any debris in the res/misters from it?
No
Have any thoughts on using rockwool instead?
No thoughts cause I'm pretty stoned,
but really,
I've never used it,
and my desire is to get away from all media
and just use neoprene.


. I have several projects in the works. My next is a vertical version of your spaceship, it will probably be about mid year before I get started, and I'm really hoping you'll be around to help!
BTW, I use an aeroflo2 system. If you have any questions about it's design, I'd be happy to answer.
No questions about the aeroflo2,
but be sure and post a link to your Vertical Space Shuttle here.
Hurry up.
.
 

lilmafia513

Well-Known Member
been a soil grower, it always seemed easier.
But i like the speed of the aero grow, and the results!
Never understood cuz it confused me with hydro, and couldn't tell the two apart.
But thanks man, for the break down for me! +rep to ya!
 

Earl

Well-Known Member
I'm afraid of soil.

How can I control the pH ?


With this I just watch the meter
and use an eye dropper to keep it where I want it.

I'm sure if you have good soil
you don't need to do anything but add good water
when your plant is thirsty.

I've grown outdoors but always got ripped by bugs, critters, or people.

And I didn't want to bring that in my house.

I like hydro cause its clean and easy.

It is expensive to get really set up,
but I'll get it back eventually.

Take the plunge
the waters fine.
.
 
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