Floraflex pump sizing?

Nizza

Nizza

Well-Known Member

Floraflex Irrigation Accessories

Floraflex Irrigation Accessories
floraflex.com floraflex.com
here's the heads I bought..
the pump I got for them is a 30w 550GPH with 7.2ft max lift. I chose the 1" tee type and installed 3 of these on a 1" pipe, with a flexible hose to connect the pump to the manifold system.

The pump they use on their single head setups is a 396 gph pump
https://floraflex.com/product/6-in-potpro-kit-8-plants/ so I was hoping that this pump could work for 2-3 heads.. I tested it out with the smallest restrictors installed and they ended up not working evenly.

Any insight? I also have put an air scoop higher than all the drippers to avoid air-locking.
I was figuring just a better water pump will do it..
This is a pump I was looking at that costs alot and may be overkill. It is 750 GPH
www.lagunaponds.com

Submersible Water Pump 750 GPH

Laguna submersible water pump, for ponds up to 1500 US Gal
www.lagunaponds.com www.lagunaponds.com
 
Nizza said:

Floraflex Irrigation Accessories

Floraflex Irrigation Accessories
floraflex.com floraflex.com
here's the heads I bought..
the pump I got for them is a 30w 550GPH with 7.2ft max lift. I chose the 1" tee type and installed 3 of these on a 1" pipe, with a flexible hose to connect the pump to the manifold system.

The pump they use on their single head setups is a 396 gph pump
https://floraflex.com/product/6-in-potpro-kit-8-plants/ so I was hoping that this pump could work for 2-3 heads.. I tested it out with the smallest restrictors installed and they ended up not working evenly.

Any insight? I also have put an air scoop higher than all the drippers to avoid air-locking.
I was figuring just a better water pump will do it..
This is a pump I was looking at that costs alot and may be overkill. It is 750 GPH
www.lagunaponds.com

Submersible Water Pump 750 GPH

Laguna submersible water pump, for ponds up to 1500 US Gal
www.lagunaponds.com www.lagunaponds.com
Click to expand...
Never heard of that brand. Might be a good choice though. But EcoPlus brand pumps work well.
 
So I know this post is pretty old, but any updates or pictures? I’m building the same thing only with one of those Vivosun 880gph pumps tonight.
If anybody’s still following the thread I can post an update when I get a chance to work on it. This is my first watering system, so I’m not clear on what an air scoop is, but I’m installing an air bleed at the end of a 3/4” pipe with 3-3/4” T’s with all the fancy flora parts on top.
Still kinda torn between placing a return pipe on the initial drop out of the reservoir before a ball valve and the valves on the bubblers or at the end after the air bleed and a new ball valve and then taking the looong way back. Anybody have insight as to any difference between these two proposed methods besides pissing money on parts?
 
Wonder how the vivosun brand stacks up to Danner. Last few pumps I've bought I tried to get the 'better' brand but it could just be that.. a brand name. EcoPlus/ActiveAqua/Vivosun - would be nice to know who's really the better product at the end of the day (reliability being primary measure).

I too have had to try and figure out this air-bleed deal as the 1 time I tried a manifold + pump/timer I found 1 of my totes (out of 6) appeared to be flooded and left smart pot standing submerged a good bit. At least didn't overflow onto my floors but I used a small rez hoping it's total was lesss than the trays combined - just didn't account for it all going to 1 catch tray.
 
NewGrower2011 said:
Wonder how the vivosun brand stacks up to Danner. Last few pumps I've bought I tried to get the 'better' brand but it could just be that.. a brand name. EcoPlus/ActiveAqua/Vivosun - would be nice to know who's really the better product at the end of the day (reliability being primary measure).

I too have had to try and figure out this air-bleed deal as the 1 time I tried a manifold + pump/timer I found 1 of my totes (out of 6) appeared to be flooded and left smart pot standing submerged a good bit. At least didn't overflow onto my floors but I used a small rez hoping it's total was lesss than the trays combined - just didn't account for it all going to 1 catch tray.
Click to expand...
So from the sound of things you’re probably moving a bit more water than I’m trying to. I’m in soil trying to push a half gallon to a bunch of sites evenly. I opted for double what they offer in the kit mainly for the extra lift and pressure rather than speed. My bubblers are gonna be set on 2gph running 5 minutes 3 times one or two nights a week til early summer most likely.
It got really cold out the past two nights, my girls have been pretty heavy so I’ve been waiting around for air valve knowledge to drop out of the sky. The weekend’s going to end, so I’m gonna have to shit or get off the pot tomorrow. I was gonna use a husky tote as a res for the short term, but I stuck my head inside and got the kind of oil sinus pain that makes you reconsider your res budget. Anybody with recommendations on a budget res solution no wider than 20”? Plenty of vertical clearance and 4’ depth. Probably gonna get one of those flexible reservoirs like you’d dump on your coach after a game or some shit, but my flowering room is a little rugged and idk how long it would last in there. I also wouldn’t mind being able to step over the the thing to prune one of the short sides of my grow space. Anyway, hopefully some pics to follow tomorrow after it’s all glued up. Maybe I’ll buy a res if I’m feeling extra impulsive.
 
Jimmy_Nugz said:
So from the sound of things you’re probably moving a bit more water than I’m trying to. I’m in soil trying to push a half gallon to a bunch of sites evenly. I opted for double what they offer in the kit mainly for the extra lift and pressure rather than speed. My bubblers are gonna be set on 2gph running 5 minutes 3 times one or two nights a week til early summer most likely.
It got really cold out the past two nights, my girls have been pretty heavy so I’ve been waiting around for air valve knowledge to drop out of the sky. The weekend’s going to end, so I’m gonna have to shit or get off the pot tomorrow. I was gonna use a husky tote as a res for the short term, but I stuck my head inside and got the kind of oil sinus pain that makes you reconsider your res budget. Anybody with recommendations on a budget res solution no wider than 20”? Plenty of vertical clearance and 4’ depth. Probably gonna get one of those flexible reservoirs like you’d dump on your coach after a game or some shit, but my flowering room is a little rugged and idk how long it would last in there. I also wouldn’t mind being able to step over the the thing to prune one of the short sides of my grow space. Anyway, hopefully some pics to follow tomorrow after it’s all glued up. Maybe I’ll buy a res if I’m feeling extra impulsive.
Click to expand...
Garbage cans from Walmart homie.
Very tall profile. Holds 13 gallons. Not huge. But not bad. I was using a 17gal HDX tote like everyone uses but I wanted more downward water pressure on my pump so it would have an easier time with the 5' of head pressure it has to overcome to get up to the spray manifolds. It was clicking and sputtering in the lower, wider tote bit doesn't now because it's so much deeper under water. 24" of water above it compared to like... 3-6".
IMAG0679.jpgIMAG0680.jpg
 
NewGrower2011 said:
Wonder how the vivosun brand stacks up to Danner. Last few pumps I've bought I tried to get the 'better' brand but it could just be that.. a brand name. EcoPlus/ActiveAqua/Vivosun - would be nice to know who's really the better product at the end of the day (reliability being primary measure).
Click to expand...
FWIW I have used EcoPlus, ActiveAqua and Danner. Never had a problem with any of them with very long term use.
 
I've used EcoPlus and Danner, the Eco's have held up fine and the couple Danners are good & strong/solid products. I bought 4 more Danner's sitting on standby as I was going to do a flood & drain run again but haven't yet.

For rez containers I've been using the Rubbermaid Brute totes and the garbage cans. They're good & hefty, well-made and readily available for most part at big box stores. Near me there's 1 Lowes that carries the totes but the others do not - and those come in grey or white plus they're both food grade! So I opt for grey for the light blocking - I was worried initially that only the white ones were food grade and would cost more but that's not the case it seems.

My biggest concern is I can't have a flooding disaster as my room is upstairs and I don't want the damage/hassles to my house (which I now fully own!) so I design around that - I'd rather over engineer even if that costs a tad more.
 
Renfro said:
FWIW I have used EcoPlus, ActiveAqua and Danner. Never had a problem with any of them with very long term use.
Click to expand...
My ECO396 hasn't Shit on me yet. But neither have any of my Chinese eb4y/4mazon pumps. My 400gph has been on basically 24/7 for 3 years and runs like a champ still. Unless you run them dry, they're actually really sturdy and hard to kill. Submersible style especially as its in a reservoir full of water being chilled by a chiller so it's surrounded in one big ol' watery HeatSink.
 
https://www.ecoplususa.com/shop/product/ecoplus-convertible-bottom-draw-water-pumps#

I have the 730 GPH (less than your pump) and I run Flora Flex manifold and straight tubing. It takes about 50 seconds to water 4 plants (2 outlets per plant, 8 total) that fill 2x2 sq ft space. The pump only raises the water about 2.5 feet.

I recommend an even more powerful pump. 50 second run time every day is alot. If you need ANY decent max lift, you need a more powerful pump. They don't do well with pressure, only flow.

FYI I removed the drip limiters in the flora flex manifold to reduce pressure and it still takes this long. I recommend a pump with more PSI, which means if you don't want a loud expensive unreliable diaphragm pump, you need a bigger pump in general.
 
I tried an ecoplus 1056 gph and it still didn't have enough pressure to even run one open flow head. Got a 1/4hp sump pump with no float and it runs one easily and will probably run 2 or 3 bubblers at once. Was only $42 compared to the $60 ecoplus as well.
 
Airwalker16 said:
Garbage cans from Walmart homie.
Very tall profile. Holds 13 gallons. Not huge. But not bad. I was using a 17gal HDX tote like everyone uses but I wanted more downward water pressure on my pump so it would have an easier time with the 5' of head pressure it has to overcome to get up to the spray manifolds. It was clicking and sputtering in the lower, wider tote bit doesn't now because it's so much deeper under water. 24" of water above it compared to like... 3-6".
View attachment 4498872View attachment 4498873
Click to expand...
Makes perfect sense. I may need to do this next run.
 
Nizza said:

Floraflex Irrigation Accessories

Floraflex Irrigation Accessories
floraflex.com floraflex.com
here's the heads I bought..
the pump I got for them is a 30w 550GPH with 7.2ft max lift. I chose the 1" tee type and installed 3 of these on a 1" pipe, with a flexible hose to connect the pump to the manifold system.

The pump they use on their single head setups is a 396 gph pump
https://floraflex.com/product/6-in-potpro-kit-8-plants/ so I was hoping that this pump could work for 2-3 heads.. I tested it out with the smallest restrictors installed and they ended up not working evenly.

Any insight? I also have put an air scoop higher than all the drippers to avoid air-locking.
I was figuring just a better water pump will do it..
This is a pump I was looking at that costs alot and may be overkill. It is 750 GPH
www.lagunaponds.com

Submersible Water Pump 750 GPH

Laguna submersible water pump, for ponds up to 1500 US Gal
www.lagunaponds.com www.lagunaponds.com
Click to expand...
You need to bypass the unused ports instead of closing them. Just loop tubing to unused ports. I keep seeing people close them instead of bypass loop and it screws the entire valve. Use equal length of tubing on all runs (min 12”) going to plants or it will not flow evenly.
 
ProcessSpecialist said:
You need to bypass the unused ports instead of closing them. Just loop tubing to unused ports. I keep seeing people close them instead of bypass loop and it screws the entire valve. Use equal length of tubing on all runs (min 12”) going to plants or it will not flow evenly.
Click to expand...
I have two setups, one with two heads and one with three, I actually do exactly this and bypass between the heads with the tubing instead of back to the same head
 
Pump size is dependent on the head pressure, system design (length of tube, # of 90s, valves, etc) and flow rates needed. A 15gpm pump should handle most needs from what I saw here but you can upsize as long as you can reduce pressure and flow. 1/2” outlet to your manifold which then downsizes to the 1/4” branch lines to sites.
 
Rdot03 said:
Makes perfect sense. I may need to do this next run.
Click to expand...
Don’t use anything other than HDPE No. 2 (food safe). When your reservoir doesn’t live in off gas that smells like a plastic factory you will thank me. We spend all of this time dialing in perfection and then I hear people using trash cans, a little ironic dagger breaks my heart. Spend the extra $20 on food safe material - mine was cheaper than a trash can.
 
Jimmy_Nugz said:
So from the sound of things you’re probably moving a bit more water than I’m trying to. I’m in soil trying to push a half gallon to a bunch of sites evenly. I opted for double what they offer in the kit mainly for the extra lift and pressure rather than speed. My bubblers are gonna be set on 2gph running 5 minutes 3 times one or two nights a week til early summer most likely.
It got really cold out the past two nights, my girls have been pretty heavy so I’ve been waiting around for air valve knowledge to drop out of the sky. The weekend’s going to end, so I’m gonna have to shit or get off the pot tomorrow. I was gonna use a husky tote as a res for the short term, but I stuck my head inside and got the kind of oil sinus pain that makes you reconsider your res budget. Anybody with recommendations on a budget res solution no wider than 20”? Plenty of vertical clearance and 4’ depth. Probably gonna get one of those flexible reservoirs like you’d dump on your coach after a game or some shit, but my flowering room is a little rugged and idk how long it would last in there. I also wouldn’t mind being able to step over the the thing to prune one of the short sides of my grow space. Anyway, hopefully some pics to follow tomorrow after it’s all glued up. Maybe I’ll buy a res if I’m feeling extra impulsive.
Click to expand...

not sure if you figured out your air bleed issue, but I solved mine by puncturing a little hole on my pumps feed tube right at the top before the tubing leaves the rez. It allows the air out and your nutrient solution just washes down the sides of the rez.
 
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