redi jedi
Well-Known Member
No offense bro..but you are switching to Coco right?...
rdwc return line
- Thread starter doniboy
- Start date
Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
Well.. you are using "blurple".
doniboy
Well-Known Member
Ahh okay. I thought about that, but what's the difference and why is that better? Seems like a slightly different way to accomplish the same thing. jijiandfarmgang, is that what your referring too?
Also, another reason why I didn't look into a gravity return is because I'm growing in a tent, so hight will be an issue which is why I decided to go with with a undercurrent rdwc system.
I also thought about leaving the plants at ground level while elevating the res outside the tent to solve the height issue. Gravity would create the waterfall, and a pump would return the water back to the res. The issue then would be having to worry about the pump pulling the water too fast or too slow.... I have sightly researched other solutions, but the uc rdwc with a 2"-3" pipe seemed to be the simplest and most stable rdwc method...
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redi jedi
Well-Known Member
It is basically the same thing. Some people prefer water falls for aeration instead of using air pumps and stones. 6 of one, half dozen of the other...
doniboy
Well-Known Member
I updated the post you replied too. Isn't there more of an overflow risk using your method? Clogs can be minimized via larger tubing with an UC system where as with a waterfall system, if you add a larger diameter pipe, none if the buckets would retain water. Gravity would keep the water (for the most part) level in all buckets at the same level no mater how fast or slow the pump is. Clogging and overflows are solved via pipe size...
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redi jedi
Well-Known Member
Both methods have the same risk of overflow. UC pumps water to the epicenter (control bucket) water flows out of the epicenter to the plant sites. The water fall method is just reversed, water is pumped to the plant sites and flows (drains) back the epicenter. If the flow rates are unequal, they could flood the plant sites or in the case of UC..the epicenter could flood.
doniboy
Well-Known Member
I'm trying to figure out what jijiandfarmgang is talking about when she/he says uc is subpar.
Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
I'm in a tent.
things are great. Perfect actually. It's not better really. I just like the extra Dissolved oxygen from the water agitation from waterfalls .I recently made a 9 site setup with even taller buckets. My waterfalls are reeeaaally effective on this one.
redi jedi
Well-Known Member
She believes the water fall method is better because no air pumps are needed.
Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
I use an air pump on top of the waterfalls as well. I think they love it .
redi jedi
Well-Known Member
Gravity keeps the water in the bucket..its head pressure that causes flow...the weight of the column of water. A taller column has more head pressure. So if two buckets are plumbed together, the water will flow to the one with less head until the columns are equal.
Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
Exactly. Just imagine a line drawn through the middle of the buckets from the side view. The water always fills linearly.
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
Yup. Following my own advice.No offense bro..but you are switching to Coco right?...
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
The only way the plant sites could flood is if their outlets are clogged.
doniboy
Well-Known Member
Keep in mind that these are my assumptions... What I meant was if all the buckets were plumbed together in a loop and were initially filled with the same amount of water, would the water levels in all the buckets be "similar" no matter the pump size, no? The pump would be pulling somewhat the same amount of water that it's pushing.
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redi jedi
Well-Known Member
Not true...if the drain was the same dia as the return, hence water is coming in faster than it can drain...you got a flood.
Gotta remember the water being pumped is moving faster than water flowing due to head pressure.
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
Not unless every bucket has its own connection to the return, think parallel connections for electricity. If they're in series, each one will have a step in water column height from highest to lowest near the return.
doniboy
Well-Known Member
Exactly. With UC and a large diameter pipe circulating water around through, for example, two plant sites and a res, so there's only 7 sites between the two buckets and the res that are less likely to clog and cause overflow. With a waterfall system, there's the introduction of several smaller diameter sites that maybe clogged from the top/waterfall area.
Also, as far as tubing and piping is concerned, waterfall method requires extra tubing to create the waterfall that an air pump only system would not need, and air pump and stone method of getting DO adds extra tubing that the waterfall does not need. I guess using an air pump and stone vs using waterfall each has their own advantages and potential problems. I don't get why she believes one is so much more superior than the other.
Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
That's why we use a submersible pump filter bag buddy.
the supply waterfalls haven't clogged on me yet. And they wont. Been running them for months 24/7
Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
Mine are plumbed in series on the 9 site and all fill and drain linearly. Everything's even when waterfalls are going too.
