Which would produce more DO in a DWC?

JSB99

Well-Known Member
I've got an Active Aqua 60W, 70 L/min pump coming for my 4x5 gallon bucket UnderCurrent build. An 8 output manifold comes with it.

What I'm wondering is, would 2 air stones per bucket produce more dissolved oxygen than 1 air stone per bucket at twice the pressure (because 4 of the outputs would be shut off)?
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
A couple of airstones per pail would make sure they get lots of air for sure. I could use one like yours to run 4 Rubbermaid tubs of plants which I what I'll be doing in a few months. Price ain't bad either. The Maxima-R adjustable dual outlet ones I use just say 2.5psi but no L/min or anything. Runs two 12" airstones real good and they fit nice in the slots along the bottom of the tubs.

I'm going to see about getting one like yours then I can run my two stones per tub in 4 of them.

TubPrep.jpg
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
A couple of airstones per pail would make sure they get lots of air for sure. I could use one like yours to run 4 Rubbermaid tubs of plants which I what I'll be doing in a few months. Price ain't bad either. The Maxima-R adjustable dual outlet ones I use just say 2.5psi but no L/min or anything. Runs two 12" airstones real good and they fit nice in the slots along the bottom of the tubs.

I'm going to see about getting one like yours then I can run my two stones per tub in 4 of them.

View attachment 3973230
I was looking for square totes that would leave me enough room for 2" pipes in my 4x4 tent, but haven't seen any. The actual DWC square buckets are around $14 + $3 per lid. Way too much for my actual budget, so I'm going with black 5-gallon buckets at HD. Yep, the have black buckets now! And, because of budget constraints, I'm not able to build the LED grow room I had initially designed. But what I've got going right now is pretty similar. I'm using a 600w HID instead of LEDs, and I've also isolated my reflector air from the room, which makes it so easy to manage temps!

The RDWC/Under Current I'm piecing together right now will have 2" bucket pipes/manifolds, and 3/4" return pipes, but again, not as elaborate as what I had designed in the virtual LED grow.


My 4' x 4' grow tent. The duct hose on the left side of the tent is the air intake for the hood. After removing the carpet I laid a couple layers of 3 mil poly on the plywood floor , just to help with small spills. But I've also got a 7x10 pond liner. I'm going to frame in the tent and area just to the right of the tent, 4" high for the liner. The reason I'm doing that is because my UnderCurrent controller will be outside the tent, as well as valves, y-filter, pump, etc. The capacity will be 15 gallons over what my system will hold.


I am a wiring fanatic! I hate loose wires and will spend hours, and sometimes days, organizing cables! LOL


One of two 4" exhaust fans. This one serves two purposes. It exhausts the mothers/clones closet, and brings in filtered air from the hallway next door. The room, as well as the closet door, are really sealed well. I also have a vent in the ceiling which is a passive exhaust for the room. I can feel a decent breeze passing through the ceiling exhaust from the 4" fan bringing air into the room and creating positive pressure.


Tent and hood exhaust fans. Tent is 4" and the hood is 6". Even with all the fans maxed-out in the room, I can't hear them on the other side of the wall. My bathroom fan is louder than the whole room. I got a really robust exhaust fan (440 cfm) for the hood so that I could run it at a much lower speed, bringing the noise down considerably. There are a few things I've got going on that isolate the sound so much you can barely hear the fans right on the other side of the door, but that's a lot to get into here. If anyone's curious, I'll post the things I did to soundproof the room.

Also notice that the closet/room's air intake fan blows air towards the floor, while the tent exhaust hose is at the highest point of the room.



The insulated hood exhaust ducting prevents any heat from bleeding into the room. Without that sleeve, that ducting would get pretty warm. I just bought a duct sleeve rather than insulated duct because the sleeve is really cheap at HD. Insulated ducting can get pricey. Just one more step to make controlling temps a breeze. Also one of the steps I took to isolate sound.


Inside the tent. Scrubber in the upper-right. I'm not thrilled at all with the hood that came with my light package. The footprint sucks, and there are lots of gaps in the welds where unwanted smelly air can get exhausted! I'm in OR so it's all legal here but still, I'd rather not advertise that I'm growing. I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised at the quality, being a package and all. In a couple months I'm going to get a Blockbuster Hood. I had one before with a 1K, and I really liked it. Heavy as all Hell, but an awesome footprint!


2' x 4' mothers (Bonsai Mums) and clones closet.





The mothers hood is a CFL hood I made with 8 CFLs. I think it'll do okay for the mums, being so small.


My newest DIY bubble cloner. I'm going to cut out a few more spots in the lid, and I've got 2" netpots I'll put in after these clones. I just cut off the bottom of the netpots and let the roots hang in the air. They just hold the clone collars better than just using cut 2" holes. The lights are 2 x 24" T8, 6500k lights mounted to a mylar-wrapped piece of plywood. Really cheap and perfect for clones!

I took some Headband cuttings, which are starting to root after only 3 days. I find the bottled Natural Spring Water for the reservoir works really well compared to other sources I know that a hood isn't necessary with a cloner, but it keeps them from flopping over after a few hours of being cut. First day I leave the lights on for 24hrs, mist the cover and cuttings with purified water then cover, and close the hood vents. Day 2 I start leaving the cover off for a few minutes a few times a day, and open the hood vents so some air is getting in, but still retaining a lot of moisture. Also set lights to 18/6 (I believe dark periods help clones). Day 3, remove hood and let 'em root :-) I've always had great success getting roots after only a few days with DIY bubble/aero cloners!


The duct on the left of the cloner is the air intake for the room. It's a short piece of 6" duct that points away for a little light control. It's actually not even necessary. The closet is light and air tight from the room.



Air intake vent on the other side of the closet
 
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OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Remind me not to show you the rat's nest I live and grow in. :D

I'm forever changing the configuration of my grow spaces so there's no use permanently attaching things. I keep the electrics off the floor and sweep regularly but wires get hung on any available hook in the ceiling as needed.

Should have copy/pasted all that post in your grow thread. I'm all subbed up there.

:peace:
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
Remind me not to show you the rat's nest I live and grow in. :D

I'm forever changing the configuration of my grow spaces so there's no use permanently attaching things. I keep the electrics off the floor and sweep regularly but wires get hung on any available hook in the ceiling as needed.

Should have copy/pasted all that post in your grow thread. I'm all subbed up there.

:peace:
LMAO! Don't worry about it, I'm the one who's not in the norm. There are a whole bunch of filled in drywall holes from moving things around until I was happy with the layout. Maybe a little OCD on my part
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
You ever check the breakers feeding all that equipment? Your Insurance guy would just Laugh at a claim.
It's only a 600w ballast, not a 1k

Yes, I made sure my amps were under 85% of my 15A breaker. I was a little worried about tripping it because it's an AFCI breaker and they're prone to tripping if there's too much initial load. I've installed 120v and 240v breakers for my shop, my home theater, and past grows. I was going to be running breakers to this room as well, when I was going to be building an COB LED grow room because of all the drivers. But I think I'm good for now.

Also, the power in the closet is on the kitchen breaker. I tapped into the back of an outlet on the other side.
 
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rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
LOL! You think I should hide it behind the tent to avoid any embarrassment?

I'm not hanging it like it's a piece of art, or some piece of high end equipment! It's just a ballast mounted on the wall!
i've read about some "issues" with Apollo and IPower ballasts failing is all. it looks like it's on a surge protector though

that's a nice setup overall. i would put a waterfall in your control bucket. it adds more DO than airstones
 

dirtWeevil

Well-Known Member
i can't speak for Apollo but I've used ipower since 2013-14~ with zero issues, the first one i bought is still in use up north. I figure they are all made in the same factories, the off brands, but the two I've owned have been great.
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
i can't speak for Apollo but I've used ipower since 2013-14~ with zero issues, the first one i bought is still in use up north. I figure they are all made in the same factories, the off brands, but the two I've owned have been great.
I've always had Lumatek ballasts and Eye H lights. This is just my starter kit to get me going. I'll be upgrading some of the equipment as I go along.
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
i've read about some "issues" with Apollo and IPower ballasts failing is all. it looks like it's on a surge protector though

that's a nice setup overall. i would put a waterfall in your control bucket. it adds more DO than airstones

Thanks! Yep, going to do a waterfall and no stones in my controller. This might sound like a dumb question, but is there anything more to a "waterfall" than just mounting the hose up high so that the water just pours in? Or should I put a small adapter at the end to jet the water?
 
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rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
Thanks! Yep, going to do a waterfall and no stones in my controller. This might sound like a dumb question, but is there anything more to a "waterfall" than just mounting the hose up high so that the water just pours in? Or should I put a small adapter at the end to jet the water?
i made something similar to the sprayer next to a kitchen sink where it has multiple sprays like this:

 
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