Pool Noodle Project

[JohnGault]

Hey JG, where do you get hold of the tube and connectors that make up the frame of the screen. I just cant think of what kind of retail shop would sell it, but would be very useful if I could get hold of some. What is the name of the stuff and what else is it commonly used for?

Thanks, Toke ;-)

Yer kidding. Right?

It's just plain old 1/2 inch PVC. Ya know.......plumbing?

Any Home dePot, Lowes, hardware, or plumbing store will have everything you need. Get the Schedule 20 for the frame. It's lighter weight, and cheaper.

JG

 

[Tokesome]

Er no, not kidding mate, I`ve never come across the stuff before. Can all the joins be properly water tight. The reason I ask, is that I want to employ a dripper system. My original idea was to have a looped pipe connected to a pump in the res, a figure of 8 loop to allow me to take 3 runs under the screen so I can run 10 feed lines off of each run to feed 5x3gal pots. I was thinking of fastening my feed tube loop to the underside of the screen frame, making it easy to drop my feed lines directly to the top of the pots. Now I`m thinking of making the frame for the screen out of feed tubing so having one piece doing both jobs. Just dont wanna be dealing with unreliable joins and leaks. I have 2 separate res` feeding 14/15 plants sitting on 3x 602 nft tanks, and I feed drain to waste into the nft res` below the trays.

Cheers Toke

 

[PhilCuisine]

keepin it.....

keepin it.....

simple and real...it will be able to support a 3ft. plant....I just use the pink styro foam as a collar too....the main stem will grow twice the size and the styro foam will hold it in place....Hope this helps.

 

[JohnGault]

Er no, not kidding mate, I`ve never come across the stuff before. Can all the joins be properly water tight. The reason I ask, is that I want to employ a dripper system. My original idea was to have a looped pipe connected to a pump in the res, a figure of 8 loop to allow me to take 3 runs under the screen so I can run 10 feed lines off of each run to feed 5x3gal pots. I was thinking of fastening my feed tube loop to the underside of the screen frame, making it easy to drop my feed lines directly to the top of the pots. Now I`m thinking of making the frame for the screen out of feed tubing so having one piece doing both jobs. Just dont wanna be dealing with unreliable joins and leaks. I have 2 separate res` feeding 14/15 plants sitting on 3x 602 nft tanks, and I feed drain to waste into the nft res` below the trays.

Cheers Toke

In that case you'll want to use schedule 40 pipe instead of 20. It's got twice the wall thickness. The joins (if you are going to run water through them) are made with PVC solvent. It actually melts the joined parts together.

PVC pipe usually comes in 10 foot lengths, and fittings such as elbows, tee's, and crosses are sold individually, or in contractor paks of 10. You'll also want to get a can of primer, and a can of PVC cement.

Do it right by sanding the bonding surfaces, use primer, and enough cement, and schedule 40 1/2" PVC will handle up to 200psi.

Wasn't making fun of you, or anything. It's just everyone I know is a DIYer, and the idea that someone wouldn't know about PVC seemed a bit odd.

I gather you're a Brit so I'm afraid I can't tell you where to buy the stuff. Hasn't Home Depot made it's way to your side of the pond yet?

JG

 

[JohnGault]

simple and real...it will be able to support a 3ft. plant....I just use the pink styro foam as a collar too....the main stem will grow twice the size and the styro foam will hold it in place....Hope this helps.

Truly amazing all the different ideas people come up with to solve the same problems.

I gotta say. Yours is kinda ugly. I'm sure they produce something beautiful though, and that's all that really matters.

JG

 

[*mistress*]

That's very nice john gault, is that the same one from on OG as the name rings a bell...

Yep. Same guy. Used to be a mod of the political forum at OG.
.....
Truly amazing all the different ideas people come up with to solve the same problems.

...before the fall (og/cw)... maybe memory of handle... & aero/nft thread/posts?
maybe ran aer-buckets & then kbs/kfb several moons ago...

nice current innovations.
prefer trees. ieg, plant is 3x3x3' prior to flowering... or, ~8 weeks pre-veg & veg under 20+hrs 1k+ light.

in coco+perlite/bark/rocks requires min 4-10 gal container... filled w/ media.
would be nice to get back to no/minimal media (like aero-buckets did in 20th centurie...
& keep size of plants large.

so, they not flowered until ~1 cu ft... & finish ~ 5x5x5'...
would maybe put 2-4 plant in same area as nft table in pic 1...

suggestions for tree garden, w/ no/minimal media, would be+!

@ PhilCuisine...

Cool keepin it.....
simple and real...it will be able to support a 3ft. plant....I just use the pink styro foam as a collar too....the main stem will grow twice the size and the styro foam will hold it in place....Hope this helps.

that lower trunk looks nice!
is that dwc, or rather, shallow culture?
& trashbags around the bucket to keep out light?

any modifications required to support a 5x5x5', 5+# wet plant?
say, ~the size of the biggest plant in the pic, before flowering starts?

even in 4-8 gal of coco, stakes/yoyos/other supports required to keep plant suuported & not wasting energy building stalk... potassium silica works to keep limbs strong, but once they get over 4x4x4' canopy mass & fruit, additional support necessary.

any input on getting trees w/ no media, big+!

enjoy your garden!

 

[PhilCuisine]

i was also an OG member back in the day...

i was also an OG member back in the day...

@ PhilCuisine...
that lower trunk looks nice!
is that dwc, or rather, shallow culture?
& trashbags around the bucket to keep out light?

im the man who grows in a SWC/TRON...and yes i show both shallow and deep water..and yes them is my 5 gals. buckets in black trash bags...i have no time to be taping or painting any buckets...btw, i know they(foam collars) look ugly, its b/c i keep it real and reuse them till they break apart...Hope this helps.

^^^Dont really care if its ugly as long as the end product looks like this above. Here's a nicer looking one below..



Here's my thread:
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=157171

 

[*mistress*]

do you enlarge to support hole of the foam as plant gets older?

 

[milehimedi]

I made pucks using a hole saw and one of those foam knee pads for gardening. Only used them in a cloner, but it worked fine.

 

[Tokesome]

^^^Dont really care if its ugly as long as the end product looks like this above. Here's a nicer looking one below..

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=157171

Enough said on that one mate!

Hey JG, no worries I didn`t take any offense, thanks for the info, it`ll be very useful for the next screen and feed system combined I reckon, so long as I can feel confident that it can handle supporting the plants across 2.5x2meter scrog. I may go for a wood frame and attach the feed tubing to the underneath, but it`t be kinda cool to have the one structure do both

DIY, yeah I do some, when needed, but hate it, I`m good with wood, previously an occupation, but not had the callin fer pvc till right about now

Cheers Toke

 

[ChaosCatalunya]

Materials question ?

Materials question ?

So far, we have JohnGault's Pool Noodle, garden kneepads, Styrofoam, "foam" ... and I have seen Neoprene pucks for sale at the grow shop... are there any types to be avoided, advantages and disadvantages, or are all foams equal, none more equal than the others ?

 

[PhilCuisine]

look, no net cups....

look, no net cups....

truely mediumless...Hope this helps.

 

[JohnGault]

So far, we have JohnGault's Pool Noodle, garden kneepads, Styrofoam, "foam" ... and I have seen Neoprene pucks for sale at the grow shop... are there any types to be avoided, advantages and disadvantages, or are all foams equal, none more equal than the others ?

I suppose any foam that does not absorb water would work fine.

JG

 

[dubwise]

Johnhualt-great idea with the noodles. Beautiful work.

 

[JohnGault]

Thanks:

So here's the final results:

The Pool Noodle project was a success.




JG