nutrient waterfall technique in vertical tubes

[GoozMan]

Who else is running something like this? I know you're out there!

Its a small setup on my balcony, 2x250w hps stacked bare bulbs, footprint of shed is 1.5' x 2' (6' tall), each corner of shed has a column going up with 4 plant sites each, 5 gallon res at the bottom, 500 gph pump pushing water up 1/2" soft tubing to top, sprays down columns through sprinkler heads, columns are 3" ABS with 3"-2" y's for a snug netcup fit.

I'm curious what other people are doing with this kind of thing, post your pictures please!

 

[captaincanabis]

i like the originality man keep it up how is everything going?

 

[BrnCow]

Can it be taken apart to clean?

 

[GoozMan]

Well all the ABS pieces are glued together to prevent leaks so they don't come apart, though I cleaned them before my first run by running hot water with bleach through the system for an hour, I'll do the same in between runs. Otherwise I can still pull out the entire ABS structure along with everything else in the shed for cleaning. Thanks for stopping by.

 

[gaiusmarius]

very clever idea, how does it yield for ya?

 

[dgr]

Goozman,
Digging that mil-spec table. That ought to hold a few pounds. If you redesign your tubing, you may want to consider gluing the top piece of pipe into the Wye and leaving the bottom piece unglued. That should keep it from leaking and allow you to break it all down into a tub if needed.

 

[GoozMan]

gm, thanks, I'm close to harvest with my first run of this current incarnation of the shed now so we'll see, current run is from seed, 4 of 16 sites filled with longer veg, I've got 16 clones waiting for a proper next run.

dgr, that's a good idea for disassembly, thanks. When I first put it together there were a few leaks so I took it apart and glued everything so I wouldn't ever have to mess with leaks, didn't pay close attention to which joints were leaking.

I've been toying around with watering cycle times vs. running the pump 24/7. Any ideas? And where are the other NWT growers???

 

[krunchbubble]

badass!

 

[dgr]

Doh! I have it backwards. Bottom piece glued. Top unglued.

 

[headiez247]

im sure you have already thought of this of course, but if you are in a non med state be careful about opening that at night or it will look like the sun took a shit on your balcony.

 

[iSMOKE.KUSH]

i love it.

reminds me kind of on the the trailer park boys when ricky takes all the garbage cans and turns them into grow rooms. haha you can market this man!!!

 

[swarrrm]

good luck with that looks great, very cool idea. Love to see more pics.

 

[GoozMan]

krunchbubble, thank you, its a labor of love.

dgr, no worries, I knew what you meant.

headiez247, lol you're right its fucking bright! I'm grateful for my icmag friends who look out for me, thank you! In fact you're not the first member to remind me of this. The shed is positioned so as not to be visible by too many, there are two apartments across from me who have a view up to my balcony so I watch out for them, make sure their blinds are closed when I'm working out there. I'm doing lights on at night right now which makes it especially tough. Fortunately I am in a med state, still best to not take chances.

ismoke.kush, thanks, I am kind of in love with this project.

swarrm, thanks, and here you go...

These are some males I culled, awesome roots!

These t-barbs really simplified the plumbing of the upward-flowing water. This pic also shows the 4" vent leading to the extraction fan that sits in a separate tub on top of the shed.

Sorry for the sideways-ness of these next pics.
These lights, and the powerbox that holds the 2 ballasts and a small fan, were the hardest part for me to put together. Not to say it was especially complicated, just not my forte (it is now though!).

 

[dgr]

Cool. You got krunch props. I need to get me some of those. You really should put some cable clamps where your wires go through the side of the junction box.

 

[GoozMan]

Still wondering about watering cycles. I read on someone's thread here that a big benefit to some hydro is the ability to water/feed continuously with aerated water for speedy growth, so I switched my pump on 24/7 again, I don't see why not. A small stream of water pours into the res providing agitation and some aeration, also the sprinkler heads feeding into the tubes breaks up the stream into more of a mist. I would have preferred misters rather than sprinkler heads but I couldn't find them in 1/2".

I am a week from harvest, I'll post gpw, next round will have all 16 sites filled, better training, expect a better yield!

 

[dgr]

GoozMan,
No help on your cycles. I use misters for a different purpose and simply tapped 1/2" PVC for them. Mine happened to be 10-32 although I've seen 10-24 and also what looks like a screw thread.

 

[GoozMan]

Roots!

Roots!

 

[Scrogerman]

Crazy scenes. I like ya style-drive man! G'luck with the show!