big plant ppk

[DamnUglyDogE]

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[delta9nxs]

Hey d9 how do you split off your pulse lines? I can't find a pic of that. I have to split of a line to 8 containers, then for 18.

I just found those pics and sorta answered my question. I can't do your pulse line setup yet so I have to split the hose somehow 8 times.

i'm currently rebuilding the veg room for 6 sites so i can root cuttings in place with no transplant.

this is a 4"x4"x2" electrical box from lowes. here i drilled the box to install the fittings as i can get at the back of the fittings to put the nut on.

no o-ring here. i installed them dry and then glued with amazing goop. plumbers edition.

the top will be glued and screwed.

i have 8 fittings for this because 6 are for the plants and 2 are from the pumps.

editing to add that the 6"x6"x4" boxes would allow 18 fittings easily. 6 each on 3 sides with an open side for intake or output.

i have 2 950 magdrives that i will hook up directly with hose.

this is the pulse feed manifold.

i'm building another one today for the drain side. it is a 4"x4"x4" box of the same type.

there will be 6 drains from the plant reservoirs and one 1.5" pvc return to the main veg res.

i'll show pics of it later.

in the flower room the pvc runs are more suitable for larger rooms.

in the veg chamber with 6 positions it is easier to run them all from center.

so the drain manifold will be on the floor with the pulse manifold stacked on top of it, making the whole thing 6" high.

as you can see the 4"x4"x2" boxes are only tall enough for 8 total fittings but the 4x4x4 ones could handle 12 with a side left for the feed/drain pipe.

there are an assortment of other boxes and fittings at lowes and hd's that could be made to work also.

 

[delta9nxs]

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[high life 45]

i'm currently rebuilding the veg room for 6 sites so i can root cuttings in place with no transplant.

this is a 4"x4"x2" electrical box from lowes. here i drilled the box to install the fittings as i can get at the back of the fittings to put the nut on.

no o-ring here. i installed them dry and then glued with amazing goop. plumbers edition.

the top will be glued and screwed.

i have 8 fittings for this because 6 are for the plants and 2 are from the pumps.

editing to add that the 6"x6"x4" boxes would allow 18 fittings easily. 6 each on 3 sides with an open side for intake or output.

i have 2 950 magdrives that i will hook up directly with hose.

this is the pulse feed manifold.

i'm building another one today for the drain side. it is a 4"x4"x4" box of the same type.

there will be 6 drains from the plant reservoirs and one 1.5" pvc return to the main veg res.

i'll show pics of it later.

in the flower room the pvc runs are more suitable for larger rooms.

in the veg chamber with 6 positions it is easier to run them all from center.

so the drain manifold will be on the floor with the pulse manifold stacked on top of it, making the whole thing 6" high.

as you can see the 4"x4"x2" boxes are only tall enough for 8 total fittings but the 4x4x4 ones could handle 12 with a side left for the feed/drain pipe.

there are an assortment of other boxes and fittings at lowes and hd's that could be made to work also.

Perfect timing!

im about to build a veg system! Loving it.

So two pumps for a total of 1900 gph for six sites. Giving us a bit over 300gph per site?

 

[icdog]

Wow d9 that is a very nice solution.
What are you gluing it with to make it watertight? A box like that can handle that much water pumped into it? and I'm guessing it all evens out and flows into the container nicely.

My 8 site ppk is 90% done. Its all setup but I used one 750gph plump to a 3/4 hose that has 4 3/4 in crosses in it which drain into each container. There is a plug at the end of the hose. It didn't work as well as I hoped, un even flow the containers at the end filled up the most and drained slowly and the bucket filled up almost over flowing.
The drain side is similar to yours with one side of 4 buckets connected to one 5/8 hose back into the main res. I'm not sure if that is enough open flow yet either.

I can put the plants in but the pulse won't flood, it just drains except for the last 2 containers.

 

[DamnUglyDogE]

Build time.... I like... Build time, D9 style. .



Straight sick idea for a huge volume manifold on the cheap..

Got to wonder how you'll perma-seal it. Pressure and nutrient being the enemy.

Humm..

Idea's pop in my head... lol

 

[SecondAttempt]

You've done it again D9... I'm officially wowed.

 

[delta9nxs]

Perfect timing!

im about to build a veg system! Loving it.

So two pumps for a total of 1900 gph for six sites. Giving us a bit over 300gph per site?

yep, it's overkill but i didn't have 2 750's or a 1500 laying around. i figure about 250 gph rating would be ideal for each site. a minimum of 200 gph for a flood pulse and around 100 gph for a wave pulse.

i have 240 gph in flower with 10 sites and the 2400 mag drive. it moves water well. i can get all 10 flooded in about 35-40 seconds.

but these are just ratings. actual will vary but i think an actual of around 200 gph should be adequate. it's enough to overcome all three tailpieces.

now that i'm settling on a saturation pulse every 90 minutes the pump in flower is only operating about 10 minutes per day.

 

[delta9nxs]

Wow d9 that is a very nice solution.
What are you gluing it with to make it watertight? A box like that can handle that much water pumped into it? and I'm guessing it all evens out and flows into the container nicely.

My 8 site ppk is 90% done. Its all setup but I used one 750gph plump to a 3/4 hose that has 4 3/4 in crosses in it which drain into each container. There is a plug at the end of the hose. It didn't work as well as I hoped, un even flow the containers at the end filled up the most and drained slowly and the bucket filled up almost over flowing.
The drain side is similar to yours with one side of 4 buckets connected to one 5/8 hose back into the main res. I'm not sure if that is enough open flow yet either.

I can put the plants in but the pulse won't flood, it just drains except for the last 2 containers.

i'm having trouble visualizing your set up. do you have any pics?

 

[icdog]

I'll put some up today if I can. Its pretty simple. What are you using the glue that manifold box to make it watertight?
A 90 minute interval pulse instead of 30 minutes now?

 

[delta9nxs]

I'll put some up today if I can. Its pretty simple. What are you using the glue that manifold box to make it watertight?
A 90 minute interval pulse instead of 30 minutes now?

i use "amazing goop" plumbers edition. it's at all big box stores. there are several types but the "plumbers" is the one.

i built a 12 site bio-bucket set up using it to fasten the drains, which were 1.5" accordion hose. they were just stuck in the holes and glued from both sides. never leaked.

the plumbers goop is the best glue i've found for dis-similar plastics.

for example if you are going from abs to pvc and then to cpvc and then want to glue it all to a plastic hdpe container.

it fills and seals gaps.

when i started up the perpetual show again i simultaneously went to screened turface. and began using it in these wide containers for the first time so it was necessary to play around with pulse delivery frequency a little to determine the best timing.

what i like to see is a little dry crust right on top but mostly still visible moistness. this is immediately before the next pulse. turface colors darker with water.

and anywhere you scrape down just below the surface you should come up with visible moisture on your finger.

i found 2 hours too dry and 1 hour or less still very wet.

90 minutes is about right with 4.5 gals of turface in these containers, in my environment. yours may be different.

this is a full saturation pulse. a full, visible, flood.

with a wave pulse you will use less water but more frequently. the decision again based upon your perception of moisture at the top of the medium.

it's really rather intuitive after you get used to it.

 

[icdog]

Ok here are some pics

These totes are 20x15x5. The res is at the top of the pic. You can see the black 3/4 inch hose with a 3/4 cross to distribute the water. I added the vice grips before the last cross to see if it slows the flow. When the pump is on the water mostly flows from the last cross. Those 2 last totes almost flood. The other 6 barely flood, its like the water drains right out without filling for some reason.

In this pic I added some small hose to the crosses to angle down the water. It didn't seem to make a diff for water distribution but without them the water sprayed right into the plants.

This is the res, I think its 85 litres. Not sure if its big enough. I calculated the 8 3.5 gallon buckets and how much water at 75% or so and got that res. I made 4 hole but only use 2 at the moment for the water return.

This is the water return setup. 5/8 inch garden hose, the last 2 buckets have elbows and the rest have tees to connect to the hose. 4 buckets are connected to one inlet at the res.

Each container has 3 1.5inch tailpieces. Basically what happens is the pump turns on, most of the water flows to the last cross and those 2 containers almost flood, the other 6 get water but it mostly drains out. If I leave the pump on too long the bucket under the last 2 containers overflows. I think the last 2 buckets get blocked draining with the drains being inline back to the res.
I put the plants in due to timing and it will work I just have to figure out how to fine tune it. I hope to have a manifold setup the way d9 did done tomorrow or so.

Medium is straight turface mvp, screened and cleaned.

Comments are greatly appreciated.

 

[delta9nxs]

you need more pump capability and some valves to balance the flow.

you are running a 750 gph? if so you need at least one more for 8 sites.

15"x20" is a large container. how deep is the turface? the actual medium depth.

 

[delta9nxs]

this is the drain manifold. a 4"x4"x4" box. 6 through fittings for hose and one 1.5" for the return to the reservoir.

looking at the last photo you can see the normal male fitting. in the box you can see that i cut it off to have clearance for fittings. it's cut right at the hex molding.

the middle one just shows how the intake and drain manifolds look together. they are already glued in this position. it's about 6.5" high.

for the rookies making bulkhead fittings these gray threaded male and female adapters are available in all common pvc sizes. if you go to plumbing you will see what looks like the same thing but white. they will not work as they are tapered pipe thread and won't go all the way down.

the electrical fittings are machine thread and do go all the way down.

i used 1.5" here as it has about the same cross section as all 6 of the 5/8" hoses.

 

[icdog]

The containers are filled about half way. Do you need valves to balance the flow with a manifold?
I guessed these containers are about the same volume as the 7 gallon round ones you use but rectangle which I'm hoping is easier for spacing.

 

[delta9nxs]

The containers are filled about half way. Do you need valves to balance the flow with a manifold?
I guessed these containers are about the same volume as the 7 gallon round ones you use but rectangle which I'm hoping is easier for spacing.

you said the containers were 5" high and if they are half full that is only 2.5" inches of medium. is this correct?

yes, you will need valves to balance the flow.

do you intend to move the plants further apart as they grow?

 

[icdog]

I just measured the container and I it looks like they are 22x17x7 so they are a bit bigger.
They are filled up halfway.

Yes when the plants are in flower they will be spaced out in a 20x10 space.

 

[high life 45]

I dig those toes ic dog!


Remember the rules of the PPK, 10% and or a thread.....dont think d9's giving all this away for free.

 

[icdog]

Thanks, I think they are too big, not sure yet. Got them from unline.
I'm bummed valves are needed with that manifold. I was hoping it would sort it all out. I think tomorrow I'll setup another same size res with a pump and split the setup in half.

 

[real ting]

Thanks, I think they are too big, not sure yet. Got them from unline.
I'm bummed valves are needed with that manifold. I was hoping it would sort it all out. I think tomorrow I'll setup another same size res with a pump and split the setup in half.

I've seen at hydro stores where they have valves with insert fittings that slip right into vinyl tubing, you could integrate that into your current setup pretty easily. The ones I saw were made of plastic and didn't look super sturdy, but leaks wouldn't be as big of a concern if you just added them on to the end of the run right at the outlet. The totes look great, where did you find them?


D9 you're spot on about the pump capacity, the 950 is just not enough to flood 6 large ppks in under a minute. It can do 4 in about a minute though. If I had more reservoir capacity it would probably be able to flood 6 within 2 minutes, but as is it starts pumping air before it can flood that much medium. Thinking I'll have to suck it up and shell out for the 1500 gph, or add an overflow reservoir.