My First Undercurrent DWC Grow

Did a final assembly, and system passed the leak test, so now it's on to the grow! Cloning this weekend. Thanks to this thread, I was able to get a few terrific ideas on preventing clogged tubes, since these are 1 1/2" as you can see. Cheers and thanks for that!

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=277370




First time w/ the Uniseals. Really enjoyed 'em! Just a bit of Astroglide and they slid right on in. Notching the end makes inserting a bit easier:




I'll update as necessary.

Thanks to all the members and mods who make the site great!

Sorry, also meant to post view that shows pump.

Nice job! I'll be riding along

Just need to add the air pump, manifold, and tubing for each bucket this weekend. Then on to cloining!

Here's the mother plants in mother plant/clone room. I will be running Northern Lights (4 grow sites) and Galactic Jack (4 grow sites).

Here they are:

Looks good. I recently converted my linked bucket flood and drain to intermittent recycling dwc buckets. I despise medium. How do you regulate your water level?

Looking at Undercurrent and DWC myself. Tagged.

mojave green said:

Looks good. I recently converted my linked bucket flood and drain to intermittent recycling dwc buckets. I despise medium. How do you regulate your water level?

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Thanks for the all the read!

Not shown in the pics outside the room is a large trash-can size res that I'll plumb through the wall and connect the controller tote w/ a float valve.

Bobby_Stainless said:

Looking at Undercurrent and DWC myself. Tagged.

Click to expand...

Biggest challenge, at least for me, was getting the pump fittings.

Pump had 1/2" threaded FPT for inlet and 1/2" MPT for outlet. Used a 1/2" threaded PVC fitting for the inlet, and at the outlet I used a CPVC 1/2" threaded connector, an ABS 1/2" - 3/4" transition after that, and a 3/4" barbed hose fitting on top.

Cloning Station

Cloning Station

Set up the cloning station today. PVC was meant to be, baby.

drayman86 said:

Just a bit of Astroglide and they slid right on in.

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Thats what she said.





Good luck. On with the show!

Avinash.miles said:

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Does that pump provide good pressure?

I'm so sick of coco.

Bobby_Stainless said:

Does that pump provide good pressure?

Click to expand...

Great question! Just dealing with that issue.

If you look back to the original pics, I've got one pump running the system, a Danner Pondmaster 550 which is rated at 550 gal/hr.



Plenty, right? Well, I neglected to take in to account head height. Hook up a pond pump. Attache a hose to the discharge. Put pump in water source. When the discharge of the hose is at the same level as the intake, the head height is considered to be zero. The more you raise the end of the hose/outlet, the slower the water flows until you get a cut off/zero height.

OK, no big deal, but now you have to run it through a chiller, which adds more resistance, or equivalent head height. Better check that minimum flow rating for your chiller and be certain your pump can meet that minimum after running through system and chiller.

So I measured my total flow rate through the system. (Just record the time it takes the system discharge to fill a 5 gallon bucket, and scale the result up to GPH.) Total flow was about 250-275 GPH when the chiller wants 275 GPH minimum. Better get another pump!

Went with this rated 400 GPH directly from controller to chiller, which produces a bit over 300 GPH, which is OK for now. Pump upgrade in future.

Speaking of pump upgrade, how to choose the correct pump that will allow me to operate the system where the chiller wants to be, which is between 260-660 GPH per the manufacturer? Luckily I was able to find the complete individual head height ratings for the Pondmaster 550, so I graphed the results:



The original measured flow through the system just the above pump was about 250 GPH, which would correspond to a head height of about 6 feet. So, my total system (buckets, controller, and chiller) have an equivalent head height of six feet, so I'll use a targeted flow of about 500 GPH at a head height of 6 feet.

For a pump with that much power, we'll have to ditch the mag drive pump and go with a direct drive number, like this Iwaki MD-30RT:



High quality pump manufacturers already have their flow rates graphed, so I can tell the Awaki MD-30RT I chose has, no surprise, a great flow of about 490-525 GPH at a head height of six feet.


http://www.iwakiamerica.com/Literature/MD_WMD/MD3040.pdf


Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. I'm gonna stick with this current two pump system for the first grow. That Iwaki pump is a $250.

pretty good first my friend

Aux. Chiller Pump

Aux. Chiller Pump

Here's the aux chiller pump I added since the system pump couldn't provide enough flow:

Nice

Coffee Break

Coffee Break

Learned to love the combo of coffee & cannabis in Amsterdam. Starbucks ain't got nothin' on me.....bong hits & cappucino; what a way to start the day !

Any concern with running 2 different strains in the same system? I find that the nutrient requirements really do vary between plants, but DWC seems to be a little more forgiving. Just never done a 2 strain UC system myself and I'm curious. Looks fantastic, did you build it all yourself from scratch? Where'd you get those seals for the buckets? Could you PM me a part list? Thanks!

ChasingGreen said:

Any concern with running 2 different strains in the same system? I find that the nutrient requirements really do vary between plants, but DWC seems to be a little more forgiving. Just never done a 2 strain UC system myself and I'm curious. Looks fantastic, did you build it all yourself from scratch? Where'd you get those seals for the buckets? Could you PM me a part list? Thanks!

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Appreciate the read and questions!

I decided on these two strains based on advice from the grower who sold me the clones. Apparently both strains are supposed to be fairly hardy and tolerant and have about the same nute requirements. (Keeping nutes simple; Ionic Grow w/ root stimulator, and then Ionic Bloom w/ PK boost for first run.)

Everything built from scratch, except of course the chiller....



Seals ordered online, buckets from grow shop, controller found in neighbor's recycling pile, PVC and all fittings from HD/Lowes, et. al, pumps and chiller purchased online.

I can post a basic parts list later this week. Have to clone and tweak system today (see post below).