I want to see spongolite with zeolite!
or 1 step further : somehow (god knows) attach the drain line to the tailpiece itself, a couple of inches up from the bottom, with a solid base on the tailpiece, so the tailpiece becomes the reservoir as well.
This would take all PPK advantages of PWT elimination, but almost zero passive wicking.
im starting to like this train of thought
this would be no different than ebb and flow. the passive wicking is what saves your ass when your pump blows up.
So is it safe to say that the wicking aspect of PPKs have been de-emphasised and the tailpiece is more about removing the PWT?
Im also thinking about a aero style timer for the pulsing and hitting it with high volume regular feedings flushing the gasses hard and fast. This would de-emphasise the wicking even more.
somehow (god knows) attach the drain line to the tailpiece itself, a couple of inches up from the bottom, with a solid base on the tailpiece, so the tailpiece becomes the reservoir as well.
Except for 2....this would be no different than ebb and flow
the passive wicking is what saves your ass when your pump blows up.
I MORE than welcome a PPK basics tutorial for us dumbasses that smoke too much dope along with the short term memory loss from THC/CBD poisoning stretchin our neurotransmitters apart in the old chrome dome........anyways........Its about
1) Removing the PWT
2) Stabalizing the humidity profile in the Root Zone.
3) Wicking nutes to the RZ.
This is becoming more commonly referred to as "Saturation Pulsing"... it demphasizes the 'upward wicking' as feed, but doesn't disolve roles 1 and 2.
The larger the sub reservoir, the more buffered the system. And the bigger pain in the ass it is to fill and empty and all the rest if you need to...
Doing what you describe is actually not that difficult at all...
Except for 2....
...The truth of this statement depends on the hydraulic qualities of the media, and the hydraulic demands of the plant. There are instances where a massive plant (1lb+) has been grown in ~ 2.5 gallons of media and the wicking of a 1.5" media wick is unable to sufficiently provide solution on its own for the whole of the plant... But it certainly delays disaster...
Damn it. Someone should draft a PPK basics tutorial.
The ppk is a top fed wicking recirculating hydro system.
Is there a specific question you have or are you just trying to understand the system as a whole?
Feeling pretty retarded here as I can't figure out this system. 3 things I can't find an answer for are:
1) Is the tail pipe filled with medium and is it this that does the wicking?
2) If the height of water in the bottom container is important for the proper air gap how do you keep it at this level?
3) What is this pulsing thing I keep reading about, what does it and what's it for?
Thanks for helping out. Just so much information to sort through and can't even find the simple answers. der.
Feeling pretty retarded here as I can't figure out this system. 3 things I can't find an answer for are:
1) Is the tail pipe filled with medium and is it this that does the wicking?
2) If the height of water in the bottom container is important for the proper air gap how do you keep it at this level?
3) What is this pulsing thing I keep reading about, what does it and what's it for?
Thanks for helping out. Just so much information to sort through and can't even find the simple answers. der.
@ famari.. You take the stem out of the tire valve. Read more towards the beginning of my thread I brushed over it
Now I use push fittings instead of tire valves. I buy john guest fittings online for much cheaper than any of the stores.
With push fittings you can use unions and shutoff valves and make it as plug and play as you want.
Thanks Johnny
I might be the last person that should answer PPK questions, but I'll try! This could all be incorrect so someone please correct me if so:
1) Yes it's filled with medium, I presume it to be like a continuation of the bucket. Yes it does the wicking.
2) like a recirculating deep water culture, by gravity it stays at the same water level as the res does. Set the water level by filling the system to desired level. A float valve can keep it where you want (though with the narrow drains and pulse feeding, it seems there can be an issue with this, and solutions to correct it)
3) I think the 'pulsing' is simply feeding. I don't know why it's not just called feeding. All the PPK is is a recirculating drip system with a wick. The difference from a 'drip' or typical feed is it is meant to be a very short lasting high volume burst of water that floods the medium. The main theory on this is that compared to a usual feed or drip, the saturation of the medium displaces all the stagnant air in the medium, causing fresh oxygen rich air to replace it as the solution drains into the lower bucket. And also properly cycling the solution rather than a drip that might channel like a tunnel through only a portion of the medium. While the reason for the wick is to keep a more proper level of moisture in the plant bucket, and to continually water the plant bucket regardless of top feed. The wick reduces the waterloggedness potential at the bottom of the plant bucket.
3) I think the 'pulsing' is simply feeding. I don't know why it's not just called feeding. All the PPK is is a recirculating drip system with a wick. The difference from a 'drip' or typical feed is it is meant to be a very short lasting high volume burst of water that floods the medium.
You've answered your own question. In coco experiments with more conventional crops, it was found that frequent 'pulsed' feeds were more effective than continuous drip. The discussion is somewhere around page 1,000,000 in D9s original PPK thread.
Even as the pulse evolves and differentiates ('saturation pulsing', for example), we continue to use the same term from a discussion that started two years ago.
The same with the interchangeability of the term 'tail piece' with 'media wick'. D9 has consistently uses a piece of plumbing for sinks called a 'tail piece' that he packs with media for his wick since the earliest designs.
So what is used to do the pulsing then? A pump on a timer from the main rez or does each plants pump nutrients from the bottom to the top?