[delta9nxs]

this thread is intended to show the "state of the art" ppk plumbing.

since i started on this journey more than seven years ago the basic operating principles have remained the same but we have all gone through many iterations of plumbing.

most of these, i now realize, were derived from our collective past hydroponic experiences.

but this device does not have the same plumbing needs as other hydro types and needs a unique approach.

we have had clogged lines and tailpieces. with overflows and drowned plants occasionally.

some of the plumbing schemes did not scale up well for larger rooms.

usually we have used large central pumps and hard pvc plumbing and were forced into all kinds of methods of equalizing volume of solution delivered and homogenizing solution ppm and ph so that the system reads the same no matter where you take a reading.

because this is slo-mo-hydro another approach is possible.

what i'm going to attempt to do in this thread is operate a 28 plant facility with plants in every stage of life, from new transplants to harvest, on one body of solution.

steering that solution and changing that solution when necessary by observing ppm and ph trends.

most hydro heads know the plant takes up nutrients selectively dependent upon it's stage of growth.

perhaps we feed a "balanced ratio" not so much for uptake but for the stability of the remaining solution.

if the ratio is really balanced and we have a large number of plants in all stages of life pulling on it simultaneously should the solution not remain stable?

i am using a perpetual scheme but in a larger facility with multiple rooms doing staggered unit grows and a vegetative room i think it would be much the same in regards to overall effect.

[delta9nxs]

first, just a few shots of the veg room showing the general layout. the plumbing is very much an arterial/veinal type of thing in that the only crossover point from the supply side to the plant/drain side is the watering halo. there is an individual pump in each supply bucket. the pumps are eco 185's all fired simultaneously by a repeat cycle timer. the little pumps are remarkably reliable and put out uniform amounts so a simple electrical control achieves the same objective as a big pump with large plumbing and multiple valves.

the pumps are capable of delivering a quart in 15 seconds. the supply buckets act in a surge fashion by holding approximately 2.5 gals at the 7" level. more than enough to guarantee that the supply bucket never runs dry. when they fire and deliver the necessary volume gravity then rapidly equals out the water levels in the system.

it also guarantees positive displacement of solution throughout the system. guaranteeing equal readings.

in the fifth photo are the reservoirs for the whole building. on the floor are 7 of the 55 gal totes which hold approximately 22 gals each at 7". they are plumbed in simple series fashion connected by a single hose between each.

[delta9nxs]

the first photo shows the side by side arrangement in the veg room and the plumbing as well as a complete, loaded module.

then on to the flower room showing the overall layout and the in-line arrangement we use there.

in the third photo you can see the supply and return lines are simply straight runs that do not overlap. no hoses cross over or under other hoses. this is possible because the supply lines are plumbed from one side of the room and the return lines are plumbed from the other side.

you could theoretically plumb a huge room with hundreds of plants in this same manner and still get equal solution readings anywhere in the system.

[delta9nxs]

here the first photo shows the pump arrangement.

then the plant container showing the tom-kap fitting on the top of the tailpiece. it installs in a 3" hole.

then the tailpiece which is a piece of 3" pvc 7" long. top and bottom fittings are held in place by #10x1/2" stainless sheet metal screws. no glues anywhere and it can be knocked apart and packed flat for transport in seconds.

the last in this series shows the bottom fitting. as you can see there is no screen. the tailpiece is packed with xlp perlite only, which will not pass through the grating.

when we used tupur coco we would make a little mound of the xlp on top of the tailpiece about an inch high and 8" in diameter with a screen on top of the xlp but before the coco. this still positively drained the perched water table but prevented much coco fiber from travelling down the tailpiece and clogging the drain.

but now i'm going back to turface cut with xlp perlite and no screen is necessary. still filling the tailpiece with the xlp perlite only and then loading the tuface/perlite mix right on top of it.

flows very freely. i feel the screen itself was responsible for a lot of the clogging incidents as it trapped small particle which then built up to reduce flow.

[delta9nxs]

this shows the plumbing into the first reservoir. two float valves as one could have trouble keeping up with demand.

into this first tank out of sight behind the container is plumbed the return lines from both the veg and flower sides.

the first line against the wall with the elbow is the sole return line from 16 plant sites in flower.

the second line out from the wall is the return line from all the veg sites.

the third line out is the nutrient supply line from the volume/mixing tanks. you will notice a valve in line past the float feed connections. this valve allows you to bypass the floats and load solution at a much higher speed when refilling the system.

there are multiple drain points with valves set up in such a way as to allow partial or total draining of each part of the system. for instance the flower system, veg system, and the reservoirs themselves can all be drained individually or simultaneously as needed.

so we have the nutrient input and the return lines from each part of the system entering reservoir #1 and mixing through all seven tubs before exiting the last in line to supply the plants.

if we are pulsing 1/2 gal every 90 minutes with 28 sites that puts 224 gals per day through the reservoirs.

that's all for now.

[cyat]

Masterful!

[bloyd]

So clean simple and refined

[Mr Blah]

Holy Shit!
What a system!!!!Simple....Love it.
One question; how did you get that Good Year pipe to lay so straight?

[TurboCharged]

Pulling up a chair! This looks like it is going to be insane.

[starke]

Now that makes sense even to a newb like me. Great job.