big plant ppk

[Grow4Flow]

For rinsing, what has worked well for me was a 5 gallon paint strainer from Lowes in a 5 gallon bucket riddled with holes then i let the water run through it for a good 10 minutes.

For all that Dusty crap, i poured a bag into the 5 gallon with a good breath hold (Pro at this from spearfishing) and sit it down wind while watering it down.

 

[frankenstein2]

I read this whole thread last night from start to finish.......... so much knowledge being dropped here. I love all the diy problem solvers. Especially using electrical fittings for plumbing-pure fucking genius!!!!! I have a lone ppk that is on it's second run right now. I don't get to veg in it, and it get's used in a flat grow, but it still works, and now I have some idea's on how to make it better. When I get my new grow going, it's gonna be ppk's in vert for sure!!!! Once things get rolling in a ppk set-up, the yields with lack of/minmal matience can't be fucked with. this thread is proof of that. For me the best part is I already have a bunch of strains that I have been growing for a few years and I know them like the back of my hand. So picking the right strains to run is gonna be easy.

 

[high life 45]

Awesome looking forward to your thread!

 

[bearded1]

Ordered jacks today. So there is no turning back now. What's a good ec/ppm meter?

 

[Grow4Flow]

Ordered jacks today. So there is no turning back now. What's a good ec/ppm meter?

Hanna (HI 98129), solid meters. You won't need a continuous meter.

 

[Snook]

Hanna (HI 98129), solid meters. You won't need a continuous meter.

98129 is a multi meter, EC/TDS & PH, the Hanna (HI 98311).. does EC/TDS only. its cheaper and I haven't used a ph meter in I don't know how long (PPK!). PH meter is ECO Testr ph2. but ya gotta have one once in a while.

once a year, I throw the 98311 in the garbage and buy a new one. They all go goofy after a while.

and you'll need 1382ppm (for hanna meters) calibration solution in the biggest bottles you can find.

 

[Grow4Flow]

still good to have PH functionality to PH adjust initially for a starting point and then let it ride. At least if it is decided to go another grow route he will have PH available.

 

[bearded1]

Thanks G4f and Snook. Looks like I found a meter. This is going to be fun to build.

 

[Grow4Flow]

D9,
ever try partially loading up the tailpiece with larger material to increase drainage? thinking about adding red lava rick, any thoughts?

 

[Grow4Flow]

OK, on a hunch, i loaded the 6" tail piece with 2" of red lava rock (rinsed) i purchased from Lowes, loaded up the tubs with clean 8822 then started a cycle using only 3 tubs fed by a 350gph Magdrive pump. I was pretty surprised to find that i was able to reach a full flood and complete drain cycle 70 seconds,

I should add that the reason i did this was because i did not want to go through the glue/zip tie route. rather, i used the Oatey 3" ABS Snap-in Drain and shoved it into the bottom of the 3" ABS pipe with a layer of screen on the inside.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_253248-138-435643_0__?productId=3339004

 

[farmari]

OK, on a hunch, i loaded the 6" tail piece with 2" of red lava rock (rinsed) i purchased from Lowes, loaded up the tubs with clean 8822 then started a cycle using only 3 tubs fed by a 350gph Magdrive pump. I was pretty surprised to find that i was able to reach a full flood and complete drain cycle 70 seconds,

I should add that the reason i did this was because i did not want to go through the glue/zip tie route. rather, i used the Oatey 3" ABS Snap-in Drain and shoved it into the bottom of the 3" ABS pipe with a layer of screen on the inside.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_253248-138-435643_0__?productId=3339004

Does it wick properly?
My current run has tailpieces filled with hydroton, which removes any real concerns of drain clogging but also makes it a de facto drain to waste system rather than a PPK. If doing a flood pulse then without wicking up it's an ebb and flow. Having proper wicking is very important for best results with PPKs in my experience

One cool idea either earlier in this thread or another thread by I forget who, was to use something like hydroton in one tailpiece of three, if using 3 tailpieces per plant container
But these large tailpieces like 3" drains or D9s new tailpieces are really nice. I might use 6" net pots for tailpieces for my next grow.

grow4flow how did you attach the ABS pipe to the bucket? Conduit fittings?
One alternative to conduit fittings for anyone else brainstorming are toilet flanges. (I didn't have the equipment to cut the conduit fitting)

 

[Grow4Flow]

farmari,
i don't have plants in it yet as i wanted to first test the complete pulse times. However, i don't imagine it would cause an issue wicking since the starting air gap is 3" below the bottom of the tub. Since there is only 1.5-2 inches of lava rock in the bottom of tail piece i have at least 1" of 8822 in solution to provide the wicking.

The ABS pipe slides into the 3" Conduit fitting. i only added very little lava rock to prevent the fine pieces of 8822 from creating blockage in the tail piece.

Believe it or not, per D9's instructions, the 18tpi handsaw cut through the conduit fittings very easily, i was able to cut each piece in 5 mins per.

 

[hotboxes]

Getting the lava rock small enough mite be an issue but again how well is it going to pull water vertically? I had an issue with my ppk once the add back line was clogged and the water level dropped below the pump and wasn't top feeding. If it wasn't for the wick the plant would have certainly died. Idk how long it was before I had noticed at least a few days cause the level was always set to at least 6 gallons to where the float valve would add back. But the lava rocks would hold great beneficial bacteria, maybe adding some coco in with the rocks to get that vertical drawl. Hope this helps. How everyone especially you D9.

Just to let you know D9 I'll be posting up a thread here soon got my old tents set up and a grateful Casey from connoisseur genetics. Just put her in a 5 gallon smart pot under a 400 going all ppks this run. I'll post the link for you once I get it up. Have a great new year my friend and stay safe

 

[flat9]

Anyone try straight coco w/ the newer electrical conduit fittings? The reason I ask is b/c I read in this thread that coco was dangerous for PPK b/c it could clog and cause drainage problems, but I wonder if this was a function of the smaller tailpieces?

 

[Mister_D]

Anyone try straight coco w/ the newer electrical conduit fittings? The reason I ask is b/c I read in this thread that coco was dangerous for PPK b/c it could clog and cause drainage problems, but I wonder if this was a function of the smaller tailpieces?

I'm using my custom coco based mixed in some ppks atm . However I don't think straight coco would work well as it tends to clog the screen on the tailpiece (ask me how I know ). Oh and yes I'm using the new design with 3" tail pieces. A ppk needs "chunky" media to preform well with full floods.

 

[SecondAttempt]

I was thinking that as well (the larger drains being better for coco)... but having lived through clogged PPKs myself I'm not interested in even trying. I have figured out how to get rid of all my leftover coco though, gonna take a step backward and run some random Hempy Buckets.

Hope your doing well D9... Happy New Year.

 

[flat9]

I'm using my custom coco based mixed in some ppks atm . However I don't think straight coco would work well as it tends to clog the screen on the tailpiece (ask me how I know ). Oh and yes I'm using the new design with 3" tail pieces. A ppk needs "chunky" media to preform well with full floods.

Forgive me if I missed a thread Mister_D, but what is your custom mix?

I can get Canna Coco for pretty darn cheap around here (less than $20 for a 50L bag) and it is worth the extra $13 over 8822 to me to not have to wash the hell out of it...

 

[flat9]

I suppose another good question is if you used 8822 just in the tailpiece and coco elsewhere, any issues?

 

[farmari]

Anyone try straight coco w/ the newer electrical conduit fittings? The reason I ask is b/c I read in this thread that coco was dangerous for PPK b/c it could clog and cause drainage problems, but I wonder if this was a function of the smaller tailpieces?

I think the 1.5" can be fine if there are holes drilled in the sides of the plant bucket to drain out. My best result involved coco with 1.25" diameter tailpieces with holes drilled in the sides of the plant buckets like the old PPK style. I just started a grow using 6" net pot lids as tailpieces so hopefully I can say how well they work in a couple months.

Don't use a flood type feed, or at least thats what others have said from experience, as it is much more likely or will much more quickly compact the coco and cause it to clog.

Also be careful of overwatering... I don't know what most coco is like but the Botanicare compressed brick type coco I use wicks a lot more than turface/diatomite/perlite. At least 4" air gap is necessary for me with coco ppks.

I think at least one grower here is active posting that uses or has recently used the old coco PPK style buckets, otis33 and others possibly.

Alien Dawg I think has experience and advice on using alternate media in the tailpieces vs the rest of the container.

I'm not sure if using 8822 in the tailpiece would remove the PWT properly from coco. It might wick up fine but might not wick down enough as their consistency is significantly different. Think like... putting a wet sponge on your hand. Your hand probably wont wick the moisture out of the sponge as well as say, if you had a paper towel under the sponge instead. But I'm just speculating rather than speaking from experience.

 

[Mister_D]

Forgive me if I missed a thread Mister_D, but what is your custom mix?

I can get Canna Coco for pretty darn cheap around here (less than $20 for a 50L bag) and it is worth the extra $13 over 8822 to me to not have to wash the hell out of it...

It's explained in my vert redemption thread. Consists of 1 block coco + 1 block of coco chips + 1 bag of floor dry (unwashed, straight from the bag). Depending of how much fine coco the chips contain (if more than 5% is fine) I will use 1 1/2 block of chips and 1/2 block of fine coco instead of 1 block of each. That said I'll definitely be upping the floor dry and likely the chip content of my mix for future ppk runs. It's working fine so far, but I'd like the drain cycle to happen a bit faster.