Hey, carl!
Sure, it's scalable.
If you are putting together a brand new system you have the option of using a different reservoir operating depth.
I had to find a container that kept the media bucket at about the same height as my existing ones. Because of perpetual harvest I have to implement changes one plant at a time, one week at a time. So I have a 16 week process with each change I make. The float control can only be set for one level, requiring both old and new to be able to be run at the same level.
But if you are starting fresh any depth would be ok as long as you can control the air gap between the surface of the water in the res and the grow container. I find that becomes increasingly difficult as you get more shallow. Less room for the float and pump to work in.
as far as cheap locally available containers are concerned, if you are not height limited like oo, the short 3.5 gal version of the five gal bucket would work fine as a res with a 2 gal bucket on it. With the bucket lid it would be less than 8 bucks a unit for the plastic. You would have to run the res at more depth than mine as it is 11” high. The extra volume won't hurt anything.
I found a receipt from lowes for the pvc fittings.
The sink tailpiece is lowes item # 25627
the “marvel connector” is # 25018
also, I wanted to say that a 7/16” spade bit would work on the tire valves. I showed a twist drill bit that you would have to have a 1/2” drill chuck to use and then realized not many people own drills that size. The spade bit will fit anything.
The 45 gal container that i'm using as a volume tank for all 16 plants now is not going to get me a week between fillings. The big flowering plants are really using some water.
I went in the flower room about 8 hours into the period and checked the drip rate. I did it three times with a stopwatch and got 100-104 drips per minute on 8 plants.
I'll have to add a second drum.
Another thing is that the air gap you run in your system should not be predicated upon what I run in my system. Consider the air gap to be a moisture control tool. You will need to match it to your watering method.
If you are running pure sub-irrigation you should have the res level high maintaining a higher wetted profile in the medium.
If you also are going to run a top watering scheme, up even if it's just hand watering, you should adjust your level downward increasing the air gap to compensate for the moisture coming in from the top. The top watering can be controlled for frequency and volume
Controlling both inputs like this allows you to precision dial moisture content.
Sure, it's scalable.
If you are putting together a brand new system you have the option of using a different reservoir operating depth.
I had to find a container that kept the media bucket at about the same height as my existing ones. Because of perpetual harvest I have to implement changes one plant at a time, one week at a time. So I have a 16 week process with each change I make. The float control can only be set for one level, requiring both old and new to be able to be run at the same level.
But if you are starting fresh any depth would be ok as long as you can control the air gap between the surface of the water in the res and the grow container. I find that becomes increasingly difficult as you get more shallow. Less room for the float and pump to work in.
as far as cheap locally available containers are concerned, if you are not height limited like oo, the short 3.5 gal version of the five gal bucket would work fine as a res with a 2 gal bucket on it. With the bucket lid it would be less than 8 bucks a unit for the plastic. You would have to run the res at more depth than mine as it is 11” high. The extra volume won't hurt anything.
I found a receipt from lowes for the pvc fittings.
The sink tailpiece is lowes item # 25627
the “marvel connector” is # 25018
also, I wanted to say that a 7/16” spade bit would work on the tire valves. I showed a twist drill bit that you would have to have a 1/2” drill chuck to use and then realized not many people own drills that size. The spade bit will fit anything.
The 45 gal container that i'm using as a volume tank for all 16 plants now is not going to get me a week between fillings. The big flowering plants are really using some water.
I went in the flower room about 8 hours into the period and checked the drip rate. I did it three times with a stopwatch and got 100-104 drips per minute on 8 plants.
I'll have to add a second drum.
Another thing is that the air gap you run in your system should not be predicated upon what I run in my system. Consider the air gap to be a moisture control tool. You will need to match it to your watering method.
If you are running pure sub-irrigation you should have the res level high maintaining a higher wetted profile in the medium.
If you also are going to run a top watering scheme, up even if it's just hand watering, you should adjust your level downward increasing the air gap to compensate for the moisture coming in from the top. The top watering can be controlled for frequency and volume
Controlling both inputs like this allows you to precision dial moisture content.
