RollmeoneKenobi
Member
Awesome DIY! 
Vertical MADNESS!!!
- Thread starter Uncle FREEDOM
- Start date
Uncle FREEDOM
Member
Thanks for the kind words and the Karma, can never have enough of that in life!
The drain clogging problem is taken care 2 ways... First the spray is not that much each time so the drains would have to be COMPLETELY blocked for the water to actually continue to build up before it has a chance to drain every 5 minutes.
Second (i will have to see if i have any spares around to take a picture of) But to try and describe it.... You know those black through hulls that have interchangeable attachments? (ie extensions, protective grill) Well i drill a hole in the bottom of a end cap, then take a black through hull CUT OFF THE HOSE ATTACHMENT leaving the threads. I then place it in the end cap, and tighten with the provided tightening nut. This leaves just enough room to add a threaded tee to it to and then attach sump pump hose to it (usually heating up the hose so it stretches better over the tee) Wrap with no leak tape and clamp with a hose clamp. Now how to keep the roots out of the drain... This took a while to figure out, and after lots of trial and error i came up with this simple solution. Remember the through hull? Well take the protective grill attachment (looks like a little muffler or carbon filter) and insert it into the through hull. You now have a grill rising about 2 inches above the bottom to give more drain space to prevent clogs. We are not done yet, you have to wrap the grill with a protective barrier as the grill is meant to stop the clay hydroton balls not fine root hairs. I tried wrapping it with landscape fabric. Did not drain. I tried wrapping with screen door mesh, worked good but still a few roots got down the drain. So i settled on wrapping it TWICE with screen door material... AHH just right. LOL The mesh is held in place with 2 small elastic bands per grill.
See not to hard! hehe
Hope that helps ya.
FREEDOM!!!
The drain clogging problem is taken care 2 ways... First the spray is not that much each time so the drains would have to be COMPLETELY blocked for the water to actually continue to build up before it has a chance to drain every 5 minutes.
Second (i will have to see if i have any spares around to take a picture of) But to try and describe it.... You know those black through hulls that have interchangeable attachments? (ie extensions, protective grill) Well i drill a hole in the bottom of a end cap, then take a black through hull CUT OFF THE HOSE ATTACHMENT leaving the threads. I then place it in the end cap, and tighten with the provided tightening nut. This leaves just enough room to add a threaded tee to it to and then attach sump pump hose to it (usually heating up the hose so it stretches better over the tee) Wrap with no leak tape and clamp with a hose clamp. Now how to keep the roots out of the drain... This took a while to figure out, and after lots of trial and error i came up with this simple solution. Remember the through hull? Well take the protective grill attachment (looks like a little muffler or carbon filter) and insert it into the through hull. You now have a grill rising about 2 inches above the bottom to give more drain space to prevent clogs. We are not done yet, you have to wrap the grill with a protective barrier as the grill is meant to stop the clay hydroton balls not fine root hairs. I tried wrapping it with landscape fabric. Did not drain. I tried wrapping with screen door mesh, worked good but still a few roots got down the drain. So i settled on wrapping it TWICE with screen door material... AHH just right. LOL The mesh is held in place with 2 small elastic bands per grill.
See not to hard! hehe
Hope that helps ya.
FREEDOM!!!
TexasMonster
Member
I am gonna pull up a chair and watch this one if you dont mind. Did you say the lights move to another room for another 12 hours of light?
Uncle FREEDOM
Member
Texas... The lights are running on a flip/flop. This means that we can use only (3) 600 watt ballasts running 24/7 to flip the light between each room every 12 hours. Also i have hooked up a light mover with pulleys to move the light stack up and down about 6-9 inches. This gets more light AROUND the leaves that might block it penetrating behind. Kinda trying to mimic the sun.
Rounded up some parts here is what i mean by the through hulls...
Rounded up some parts here is what i mean by the through hulls...
Uncle FREEDOM
Member
Week 3....
starting to explode!!!
starting to explode!!!
Dopeboy668
Member
Thanks for explaining the drain. Also I didnt realize the spayers were on a timer, I thought they ran 24/7. Looks like you got all the bases covered. Nice job.
This is awesome! A bit high tech for my liking, but as long as everything goes well, you're gonna be rewarded handsomely!
C
Cheeb
Awesome show!
What is the diameter of the cage that you have around the bulbs?
Curious as to the radius from bulb to screen which ultimately might have buds laying directly against it.
Would you change the size if you built it again? Do you ever have light bleaching or burning from the tops being too close to the 600w lamps?
- -
I'm not sure I'm 100% clear on your aeroponic method. So rather then just have a pump push through a mister..you use a pump to pump res water into a pressure tank - where it is then released via a solenoid to the plant sites?
If that is correct - what is the advantage over just a nice pump pushing water through your manifold system and out the sprayers. Just a pump in your res on a timer.
*not trying to be an ass - just curious to your methods. It seems as though the pressure tanks, solenoids, ect is a lot of hassle that could "possibly" be eliminated?
Also, how many tubes do you have hangin there? And how many plants per tube? Am I correct in only seeing 3 plants per tube?
I could have swore you said 48 plants, but I aint seeing it. When you flip to your other room - is it an identical system to this? 8 tubes 3plants per tube = 24..making it 48 plants in two system/two rooms?
Definately got my gears a turnin'. Thanks!
What is the diameter of the cage that you have around the bulbs?
Curious as to the radius from bulb to screen which ultimately might have buds laying directly against it.
Would you change the size if you built it again? Do you ever have light bleaching or burning from the tops being too close to the 600w lamps?
- -
I'm not sure I'm 100% clear on your aeroponic method. So rather then just have a pump push through a mister..you use a pump to pump res water into a pressure tank - where it is then released via a solenoid to the plant sites?
If that is correct - what is the advantage over just a nice pump pushing water through your manifold system and out the sprayers. Just a pump in your res on a timer.
*not trying to be an ass - just curious to your methods. It seems as though the pressure tanks, solenoids, ect is a lot of hassle that could "possibly" be eliminated?
Also, how many tubes do you have hangin there? And how many plants per tube? Am I correct in only seeing 3 plants per tube?
I could have swore you said 48 plants, but I aint seeing it. When you flip to your other room - is it an identical system to this? 8 tubes 3plants per tube = 24..making it 48 plants in two system/two rooms?
Definately got my gears a turnin'. Thanks!
Uncle FREEDOM
Member
Through trial and error i found that 18" diameter is the sweet spot for 600 watt bulbs (essentially 9" from bulb to bud). Anything closer bleaches. Plus i have good air flow from the hung fan below. If one was to use 1000w bulbs then i would recommend 12" (or 24" diameter).
The reason for using pressure tanks and solenoid valves is to keep the pressure fairly constant, reduce the run time (or lengthen the cooling/downtime) of the water pump. To do what we am doing you would need a vastly more expensive and power hungry pump then the little shurflo's. Although i would bi pass the pressure switch on the shurflo's and install a more rugged box style pressure switch that you see in houses.
See when you spraying you want a quick simple spray. You need the pressure NOW! That is why i decided on the solenoid / tank model. It really is not a big deal once you get your head around it, plus those parts are less likely to fail then a pump, so anything i can do to take stress away from a pump is a wise move.
The reason for using pressure tanks and solenoid valves is to keep the pressure fairly constant, reduce the run time (or lengthen the cooling/downtime) of the water pump. To do what we am doing you would need a vastly more expensive and power hungry pump then the little shurflo's. Although i would bi pass the pressure switch on the shurflo's and install a more rugged box style pressure switch that you see in houses.
See when you spraying you want a quick simple spray. You need the pressure NOW! That is why i decided on the solenoid / tank model. It really is not a big deal once you get your head around it, plus those parts are less likely to fail then a pump, so anything i can do to take stress away from a pump is a wise move.
heath robinson
Active member
nice looking grow Uncle FREEDOM, looks like the plants are loving it in there, DHF has a good point about having something to reflect all available light back to the plants it will ultimately make the plants grow faster and increase your yield, please dont think I am nit picking the grow and design does look great!
good luck
Heath
good luck
Heath
Uncle FREEDOM
Member
Week 4.... grow you bitches!!! lol
big bud in the back ground, a11 in the front.
big bud in the back ground, a11 in the front.
TexasMonster
Member
Awesome, I like what you are doing. What is the temp inside there?Week 4.... grow you bitches!!! lol
big bud in the back ground, a11 in the front.
Uncle FREEDOM
Member
87 degrees +/- 3deg
TexasMonster
Member
Thanks
Uncle FREEDOM
Member
the temp is measured by the controller temp/co2 probe. it is located up high 6 inches from the protective screen, about half way from the tubes to the screen... the room it's self is a bit cooler.
Hi, wow man, I'm bran spankin new and looking forward to posting my homemade 2k coliseum scrog and also looking forward to building a new one since I moved, but yet again I see its time to step it up. All suspended, get out of here! I like what you have done and will be following along not to mention thinking of a way to make something similar all day and all night. Kick ass
