OK, so keep height difference to minimum to avoid unecessary pumping.
I'm actually going to go the other direction with this, i.e. downsizing it to grow a few vegetables in a basement. I may try to do this with 3/4" PEX tubing. Easy to work with, flexible, and no glue. BTW, you may be aware of this, but their is a handy, *flexible*, PVC pipe product, called Spa-Flex. Bendable, andsized for common PVC fittings. I think would work well in systems such as you describe. Thanks again for your help.
Thanks! That makes perfect sense; I totally get it. May I ask one other question - how high do you recommend placing the bottoms of the pots, relative to the static (non-pumping) water level in the reservoir. My guess would be base of pot (at drain hole) should be just above the rez water surface, when not pumping.
@islander170 yeah, definitely. The higher you place your pots the more the pump has to work to shift the liquid. It's not absolutely vital to do this though - you can take some leeway depending on your chosen pump. If you got a powerful pump then you have more freedom to arrange your system however you like. Key thing to note is that vertical liquid displacement requires more energy than horizontal liquid displacement. Also, your pots must be higher than the highest liquid level in the reservoir
@islander170 ... in order to allow gravity to do it's work and pull everything back down into the reservoir when the pump goes off. The system represented here is a simple one but the concepts involved can be applied to much bigger and more complicated systems. What's important is understanding how to move the nutrient mix in around the plants roots and how to bring it back to the reservoir at timed intervals - which, as a side effect draws oxygen rich air in around the plants roots too.
Alflud - Great video and I like the system! It looks like the PVC overflow return to the reservoir is capped off, though. There must be some way for the fluid to return from the overflow line to the reservoir, no? Why have you illustrated it this way?
@islander170 Thanks for the kind words. That's not actually a cap - it's a collar. If you follow it across to the side of the rez you can see there's a plug there .... well if you take out that plug and insert a length of pipe you can connect it to the collar and easily empty the system using the pump. Otherwise the water comes out of that collar piece and falls back into the tank :)
@73C4N0 pump is a matter of choice - there are many, many pumps capable of lifting water through this system. There's tons of info regarding pumps out there. Google is your friend :) some aquarium pumps might do but I'd do a search for pond pumps - they're hardy - use more energy but they're built to last.
After watching this video I think I'm going to try making my own system. GH has a 8 site Waterfarm, but it's over $525. I think for about 100-200 dollars worth of fittings, pump, aerators, buckets, and pre-made baskets and other items you could build a very nice system. And since my wife is an engineer specializing in water management, I can get expert advice for free! Excellent animation too btw, thanks for the education.
@MrHomeChef That's what it's all about my friend. Once you can get to grips with the basic concepts of water flow and once you're handy enough with DIY to make things water-tight then designing and building your own systems is definitely the way to go. Good luck in your ventures man :)
@alflud nice understandable vid mate im preety new to this whole thing and want to get a system i understand this idea of a pump but can i not manualy water my plants if im reaguly home and do i need to no stuff about the lighting or will any sort of light work would love some info
@kirkikane you can water manually but I don't recommend it. A common hydroponic feeding schedule would require a feeding once every 90 or 120 minutes - that's not something a lot of people can stick to. The one serious drawback about growing anything hydroponically is that your plants can die very quickly if not sufficiently fed. With soil if you forget to water well the soil has some trace amounts of nutrients in it that can get the plant by until the next feed. When growing hydroponically ...
@kirkikane ... if you forget to feed your plants they have nothing to fall back on. The air that's surrounding the plants roots has nothing to get the plant by. With regards to lighting - it depends on what you are planning to grow and how big a yield you would like to harvest. Small plants like Basil will grow perfectly well under fluorescent lights whereas tomato or cannabis plants will require at least a 400w HID and if you want a bigger yield you'd use a 600w or even 1000w HID lamp.
@773steve you need to time it otherwise the roots will rot. the timer activates the pump, after a certain amount of time the pump stops and the water will flow back into the water tank.
@arumbaya33 well ... you'll need at least 11-17 liter pots for the root system to develop properly. if you have around 30 plants this can be a problem in a "smaller" place. You'll also need a bigger water tank, and you'll need to place it somewhere too. This works good in big rooms or for a small amount of plants.
@210482fmj No, that's actually wrong and one of the biggest misconceptions about hydroponic growing. The main advantage to hydroponics is that the plants roots have more access to oxygen. More than anything else this is what facilitates faster growth rates.
@alflud TO be honest the increased growth rate is largely due to the high levels of nitrate in chemical fertilizer. THat why some plant become unnaturally big in hydro. Its totally chemical and not organic in any way
@210482fmj Whatever you say buddy. I'm not here to shove facts down your throat. There's a whole big internet out there for you to go and educate yourself with.
@210482fmj Look man, if you want to thumb your nose at knowledge gained through decades of experience that's being kindly shared by people who truly know better then that's totally up to you. Hey guess what though ... maybe that's why your so WRONG. In any case - I've now prevented you from passing along your wrong information to the many beginners who pass by this video and that's what's really important. How does it feel to be one of those idiots passing along part of that 90% of wrong info?
@210482fmj The same "chemicals" are in the soil too (but you don't know the exact amount, where in hydro you can control it 100% exact! THAT is the reason they grow so big!!!)). This is ALL nature, it's ALL chemicals... WE, THE PLANTS, THE SOIL, EVERYTHING AROUND US... don't believe me? Ask an astrophysicist were the elements from the period table come. In soil the plants use up the "chemicals" in hydro you feed the chemicals through water. You are talking philosophy..not facts!
@s1mmelOne Yes but what about the million of different microbes in soil not even a small % was investigated.
Plant will grow fast mostly because of water. Still one problem is that you need to buy nutrients when the soil provide this fro free and at better quality.
This type of agriculture make sense on the moon or mars but need to be improved so that is self sufficient probably most is done by space agencies.
Soil is still a better choice on earth my opinion.
@alflud dont mean to be a dick, but plants all feed on Carbon dioxide and expel oxygen, therefore using CO2 on plants would show more results, the oxygens for us buddy
@TylerBlazin You're not being a dick at all my friend. You're quite right - plants do take in CO2 through their leaves and the more CO2 you can give them the better they'll grow. But that's not what makes hydroponics worth all the effort. You can flood a room with CO2 whether the plants are being grown in soil or hydroponically.
plantanswers-dot-com/aerification_turfgrass.htm .... see that page for some good info about soil aeration and why it's important to allow oxygen in around roots.
Looks like you would have a constant few inches of stagnant water in the bottom of the buckets this way. Maybe a ring cap fitting instead a couple inches of pipe inside the buckets?
@DontFriendInviteMe Nope. That's why you drill some drainage holes in the fitting my friend. At most you'll have a millimeter or 2 - it depends on how close you can drill the holes to the base of the bucket :)
@englandinacan how would you re-route it so it doesn't though? wouldnt you have to have a way to plug one hole and open another to fill it and vice versa to empty it?
@oPickful No, it's on a timer. When it comes on it floods the system and when it's turned off the system drains. You would set it to come one once an hour or something like that for 5-10 minutes - it depends on what plants you're growing. When the system floods the plants take in nutrients from the nutrient solution and when it drains fresh, oxygen-rich air is drawn down around the roots which is what makes systems like this worth the effort.
Wow. Excellent animation. Thanks for putting the work into this. I like the simplicity of the system. It's a great way to get started. Thanks for all your hard work.
@AnimationsN1 Most pumps will do a good job. Truth is I've never actually come across a shitty pump. How strong your pump will need to be depends on the capacity of your buckets, how many you have and how high they are in relation to the pump. There is some math above which will help you to choose an appropriate pump. It's not an in-depth explanation but it should help you to figure things out.
@AnimationsN1 get on ebay and find some 802's or 402's made by Powerhead...they are great for my 150 gallon aquarium's sump system...completely silent and no fittings needed, a garden hose with no fitting on the end will slide just perfectly over the output nozel on the powerhead...and theyre only liek 40 bucks for the 802 which is the biggest model...They will work more than well enough my friend
better off using 4 or 6 inch pvc, with small water pump in reservoir pumping 24/7 or on a timer. and bubbleponic 5 gallon bucket kits for bigger plants--basically just a 5 gallon bucket (black or dark color) with small air pump, pumping air through an air stone 24/7. these are the easiest and cheapest setups i know of, and they produce like crazy for me.
@mushrume Not unless you add lead to it. Polyvinyl Chloride, aka thermoplastic polymer, contains small vinyl molecules joined together into large chains (where you see 'n') (H2C=CHCl)n Two double bonded carbons with one of the hydrogen replaced with a chlorine. If you put back the H and make (H2C=CH2)n, it would just be polyvinyl.
@mushrume The 'add lead to it' part is SOME kinds of PVC cement can have lead in them. It'll take some research to find it out. I do agree that lead would be a problem when growing anything that will be consumed - since the plant takes up what you give it. BUT, this is America...there are water quality labs in every state. Fill your system with pure water, no plants or nutrients, add some vinegar to lower the pH (that way any lead leaches) after a week get it tested.
Poor angle of the animation. It doesn't show the proper angle or perspective to see the height of the water or the over flow. May explain why le0thegr8 had issues with his.. (top comment)
Hi, I have tried this using 15mm pipe and 5 x 15 Ltr buckets but the system starts to drain through the over flow before the buckets are full and two of the buckets then fill faster than the others and over flow! Instead of feeding the water in from the bottom of the buckets I am going through the bottom side of the bucket, is this the reason that my system doesn't work? Does the inlet have to be underneath? If this isn't the problem, what could it be do you think? Thanks for any help!
@le0thegr8 How high is your overflow set? The buckets will only fill as high as the overflow pipe is set. In order to get all buckets filling at the same rate the length of piping to each bucket from the main junction would have to be identical. Using stiff pvc pipe makes this difficult so what you would have to do is make a custom 5-way manifold and make sure that the feeds to each bucket from this manifold were identical lengths. Having the inlets at the side wouldn't affect the filling .....
@alflud .... of the buckets but it might not allow the buckets to empty properly. If you are left with a high level of standing water after emptying you might need to add some bubblers into the system to prevent the roots from drowning in this standing water. If you're not clear on anything friend me and send me a message ;)
@le0thegr8 - last time i checked the further some are from the resovoir, the slower they fill, due to more distance than the rest. Try making all of the buckets have the same distance to travel from the res. Dont hold me to it, but it seems logical...
@TranscendentProdigy - The only jackass here is you, troll. Simplicity is only good if it actually works properly. And on top of that, nobody was talking to your pathetic ass. But then again you wouldn't know that. Your to god damn busy being a moron to see it. Ignorance is bliss child...
And if you respond back, which i know you will. You will then yet again, PROVE my case. . .
This is only 2 buckets. Have you tried this with 48? Does it have to be pvc piping and/or would it work with a 1/2" hose? I also noticed the holes are underneath the buckets which would require the buckets to be raised at all times.
@Releasethehoundz 48? No man. I haven't tried this at all - never mind with 48 :D lol And yeah - the buckets would have to be raised at all times. In the actual system the buckets are situated directly above the reservoir in order to minimize space usage. I only pushed them back like that in the animation so that people could see what's going on with the water flow.
@nupznx No, that's right. If you'll be using 5 gal outer buckets then the most you'll be pumping to fill the four of them will be about 13.2 gal to get them all 2/3 full - that is up to the bottom of the plants roots. ( [4*5=20] [2/3=.66] [20*.66=13.2] ) A 300gph pump will shift 5 gal per minute (300/60=5) horizontally so in 3 minutes it will pump 15 gal. You should definitely fill your buckets in under 5 minutes with a 300gph pump.
@nupznx No problem dude ;o) and yeah, that's right - 300 gallons works out at a little under 1200 liters but the standard worldwide for pump efficiency is gph mate. So far as I know no matter where you go to buy a pump it'll be rated in gph.
@nupznx I suggest using a 300gph (gallons per hour) or higher pump. A 250gph pump will do the job but slower so you will need to have it on for longer. It all depends on how high your plant buckets will be too. A pump will have to work harder to pump water to 4 ft high than it would to pump it to 3 ft high since there is more pressure created by a 4 ft high column of water than a 3 ft high one. A 300gph pump should fill 4 5gal buckets to the required level (1/2 to 2/3 full) in less than 5mins.
@gus361 - see the horizontal pipe in the middle with the small hole in it? That's the overflow pipe. As the water is rising in the buckets it's also rising inside that pipe. When it reaches the top of the middle pipe and begins to flow through the overflow the solution stops rising in the buckets. The buckets will only fill to the same level as the height of the overflow pipe. The little hole btw is there to prevent the siphoning effect from occurring.
It would, yeah. If you're gonna add more buckets though you'll need to reduce the thickness of the tubing used and add some valves to regulate the flow to each buckets. You close off the valves slightly on the the buckets nearest to the pump so that they fill at the same rate as the buckets furthest away from the pump. What are you planning? Drop me a line to my inbox if you like. I'll help you you however I can.
Thanks man. Yeah, it's not easy bro - takes a lot of dedication to get to a point where you can produce some worthwhile visuals. It's worth it in the end though - it's a fulfilling hobby :o) I haven't used Blender yet so I don't know much about the interface but all these apps are basically the same so if I can help you with anything just let me know. There's an abundance of tutorials available and I know where to look ;o)
Haha i gave up, i've a few hobbies already so if i cant crack somethin quick i get too much pleasuyre from my other hobbies to care, lazy basterd i am.
I have an idea though, 2d cartoon, i have 1 in mind, my own piece o work, coverin freeman, drugs, conspiracy and spirit-reality, but made with cell shaded 3d models, think of the work that would save, not to mention it would like like the 3d stuff thats in invader zim! I'm givin you a link if you haven't seen it, its class!
OK, so keep height difference to minimum to avoid unecessary pumping.
I'm actually going to go the other direction with this, i.e. downsizing it to grow a few vegetables in a basement. I may try to do this with 3/4" PEX tubing. Easy to work with, flexible, and no glue. BTW, you may be aware of this, but their is a handy, *flexible*, PVC pipe product, called Spa-Flex. Bendable, andsized for common PVC fittings. I think would work well in systems such as you describe. Thanks again for your help.
islander170 1 month ago
Thanks! That makes perfect sense; I totally get it. May I ask one other question - how high do you recommend placing the bottoms of the pots, relative to the static (non-pumping) water level in the reservoir. My guess would be base of pot (at drain hole) should be just above the rez water surface, when not pumping.
islander170 1 month ago
@islander170 yeah, definitely. The higher you place your pots the more the pump has to work to shift the liquid. It's not absolutely vital to do this though - you can take some leeway depending on your chosen pump. If you got a powerful pump then you have more freedom to arrange your system however you like. Key thing to note is that vertical liquid displacement requires more energy than horizontal liquid displacement. Also, your pots must be higher than the highest liquid level in the reservoir
alflud 1 month ago
@islander170 ... in order to allow gravity to do it's work and pull everything back down into the reservoir when the pump goes off. The system represented here is a simple one but the concepts involved can be applied to much bigger and more complicated systems. What's important is understanding how to move the nutrient mix in around the plants roots and how to bring it back to the reservoir at timed intervals - which, as a side effect draws oxygen rich air in around the plants roots too.
alflud 1 month ago
Alflud - Great video and I like the system! It looks like the PVC overflow return to the reservoir is capped off, though. There must be some way for the fluid to return from the overflow line to the reservoir, no? Why have you illustrated it this way?
islander170 1 month ago
@islander170 Thanks for the kind words. That's not actually a cap - it's a collar. If you follow it across to the side of the rez you can see there's a plug there .... well if you take out that plug and insert a length of pipe you can connect it to the collar and easily empty the system using the pump. Otherwise the water comes out of that collar piece and falls back into the tank :)
alflud 1 month ago
Could I have more details about the pump and how it operates. Thx
73C4N0 1 month ago
@73C4N0 pump is a matter of choice - there are many, many pumps capable of lifting water through this system. There's tons of info regarding pumps out there. Google is your friend :) some aquarium pumps might do but I'd do a search for pond pumps - they're hardy - use more energy but they're built to last.
alflud 1 month ago
where do you buy this
NINOBROWN914 2 months ago
11 people smoke crack loool
NINOBROWN914 2 months ago
After watching this video I think I'm going to try making my own system. GH has a 8 site Waterfarm, but it's over $525. I think for about 100-200 dollars worth of fittings, pump, aerators, buckets, and pre-made baskets and other items you could build a very nice system. And since my wife is an engineer specializing in water management, I can get expert advice for free! Excellent animation too btw, thanks for the education.
MrHomeChef 2 months ago
@MrHomeChef That's what it's all about my friend. Once you can get to grips with the basic concepts of water flow and once you're handy enough with DIY to make things water-tight then designing and building your own systems is definitely the way to go. Good luck in your ventures man :)
alflud 2 months ago
@alflud nice understandable vid mate im preety new to this whole thing and want to get a system i understand this idea of a pump but can i not manualy water my plants if im reaguly home and do i need to no stuff about the lighting or will any sort of light work would love some info
kirkikane 2 months ago
@kirkikane you can water manually but I don't recommend it. A common hydroponic feeding schedule would require a feeding once every 90 or 120 minutes - that's not something a lot of people can stick to. The one serious drawback about growing anything hydroponically is that your plants can die very quickly if not sufficiently fed. With soil if you forget to water well the soil has some trace amounts of nutrients in it that can get the plant by until the next feed. When growing hydroponically ...
alflud 1 month ago
@kirkikane ... if you forget to feed your plants they have nothing to fall back on. The air that's surrounding the plants roots has nothing to get the plant by. With regards to lighting - it depends on what you are planning to grow and how big a yield you would like to harvest. Small plants like Basil will grow perfectly well under fluorescent lights whereas tomato or cannabis plants will require at least a 400w HID and if you want a bigger yield you'd use a 600w or even 1000w HID lamp.
alflud 1 month ago
oh.. missed that.. cheers!! happy planting!!
BrokenBellyBeat 2 months ago
awesome design... what tune is that?
plz!!
BrokenBellyBeat 2 months ago
@BrokenBellyBeat music credit at end of video mate - 'Weekend Amnesia' by Revolution Void - free to download the entire album on their website.
alflud 2 months ago
If you're using buckets, DWC is a simpler more effective system. This system is better suited for several clones placed in a tray. Just my 2 cents.
stevescam001 3 months ago
dose the pump stay on or is that on a timer i dont see y the water would need to go down
773steve 4 months ago
@773steve you need to time it otherwise the roots will rot. the timer activates the pump, after a certain amount of time the pump stops and the water will flow back into the water tank.
s1mmelOne 2 months ago
well this might work with 2-4 pots, but its getting problematic with 30 in a small space ^^
s1mmelOne 4 months ago
@s1mmelOne Could you please tell why? I'm willing to build this system
arumbaya33 2 months ago
@arumbaya33 well ... you'll need at least 11-17 liter pots for the root system to develop properly. if you have around 30 plants this can be a problem in a "smaller" place. You'll also need a bigger water tank, and you'll need to place it somewhere too. This works good in big rooms or for a small amount of plants.
s1mmelOne 2 months ago
i wanna thank and congratulate you on creating this! i will be making this during the winter
jootai 4 months ago
Hydro is good but it still is not as good as soil. THe main advantage to hydro is plants have more access to water
210482fmj 5 months ago
@210482fmj No, that's actually wrong and one of the biggest misconceptions about hydroponic growing. The main advantage to hydroponics is that the plants roots have more access to oxygen. More than anything else this is what facilitates faster growth rates.
alflud 5 months ago
@alflud TO be honest the increased growth rate is largely due to the high levels of nitrate in chemical fertilizer. THat why some plant become unnaturally big in hydro. Its totally chemical and not organic in any way
210482fmj 5 months ago
@210482fmj Whatever you say buddy. I'm not here to shove facts down your throat. There's a whole big internet out there for you to go and educate yourself with.
alflud 5 months ago
@alflud I don't need an internet to educate myself. You do that through self experimentation as 90 percent of the time information is often wrong
210482fmj 5 months ago
@210482fmj Look man, if you want to thumb your nose at knowledge gained through decades of experience that's being kindly shared by people who truly know better then that's totally up to you. Hey guess what though ... maybe that's why your so WRONG. In any case - I've now prevented you from passing along your wrong information to the many beginners who pass by this video and that's what's really important. How does it feel to be one of those idiots passing along part of that 90% of wrong info?
alflud 5 months ago
@210482fmj The same "chemicals" are in the soil too (but you don't know the exact amount, where in hydro you can control it 100% exact! THAT is the reason they grow so big!!!)). This is ALL nature, it's ALL chemicals... WE, THE PLANTS, THE SOIL, EVERYTHING AROUND US... don't believe me? Ask an astrophysicist were the elements from the period table come. In soil the plants use up the "chemicals" in hydro you feed the chemicals through water. You are talking philosophy..not facts!
s1mmelOne 2 months ago
@s1mmelOne Yes but what about the million of different microbes in soil not even a small % was investigated.
Plant will grow fast mostly because of water. Still one problem is that you need to buy nutrients when the soil provide this fro free and at better quality.
This type of agriculture make sense on the moon or mars but need to be improved so that is self sufficient probably most is done by space agencies.
Soil is still a better choice on earth my opinion.
electrodacus 2 months ago
@alflud dont mean to be a dick, but plants all feed on Carbon dioxide and expel oxygen, therefore using CO2 on plants would show more results, the oxygens for us buddy
TylerBlazin 5 months ago
@TylerBlazin You're not being a dick at all my friend. You're quite right - plants do take in CO2 through their leaves and the more CO2 you can give them the better they'll grow. But that's not what makes hydroponics worth all the effort. You can flood a room with CO2 whether the plants are being grown in soil or hydroponically.
plantanswers-dot-com/aerification_turfgrass.htm .... see that page for some good info about soil aeration and why it's important to allow oxygen in around roots.
alflud 5 months ago
@210482fmj completely wrong...
arumbaya33 2 months ago
cool animation!
caustic128 5 months ago
Looks like you would have a constant few inches of stagnant water in the bottom of the buckets this way. Maybe a ring cap fitting instead a couple inches of pipe inside the buckets?
DontFriendInviteMe 6 months ago
@DontFriendInviteMe Nope. That's why you drill some drainage holes in the fitting my friend. At most you'll have a millimeter or 2 - it depends on how close you can drill the holes to the base of the bucket :)
alflud 6 months ago
How do the pots sit on the ground with the bulkhead and pvc on the bottom? They certainly can't sit flat?
MuahMan 6 months ago
Thats cool, i've got a Scrog set up, but yet to set it up. I could use that for some mother plants
motomarlin420 6 months ago
WEEkenD
xD4VIS40xX 6 months ago
What did you use to make this animation?
kurbo2 6 months ago
@kurbo2 Lightwave 3D
alflud 6 months ago
wow that seems simple...awsome way to introduce peeps to flood and drain!!!!!
Mr420ways 7 months ago
wow best vid I think I have seen
officergrizly2 7 months ago
I wouldnt recommend running the entire drainoff from both pots back through the motor like the video suggests...
englandinacan 7 months ago
@englandinacan how would you re-route it so it doesn't though? wouldnt you have to have a way to plug one hole and open another to fill it and vice versa to empty it?
Deciblaster 5 months ago
So is the Pump on a Timer, or does it run none-stop??
oPickful 7 months ago
@oPickful No, it's on a timer. When it comes on it floods the system and when it's turned off the system drains. You would set it to come one once an hour or something like that for 5-10 minutes - it depends on what plants you're growing. When the system floods the plants take in nutrients from the nutrient solution and when it drains fresh, oxygen-rich air is drawn down around the roots which is what makes systems like this worth the effort.
alflud 7 months ago
@alflud what solution do you use for your plants? Ex. cabbage and cucumber?
webreaver01 6 months ago
Wow. Excellent animation. Thanks for putting the work into this. I like the simplicity of the system. It's a great way to get started. Thanks for all your hard work.
NavyBlueSTL 7 months ago
@NavyBlueSTL Thank you too and you're welcome :)
alflud 7 months ago
Hello and thanks for the great video.
What pump would you recommend to do a good job on a flood and drain system ?
Thanks in advance
AnimationsN1 7 months ago
@AnimationsN1 Most pumps will do a good job. Truth is I've never actually come across a shitty pump. How strong your pump will need to be depends on the capacity of your buckets, how many you have and how high they are in relation to the pump. There is some math above which will help you to choose an appropriate pump. It's not an in-depth explanation but it should help you to figure things out.
alflud 7 months ago
@AnimationsN1 get on ebay and find some 802's or 402's made by Powerhead...they are great for my 150 gallon aquarium's sump system...completely silent and no fittings needed, a garden hose with no fitting on the end will slide just perfectly over the output nozel on the powerhead...and theyre only liek 40 bucks for the 802 which is the biggest model...They will work more than well enough my friend
Deciblaster 5 months ago
Woah, who made the animations. Get in touch with me.
enticed2zeitgeist 8 months ago
why not just build your own with some plastic tubs and hose?
PlebScrubber 8 months ago
better off using 4 or 6 inch pvc, with small water pump in reservoir pumping 24/7 or on a timer. and bubbleponic 5 gallon bucket kits for bigger plants--basically just a 5 gallon bucket (black or dark color) with small air pump, pumping air through an air stone 24/7. these are the easiest and cheapest setups i know of, and they produce like crazy for me.
cojobo34 11 months ago
@cojobo34 PVC contains LEAD ...........
mushrume 7 months ago
@mushrume Not unless you add lead to it. Polyvinyl Chloride, aka thermoplastic polymer, contains small vinyl molecules joined together into large chains (where you see 'n') (H2C=CHCl)n Two double bonded carbons with one of the hydrogen replaced with a chlorine. If you put back the H and make (H2C=CH2)n, it would just be polyvinyl.
DrMotorDude 6 months ago
@DrMotorDude thanks for the explanation .
cheers ^^
mushrume 6 months ago
@mushrume The 'add lead to it' part is SOME kinds of PVC cement can have lead in them. It'll take some research to find it out. I do agree that lead would be a problem when growing anything that will be consumed - since the plant takes up what you give it. BUT, this is America...there are water quality labs in every state. Fill your system with pure water, no plants or nutrients, add some vinegar to lower the pH (that way any lead leaches) after a week get it tested.
DrMotorDude 6 months ago
Poor angle of the animation. It doesn't show the proper angle or perspective to see the height of the water or the over flow. May explain why le0thegr8 had issues with his.. (top comment)
zcarporn 1 year ago
hey, transcendent prodigy, your proctologist just called...he found out what was causing your migraines.
overlandparkope 1 year ago
check out rollitup.org for any questions and answers
top5ranger 1 year ago
How often should i water my plants and for how long?
skimthepot 1 year ago
this video is GOLDEN! the person who animated this is a fucking genuis
TranscendentProdigy 1 year ago
Hi, I have tried this using 15mm pipe and 5 x 15 Ltr buckets but the system starts to drain through the over flow before the buckets are full and two of the buckets then fill faster than the others and over flow! Instead of feeding the water in from the bottom of the buckets I am going through the bottom side of the bucket, is this the reason that my system doesn't work? Does the inlet have to be underneath? If this isn't the problem, what could it be do you think? Thanks for any help!
le0thegr8 1 year ago
@le0thegr8 How high is your overflow set? The buckets will only fill as high as the overflow pipe is set. In order to get all buckets filling at the same rate the length of piping to each bucket from the main junction would have to be identical. Using stiff pvc pipe makes this difficult so what you would have to do is make a custom 5-way manifold and make sure that the feeds to each bucket from this manifold were identical lengths. Having the inlets at the side wouldn't affect the filling .....
alflud 1 year ago
@alflud .... of the buckets but it might not allow the buckets to empty properly. If you are left with a high level of standing water after emptying you might need to add some bubblers into the system to prevent the roots from drowning in this standing water. If you're not clear on anything friend me and send me a message ;)
alflud 1 year ago
@alflud ... Thanks a lot mate, much appreciated! I'll look over the system and do what you suggest and see if that helps.
le0thegr8 1 year ago
@le0thegr8 - last time i checked the further some are from the resovoir, the slower they fill, due to more distance than the rest. Try making all of the buckets have the same distance to travel from the res. Dont hold me to it, but it seems logical...
zcarporn 1 year ago
@zcarporn he is just showing the simplicity of it, JACK ASS
TranscendentProdigy 1 year ago
@TranscendentProdigy - The only jackass here is you, troll. Simplicity is only good if it actually works properly. And on top of that, nobody was talking to your pathetic ass. But then again you wouldn't know that. Your to god damn busy being a moron to see it. Ignorance is bliss child...
And if you respond back, which i know you will. You will then yet again, PROVE my case. . .
zcarporn 1 year ago
@zcarporn moron. -_-
TranscendentProdigy 1 year ago
@TranscendentProdigy - On time too, Thanks for proving me right =)
zcarporn 1 year ago
This is only 2 buckets. Have you tried this with 48? Does it have to be pvc piping and/or would it work with a 1/2" hose? I also noticed the holes are underneath the buckets which would require the buckets to be raised at all times.
Releasethehoundz 1 year ago
@Releasethehoundz 48? No man. I haven't tried this at all - never mind with 48 :D lol And yeah - the buckets would have to be raised at all times. In the actual system the buckets are situated directly above the reservoir in order to minimize space usage. I only pushed them back like that in the animation so that people could see what's going on with the water flow.
alflud 1 year ago
@Releasethehoundz You could run the same system with 1000 buckets if you had the reservoir for it.
Phunkedub 1 year ago
I guess I'm not understanding.
pointdexx 1 year ago
what are those fitting called? The one used for draining the buckets. where did you ordered them from? Thanks
Tripkosh 1 year ago
So, for 4 buckets i will need to use a 300 gph pump, or I am wrong?
nupznx 1 year ago
@nupznx No, that's right. If you'll be using 5 gal outer buckets then the most you'll be pumping to fill the four of them will be about 13.2 gal to get them all 2/3 full - that is up to the bottom of the plants roots. ( [4*5=20] [2/3=.66] [20*.66=13.2] ) A 300gph pump will shift 5 gal per minute (300/60=5) horizontally so in 3 minutes it will pump 15 gal. You should definitely fill your buckets in under 5 minutes with a 300gph pump.
alflud 1 year ago
Thanks for answering. So in litters pump should be about 1200 liters per hour?
nupznx 1 year ago
@nupznx No problem dude ;o) and yeah, that's right - 300 gallons works out at a little under 1200 liters but the standard worldwide for pump efficiency is gph mate. So far as I know no matter where you go to buy a pump it'll be rated in gph.
alflud 1 year ago
how powerfull pump i should use to flood these 2 buckets? maybe 4?
nupznx 1 year ago
@nupznx I suggest using a 300gph (gallons per hour) or higher pump. A 250gph pump will do the job but slower so you will need to have it on for longer. It all depends on how high your plant buckets will be too. A pump will have to work harder to pump water to 4 ft high than it would to pump it to 3 ft high since there is more pressure created by a 4 ft high column of water than a 3 ft high one. A 300gph pump should fill 4 5gal buckets to the required level (1/2 to 2/3 full) in less than 5mins.
alflud 1 year ago
whats stopping the buckets from over flowing?
gus361 1 year ago
@gus361 - see the horizontal pipe in the middle with the small hole in it? That's the overflow pipe. As the water is rising in the buckets it's also rising inside that pipe. When it reaches the top of the middle pipe and begins to flow through the overflow the solution stops rising in the buckets. The buckets will only fill to the same level as the height of the overflow pipe. The little hole btw is there to prevent the siphoning effect from occurring.
alflud 1 year ago
@gus361 gravity
naitsrhc91 1 year ago
would this set up work for more then 2 buckets?
bigbadhater 1 year ago
It would, yeah. If you're gonna add more buckets though you'll need to reduce the thickness of the tubing used and add some valves to regulate the flow to each buckets. You close off the valves slightly on the the buckets nearest to the pump so that they fill at the same rate as the buckets furthest away from the pump. What are you planning? Drop me a line to my inbox if you like. I'll help you you however I can.
alflud 1 year ago
good work al, wish i could use 3d software, cant make heads or tails of it, i've blender on my computer, cant enev make a snowman haha.
theemurf 2 years ago
Thanks man. Yeah, it's not easy bro - takes a lot of dedication to get to a point where you can produce some worthwhile visuals. It's worth it in the end though - it's a fulfilling hobby :o) I haven't used Blender yet so I don't know much about the interface but all these apps are basically the same so if I can help you with anything just let me know. There's an abundance of tutorials available and I know where to look ;o)
alflud 2 years ago
@alflud
Haha i gave up, i've a few hobbies already so if i cant crack somethin quick i get too much pleasuyre from my other hobbies to care, lazy basterd i am.
I have an idea though, 2d cartoon, i have 1 in mind, my own piece o work, coverin freeman, drugs, conspiracy and spirit-reality, but made with cell shaded 3d models, think of the work that would save, not to mention it would like like the 3d stuff thats in invader zim! I'm givin you a link if you haven't seen it, its class!
theemurf 2 years ago