Asking for answers to new grow room design questions for RDWC

Jason9922

Jason9922

Active Member
I am 98% of the way to having every single thing I need for my next GR design from the mylar + everything to seal including zipper door, 100lb CO2 tank, new 7 gallon black buckets w, 8 inch netpot lids + white 5 gallon buckets to bounce heat and much more obviously. All I'm waiting on now is $ to get all the lumber to frame room, build noise blocking boxes for fans to keep insulated ductwork ultra quiet, & lumber & materials to build correct sealed fresh air intake vents. Now to my questions. They are all about the new RDWC design which I'm not familiar with building and couldn't find answers elsewhere.

I'm using 4 media buckets + large cooler as res + another cooler or 5 gallon bucket used as water chiller. Will explain designs for these once they are working when I have pics. So, my first question for the RDWC pro's is
SEEMS LIKE WHEN RUNNING INTAKE / OUTAKE LINES FROM EACH BUCKET WOULDN'T IT MAKE SENSE TO PUT THE INTAKE OR (possibly using 2 sprayers 2 foggers) PUTTING OUTAKE ON BOTTOM SO ALL WATER WOULD WATERFALL DOWN CAUSING TONS OF AERATION? would USING THE 2 FOGGERS & 2 SPRAYERS CREATE A MORE AEROPONIC SYSTEM USING LESS WATER? I'm using a double bucket system, 7 gallon custom Anderson UV / light proof black buckets w 8 inch net pot lids that have a seal to the black bucket as my main bucket stacked on top of a white 5 gallon bucket so my 2 1,000 watt cool tube HID lights don't warm up each module. I put the 1st one together minus holes to see how it looked. After covering the very bottom along with 6 inches up from bottom that light proofed that spot where water will flow. I then wrapped around the net pot and down the sides covering the top part of the black bucket with foil tape ending up with a foil white foil 100% light proof module. The very bottom "res" of each module will hold almost two gallons of water leaving all that space inside the black bucket for aero type root system.
If thisis a dumb idea for a reason I'm not understanding I apologize in advance. Just seems like all that aeration could make using air pump pointless, natural aerator. I have a 1400GPH external inline pump so water pressure isn't a problem. Just wanted to know why I haven't seen this anywhere. Thanks!
 
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Jason9922

Jason9922

Active Member
deadgro said:
Might rethink white buckets, light encourages bad bacteria, fungus and root rot.
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If you read the whole thing you would have seen I wrote that I'm using a double bucket system, 7 gallon custom Anderson UV / light proof black buckets w 8 inch net pot lids that have a seal to the black bucket as my main bucket stacked on top of a white 5 gallon bucket so my 2 1,000 watt cool tube HID lights don't warm up each module. I put the 1st one together minus holes to see how it looked. After covering the very bottom along with 6 inches up from bottom that light proofed that spot where water will flow. I then wrapped around the net pot and down the sides covering the top part of the black bucket with foil tape ending up with a foil white foil 100% light proof module. The very bottom "res" of each module will hold almost two gallons of water leaving all that space inside the black bucket for aero type root system. That's unless someone tells me this is a bad idea and why to my first question.
 
DirtyMcCurdy

DirtyMcCurdy

Well-Known Member
Most designs I see just use one pipe or hose from one bucket to another and it pumps water into the first bucket and gravity flows into other buckets as more nut. solution is pumped in.

What you are talking about is pumping the water into each bucket using a designated line, yes? This would work I guess but I'm not quite sure how the nutrient solution would return? Because you say there will be 2 gallons left in the buckets. What is your return setup? You could use something like flood table drains in the bottom of the buckets that way as you pump in nutrients they will get to a certain level then drain/overflow out. But even then I think the remaining solution in the bottom of the buckets might get anaerobic, or lack circulation. I might not be understanding your setup though.
 
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Jason9922

Jason9922

Active Member
Yes that is exactly what I'm talking about DirtyMcCurdy, but I was thinking since I have such a high power external pump ( 1200 GPH ) and I'm only going to be running 4 - 8 of the larger 7 gallon buckets, running the one "under current line" probably either 1" ID - 1" 1/4 ID is 100 for sure, but wouldn't it be sweet if I had a 1/2" main feed going to a 4 way X with 1/4" outlets for 2 mister heads and two fogger heads? My 8 inch net pot lids are going to be filled with the 4 inch rockwool cube (that way I can easily put the clone or seedling from a smaller cube right into larger one). Once I put the 4" cube on the bottom of the netpot surrounded with grodan croutons until covered and level with 4" cube. Then filling rest of netpot with all this hydroton I got that I've already rinsed and PH'D for a week! LOL I have black 12" round neoprene net pot covers with the stalk split basically sealing the net pot from light keeping humidity in the rootzone. Plus the foggers and sprayers would create a super oxygenated nutrient solution with absolutely no way of light getting to my water which is a bonus. Idk maybe I'm missing something here. Again this is just an idea for how to proceed and is what's preventing me from moving forward.
 
jijiandfarmgang

jijiandfarmgang

Well-Known Member
I'm sure you can make it work. Although I think your making it more complicated than it needs to be. I think if you want to experiment its good to follow the norm, then try just one thing different.

I highly doubt what your planning would be better than regular rdwc. But I havn't tried it with larger plants so take that fwiw.

- Jiji
 
Jason9922

Jason9922

Active Member
Thanks for your reply jijiandfarmgang. Well the reason behind my idea is I would be able to eliminate the need for an aerator removing the power use and heat from the air pump even though it's not much. Plus all the Aeroponic people and ebb and flow people rave about their methods. Wouldn't it be cool having 2 360' misters and 2 maybe 4 foggers mounted around the inside edge. I planned on putting adjustable valves right befor the intake goes into each bucket so I would be able to adjust the pressure. It would be easy to adjust them to. Just trying to think up something that would make the buckets run awesome. I have 1/4" black poly intake line. Would it be ok to use 3/4 return lines? I mean that's double the size of intake. Just wondering what size to go. I was gonna use uniseals with 1" - 1 1/2 pvc but threaded 3/4 easy to take apart and stay sealed lines that are flexible so I can move them around.
 
jijiandfarmgang

jijiandfarmgang

Well-Known Member
Well.....there's nothing wrong with aeroponic, but I'm assuming your trying to grow large plants. Once the rootball gets so big it doesn't seem to do so well (I've never tried this to a large extent, but I would be surprised if someone proved me wrong).

1/4 line is tiny, and you would need a lot of pressure to aerate everything this way. @jcommerce aerates his rdwc similarly, do a search he posted some videos.

I just copied a Heath Robinson rdwc setup, no air stones, and it seems to be working well.

- Jiji
 
warble

warble

Well-Known Member
What brand of fogger are you using? I looked for foggers and only found ones w/ lights. I don't want light in my root zone either. With the waterfall oxygenating your water on the top of your rez, does the bottom get the oxygen as much? Will the heat from the pump cause a breeding ground for stuff that is anaerobic?
 
Jason9922

Jason9922

Active Member
@ Jiji, Thanks girly, I'd be interested in seeing your set up. Yeah 1/4" feed is small I guess but how much water are we trying to move here? I should have been clearer, member I said two sprayers, 2 foggers. = four 1/4" lines = 1 inch of feed line - Which would end up being 1 inch feed line 90% of the way to 4 way so I guess I would only be able to run 3 1/4" lines off the 4 way. So I guess it would end up being 2 sprayers & 1 fogger as compared to one drip line soaking the same spot. I'm basically doing everything I can to avoid mold growth anywhere possible. Like the top of a rockwool block. So the 3 1/4 inch lines seems like a 1 inch drain hose should be fine. Figure in what the plants drink, seems like it would be ok. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I should just copy one of Heith's setup. Yeah Jiji I've always been very good at the art of LST, finning, & topping my way into a large yield. Just havn't done much hydro & want to see what happens with "explosive growth".

@jcommerce- Thank you, very much looking forward to reading over your info!!
 
Jason9922

Jason9922

Active Member
warble said:
What brand of fogger are you using? I looked for foggers and only found ones w/ lights. I don't want light in my root zone either. With the waterfall oxygenating your water on the top of your rez, does the bottom get the oxygen as much? Will the heat from the pump cause a breeding ground for stuff that is anaerobic?
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Well I was looking at ":fogger" heads so I guess they wouldn't be legit foggers like what your using. More of a mister head with 2 360' spin heads. I was thinking of mounting two 360 spin pointing up at the net pot with the "fogger head" mounted right below the very middle of the netpot by a couple inches. But like I've been saying, this design is an attempt to not use aerators period because I was told the waterfall / falling water effect naturally aerates the water much better than aerators do. Plus you lose the heat from air pump and the electricity it uses running non stop. Well that was the idea.
 
Jason9922

Jason9922

Active Member
jcommerce said:
^ thanks for the tag jiji. Jason, here's a link to my vids. "Air stones!?....we don't need to stinking airstones!" An homage to Blazing Saddles.

Can you point me to which video details tnhe build of your setup or explains because that's a lot of videos to go through! lol
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Jason9922

Jason9922

Active Member
jcommerce said:
^ thanks for the tag jiji. Jason, here's a link to my vids. "Air stones!?....we don't need to stinking airstones!" An homage to Blazing Saddles.

https://www.youtube.com/user/thestarship420/videos
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YES MAN! What you have going in the 8000 water flowering room with the jet heads is EXACTLY what I wanted to do!! I am only going to have four 7 gallon buckets that I might extend to eight modules later & I have a 1200 GPH inline pump. Now that I've seen your set up I am 100% for sure going to go with 1" like you did. What size drain pipe was that? Your setup is exactly what I would build if I could afford it man, it's very very nice and I love how you have it perfectly clean in there. Plus I knew it was bullshit when I was told cutting your root balls back is a bad idea. Your plants looked super healthy. I think I might have found a mentor. :)
 
warble

warble

Well-Known Member
I was thinking sprayer might get clogged, but w/ what you showed me, the odds of all of them getting clogged at the same time is much less.
 
Jason9922

Jason9922

Active Member
warble said:
I was thinking sprayer might get clogged, but w/ what you showed me, the odds of all of them getting clogged at the same time is much less.
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Exactly Warble. My water pump has a filter to catch that stuff and I planned on throwing a 120 micron piece of stainless steel galvanized screen right before the sprayers just like the screen in your sink. That's just something I was going to try anyways. Between the in-line filters, the UV filter that's on my pump, the absolute darkness in all my lines and containers, I'm hoping between all that should keep any chance of root rot away. I'm going to mess with the micron filters on my return hose to see how small I can go before it interferes with everything. Plus I built an ICE bucket to keep water temps way down. Where I live its below zero at night 6 months a year. So I took a cheap 50ft hose, wrapped it around a 3 foot 8 inch round plastic tube, zip tied it tight, each end of hose connects to intake / outtake fittings on each end of hose, fill with water,n let freeze outside to rock solid block, connect next to res intake line, water flows through 50ft of hose inside a frozen block of ice. Should work with not that many buckets and cost $20 to build. Better than a grand on a water chiller. Build two of them so you always have one to rotate. Just something to try out!
 
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