Flooding in 68 seconds every 60 minutes...
Been lurking and learning here for a long time, my thanks to all. Still a rookie, always playing around and having just a little too much fun! Here's my latest creation. All feedback is encouraged, especially the constructive type! I already have a list going for next time.
It takes 68 seconds to flood all four 5-gal pots filled with hydroton (one pot has since been removed). Then they soak for about 30 seconds before taking 2 minutes to drain. The 1/3 hp utility pump on a 1 1/4" line blasts water into the controller bucket, creating a lot of surface tension and bubbles as it fills. Each pot is served by two direct 3/4 inch lines. All straight connectors, no nineties. Standing next to the pots, you can hear air gurgling through the lines as the water rushes to fill the buckets. The "drain" uses 3 smaller pumps and is a little slower.
Control bucket= Rubbermaid 20 gal. garbage can. 3/4 inch bulkhead fittings from hydro store. I only have 8 bulkheads installed, but it could accommodate many more all the way around. The bottom of this garbage can is really nice too, since there is a kind of gutter around the bottom, allowing the 3 pumps in the middle to be almost dry while still sucking water from the outer gutter.
Buckets= 5 gal buckets with TWO 3/4" holes/grommets in each. I'm running 3 under a 1k.
Float Switches= They are adjustable up and down, sliding on an acrylic rod and can be locked in any position. The float switch stand assembly sits somewhat freely in the bottom of the bucket, with the top rod extending through a tight hole in the rubbermaid lid to give it supprt. It is a somewhat fragile assembly, but I've never broken it. Even when I thought I should have! It came with the controller. No need to drill holes for the floats and the wires come out of the top.
Controller= Remote mounted on the wall. It works great, the only negative is the red led readout that is on for a bit of time before lights on. A little duct tape minimizes that. The controller itself is on a regular timer to prevent it from coming on during the dark period. Flood frequency adjusts from 1-999 minutes. Once the controller bucket is filled, there is an adjustable soak time of 1-999 seconds. It also has a one-button cycle feature which allows you to turn it on without having to mess with your settings. Once it is emptied, the flood frequency timer resets. It does not have a "slosh" feature. Once the float switches trip, that's it until the next cycle. So, you have to do a small bit of adjustment at set-up to get the right flood level in the pots themselves. I set my flood level so that the 4" rockwool block stays dry. So far, it has barely deviated from the original level I set; even with all of the root growth now in the pots. Not to mention that I somehow put the starts in a couple of inches too low in the hydroton/pot this time when they were babies and lost a couple of inches in flood height Definitely not a perfect run this time. They don't seem to care!
Flooding= A 1/3 hp utility pump, like a sump pump. The pump I got on amazon has a 1 1/4" output fitting, not all do. I also run a small 300 gph pump on a 1/2" line for back-up, in case the big pump fails.
Draining= Three 350 gph pumps in the control bucket for draining, all on 1/2" lines going back to the reservoir. But, I'm going to try to run another big pump for draining on the next run.
This is the first run with this new set-up; and the second run with this Dutchgrown Dieselrella plant. Last time, I grew one clone in a 2 gal. and another clone in a 5 gal. pot, using two "regular" control buckets. The 5 gallon plant grew significantly bigger. This new system seems to be blowing that one away so far.
Here's some pics. I just got done replacing a bad pump and see a couple of things I didn't put back into place just right:
All 3 plants are a Dutchgrown Dieselrella: cut/clone +18 days on T5, 15 veg with 1k, day 32 flw today. Last time, this plant took about 70 days flw to finish. She is vigorous!