Am I crazy? Recirculating bubblebucket setup

High everybody,

I'm about ready to build my setup, but I was wondering if I'm crazy? I've done various setups, but none which circulate. I've read a few guides/threads, but it's a lot more advanced.

All I'm aiming for are buckets with circulating water.

I have all buckets filled around the water line. The water pump is turned on. The water flows into the feed line which splits off to two 3bucket rows. The water flows to the end bucket and makes its way to the front bucket, which is connected to the reservoir. The same applies to the 2nd row.

Depending on the water pump, 165-320gph. Will this work?

If the end buckets fill up too quickly, I can just add more drain lines and/or feed lines and/or timer the water pump ay?

Thank you for your time and any replies. I'd greatly appreciate quick responses, for I'm about to go buy the needed materials today !

-Katripus

Hey

I built this same setup, just i have my reservoir at the end, and it circulates, essentially the same idea though. YES the fill buckets will overflow if you pump is pushing any more than 6-10 gals/min. Get the smallest pump you can, something for like a two layer fish tank or something. Im going to assume youre using .5" hosing which is standard. If you get a small pump the system works very well! Its just like the general hydroponics waterfarm setup, except the water is circulated which is much better. Its not an ebb and flow system so you just want a nice small pump to slowly circulate the water.

best of luck

Thanks for the reply! I went to the store, I'm thinking about having 1/2 for my feed and 3/4 for my drain. The water pump will push water through 1/2in tube feeding to the end buckets, gravity will take the water through the 3/4in tube allowing it to safely circulate back to the reservoir.

Would I be safe just using 1/2in for the whole thing? Is this 3/4in seem like a safer idea? Also, 6g/min =/= 360g/hour, should I aim for a pump around 3.33g/min =/= 200g/hour right?

I'm very curious on how much gpm/gph water pump would be best. Also, would 3/4in be too big for a circular 5gal bucket maybe? Forgive me if you already answered these questions !!

Thank you again, I appreciate it very much!

-Katripus

im currently building a RDWC system with 4 5 gal buckets 3/4" return lines 1/2" main feed lines with 2 1/4" feed lines comming off the main to each bucket... Im using a 500gph magdrive pump which i hope i can turn down a bit with the main inline valve at the controller otherwise it may be a little too big...why couldent you put an inline valve in place and turn the pressure back a bit if its too high?