Low Pressure Aero build...it has begun!

diggs99 said:

The red cooler is quite a bit smaller in height plus it only has the 2" neoprene collars for plant sites, i wanted to move the clones into net cups so they could easily be transferred to the bigger totes when they were ready.

If i had left them in the cloner, i wouldnt have gotten them back out of the holes without damaging roots

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Do you use a different hydro system in your blue tote?
If not, why don't you use the blue tote also as a cloner.
No need to transplant then.

Keesje said:

Do you use a different hydro system in your blue tote?
If not, why don't you use the blue tote also as a cloner.
No need to transplant then.

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Couple different reasons

the blue cooler holds 3” net cups which is also what the big totes will have, so it will be easy to move when they are ready and won’t have to worry about roots being too big for the 2”hole in the red cloner. Also Won’t be much shock involved as they will already be in the 3” net cups , just need to switch over to the tote, rather than having to move huge roots from a 2” neoprene

also the blue cooler is quite a bit taller, so it’s allowed me to keep the roots suspended out of the water a bit longer, they would already be soaking in water in the red cooler.

the red cloner was built many months ago, long before I ever considered aero for growing. The blue cooler is a newer build.

well i did the first test run, had one small leak where i forgot to use tape, easy fix.

Bad news, my new pump isnt big enough, need to buy a new one asap. I shoulda known by how cheap it was and it being from vivosun. Lesson learned



Any of you have good pump recommendations? i want something powerful. Might run to Canadian tire in the morning, just to see what they have in stock.

@Renfro
@Axion42
@Airwalker16
@dstroy

at anyone who wants to help lol

I built a new waterfall system for a stealth grow, 2 site + reservoir and bought the EcoPlus 396 again, it leaked from the housing so I returned it and I'm trying the EcoPlus magdrive 350, havent set it up yet as I'm still insulating my buckets, this weekend I should have it going but it doesnt have the detachable housing like the other Eco pumps so I like that about it.

These are the 2 ive found so far. Reviews seem decent for both, another grower mentioned the ecoplus to me, so might be worth a shot.

I think i might try the zoic, reviews sound good and i like the 80w power consumption compared to the 245w of the ecoplus....altho maybe that should be telling me something? more juice usually equals more power lol

ffs i gotta stop getting high and doing amazon lol

Lol tell me about it, my wife does all the store shopping and I do the Amazon purchases. For my big rdwc I use the ecoplus 596 and havent had any problems with it, must have received a defect on my last purchase.

diggs99 said:

well i did the first test run, had one small leak where i forgot to use tape, easy fix.

Bad news, my new pump isnt big enough, need to buy a new one asap. I shoulda known by how cheap it was and it being from vivosun. Lesson learned



Any of you have good pump recommendations? i want something powerful. Might run to Canadian tire in the morning, just to see what they have in stock.

@Renfro
@Axion42
@Airwalker16
@dstroy

at anyone who wants to help lol

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This is a pump for a "low pressure aero" setup right? Would one of those RV style pumps work? They'd maybe be too much pressure? My recommendation would be a DC water pump (like Jebao, for eg.) for any hydro stuff like rdwc. But, I don't know about for this LPA application because usually the DC water pumps have a "slow start" feature where they ramp up to speed when powered on (instead of instantly), and that would probably cause your emitters to trickle first, then spray as the pump reaches full speed (10-15sec or so).

-They run way less wattage. And also heat up the system's water much less (hence rdwc).
-They have controllers; choose speed setting, pause function, etc.
-They do come in pretty high GPH ratings with good max Head numbers from what I remember.

Link to some DC pumps: https://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/DC-Pumps/
Maybe just one of these: LINK

Edit: That 'superior pump' also comes in less powerful models on amazon.

I ordered one of each....i figure no harm in having a second pump around anyway, just in case of failure. Cant lose crops cause of a pump....hopefully one of them will be decent lol

atleast thats my stoner logic for the day

Wifey isnt gonna be impressed but also wont be surprised hahahaha

Axion42 said:

Lol tell me about it, my wife does all the store shopping and I do the Amazon purchases. For my big rdwc I use the ecoplus 596 and havent had any problems with it, must have received a defect on my last purchase.

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Amazon is just too easy bro lol

My UPS that you suggested just got here a few days ago too, anything i should know before hooking that up?

Nope, usually only one side of the plugs uses the battery backup, it should be labeled either way, mine is.

Axion42 said:

Nope, usually only one side of the plugs uses the battery backup, it should be labeled either way, mine is.

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ok cool i got the exact same one that you have, so should be the same.

So your timer is always plugged into the UPS?

I dont use a timer for my pump, I run rdwc so my pump is 24/7, but yes my pump is on the battery. I try to only use the battery for the pump, mostly everything else is on the non battery plugs. If i lose power I can do without lights or fans for a bit, but the pump is vital in my setup.

Axion42 said:

I dont use a timer for my pump, I run rdwc so my pump is 24/7, but yes my pump is on the battery. I try to only use the battery for the pump, mostly everything else is on the non battery plugs. If i lose power I can do without lights or fans for a bit, but the pump is vital in my setup.

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ya that’s my only priority as well. Keep the pump and timer running

diggs99 said:

ya that’s my only priority as well. Keep the pump and timer running

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Do you have many outages where you're at? I usually don't, in the summer sometimes we get blackouts, I live in southern cali, super hot in summer and people overloading the grid with their ACs will kill power sometimes, only for an hour or 2 but that's along time for a rdwc setup.

Axion42 said:

Do you have many outages where you're at? I usually don't, in the summer sometimes we get blackouts, I live in southern cali, super hot in summer and people overloading the grid with their ACs will kill power sometimes, only for an hour or 2 but that's along time for a rdwc setup.

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nah we will have an outage every once in a while. Not frequent by any means.

I like the idea of having the backup tho, even if a breaker trips or some shit, at least it buys me some time to catch it.

Day 5 in the veg box, day 16 since i took the cuts.


The twist hasnt gotten any worse, roots look decent, They are stretching a little, so ill prob drop the t5s down a bit to slow that down.. As mentioned above, the pump i have is too small for the big system, so i ordered 2 new pumps, otherwise its ready to go.

Just curious, how much better have you guys found doing aero for cloning over just rapid rooters or other methods? Just hate to spend money i don't have to
BTW.. i never need more than 2 clones.. so i do 4 for safety, I saw a 8 pot setup on amazon for like $45.. just get that or cheaper to just build a small setup? thanks guys.

icetech said:

Just curious, how much better have you guys found doing aero for cloning over just rapid rooters or other methods? Just hate to spend money i don't have to
BTW.. i never need more than 2 clones.. so i do 4 for safety, I saw a 8 pot setup on amazon for like $45.. just get that or cheaper to just build a small setup? thanks guys.

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I won’t say it’s better than rapid rooters, that method has been working forever and a day.

I will say it works lol and it’s easy.

As for building it, what do you have around the house/shed that can be used? Do you happen to have a cheap pump on hand?

$45 is pretty cheap for a ready made cloner, so unless you got some stuff around the house you can use,prob just as well off to buy the pre made one.

diggs99 said:

I won’t say it’s better than rapid rooters, that method has been working forever and a day.

I will say it works lol and it’s easy.

As for building it, what do you have around the house/shed that can be used? Do you happen to have a cheap pump on hand?

$45 is pretty cheap for a ready made cloner, so unless you got some stuff around the house you can use,prob just as well off to buy the pre made one.

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Thanks.. ran into this video And i think i might try that.. i like that there is no manifold and the whole thing is like $30.