Need help sizing irrigation pump

peacepipe17

Well-Known Member
I need help sizing a pump for irrigation.

I just set up 6 floraflex bubblers going to 48 plants. each line has a tee with 2 small lines going to each plant. so 96 points of water emission. I tried to irrigate the entire room with my 1/3hp utility pump and did not get the pressure needed to water all of them at the same time. Even trying to do half of the room (3 bubblers) was not very successful.

I want to water all 48 plants at once. I do not want to split the room into zones. Right now the utility pump pumps out of a 55 gallon rez and there are 2 runs (3 bubblers each) with an air bleed valve at the end of each run.

I'm confused about the type of pump I need as well as the size I need. I have seen a lot of discussion about jet pumps like the leader pumps. Ive also seen people say they use a larger utility pump but those people are usually trying to irrigate a smaller setup then my own.

What pump should I get that will fully pressurize 6-8 octa bubblers that run to floraflex pot pros? Its important I mention that I am using the floracaps/pot pros and I need them to fill up at a decent rate for them to work. Also, I use 3/4 PVC around 50 ft total maybe a little shorter
 

peacepipe17

Well-Known Member
So if I need a minimum of 300 ml per plant in at least 10 seconds to distribute on the cap well. That's 1800ml/min X 48 plants

86000ml/23 gal (rounded up)

System needs a minimum of 40 psi to run correctly. So do I just need to look for a pump that can do >23 gallons per minute at 40 psi? @ 5ft lift. Or I suppose zero lift if I use a bulkhead fitting at the bottom of the rez.

Would that math/logic work correctly?
 

peacepipe17

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the reply. The video you shared is how I kinda came up with the math I did. I require pretty high pressure to get my desired affect.

I purchased a rather expensive leader pump. I will update the thread with my experience in case anyone else trying to run a similar system and needs help in the future.
 
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