So before I ask for any advice on this system I came up with, I should go about explaining it the best way I can. So...it's a 6-bucket, drip hydroponic-aeroponic, ebb and flow, DWC recirculating system.
A mouthful, I know.
How does a system as complex as this work, you might be asking yourself? For starters, I have a 20 gallon reservoir holding a nutrient solution and several different items; an 80 GPH pump hooked up to 1/4 inch line, a 240gph pump hooked up to a half inch line, and a 7 inch ice probe running at full capacity. These are all hooked up to various timers that go off at various times, but the 80gph is moving constantly alongside the ice probe.
The 80gph is running lines into the top of 5-gallon buckets with 6-inch-neti's, that are both part of a constant drip ring, and down into the buckets themselves where they are fed into aeroponic foggers that are constantly running in the chambers. The bottoms of the buckets have half-inch running in and out of them for both filling and draining on a gravity based ebb-and-flow table, but here is where things get weird.
I have the 240gph running on a timer, along with air stones that run into each individual bucket. Every three hours, the system floods and keeps the airstones running for an hour, after which it drains back down into the reservoir via the half inch line. The aeroponic foggers and drip continues to run, while the "ebb-and-DWC" rests, repeating 6 times throughout the day.
Before anyone cries foul, I just want to show off the merit of what this system accomplishes. Through multiple pumps, timers, separate lines, and buckets it effectively combines every type of watering system available, over the course of the day, spread evenly throughout as though it were anything else. I still haven't decided on the specific times I want to run the system (3-1, 2-2, 4-2,) or whether it might just be a little excessive overall, but I want to hear everyone's thoughts, and if maybe I just invented some new system I could take to market?
I welcome all input, but if you've come to hate on a new way of trying things, please direct it elsewhere!
A mouthful, I know.
How does a system as complex as this work, you might be asking yourself? For starters, I have a 20 gallon reservoir holding a nutrient solution and several different items; an 80 GPH pump hooked up to 1/4 inch line, a 240gph pump hooked up to a half inch line, and a 7 inch ice probe running at full capacity. These are all hooked up to various timers that go off at various times, but the 80gph is moving constantly alongside the ice probe.
The 80gph is running lines into the top of 5-gallon buckets with 6-inch-neti's, that are both part of a constant drip ring, and down into the buckets themselves where they are fed into aeroponic foggers that are constantly running in the chambers. The bottoms of the buckets have half-inch running in and out of them for both filling and draining on a gravity based ebb-and-flow table, but here is where things get weird.
I have the 240gph running on a timer, along with air stones that run into each individual bucket. Every three hours, the system floods and keeps the airstones running for an hour, after which it drains back down into the reservoir via the half inch line. The aeroponic foggers and drip continues to run, while the "ebb-and-DWC" rests, repeating 6 times throughout the day.
Before anyone cries foul, I just want to show off the merit of what this system accomplishes. Through multiple pumps, timers, separate lines, and buckets it effectively combines every type of watering system available, over the course of the day, spread evenly throughout as though it were anything else. I still haven't decided on the specific times I want to run the system (3-1, 2-2, 4-2,) or whether it might just be a little excessive overall, but I want to hear everyone's thoughts, and if maybe I just invented some new system I could take to market?
I welcome all input, but if you've come to hate on a new way of trying things, please direct it elsewhere!
