Reservoir

[ruok1116]

I have six bucket DWC how do I add a reservoir to this and what would I need as far as supplies

 

[SamSmith]

The short version is to buy a bunch of PVC and uniseals and tie them all together and then plumb them to a reservoir. Then you have to plumb in return lines to create circulation to the system.

This is a simplified illustration.

 

[ruok1116]

OK thank you what size of pipes the PVC pipes what I use

 

[SamSmith]

That would depend on what you have available to you and what you are trying to acomplish in terms of cycling of the water. Most systems I have seen use 1 1/2" PVC for the return/drain lines so they don't get blocked with roots. The return lines can be rigid of flexible as they are carrying just water/nutrient solution.

There are dozens of ways of doing what you are looking to do. Perform a search on building an RDWC system on youtube. There are a ton of them. Here is one done a little differently than I described.

 

[straightup]

I have six bucket DWC how do I add a reservoir to this and what would I need as far as supplies

Whatever you do, don't follow the illustration listed right underneath your first post in this thread. It was probably created just to demonstrate what it kind of looks like, but in reality, you want all of your pvc connections that are branching off t connectors to be exactly the same length. Otherwise the flow will favor the shorter pipes and you will get a dead bucket that doesn't recirculate correctly.

For example, in that illustration, take a look at the supply line (the top, smaller diameter pvc pipe). The optimal way to build that system would be a Y configuration, with the reservoir in the middle. That way your supply and return lines split off from a t connector right down the middle, where your grow buckets are equidistant from the lines coming out of the tote. Here is a better illustration:

Basically, to convert your system, as the other guy said, you will need some pvc to connect it all. Depending on what size buckets you have, you can go anywhere from 1 1/2" to 3" PVC for the drain lines. I run 13 gallon buckets with large root balls, so I have 3" PVC on the bottom, and 1" PVC as the waterfall supply. You will obviously need a water pump and I would suggest an inline pump rather than a submersible one. The submersibles will heat up your reservoir temps. You will also need to choose between uniseals or bulkheads for where you pipes enter your buckets. Bulkheads are expensive and permanent, but are generally leak proof and last forever. Uniseals are like rubber grommets, or o-rings, that are a hassle to work with sometimes, and also occasionally leak, but the advantage is that they are cheap, and if you want to take a pipe out and modify your system, you just pull it out rather than having to cut.