TheFertilizer
Well-Known Member
Not sure what you mean by drainage with the manifold?
When the 1 minute cycle is complete the distribution line to the manifold drains into the pots. When I first set this up I wanted exact times so I put an check valve inline but did not have enough pressure above the valve to make it work, so I just live with the extra solution, just adjusted my cycles for it.
That two reservoir setup is a little confusing to me. Is it setup to refill automatically when emptied? What's it recirculating.
I fill the lower rez with my nute solution and circulate it to the upper rez. The solution is slowly pumped to the upper rez. There is a standpipe in the upper rez and when rez is full it drains back into the lower rez and that drainage bubbles so it provides O2 to the rez's so airstones are not needed, don't like them anyway in a DTW. The nutrient solution is recirculating but not all the time.
I'm trying to setup just a simple drain-to-waste drip-water system, not necessarily on a timer or automatic or anything, but I just want to be able to run the drip-feeds instead of hand watering and maybe be able to set it up on a wifi-enabled AC adapter so I can turn it off and off remotely ( instead of a timer ) for vacation watering.
This is exactly what I have set up and that is exactly why I set it up this way, to allow some time away. I tried Blumats, total failure on my part, the say they work, but didn't work for me, lost entire crop. So I tried different setup until I got it right for me. Not sure why you don't want to use a timer.
I run four cycles when the lights are on, and the lower refill/recirculation pump come on 3 hrs before the first cycle at 9PM to refill from the previous days watering and reciculates until just before the cycles starts again. At that point I check/adjust pH as needed, if needed, then it is off for till the cycles are completed, no pH drift. I add solution to the lower rez in the mornings and allow the solution to sit until it begins recirculating prior to cycle start.
No nothing about being able to turn it on remotely, I would be concerned I wouldn't have wifi connection.Nothing is foolproof, we've had timers die but I have a backup plan when I am away. I have a buddy who I am working with on his grow, he is a nube. He comes by in my absence and checks things.
I believe the setup is very simple, efficient and dependable. The only thing that I wish I had are timers that can be adjusted in seconds.
Sorry I did not explain myself well in the original post.using a timer that come on after each cycle to refill the upper rez
GR
Dang man, that sounds complicated. Not in a, criticizing way, I mean I can't really wrap my head around what's happening there. How is everything pumped up to the upper rez, I had assumed you let gravity take the upper res to the lower one. Interesting.
Biggest reason I don't want to use a timer is because any that can run on 1 minute intervals are more expense than I really want right now, might integrate one later but right now I'm just trying to get the actual drip-feed setup before I worry about the timing and stuff. But I don't know if I should be considering it all together.
For example, there's these little pressure-drip things that I see let out 1/2 g per hour, so I was thinking that with a timer that has 15 minute intervals on it, that would mean it would get watered 1 quart of water. But I don't know how accurate that is, or if the way I'm thinking of setting up the submersible pump would even work right.
