Hey folks. I finally signed on to this great site for a number of reasons. A Big part of it was being inspired by some of the awesome posts from "the Cap'n". And it's partly as a result of reading about his systems that I want to try a drain to waste setup. I have been growing in soil for many years. I have a few basic questions, no doubt which have been answered somewhere but I haven't managed to dig them up yet.
A la the Cap'ns perpetual 10oz grow post, am looking at growing in Rockwool -3 gallon pots or larger inside 5 gallon buckets, probably just two large plants each under 600 W. I am thinking I will just use one main reservoir and pump, and pump the water/nutes to both plants at the same time. If that makes sense... Now in my situation I often have to be away for four or five days at a time, not ideal but it has worked out fine with the soil set up I have now. So I am hoping to do the same with the drain to waste system. And fantasizing about being able to risk going away for even longer that one or two times a year I really have to...
Anyway -my first question is: in your experience -how many gallons will I be using per day with a dialed in drain to waste system? So how big a res would you use for the two plants and how long till run dry?
And second- this system has been talked of as being immune to power outages. Well, if the power is out (A bit of a problem around here ) during the window of time my digital timer is set to water the plants I'm obviously going to miss that watering, right? What do you guys do- use a non-digital timer? How long can a large plant in rockwool go without drying out- ie- can I miss a watering cycle? Thanks!
A la the Cap'ns perpetual 10oz grow post, am looking at growing in Rockwool -3 gallon pots or larger inside 5 gallon buckets, probably just two large plants each under 600 W. I am thinking I will just use one main reservoir and pump, and pump the water/nutes to both plants at the same time. If that makes sense... Now in my situation I often have to be away for four or five days at a time, not ideal but it has worked out fine with the soil set up I have now. So I am hoping to do the same with the drain to waste system. And fantasizing about being able to risk going away for even longer that one or two times a year I really have to...
Anyway -my first question is: in your experience -how many gallons will I be using per day with a dialed in drain to waste system? So how big a res would you use for the two plants and how long till run dry?
And second- this system has been talked of as being immune to power outages. Well, if the power is out (A bit of a problem around here ) during the window of time my digital timer is set to water the plants I'm obviously going to miss that watering, right? What do you guys do- use a non-digital timer? How long can a large plant in rockwool go without drying out- ie- can I miss a watering cycle? Thanks!
