Building a UCDWC System, help appreciated.

69Bandit said:

Faster is most likely not better, problems arise when running higher pressures like leaks or floods and it might even damage roots.

Rather keep my roots in the same bucket with air stone bubbles bathing the roots and just enough water movement to keep the heavier elements circulating.

Click to expand...

This is exactlly the right thinking... and exactly what you want

How many gallons does each bucket have when system is running? From all the pics of all the hardware I've seen, roughly 4" of water at most. I thought the majority of the roots are above the water line.

I'm not suggesting 100 mph, but streams often run at 5-10 knots in the middle but gently circulate along the shore/ area farthest from the flow

I'll check out now. If someone tries it and is successful, please let me know.

69Bandit said:

Dude, THANK YOU. this was such a bitch to find information on, especially good information....

Ok going to try to find square 5 gallon buckets, are uni-seals a good choice or is there a better option?

Should i have a valve on my return line to slow the pump down? and what size of return line should i run from the 2" in the back (in this pic)?

Also what kind of line should of run off the back 2" PVC? a thick black semi-flexible hose or PVC?

How should i pick out a res? (higher than square buckets? wider?)

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-T29S6x8yMDs/UQAq1opn22I/AAAAAAAABCY/CBq9NHzfNJ8/s1443/ucdwcv3.jpg

Click to expand...

I had an extrmely detailed step by step build of my DIY UC at thcfarmer but when they updated their servers about 8 months ago my thread was lost ... My build was just about an exact replica of a uc 8xl I even used the same 8gal buckets they are called ez stor 8 gal buckets in case u wanted to try to get them... They are great well worth the money they only come in white for small orders but you can just wrap them in panda film to prevent light from entering them...Okay on to your questions...

Uniseals are fantastic as long as you use square buckets another option would be O rings and male female pvc to connect or a more expensive option is bulkheads... Uniseals i feel work good and are the most cost effective..

Yes put a shut off valve on your return, i use 3/4 pvc for my returns on all the systems ive made.. I just dont trust flexible hose i would always be paranoid of it slipping off and causing a flood.. Hard pipe it with pvc and u wont have to worry..

I am not sure what you mean by off the back of your 2" pvc?? you will have to get a 2" T that reduces down to 3/4' for your return line?? im not sure if that was your question though...

Use the same size bucket for your res and plant buckets.. A taller rez wouldnt make any difference because the water level can only be as high as your highest bucket... You could get a little bit wider rez bucket if u wanted but there is really no need for it...

I am going to find a few pics of systems ive put together.. i know for sure i have a couple pics of my buddies i just designed and put together with round 5gal buckets and uniseals thag had a slight leak that we fixed up with "great stuff" silicone shit that is like a badass sealant.. and i think i have a few pics of my first system i built

PetFlora said:

How many gallons does each bucket have when system is running? From all the pics of all the hardware I've seen, roughly 4" of water at most. I thought the majority of the roots are above the water line.

I'm not suggesting 100 mph, but streams often run at 5-10 knots in the middle but gently circulate along the shore/ area farthest from the flow

I'll check out now. If someone tries it and is successful, please let me know.

Click to expand...

I use 8 gallon buckets and i run my water level pretty high it sits just below the bottom of my net pot after roots start poking through and before that i have the bottom 1/4 of my net lot under the water.. so about 5-6 gal of water in each 8 gal bucket

here ya go.. if you get white buckets make sure you light proof them like i did or else you will get sum nasty algae in ur system

i will guide u to buds like this, and yes thats a 2 liter bottle

damn im down nic pics and thak you for the help. i cant wait to get this going

babyhughie said:

i will guide u to buds like this, and yes thats a 2 liter bottle

Click to expand...

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

Thank you so much man was going to get a larger res. but this will save me some money in the long run. i put this together for my final design. i put the two valves on the res so i can turn off the pump, shut the valves. mix nutes. open valves. turn on pump... hopefully not hit any roots with a death solution.

babyhughie said:

I am not sure what you mean by off the back of your 2" pvc?? you will have to get a 2" T that reduces down to 3/4' for your return line?? im not sure if that was your question though...

Click to expand...

Was my question thanks.


So i was looking around for EZ-Stor buckets, but i am finding them for 40$ per bucket.... then again this is in canada i am sure the shipping would be rough so i was thinking about going with 5 gallon square pails and mod the lids. should i aim for something larger than 5 gallons?

ooohhh i see what your saying now with the valves on the 2" pvc.. I dont have them on mine never really needed them.. but you do want a shut off valve on your 3/4" return line... When i add nutes i just dump them in the rez a little at a time like with the return pump running .25 each time let run for like a minute then add another.25 i do that until what i am putting in is gone or until the ppms are where i want them... Dont add all nutes to the rez then open up the valves because your rez bucket would be holding all the nutes in it then when u open your valves boom that high concentration of nutes gets pulled through each bucket one by one... That will stress your plants a bit.. Also make sure when using PH down only add a tiny bit at a time wait until it completly cirrculates through the system then add a little more... or add a few drops every 10-15seconds... Ph down will fry your roots if you just dump it in all at once...

I like to think of the water/nutes circulating like running around a highschool track... the nutes constantly circulate through the system pulled through each bucket then to the next then they hit the return line and go back to where they started.... It takes a little bit of time to get it down... Just keep your eyes on your ph/ppm meter while ur mixing...

the ez store buckets are about 15 each with lids i believe the minimum order is 6 now though i got mine from bayteccontainers.com
they are 6buckets and lids for 91.74... it says 91.74 each but that is for each bundle of 6.... 5 gallon squares work good to but personally i love the 8 gals

babyhughie said:

the ez store buckets are about 15 each with lids i believe the minimum order is 6 now though i got mine from bayteccontainers.com
they are 6buckets and lids for 91.74... it says 91.74 each but that is for each bundle of 6.... 5 gallon squares work good to but personally i love the 8 gals

Click to expand...

shipping would be 110$. not sure if its worth that much. mayhaps when i get a bigger setup

Now i am wondering, is 250gph too much for 5 5 gallon buckets? i mean. at tops it would have 25 gallons of water to move... maybe 28 with the 2" PVC lines.

69Bandit said:

Now i am wondering, is 250gph too much for 5 5 gallon buckets? i mean. at tops it would have 25 gallons of water to move... maybe 28 with the 2" PVC lines.

Click to expand...

you might be right... I was thinking 8 gal buckets.. you want to have a turnover of about 7-8 times per hour go with a 200gph... Or you could get the 250gph and close the return valve a tiny bit... I had to close my valve my first run like halfway because i bought a 1100gph pump... I actually ran 2 full runs with it closed halfway and it worked perfect... I like to be able to change the rate of flow when im cleaning out the system or flushing i open the valve all the way and that shit rips 1100gph is no joke... Even now for my 10-8gal buckets i have a 950gph pump and close the valve just a lil bit so its more like 700gph

i'll go with the 250 then, that way if i ever decide to expand or get 8 gal buckets the option is open to me. i got another 10 days before my order gets here.