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  1. #1
    Members mpugh5@aol.com's Avatar
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    bulk head fittings

    i know there was a post on this somewhere but i'm pretty sure that this is where this belongs so.........i have a guy from another forum i belong to, sending me 28"x14 1/2"x5" LxWxD plastic tubs that i would like to use for grow beds. they come from a hospital he works at and they toss them after they remove whatever they package in them. he sends them to me for the cost of postage. which means proper cost.
    my plan is to set up metal racks and stack them with a bulk head fitting in the bottom of each. i'd say maybe a three inch pipe that once the water level reached it would then drain down to the grow bed beneath and probably stack 3-4 high on to the bottom where i would have it drain into maybe a 10 gallon tank with a pump to return it to the aquarium.
    okay question,for this type set up which fitting would be best? this is going to sit right in my living room with my 75 gallon breeder tank being the tank of choice and the grow beds right in front of the non movable side of the french door for light.just brainstorming on a set up. thanks michael
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  2. #2
    Moderator JCO's Avatar
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    Re: bulk head fittings

    My first question...what are you going to grow in these beds, how tall does it grow and how are the plants on the bottom levels going to get light? If you are talking about 3 or four levels and a 10 gal aqu. underneath, the plants will have to be very short and a good light source for them. Yea, I know...I didn't answer your question about the fittings....I'm sure Badflash or Jeff can handle that answer...me....I'm just the nay-sayer here
    JCO
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  3. #3
    Moderator jackalope's Avatar
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    Re: bulk head fittings

    I want to make sure I clearly understand what you're planning. From what I read, you're going to drain the top one down to the next one, etc. If you don't have some type of auto-siphon, such as a bell siphon, or the ones pictured by JeffW or Wolfracer, the water will just drain straight through, instead of rising to within 1/2" to 1" of the top of the grow-bed to provide the plants with the necessary water and nutrients - mine actually goes over the top of the grow-bed, because I use cups to grow in. I'm assuming, of course, that this is planned to be a Flood and Drain System. One of these days, I'll get around to putting up some photos of my no-holes siphons so you can see how they work ..... as a matter of fact, I'll see if I can break away from the FAQS that I'm working on, and put up a couple of pics of my system (now that it's mostly recovered from my killing spree) so you can see how the no-holes system works. I think my grow-beds are about the same size as the trays you are getting. A three inch drain seems a little extreme unless you have a huge pump. I think my pump is a 350GPH with a 1/2" line providing the water to the grow-beds, I have been using a 1" drain until recently when I've been trying out a different no-holes drain, which added a 3/4" drain, so the two are running side-by-side, but I still get plenty of water in the lower grow-beds.
    Jackalope
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  4. #4
    Members mpugh5@aol.com's Avatar
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    Re: bulk head fittings

    what i'm looking at doing would be to have three inches of pipe sticking up in the grow bed out of the bulk head fitting so that when it reached that height it would be forced to drain to the next lowest bed. as to the height and light 3 or 4 beds high and i don't know if any one has tried it but you can direct a lot of light with mirrors.then of course grow lights help. as for the height this is going to be my salad operation. maybe one cherry tomato plant peeping out at the lower level. jco i like nae sayers very very needful. saves the later headache when thought out well.at least maybe a one pill versus a two pill .
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  5. #5
    Moderator jackalope's Avatar
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    Re: bulk head fittings

    My Bell Siphon - I didn't like having 18" of gravel, the rubbermaid turned into an oval with all the weight, so I did away with this type;



    My no-holes, 1st try - 1" pipe, I didn't like this design because it took up too much space, it was 3 separate pieces- two of which had to be weighted down to keep them in the grow-bed, which kept coming apart and then the spreader fell out, changing the level of the siphon,




    so I designed another which is 3/4" pipe which won't come apart like the first one, ...... it's glued to the spreader, all one piece.



    I still have the first one in there, but it really isn't needed. The great thing about the no-holes siphon is that you don't have the extra expense of bulkhead fittings .
    I use the Linux Operating System ...... Free as in beer!
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  6. #6
    Members mpugh5@aol.com's Avatar
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    Re: bulk head fittings

    no hole syphons well schools back in another thing for me to get figured. thanks
    one life one love.

  7. #7
    Moderator jackalope's Avatar
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    Re: bulk head fittings

    Quote Originally Posted by mpugh5@aol.com
    no hole syphons well schools back in another thing for me to get figured. thanks
    I'm going to put up a pic of all the parts needed so that it will be easy ..... just change the measurements to your grow-bed sizes



    Growbeds 13 1/4" apart Sterilite #1846 - 28qt, 27l. - 5 1/2" deep
    3/4" PVC throughout
    Fittings
    10 ea. Ells - add 3/4" to your measurement for amount going into the fitting times two for two fittings
    2 ea. Tees - add 3/4" to your measurement for amount going into the fitting times two for two fittings
    Pipe
    1 ea. 10 5/8" - glued between tees on top (spreader)
    4 ea. 4 1/2" - glued between tee and 2 ells and ell and 2 ells on each side
    6 ea 1 1/2" - glued between tee and ell on top, and ells on bottom
    2 ea. 6 1/4" with 1/8" holes drilled 1/4" apart - 4 sides for sieve or strainer to keep the grow-bed media out of the siphon- this is the grow-bed inlet - doesn't need to be glued NOTE: in the pic above, I haven't yet drilled the holes in the strainer

    for a single grow-bed, you would just use half of the above, but without the tee and using an ell instead - measurements and gluing similar to above. like I said, this isn't very stable and so it needs to be weighted down .... I didn't like it.

    Allow 24 hours before installing them into the grow-beds if you have fish or plants in them. To fill them with water, just lay them flat in the fish tank so they fill completely with water, then, stand them up so that the open ends are still under water .... carefully, keeping all open ends level, take it out of the water and place it into the growbed, trying not to spill any of the water ..... fill in the media around the strainer and siphon pipe. For the strainer (the outside pipe that goes into the growbed), I just drill 4 lines (N, S, E, W) so the water can flow easily into the siphon, I don't bother gluing it, because I may have to pull it to clean it in the future
    I use the Linux Operating System ...... Free as in beer!
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  8. #8
    Members Shas's Avatar
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    Re: bulk head fittings

    Quote Originally Posted by jackalope
    I'm going to put up a pic of all the parts needed so that it will be easy .....
    That is the most lucid set of instructions I have seen yet.
    Laying the parts out on plywood to photograph them
    is simply brilliant.
    Better than a five-page manual.

    I have a question, though-
    you replaced your bell syphon with this,
    but this can't provide the fill-and-drain action, right?
    So, what has been your experience
    insofar as success with growing vegetables
    in a constant-height rather than tidal water feed?

    Or tell me I'm wrong
    and that this does somehow fill and drain...
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  9. #9
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    Re: bulk head fittings

    what he has here is a u siphon it will maintain the water height with the top pipe but I wouldnt see why you couldnt incorporate a bell siphon into this design

  10. #10
    Moderator jackalope's Avatar
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    Re: bulk head fittings

    Quote Originally Posted by Shas

    That is the most lucid set of instructions I have seen yet.
    Laying the parts out on plywood to photograph them
    is simply brilliant.
    Better than a five-page manual.

    I have a question, though-
    you replaced your bell syphon with this,
    but this can't provide the fill-and-drain action, right?
    So, what has been your experience
    insofar as success with growing vegetables
    in a constant-height rather than tidal water feed?

    Or tell me I'm wrong
    and that this does somehow fill and drain...
    Sorry this is so late, I've been away for a long while .... The no-holes siphon system keeps the water at the same level at all times, I don't think the flood and drain (Bell siphon) would work in conjunction with the no-holes, because you'd break the siphon of the no-holes when the bell siphon drained (unless you were able to somehow regulate the level of the Bell siphon's draining. Also, the water sould be very deep, maybe too much for the no-holes (I've not tried this, just guessing)
    In answer to your other question, I grew 11 foot Tomato plants using the no-holes - they were so tall and bushy, they grew past two windows and up to the ceiling in my shop - the neighbors were beginning to think I was growing pot - when I heard about that I got rid of my tomatos in favor of lettuce I'm not much of a gardener, and I didn't know that you were supposed to limit the height and bushiness of the tomato plants so they can produce more (and bigger) tomatos
    I use the Linux Operating System ...... Free as in beer!
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