Created a similar system years ago. I had some great results. The only difference was i placed the float valves in a 2 gallon bucket.. will be experimenting with rain gutter grow systems this year. thank you for the upload very informative.
I love using the Kratky method I'm in the WA wheatbelt where at the moment we have regular over 40-degree days so it's hot dry and windy. I'm struggling with the heat and my water temp at the moment. So I don't have as much growing at this time of the year. I love that it's water wise especially where I am located. Just to put it out there stagnation is very unlikely it's caused by debris and non-moving water. This is a closed system and as long your roots are healthy there shouldn't be any debris or very little, and it is constantly getting topped up with fresh water. A 500 litre revisor would last me a week when everything is growing and fruiting so its constantly getting topped up with fresh water. I will definitely be setting up something similar to this when the weather cools down it's given me a few more ideas. Thank you
Awesome mate! And the roots looks very healthy. Could you make more videos on getting the right PH and if possible with all product you can get access at Bunnings. Cheers mate.
Nice setup ... probably been mentioned below but for uniform bucket hole-punching if they are unmarked. Take a strip of firm cardboard - crease towards the tail to create a flap. The flape goes under the bucket and the longer piece easily leans-up the outside of the bucket and of coarse it would have a hole in it so a permanent mar ker could easily mark at the correct height ... a 'Kratky7 jig". 🙂
A modification might be to have the plant holes in sides, all the way around, with foam rolled into the holes to support plants. This would stop too much rain getting in, if you live in a maritime or mountainous climate etc.
are you having to top them up for the initial setup so that the roots can reach the water level? and what if you have different plant species with one a lot more thirsty than the others, the water level could drop before the others develop enough roots
If you replaced the valve with a check valve (1 way valve) you wouldn't need to monitor the level in the buckets. While the plant buckets are fuller than the float valve bucket the check valve would prevent backflow, once they were lower the check valve would allow nutrients to flow towards them. Actually, now that I think about it you don't need anything there, just fill up the float valve bucket to your desired height and once the level drops below the float it will refill, no valve needed, the float serves as a one way valve.
This is a great point - I didn't have a 1 way valve but this would work. Although, depending on where you put it you still want to deal with any overflow if you are growing outside and it rains!
Great questions! Flat-faced inlets/outlets can work on circular buckets, but ensuring a proper seal is crucial to avoid leaks. A rubber washer or gasket, combined with careful tightening, does the job for me so far. If you’re concerned, fittings designed for curved surfaces might be worth considering, if you can find them! As for stagnation, the Kratky method, developed by Dr Bernard Kratky, is designed to be completely passive. It doesn’t require active aeration like Deep Water Culture (DWC). Instead, as plants absorb nutrients and water, the level naturally drops, creating an air gap that provides oxygen to the roots. This design, combined with proper monitoring of nutrient levels, prevents stagnation and keeps the system running smoothly.
@@GrowthEquationAu could stagnation not occur in the large reservoir? Do you do any measuring of your ppms and how do you ensure the water and nutrient are consumed in equal parts?
Great follow-up! Stagnation in the reservoir is unlikely with proper monitoring. I use EC (electrical conductivity), pH, and PPM (parts per million) readings to keep the solution balanced. Plants take up water and nutrients at different rates depending on their growth stage and environmental factors. This can cause changes in the nutrient concentration over time, which is why regular monitoring is so important. This might be a bit advanced for just this video, but it’s a great concept to keep in mind as you explore hydroponics. I’ll be making a video shortly to explain these ideas in more detail-stay tuned!
@@andyh4747airration is a whole sub type of kraky. And your plants will do well as long as the container is not in direct sun light, will also depend were your located in the world. Ie around the central part of earth, hot and direct sun will boil roots in under 40 minutes. I experimented and found this out myself, styrofoam boxes worked well.... But U need to line it with sheet plastic as the roots dig throughout the Styrofoam..
Be careful with rubber seals if you use a wrench to tighten it. Too much pressure is bad. The seal is deformed and often damaged in the long run. The life-time of the rubber seal is greatly reduced. No problem if you can buy the seals in huge quantities without buying a new float valve. In general I would tighten it just to the point that no water leaks out.
Sadly, if uour keeping that outside, the rain will fill up the buckets as the lids are a great collecting system How to fix? Sasly again.. cutting up styrofoam boxes that become the lids Bonus, they help regulate the bucket from abouve heat and uv, if ur in a hot area.
i have constant problems with that specific specific float valve blocking up so I am going to try moving to a dipstick float valve ruclips.net/video/g2tLzqxvQaU/видео.html EDIT: I might try removing the filter first ;) thanks for that one
I have never had a problem with the float valve blocking. Do you have a filter between your reservoir and the float valve? I use a 13mm In-Line Poly Filter between my main reservoir and the unlimited Kratky buckets 💧
Created a similar system years ago. I had some great results. The only difference was i placed the float valves in a 2 gallon bucket.. will be experimenting with rain gutter grow systems this year. thank you for the upload very informative.
I love using the Kratky method I'm in the WA wheatbelt where at the moment we have regular over 40-degree days so it's hot dry and windy. I'm struggling with the heat and my water temp at the moment. So I don't have as much growing at this time of the year. I love that it's water wise especially where I am located. Just to put it out there stagnation is very unlikely it's caused by debris and non-moving water. This is a closed system and as long your roots are healthy there shouldn't be any debris or very little, and it is constantly getting topped up with fresh water. A 500 litre revisor would last me a week when everything is growing and fruiting so its constantly getting topped up with fresh water. I will definitely be setting up something similar to this when the weather cools down it's given me a few more ideas. Thank you
The tossing of the valve filter sent me 😂❤
Awesome mate! And the roots looks very healthy. Could you make more videos on getting the right PH and if possible with all product you can get access at Bunnings. Cheers mate.
Glad you liked the video, and great to hear the roots look healthy to you! I’ll add this idea to the production list!
Nice setup ... probably been mentioned below but for uniform bucket hole-punching if they are unmarked. Take a strip of firm cardboard - crease towards the tail to create a flap. The flape goes under the bucket and the longer piece easily leans-up the outside of the bucket and of coarse it would have a hole in it so a permanent mar ker could easily mark at the correct height ... a 'Kratky7 jig". 🙂
Brilliant suggestion, so obvious, why didn't I think of that! :)
Only concern I’d have would be roots migrating into the tubing and plugging it up. Make sure you keep it clear by checking it every so often
Yes! I agree - always something to keep you up at night when it comes to hydroponics!
Tomatoes can easily fill that up if they are happy..
Hell I had year old basil get a root ball the same as tomatoes :(
What is the emergency exit you mention at the end of the video? Is it just a hole in the reservoir bucket?
Just, just somewhere for excess water to drain out
A modification might be to have the plant holes in sides, all the way around, with foam rolled into the holes to support plants. This would stop too much rain getting in, if you live in a maritime or mountainous climate etc.
This is a great idea - I will test it out and make a video!
What is the typical temp in summer where you live? What was the water temp without burying the bucket? What was the temp after burying it?
Average temp in summer 30c
are you having to top them up for the initial setup so that the roots can reach the water level? and what if you have different plant species with one a lot more thirsty than the others, the water level could drop before the others develop enough roots
I didn’t have this problem, but if it kept you up at night you could just add more taps or one way flow valves
What are the chances of the roots clogging the Float?
If they are in the same bucket - very high!
what nutrient are you using?
This system runs Diamond Special T and NitroCal. Diamond Special T is specifically designed for growing hydroponic tomatoes 🍅
If you replaced the valve with a check valve (1 way valve) you wouldn't need to monitor the level in the buckets. While the plant buckets are fuller than the float valve bucket the check valve would prevent backflow, once they were lower the check valve would allow nutrients to flow towards them. Actually, now that I think about it you don't need anything there, just fill up the float valve bucket to your desired height and once the level drops below the float it will refill, no valve needed, the float serves as a one way valve.
This is a great point - I didn't have a 1 way valve but this would work. Although, depending on where you put it you still want to deal with any overflow if you are growing outside and it rains!
Is it a good idea to use these flat faced inlets/outlets on circular buckets?
and is no aeration going to cause stagnation?
Great questions! Flat-faced inlets/outlets can work on circular buckets, but ensuring a proper seal is crucial to avoid leaks. A rubber washer or gasket, combined with careful tightening, does the job for me so far. If you’re concerned, fittings designed for curved surfaces might be worth considering, if you can find them!
As for stagnation, the Kratky method, developed by Dr Bernard Kratky, is designed to be completely passive. It doesn’t require active aeration like Deep Water Culture (DWC). Instead, as plants absorb nutrients and water, the level naturally drops, creating an air gap that provides oxygen to the roots. This design, combined with proper monitoring of nutrient levels, prevents stagnation and keeps the system running smoothly.
@@GrowthEquationAu could stagnation not occur in the large reservoir? Do you do any measuring of your ppms and how do you ensure the water and nutrient are consumed in equal parts?
Great follow-up! Stagnation in the reservoir is unlikely with proper monitoring. I use EC (electrical conductivity), pH, and PPM (parts per million) readings to keep the solution balanced. Plants take up water and nutrients at different rates depending on their growth stage and environmental factors. This can cause changes in the nutrient concentration over time, which is why regular monitoring is so important.
This might be a bit advanced for just this video, but it’s a great concept to keep in mind as you explore hydroponics. I’ll be making a video shortly to explain these ideas in more detail-stay tuned!
@@andyh4747airration is a whole sub type of kraky.
And your plants will do well as long as the container is not in direct sun light, will also depend were your located in the world.
Ie around the central part of earth, hot and direct sun will boil roots in under 40 minutes.
I experimented and found this out myself, styrofoam boxes worked well.... But U need to line it with sheet plastic as the roots dig throughout the Styrofoam..
Be careful with rubber seals if you use a wrench to tighten it. Too much pressure is bad. The seal is deformed and often damaged in the long run. The life-time of the rubber seal is greatly reduced. No problem if you can buy the seals in huge quantities without buying a new float valve. In general I would tighten it just to the point that no water leaks out.
You would love my video on unlimited deep water culture!
based
Sadly, if uour keeping that outside, the rain will fill up the buckets as the lids are a great collecting system
How to fix?
Sasly again.. cutting up styrofoam boxes that become the lids
Bonus, they help regulate the bucket from abouve heat and uv, if ur in a hot area.
Rain floods the system,
Overflow spares drowning roots,
Check Nutrients, fix.
A haiku about an overflow
i have constant problems with that specific specific float valve blocking up so I am going to try moving to a dipstick float valve ruclips.net/video/g2tLzqxvQaU/видео.html
EDIT: I might try removing the filter first ;) thanks for that one
I have never had a problem with the float valve blocking. Do you have a filter between your reservoir and the float valve? I use a 13mm In-Line Poly Filter between my main reservoir and the unlimited Kratky buckets 💧