8 buckets with a 220 lph pump?? I hope I am understanding that correctly because that would be awesome.

I read that a pump should have 1 Watt per gallon of solution, as a rough calculation. Is that generally accepted?

There is no need for a watt per gallon. There are a few things you can do to make the airstones more effective. One is lower the level of water in your res a bit after roots have grown down to create air roots that will absorb oxygen(similar to kratky). Keep res temps lowest you can (lower temps = more DO) add hydrogen peroxide. Im running a cheap wal mart 80 gallon pump to 8 buckets and having no issues

I use a general rule no less than 2 lpm per gallon.

As a comparison, I use a 45 lpm pump for 6 buckets. That's liter per MINUTE. You're stating you have 220 total liter per HOUR so about 3.7 lpm. That would cover about 2 gallons by my standards.

I think people get tripped up by seeing a pump stating it can handle an 80 gallon tank, or whatever rating, and equate that to gallons in dwc buckets. The air required to run an air wand or curtain in a fish tank is vastly different than the correct output you need for a good air stone in a bucket.

You can get away with using less but i like to not have to worry about it. My buckets run around 83 degrees in the summer time and I have absolutely no issues. Bright white healthy roots. Air into your system is one thing I think growers should never skimp on.

Very diverse opinions on this matter. Ultimately if it works it works.

just curious why you're choosing dwc vs Kratky? I'm just starting out and have a great track record of messing up my cropping nft system. I did salvage 4 bok choy and 4 rex bin lettuce in a whim and put them in buckets and man did they take off!

I was not aware of kratky when I started my adventure. Since started lots of cilantro, Lettuce and Kale using kratky. I'll save my air pump for dwcing peppers and tomatoes.

There are so many approaches and variations on hydroponics. I recently visited a large local hydroponic lettuce greenhouse and the whole operation was NFT trays. Maybe at that scale it makes more sense. This forum though is a great place.

This forum really is great. I wish I had spent more time here before I started spending money. I find chuckwagon tends to keep things simple which is what I'm looking for while I get my feet wet.

Thx gardev for the prop's. I am frugal and enjoy recycling so it comes natural. Cost effective and production are main parts of a starter hydro system and it can be done very easily with just a few things needing to be done/bought that works. I enjoy being in my garden but finding i dont have to do anything besides germinate/transplant/mix solution /harvest was great.

gardev, you're right about Chuck. He's an awesome resource and I hope God blesses him always! I only started on 12/27/15. I made all kinds of mistakes, Chuck never made me feel stupid, just redirected me. Now I'm eating salads from my pathetic little seedlings that are now full heads of lettuce!

Now I'm going to go the bucket route so I can grow so many other things.

Chuckwagon009, you're the best!

-Mitch

PS Do you have a tear in your eye? LOL

Mitchnc preach it brother!

You mean Dutch buckets?

I'm planning a 3x3 bucket DWC setup. I figure I can get away with three 4' shop lights to cover the whole grid. I want to do tomatoes, peppers and cukes. Maybe a bush bean.

The reason I'm re-reading this thread, I'm trying to decide if I should buy another pump just like the one I have. It's a 2-outlet 48 GPH pump I bought on eBay for $11.

48g = about 180 liters. Chuck is saying 220 liters/hr can run 8-10 buckets, so it sounds like I may be pushing it trying to run 9 buckets with 180 l/hr.

And maybe, maybe Chuck's advice isn't as applicable to the novice grower. If something went wrong with my plants by the time I noticed symptoms it would probably be too late to save it.

When you get your 3x3 set up I would love to see it.

Yes Mitch, put a tear to my eye. Lol.

ID reccomend 2 pumps for 9 buckets. You could get away with one but im sure you would notice some buckets barely getting any air. When running that many buckets on one pump it is really hard to get airstones to work evenly. I tend to have a few underperformers that i pitch back to either reclean or put on a single res pump.

All my comments and suggestions can be used and are aimed at novice growers. I could get into soo much detail on some things i just dont want to it to be overwhelming. Symptoms are usually pretty easy to diagnose and plants are honestly a lot heartier than you would imagine. Seedlings can be kind of finicky but once the plant reaches 6" or so you can torture them and theyll carry on.

Pumps are cheap. I'm not worried about it if I need 2 or 3. I figure $60 will get everything going for the 3x3. And half of that is lights.

Firehouse Subs and What-A-Burger sell buckets with lids for $1.

The more pumps the better. With all due respect to Chuck saying you can get away with one pump for 9 buckets but you'll notice some buckets barely getting any air is exactly not getting away with one pump. If anything novices should err on the safer side of things. Most of your dissolved oxygen increase comes from agitation of the water's surface from bubbles so a few bubbles trickling out of an air stone doesn't cut it. It's not like doing lettuce in Kratky since lettuce has very low DO requirements. It can basically grow in old stagnant water which is why it works just fine in Kratky. The plants you want to grow are vastly different. I'm not saying they won't survive but by shorting oxygen you'll greatly increase the risk of stunted growth, deficiencies, water uptake issues, and your risk of root infections and rot.

Plants are amazing in that they can adapt and survive in many conditions but one of the big benefits of hydro is being able to control those conditions in order to achieve faster healthier growth and better yields. If you don't take advantage of that control you're losing one of big benefits of hydro.

I said my peace. Most of all, have fun with it!

Got all my buckets and lids from What-A-Burger for free. My car smells like pickles but that's okay! :) Hoping to set up the 3x3 this week. I need a better way to suspend the lights, because chain is getting too expensive.

I was thinking of using S hooks with some 20 lb braded wire and a crimper.

I also find the cost of chain to be off putting.

Hmmm....is braided wire cheaper than nylon cord?

Probably not but I trust it more.

Yeah, $10 for a 50 ft. coil is cheap. How do you adjust height? With chain it's simple.

This is a good point. I had not considered this.

Chuck probably has a source for free chain. :)

Maybe ropes with ratchets to make adjusting easy. I'm nowhere near Chuck so his kindness wouldnt help me this time.

I'll refer to my son's boy scout knots and get back to you. Lol. I need to do this inexpensively. Chains or pulleys aren't in the budget.

Here to help real quick. Cheapest I've found has been nylon rope (500ft for $3 at 50lbs work strength from outlet store) that i just pre knot to 1-2" intervals. The CFL have enough "throw" that i can do 4-6" from plants so a few days before adjusting is fine. Ive got 8' ceilings and direct mount to drywall or studs with long eye hooks. Every "chain" i make uses 17' of cord and has almost unlimited use up to an inch measurement.

BTW farmers twine can be bought at TSC in 1000' for $9 and has 35lb work but I'll guarantee has a lot more than that in its drawers.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/koch-industries-jute-twine-3-ply-x-520-ft-tube?cm_vc=IOPDP2

Another cheap rope product