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vipvenom

my Hydro system design and water loss issues

vipvenom
16 years ago

Hi all! I know I live in Florida and today it is a high of 82 but my hydroponics system seems to be losing a lot of water. My system is designed by using ~80' of corrugated drain line 4" (painted a light color). It is set on a 2x4 frame and snakes back and forth every 8' and is sloped to allow the water to drain. My holding container is a 54gal rubbermaid type container (actual volume for water prob 42gal) and a pump that runs 24/7.

I have a high volume of plants most notably ~20 large tomato plants. These plants grew larger than I could have ever anticipated. I also have a dozen or so peppers, spices, 3 eggplant, and 5-7 small strawberry plants.

I am losing about 10-15gal per day! When the plants were small I used to run the pump only for 3 hrs a day at 4am and the water that puddled in the tubes was enough for them. This method didn't use much water at all. I turned the pump on 24/7 when it started to get hot and the plant growth accelerated rapidly.

Does 15gal per day seem like a lot to lose in evaporation? I think it is about right but I wanted to see what everyone else has experienced. Also, would you recommend diluting my nutrients?

TIA,

Chris

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