I am currently using a hydro drain system and want to know if the diameter of the PVC piping that i'll be using affects the amount of nutrients i use or timing on when to feed my plants? Currently im using 4" PVC piping cut to 52" long to feed 3 plants.
The size of your pipe only detemines the amount of nutrient or flow you will need.. Depending how you have things set up and so long as you have adequate drainage provided, you will only have to play with the pump and timer as to regulate your flood/flow. Worst case you may need a larger pump. This would be for a bit larger system though as I am not sure how well 4" pipe would do. How large do you intend to grow the plants etc. That isnt much rootzone to work with. I honestly have had clones thay would chocke that with roots in around 3 weeks, or have I missed something?
Personally my NFT drain is 2" wide...it formerly was only less than 1" thick...but i failed to compensated fer: 1)Overflow 2)Roots growin thru...all the way to the rezzy! Now..i can set my flowrate to Max without overflowin it ...and the rootz aren't able to clog my drain anymore!!!
Well i got this idea/setup from a hightimes mag ("cheap hydro") and it lists what i needed for 6 plants using two 4" PVC piping cut to 52" long. Each would hold 3 plants with a 2" wide drain. I'll be making holes for the plants about 7" apart from the center. Is this enough room for my plants roots to grow??? If not what should i do cuz i havn't cut the holes yet and i don't whant to screw this up.
The best way to get more space for the roots is to use a 6" PVC pipe. Use the same length tube and same hole spacing as the 4". That would provide a lot more room. But, as Hjay mentioned, you would have to increase the flow of your nutrient solution.
