By depositing the water directly to the base of the plant, you limit algae and make sure that each plant is provided for. I did this because, when you wet the top of the stones they grow nasty algae. As you can see, the supply pipe does not spray down from above. this allows me to adjust water flow to each bucket or turn any off, as needed. I made sure that each 1/2" supply pipe was fitted with a Ball valve. Each T was reduced to 1/2" that added water to each individual bucket. For this I used a 1" PVC pressure pipe that supplied the water for all three buckets. Now we need the water supply for the buckets. So, we have the buckets and the water return pipework. He decided that there are more exciting ways to use one's time in the workshop. I had a little helper to make this job more difficult. If you go with three buckets like I did then you need the stand to hold 300Kg plus any water. Just make sure that your stand is strong enough because 110L of stones weighs about 100Kg. Now, I used decking timber to surround the frame and make it look nice. Next, screw down timber to act as a base on which the buckets will stand. I would also recommend using 50mm x 100mm rather than 50mm x 75mm timber. If you plan on holding two or more buckets, add more legs, one leg every 60cm is best. The weight of this forced me to add extra legs along the bottom to spread the weight. I built the frame when I planned just two buckets. This allows the water that leaves the buckets to return to the system using gravity. So, you have your Dutch bucket/s and you need a stand for them to hold them at a height above the sump tank. These holes are there to allow the water to overflow back into the system without allowing your stones to leave the bucket. Make sure to measure so that the holes end before the pipe goes through the uniseal as this will allow water to leak out of the system. Insert your uniseal and then take your pipe and drill a series of 8-10mm holes in the section that will be inside the bottom of the bucket. Now, you have a hole in the side of the bucket, the bottom of said hole is approximately 5cm from the bottom. This will prevent the teeth from gripping and it will make a smoother hole which allows the uniseal to make a better seal. Now, when the hole saw teeth are ready to cut, switch the drill into reverse. To make the hole, start drilling with the drill spinning forward until the drill bit section of the hole saw is through the plastic. Once cut and smoothed, I cut the hole about 5cm from the bottom. So my final bucket leaves a lot of space for tree growth. It also means that the water that leaves the bucket has less nutrients in it and is cleaner when it flows back into the sump tank. It also allows the plant to access any water or food it wants. This constant flow means that the water remains oxygenated and prevents root rot. once this area is full, the water slowly overflows down the drain pipe. As water flows in through the opening at the top of the bucket, it drops through the plant roots then fills the 5cm section at the bottom. A Dutch bucket is a constant flow system that stores just 5cm of water at the bottom of the bucket at any time.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |