IWS SYSTEM SET UP GUIIDE
Setting-up an IWS System is simple, if you follow our instructions it’ll be ready to use in less than an hour.
Before you start, you will need;
• Pipe-Cutters or a pair of very sharp scissors
• An adjustable spanner
• A supply of hot-water
The IWS Flood & Drain Basic System
Firstly how does it all work?
The IWS Flood & Drain Basic System is a highly developed hybrid ebb and flow system for beginners and is based upon the same principles as the highly successful IWS Flood and Drain system. It works by flooding from the bottom of each individual pot. The system uses gravity to send water to the pots and only uses pumps to fill and drain the main 25 litre control bucket. This has two magnetic float valves mounted inside to control the power to the pumps. These floats precisely control the flood level in the growing medium to stop any over watering or flooding. As the water is forced through the growing medium it forces out all the stale air in the medium surrounding the root ball and as it drains away replacing it with fresh oxygen.
The system consists of 3 main parts:
1. The Control Unit – this features a Grasslin segmental timer to control the frequency and duration of the flood cycle. .
2. The Tank – This holds the nutrient solution for all your pots.
3. The Pots – which themselves are made up of two parts. i. A base pot which incorporates a patented water tight sealing gland through which the nutrient is delivered to the plant. ii. A separate drain pot which is made of mesh, this allows even and controlled flooding of the growing medium. Also the pots can be removed with the plant intact without damaging the roots.
The following items are also available for your system as optional extras at an additional cost. i. A pot stand with a preset height and a 15 degree slope which allows all the water to drain back to the main control tank which will then pump it to either waste or back to your reservoir to be re-circulated. ii. A copper mat to put in the bottom of drain pot. This helps to stop the roots from being pulled down the drain hole.
Before you get started, please check that you have all the necessary parts:
• 1 x nutrient tank with lid (please note there are different sizes of tank depending on the number of pots you have)
• Maxi jet pump (connected inside the nutrient tank)
• Integrated brain pot complete with timer, fixed pump inside and lid
• Inner pots (holes in the base) or inner mesh pots • Outer pots (solid base)
• Pot stands (optional) • 6 elbow fitting hose connectors (one for each end system pot)
• Tee fitting hose connectors (one for each middle line pot) • 6 hose connectors (for brain pot)
• Sealing glands for each pot
• Black hosepipe - enough hosepipe is supplied to give you 1 metre for each pot
• There’s also a plastic tap attachment to modify your nutrient tank - however this is not required to set up the system.
The quantity of certain items in each kit varies depending on the pot system you have purchased - see table below for the exact number of components in each pot system.
6 POT SYSTEM
• 100 litre tank with pumps
• Control unit with timer
• 6 stands and pots
• 6 elbows
• 10 metres of hosepipe
12 POT SYSTEM
• 220 litre tank with pumps
• Control unit with timer
• 12 stands and pots
• 6 elbows & 6 tees
• 15 metres of hosepipe
24 POT SYSTEM
• 220 litre tank with pumps
• Control unit with timer
• 24 stands and pots
• 6 elbows & 18 tees
• 30 metres of hosepipe
36 POT SYSTEM
• 350 litre tank with pumps
• Control unit with timer
• 36 stands and pots
• 6 elbows & 30 tees
• 45 metres of hosepipe
48 POT SYSTEM
• 350 litre tank with pumps
• Control unit with timer
• 48 stands and pots
• 6 elbows & 42 tees
• 60 metres of hosepipe
Before we get started, you may also find the following items useful:
• A sharp knife or a pair of scissors.
• A cup of hot water.
• The spanner supplied in your kit bag is also handy for ensuring all nuts are really tight. Ok, let’s get on with it....
1) Choose where to grow! Find a suitable area in which to install the IWS Flood & Drain System. You are going to need access to one additional nearby electric point.
2) Position the nutrient tank. Once you have selected a space, place the nutrient tank at one end. Remember that it will need to be easily accessible.
3) Connect the nutrient tank to the brain pot. Locate the two pipes labelled ‘fill’ and ‘drain’ coming out of the nutrient tank and connect them to the corresponding nozzles on the brain pot. You will need to soften the ends of the pipes in a cup of hot water so they slide on easily. Rotate the elbow connected to the ‘fill’ hose inside the brain pot so that it is pointing sideways as not to flow water over the pump which may cause air blockages. If you get an air blockage, turn the pump sideways while under water - this will release air from the pump.
4) Connect the nutrient tank pump’s power lead to the brain pot. Plug the three pin connector into the side of the control box on the brain pot. Ensure the nutrient tank pump remains positioned at the bottom of the tank.
5) Create a watertight fitting on each outer pot. Take a sealing gland and unscrew the smaller end nut, then remove one of the two rubber sealing washers. Now, carefully screw the sealing gland through the hole in the outer pot so that the narrower end is on the inside. Replace the washer on the narrow end of the sealing gland. There should now be a rubber sealing washer on the ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ sides of the pot. Finally, screw the end nut back on. Tighten on both sides to create a watertight fitting..
6) Position the pots. Imagine the final desired size of the plants and space the pot stands appropriately. Next, sit the outer pots on the pot stands.
7) Fit the elbow and tee connector to each outer pot. Loosen the sealing gland outer nut on each of the outer pots. Insert the tube of the elbow or tee through the sealing gland, into the pot, as far as it will go. Remember to use all six lanes from the brain pot where possible to allow quicker floods and drains. E.G a 12 pot system would be 2 pots on each lane using a tee to connect through to the elbow which would act as your stop end. Rotate the elbow and tee connector so that it lies horizontally, facing towards the brain pot. Re-tighten the outer nut.
8) Fit the hose connectors to the brain pot. (Similar to the last step) Loosen each of the six outer nuts on the brain pot. Insert the tube end of each hosepipe connector as far it will go and re-tighten the outer nut
9) Connect the brain pot to each of the outer pot. You will need to cut the black hosepipe to various lengths depending on the distance between each pot and the brain pot. Leave some slack so that you have a little room for manoeuvre later! Connect each brain pot nozzle to the fitting on the outer pot nearest the brain and work outward to the remaining pots. Remember to first soften the ends of each length of hose in hot water.
10) Fill the inner mesh pots with growing medium and place inside each outer pot, not forgetting the inner copper mat if using pebbles. If using fine fibre medium use a blanking sleeve.
11) Fill the nutrient tank with water (and nutrients as required). Be careful not to overfill the nutrient tank. Remember the water level must sit below the anti siphon valve.
12) Now we need to set up the timer on the control unit.
a. Set the current time. Set the current time. Rotate the face of the timer so that the small arrow points to the current time.
b. Ensure the small switch on the timer’s face is set in the middle. This causes the timer to turn on/off based on the segments rather than being on constantly (1) or off (0)
c. Set when you want the system to fill / empty. On a Flood & Drain Basic control unit, segments pushed out, ie closer to the outside than the centre, will cause the system to fill and remain filled. When you want to pump back to the main tank, segments need to be pushed in, ie towards the centre of the clock. Each segment represents 15 minutes.
13) Ok, we’re nearly ready to go! The system is nearly ready for its first use. Plug the control unit into the mains.
14) IMPORTANT NOTE. Before you start using the system, you need to prime it for its first use. Initiate a feed to fill the system, once filled it can be emptied back to the main tank. You will notice that around a quarter of the water from the tank has been used up filling the voids in the system. Top up with water, add nutrients and your system will then be ready for planting. If planting with an unestablished root mass, it may be necessary to top feed for the first few days in order to encourage the root.
The IWS Flood & Drain System
The IWS Flood & Drain System is a highly developed hybrid ebb and flow system which works by flooding from the bottom of each individual pot. The system uses gravity to send water to the pots and only uses pumps to fill and drain the main 25 litre control bucket. This has two magnetic float valves mounted inside to control the power to the pumps. These floats precisely control the flood level in the growing medium to stop any over watering or flooding. As the water is forced through the growing medium it forces out all the stale air in the medium surrounding the root ball and as it drains away replacing it with fresh oxygen. The pots are made up of three parts:
1. A stand with a preset height and a 15 degree slope which allows all the water to drain back to the main control tank which will then pump it to either waste or back to your reservoir to be re-circulated.
2. A base pot which incorporates a patented water tight sealing gland through which the nutrient is delivered to the plant.
3. A separate drain pot which is made of mesh this allows even and controlled flooding of the growing medium also the pots can be removed with the plant intact without damaging the roots. Do not forget the copper mat for the bottom of the pot. This stops the roots from being pulled down the drain hole. The IWS timer is made up of two parts the new IWS segmental timer and the minute timer. The IWS timer tells the brain when to start a feed and the minute timer then reduces it to however long you have set the time for. This will send power to the pump in the main tank which will turn on (indicated by the green light) filling the brain pot. As this fills, the pressure of the water forces itself down the pipe work and into the pots filling the medium from below. As equal pressure is gained the water in the brain pot will rise and lift the float valve turning the pump off, the brain will refill the pot as the medium soaks up the water until the time set is reached. The pump in the brain pot will kick in and drain the system back to the main green tank. It will remain set in drain mode until the next feed. This allows any slow draining water to drain back even after the flood cycle has finished.
Ok, let’s get on with it....
1) Choose where to grow! Find a suitable area in which to install the IWS Flood & Drain System. You are going to need access to one additional nearby electric point.
2) Position the nutrient tank. Once you have selected a space, place the nutrient tank at one end. Remember that it will need to be easily accessible.
3) Connect the nutrient tank to the brain pot. Locate the two pipes labelled ‘fill’ and ‘drain’ coming out of the nutrient tank and connect them to the corresponding nozzles on the brain pot. You will need to soften the ends of the pipes in a cup of hot water so they slide on easily. Rotate the elbow connected to the ‘fill’ hose inside the brain pot so that it is pointing sideways as not to flow water over the pump which may cause air blockages. If you get an air blockage, turn the pump sideways while under water - this will release air from the pump.
4) Connect the nutrient tank pump’s power lead to the brain pot. Plug the three pin connector into the side of the control box on the brain pot. Ensure the nutrient tank pump remains positioned at the bottom of the tank.
5) Connect the IWS flood & drain timer to the brain pot. Plug the seven pin connector into the timer unit.
6) Create a watertight fitting on each outer pot. Take a sealing gland and unscrew the smaller end nut, then remove one of the two rubber sealing washers. Now, carefully screw the sealing gland through the hole in the outer pot so that the narrower end is on the inside. Replace the washer on the narrow end of the sealing gland. There should now be a rubber sealing washer on the ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ sides of the pot. Finally, screw the end nut back on. Tighten on both sides to create a watertight fitting.
7) Position the pots. Imagine the final desired size of the plants and space the pot stands appropriately. Next, sit the outer pots on the pot stands.
8) Fit the elbow and tee connector to each outer pot. Loosen the sealing gland outer nut on each of the outer pots. Insert the tube of the elbow or tee through the sealing gland, into the pot, as far as it will go. Remember to use all six lanes from the brain pot where possible to allow quicker floods and drains. E.G a 12 pot system would be 2 pots on each lane using a tee to connect through to the elbow which would act as your stop end. Rotate the elbow and tee connector so that it lies horizontally, facing towards the brain pot. Re-tighten the outer nut.
9) Fit the hose connectors to the brain pot. (Similar to the last step) Loosen each of the six outer nuts on the brain pot. Insert the tube end of each hosepipe connector as far it will go and re-tighten the outer nut.
10) Connect the brain pot to each of the outer pot. You will need to cut the black hosepipe to various lengths depending on the distance between each pot and the brain pot. Leave some slack so that you have a little room for manoeuvre later! Connect each brain pot nozzle to the fitting on the outer pot nearest the brain and work outward to the remaining pots. Remember to first soften the ends of each length of hose in hot water.
11) Fill the inner mesh pots with growing medium and place inside each outer pot, not forgetting the inner copper mat if using pebbles. If using fine fibre medium use a blanking sleeve. 12) Fill the nutrient tank with water (and nutrients as required). Be careful not to overfill the nutrient tank. Remember the water level must sit below the anti siphon valve.
13) Set up the IWS flood & drain timer. a. Set the current time. Rotate the timer’s 24hr dial so that the small arrow points to the current time. For instance, if it is 4pm, rotate the dial to ‘16’. b. Set the flood duration. For this example we’ll set the flood duration to five minutes. i. Turn the “feed time” dial to 5 minutes. c. Set the times when your plants are watered. Push a segment out on the 24hr timer dial corresponding to each flood. d. Ensure the small switch on the 24hr timer is positioned centrally. This sets the timer to react only to the position of the segments rather than being set to permanently ‘on’ (1) or ‘off’ (0).
14) Ok, we’re nearly ready to go! Plug the brain pot into the mains electricity. The red power light should be illuminated on the IWS Flood & Drain Timer.
15) Wait for the first feed. When the timer reaches the first watering period the green feed light on the IWS flood & drain timer will switch on and water will start pumping from the nutrient tank into the brain pot. The brain pot fills with water and gravity pushes the water through the hosepipes into each of the six pots. Once the watering is complete both the green feed light and the nutrient tank pump will switch off. The green drain light on the IWS flood & drain timer will switch on as the drain pump in the brain pot starts
The IWS Dripper System
All the pots can be connected to the main controller which will pump away all the waste nutrients to a desired location out of the growing area. The iws dripper system uses the leading dripper technology from D.I.G drippers allow 12 flood drippers to run from one location instead of drippers running all over the grow area. The pots are made up of three parts:
1. A stand with a preset height and a 15 degree slope which allows all the water to drain back to the main control tank which will then pump it to either to waste or back to the reservoir to be recalculated.
2. A base pot which incorporates a patented water tight sealing gland through which the nutrient is delivered to the plant.
3. A separate drain mesh pot that allows even and controlled saturation of the growing medium, this enables the pots to be removed with the plant intact without damaging the roots. Do not forget to fit the sleeve inside the pot to stop any medium from washing out of the pot.
The IWS dripper timer works by reducing the sectional timers fifteen minutes segments down into minutes, the pump in the reservoir tank is then plugged into the timer which turns the unit on/off as required. The high pressure pump sends nutrient down the feed lines and up into the D.I.G dripper head which when pressure is reached allows an even feed to the drippers, the nutrients then flow down through the medium and into the run to waste brain which in turn will pump the waste to any desired location.
Assembly Instructions
IWS Dripper System 100 litre tank kit
Before you get started, please check that you have all the necessary parts:
• 1 x nutrient tank with lid (please note there are different sizes of tank depending on the number of pots you have)
• Aqua king submersible pump (connected inside the nutrient tank)
• Inline pump filter and non-return valve (connected to the aqua king pump)
• Brain pot (with fixed pump inside) and lid
• IWS minute timer and double socket extension
• Inner pots (mesh) • Outer pots (solid base)
• Pot stands (please note, pot stands are now round)
• 6 elbow fitting hose connectors (one for each end system pot)
• Tee fitting hose connectors (one for each middle line pot)
• 6 hose connectors (for brain pot)
• Sealing glands for each pot
• Black hosepipe - enough hosepipe is supplied to give you 1 metre for each pot
• There’s also a plastic tap attachment to modify the nutrient tank - however this is not required to set up the system. Dripper column
• 1 dripper stand
• 1 dripper column
• 12 dripper spikes
• 1 dripper hub • 1 hose ‘T’ fitting
• 12 rubber dripper plugs
• 2 hose stopper plugs
• Dripper tubing
• 4 rubber washers
1) Choose where to grow! Find a suitable area in which to install the IWS Dripper System. You are going to need access to two additional nearby electric points.
2) Position the nutrient tank. Once you have selected a space, place the nutrient tank at one end. Remember that it will need to be easily accessible.
3) Create a watertight fitting on each outer pot. Take a sealing gland and unscrew the smaller end nut then remove one of two rubber sealing washers. Now carefully screw the sealing gland through the hole in the outer pot so that the narrower end is on the inside. Replace the washer on the narrow end of the sealing gland. There should now be a rubber sealing washer on the ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ sides of the pot. Finally, screw the end nut back on. Tighten on both sides to create a watertight fitting.
4) Position the pots. Imagine the final desired size of your plants and space the pot stands appropriately. Next, sit the outer pots on the pot stands.
5) Fit the elbow and tee connectors to each outer pots. Loosen the sealing gland outer nut on each of the outer pots. Insert the tube of the elbow or tee through the sealing gland, into the pot. Remember to use all six lanes from the brain pot where possible to allow quicker drain. E.G a 12 pot system would be 2 pots on each lane using a tee to connect through to the elbow which would act as your stop end. Rotate the elbow and tee connector so that it lies horizontally, facing towards the brain pot. Re-tighten the outer nut.
6) Fit the hose connectors to the brain pot. (Similar to the last step) Loosen each of the six outer nuts on the brain pot. Insert the tube end of each hosepipe connector as far it will go and re-tighten the outer nut. No need to trim back these pipes.
7) Connect the brain pot to each of the outer pots. You will need to cut the black hosepipe of various lengths depending on the distance between each pot and the brain pot. Leave some slack so that you have a little room for manoeuvre later! Connect each brain pot nozzle to the fitting on the outer pot nearest the brain and work outward to the remaining pots. Remember to first soften the ends of each length of hose in hot water.
8) Connect the dripper column to the dripper stand. Insert one end of the dripper column (it doesn’t matter which one) into the centre of the dripper stand so that the column is stood up vertically remembering to add a rubber washer. On the underside of the base, secure the dripper column in place, first by adding a rubber washer, and then by screwing on the hose ‘T’ fitting. Ensure that the two ends of the ‘T’ fitting line up with the two holes at the dripper base.
9) Connect the DIG dripper head to the dripper column. Place a rubber washer on the top of the column and tightly screw on the dripper head. The dripper unit is now ready to be connected to the nutrient tank.
10) Connect the nutrient tank to the dripper unit. Position your dripper unit centrally amongst the pots. Cut a length of hosepipe long enough to connect the filter with one side of the hose ‘T’ fitting under the base of the dripper unit. Feed the hose through the side hole at the base of the dripper unit. Cut another short length of hose (about 6 inches is fine) and attach this to the other side of the hose ‘T’ fitting. Finally, seal off the short length of hose by inserting one of the hose stopper plugs. When attaching further dripper assemblies follow point 10 again, adding the stop ends in the line.
11) Connect the dripper unit to the pots. Each pot needs two drippers. Cut 12 lengths of dripper tubing (length dependent on pot position). Firmly push one end of each tube into each of the twelve dripper outlets on the underside of the dripper head. (NB If you are using less than 12 drippers you can seal the unused outlets by unscrewing the top of the dripper head, removing the plastic filter, and sealing the top of the outlet with a rubber dripper plug supplied.)
12) Connect the dripper spikes to the dripper tubing. Push each tube onto the rounded end of each dripper spike. Soften the trailing ends of the 12 lengths of dripper tubing in a cup of hot water.
13) Connect the brain pot to your drainage point. Any nutrient solution that is not taken up by the plants will end up flowing back into the brain pot and will then need to be pumped to a drainage point. Cut an appropriate length of hose and connect one end to the external pump nozzle on the brain pot marked drain.
14) Feed the other end of the hose to the drainage point.
15) Plug the brain pot power unit directly into the mains.
16) Plug the nutrient pump into one of the minute timer’s extension sockets. Although the minute timer has a two-gang extension unit, you will only need to use one of the sockets.
17) Set up the minute timer. As the standard 24hr segmental timer can only be set to come on for a minimum of 15 minute durations, you can set the length of each drip cycle more precisely with the minute timer. Turn the time dial to the desired value this will be the time the pump runs for. See instructions supplied.
18) Fill the inner mesh pots with growing medium. Fill each inner pot with the growing medium of your choice. Then insert an inner pot into each outer pot. If you are using a growing medium with is made of small particles please use the sleeve provided.
19) Place two dripper spikes into each pot. Insert each dripper spike a few inches deep so that it sits securely in the medium.
20) Fill the nutrient tank with water (and nutrients as required). Be careful not to overfill the nutrient tank.
21) Connect the minute timer to the mains this will turn the red LED power light on. a. Set the current time on the IWS fifteen minute segmental timer. Rotate the 24hr dial so that the small arrow points to the current time. For instance, if it is 4pm, rotate the dial to ‘16’. b. Set each drip time. Push out a segment corresponding to each drip time. c. Turn the minute timer to the desired length of time. d. Ensure the small switch on the 24hr timer is positioned centrally. This sets the timer to react only to the position of the segments rather than being set to permanently ‘on’ (1) or ‘off’ (0).
22) Plug the 24hr segmental timer to the mains electricity. Wait for the timer to reach the first drip time. Verify that water is coming out of all the drippers.
IWS OXYPOT SYSTEM
The IWS Oxygenated Pot is a single-pot deep water culture system. It works by submerging the plant’s root in a highly oxygenated nutrient solution, this encourages rapid growth. The Oxy Pot is one of the simplest systems around. The new OXY-POT has an air pump that sits outside the nutrient pot and pumps air in to two porous air stone’s this pumps oxygen into the nutrient solution super oxygenating the root zone. The new nutrient fill/root inspection hole makes the system far easier to monitor and manage. Capacity of the pot is 19 litres.
The system comprises of 3 main parts;
• The pot and basket lid - made from light-proof recycled plastic, it has a mesh plant basket built into a removable lid.
• A fitting kit - A sealing gland a elbow clip and 30cm of clear pipe for checking the level of your nutrient solution.
• The pump and air stones - this supplies the oxygen to your root zone via two air-stone’s placed in the bottom of the pot, the pump sits outside the pot. Lets start by checking you’ve got everything you need. You won’t need any tools but we recommend you have a cup of boiling water handy.
• 18 Litre outer bucket • Lid incorporating mesh basket
• Observation cap
• IWS sealing gland
• IWS elbow • Blue air pipe
• Air pipe clip
• Air pump
• Air lines
• Air-stones
Assembling the IWS Oxygenated Pot is simple.
1. Take your IWS sealing gland and remove the nut and 1 washer
2. Fit the gland through the pre-drilled hole in your outer bucket, refit the washer and nut to the back and then tighten the nut.
3. Take your air pipe clip and fit into the hole near the top of the outer bucket’s side
4. Warm one end of the blue air pipe and slide onto the barbed part of the IWS elbow
5. Slide the smooth part of the elbow into the gland so the pipe is facing upwards, secure with the air pipe clip and then tighten the gland onto the elbow
Now we need to prepare the air pump for use.
1. Take your air stone’s and slide the air pipe’s onto them.
2. Place the air stone in the bottom of the outer bucket, thread the air pipe through the hole at the top of the bucket’s side
3. Connect the air pipe to the outlet’s on the air pump
4. Place your air pump in your growing area and plug in to a power supply.
Once you’ve added the basket lid your oxy-pot is ready to use. We recommend that you replace the nutrient solution on a weekly basis. To do this simply unclip the pipe from it’s clip near the top of the pot and turn it so the IWS elbow is horizontal. Doing this will drain off the solution from the pot so it can be disposed of.
The IWS DWC
The IWS DWC is a highly developed deep water culture system. It works by submerging the plant’s root in a highly oxygenated nutrient solution, this encourages rapid growth. The IWS DWC gives you total control of how often the system drains and refills. The system is controlled by a control unit. This contains 2 magnetic float switches which are positioned to precisely control the fill level in each individual pot, this also prevents any over-filling.
The top float switch is positioned 25mm below the bottom of the plant basket, the optimum height for growth. The bottom float enables the system to turn itself off when it has finished emptying. The control unit features a Grasslin segmental timer which controls how often the system drains and refills.
The system comprises of 4 main parts;
1. The pots – made from light-proof recycled plastic, with the plant basket built into the removable lid.
2. The control unit – this controls how often the pots are emptied back to the main tank
3. The tank – this holds the nutrient solution for all your pots
4. The air pump – this supplies the oxygen to your pots via air stones placed in the bottom of each pot
In the kit you will find;
• DWC control unit
• Nutrient tank assembly (varies in size depending on system size)
• 18 Litre outer buckets
• Basket lids
• Observation caps
• IWS sealing glands
• IWS elbows
• IWS tees (all systems except 6-pot)
• Universal pipe The following items are needed, but may be supplied separately to this kit;
• Air pump
• Air manifold
• Air lines
• Air stones