unidrain Calibrated Feed and Run To Waste Management System

unidrain is a drip and drain run to waste system. It makes growing huge plants really easy.

Use unidrain to manage the feeding cycles and waste for your indoor garden. Automating feeding and waste management with a low power, no fuss unidrain system, takes the effort out of growing plants in your indoor garden.

unidrain is available in a range of systems to suit your needs:

• unidrain
  • Standard sized floor stands with calibrated drip and drain feed and waste management system.
• unidrain+
  • Plus-sized floor stands with calibrated drip and drain feed and waste management system.
• unidrain Away – Standard Size floor stands
  • Standard size floor stands with pipework to connect to the System Brain to manage your run-off as waste. Suits hand feeding.
• unidrain+ Away – Plus sized floor stands
  • Plus-sized floor stands with pipework to connect to the System Brain to manage your run-off as waste. Suits hand feeding.

unidrain allows you to repeat your results. With it, you can get the same optimal performance time after time. unidrain allows you to optimise your feeding regimes. If you want repeatable, peak performance from your garden, unidrain is the best option.

For optimal performance, it’s essential that you feed a known fresh nutrient solution, and that you overfeed, to achieve a 20% run-off rate over a 24-hour period.

unidrain Run to Waste System Overview

The unidrain run to waste system comes supplied with:

• Reservoir and feed pump
• All the high-pressure feed and waste lines (IceTube)
• System Brain – automatic waste management system
• Floor Stands and fabric Air Pruner plants pots
• Calibrated drippers and stakes

Calibrated Feeding

The ability to calibrate and automate your feeding regime is massive.

unidrain feeds a calibrated volume of the nutrient solution that you make up and store in the supplied reservoir. It uses a pump in the reservoir to pressurise feedlines to 1 bar.

The feedlines are directed using moulded 90-degree elbows. When you come to a cluster of pots, you’ll use 4-way splitters that terminate in the supplied Air Pruner plants pots. The end of the feed lines are connected to 45^o angled stakes, which hold calibrated button compensating drippers in place. The button compensating drippers work under pressure. They’re calibrated to allow a known amount of nutrient solution through at 1 bar (remember, this is supplied by the pump in the reservoir).

Feeding a known amount of nutrient solution allows you to use time to calculate how much you’re feeding. This makes it really easy to achieve the required optimum 20% daily run-off.

Optimal Drainage & Run To Waste Management

When you feed your plants with a drip feed run to waste system, you need to use pots and a media that allow for good drainage. It’s up to you what you use, but we recommend using GrowDog soil perlite mix or GrowDog 60/40 Coco Pebble Mix. unidrain is supplied with fabric Air Pruner plant pots for optimal drainage, and dedicated floor stands to channel the run-off away from the pots, and on to the system brain to be handled automatically. Removing the run-off avoids pots sitting in the run-off and salts building up in the media.

Floor Stands

The unidrain floor stands are essential for this run to waste system. Removing all the run-off avoids issues associated with leaving plant pots sitting in run-off. The carefully designed Floor Stands guide run-off away to the System Brain for waste management. Automatically removing run-off avoids a plethora of issues, like: pythium, root rot, anoxia (lack of oxygen access) which all lead to stress responses and stunting with lower yields or plant death.

System Brain

The Floor Stands are plumbed to the System Brain, which manages the run-off as waste. The System Brain takes power from a standard UK 240VAC, 3-pin plug.

The system brain is automated using internal float-switches and delay timers. They monitor the waste level, and ensure that the run-off is disposed of.

When the float switch activates the System Brain’s internal pump, the pump drains the brain of any collected waste run-off. A delay timer keeps the pump running for a set time after the float switch disengages. This ensures system brain empties out the vast majority of run-off, before timing out, which deactivates the pump.

The System Brain output employs a no-return valve to keep the pump primed and to stop unwanted dirty water draining back to the system brain.

The system brain pumps the run-off out via a 13 mm hosepipe with a Non-Return Valve (NRV) fitted to ensure that the run-off can’t drain back to the System Brain. The NRV also keeps the pump primed, ready for the next use.

Plumbing

Reservoir

The unidrain reservoir is where you’ll mix and hold the nutrient solution to feed your plants. The submersible pump is located inside the FlexiTank. The pump is connected to the system brain and controlled by timers and delay-timers. Timers give you full control over when you feed and for how long. This is how you calibrate your run-off values and amounts of nutrient you’re feeding.

Garden Tip: We recommend using unidrain with the range of GrowDog Nutrients, Boosters and media.

IceTube

Dual-core technology means that IceTube outperforms conventional black pipe in all applications. The White outside layer reflects heat, while the inner black layer protects from UV.

IceTube lines are opaque so no algae can grow within them. This makes them perfect for using with drip feeding applications, as they won’t add to issues with clogging. Having dual-cores helps to insulate nutrients, with improved temperature reduction by up to 15% versus traditional black tubing.

Modular System – unidrain is Easy to Scale Up Or Down

unidrain is modular, so it’s really easy to scale up (or down). The floor stands and connecting pipework are all interchangeable. This means you can easily add or remove floor stands and dripper lines to suit your changing needs.

unidrain and unidrain Away systems come in handy sets for different sized grow tents or larger, horticultural grow rooms:

• 4-pot
• 8-pot
• 12-pot
• 16-pot
• 24-pot
• 36-pot

The unidrain system is for you, if you want to:

• Save time and effort
• Improve consistency
• Grow larger plants with increased yields
• Automate the feeding and waste management for your indoor garden
• Avoid mineral build up
• Minimise issues with root rot

Perfect For Hand Feeding or Full Automation

No matter how you want to feed your plants, unidrain has a management system for you.

If you want an easy to use, straight forward, calibrated feed and waste management system, use: unidrain or unidrain+.

If you prefer hand feeding, but can see the time and labour-saving benefits of a simple, automated waste management system, use: unidrain Away or unidrain+ Away.

NOTE: The “+” in the unidrain+ means it’s for larger fabric Air Pruner pots, up to 32-litres. Standard size systems: unidrain use fabric Air Pruner pots, up to 16-litres.

unidrain comprises of two parts, fulfilling different functions:

1. An automated calibrated drip-feeding system – allows you to feed a set amount of nutrient solution at set times.
2. An automated waste system – it collects the waste from the floor stands and removes it for you.

When you combine automated, timed feeding with waste management, you get the perfect labour-saving system! unidrain works to maintain the calibrated feed cycle you want it to. It also automatically deals with the spent nutrients that wash out of the fabric Air Pruner pots. This all goes toward helping you grow massive plants!

unidrain Away Run To Waste Management System

Feed and Waste Management or Waste Management Only – Hand Feeding with unidrain Away

If you’re happy hand feeding your plants, use unidrain Away to manage the waste side of your indoor garden. Using unidrain Away brings you the perfect automatic waste management system. It’ll give you more time to concentrate on other things. unidrain Away utilises the unidrain Floor Stands with fabric Air Pruner pots and connects them to a unidrain System Brain. This is a great starting point if you’re gardening on a budget.

The modular nature of unidrain means you can easily scale up (or down). unidrain is flexible and allows you to add (or take away) the calibrated feeding side of the system later. Expanding the system is simple by adding more floor stands and pots as you go. Your only limitation is space!

Garden tip: Using the complete unidrain calibrated feed and waste management system will give you the best results.

Automate and Calibrate Feeding to Grow Better Plants

The ability to automate and calibrate the feed you give your plants is massive! This professional drip feeding system means you can tailor the nutrients you give to your plants to suit their stage of growth.

Automated Feed Timer

unidrain uses a feed timer to activate the pump in the nutrient reservoir. Once calibrated, this feeds your plants a known volume of nutrients at set times. The feed is directed to the base of the plant, to fill the media and root zone with fresh nutrients and washing out spent nutrients. Using the unidrain system offers you a fully automated feeding solution.

Calibrated Feeding – Get It Right Every Time

unidrain combines a segmented feed timer with a duration timer to trigger the feed pump for a pre-set period of time. This allows you to calibrate your run-off for the best results. The feed pump pressurises the feed lines to 1 bar. Using calibrated Pressure Compensating Buttons (PCBs) and Dripper stakes works to feed your plants a set amount of feed every time.

Garden tip: The PCBs are calibrated to work under a minimum pressure of 1 Bar. The PCBs allow a certain volume of nutrient solution through, which is measured over a set period of time in litres per hour (l/h).

Fabric Air Pruner Pots for the Perfect Root Zone

Supplied fabric Air Pruner pots sit on the unidrain floor stands with your choice of media. The free-draining nature of Air Pruner pots and the floor stands design, guides any run-off away to the System Brain.

Why Should I Feed Fresh Nutrients Every Time?

Hungry plants strip the nutrient solution, which can lead to nutrient deficiencies. This is why we don’t recommend recirculating your nutrients. By feeding a fresh, known nutrient solution every time, you can be sure you’re giving your plants everything they need for strong, healthy growth.

Regularly Flushing Media to Avoid Salt Build Up

As you’ll be feeding calibrated volumes of feed to achieve the required 20% run-off, you’ll be regularly flushing the media. Flushing helps to avoid salt build up and issues like nutrient lockout.

Using the automated unidrain run-to-waste system to feed your plants provides you with a consistent, controlled dose of fresh nutrients every time.

Minimise Root Rot

Using the floor stands to guide run-off away from your pots allows for proper drainage. This avoids pots sitting in nutrient solution, which helps you to avoid salt build ups and issues associated with root rot. It’s important to allow the media to drain properly. Roots need access to air as well as nutrients and water.

Automated Feed and Waste System – The Easy Life

unidrain’s automated feed and waste system makes your life easier. It gives you more time for other jobs and it’s cleaner. With unidrain, there’s no need for manual labour. You can relax and let the timed, integrated feed and waste pumps do the bulk of the feeding and disposal of run-off for you.

Once you calibrate the feed times, all you’re left to do is maintain the nutrient reservoir – it really is that simple!

How Do I Calibrate unidrain To Manage Feeding My Plants?

Calibrating unidrain is really easy. All you need to understand is the amount of liquid you feed over a set amount of time.

How Much Room Do I Need For A unidrain System?

Measure the space you intend to install the unidrain system to make sure you have enough room.

unidrain is available as automated feed and waste management system. unidrain Away is available as a waste management only system. unidrain Away systems offer an automated solution for anyone hand feeding pots. It works to manage your run-off (waste nutrient). Both types of unidrain system are available in two sizes:

• unidrain & unidrain Away (standard size)
• unidrain+ & unidrain + Away (large size)

System Sizes For The unidrain Run To Waste System

To understand the area you’ll need for your unidrain or unidrain Away system: 4x unidrain stands are suitable for a 1m2 to 1.2m2 area. This would be perfect for a 1.2 x 1.2-metre grow tent.

unidrain+ System Sizes

To understand the area you’ll need for your unidrain+ and unidrain+ Away system: 4x unidrain+ floor stands are suitable for a 1.2m2 to 2.4m2 area. This would be perfect for a 1.2 x 2.4-metre grow tent.

unidrain System Size Requirements

No. of Pots	Space Needed
4 Pot	1.2m x 1.2m
8 Pot	1.2m x 2.4m
12 Pot	2m x 2m
16 Pot	2.4m x 2.4m
24 Pot	2.4m x 3.6m
36 Pot	3.6m x 3.6m