1000 Watt Bio Bucket System!

[tokinsmokin]

Hello, I've just finished my 4 bucket bio bucket system, with a 608 gph water pump that recirculates the system 20 times an hour , which is plenty for a bio bucket and will prevent any bad bacteria from growing in the system, I'm using lava rock inside 10" net pots, to allow the bio buckets to produce beneficial bacterium which is great for the plants. The pictures tell the story, any questions?

I'm going to be growing bogglegum in the system in oasis cubes which won't mess with the ph like rockwool does. Ventilation is under control as well as temps, I've got a Fantech F8XL 500 cfm which pulls air through my homemade carbon scrubber and hooked up to the 1000 watt hortilux cool hood, Soon I'm going to add the ducting to the other end of the cool hood and vent the room that way.

I also have a 12,000 btu A/C, the temps with the light on without venting the cool hood into another room are 76 degrees. These bogglegum are going to love me for what I'm giving them. The reservoir temps are a little high but supposedly the bio bucket system can run a higher temp without any pythium or root rot. But I'm going to be adding 3 or 4 120mm computer fans blowing down on the water to hopefully cool it down into the upper 60's.

Hey BigToke I was wondering if you check this out, how hot do you think a bio bucket reservoir could run?

Right now I have two AK47 females in the system but will take them out as soon as the Bogglegum root. Any Questions?

 

[Guest]

Hey Tokin,
A very nice setup you made there,looks like you covered all the bases and it was well planned,I see much quality smoke comin outa that rig,good luck

 

[Sleepy]

Nice job!!!

Nice job!!!

cool system, you may want to post in the hydro forum also?

maybe when your boggle gums take off!!



BigToke will check on you!

 

[the protege]

I love it! I love the bio buckets as soon as I get to another place, I will have one of those going. Great job, and may you have plentiful harvests thru all of your years.

 

[BigToke]

Hay that looks sweet!! Nice job Tokin, that Bio-System should grow you some good quality bud………if I may could I point out a few things that maybe give ya the heads up on a few things:

1. If it would have been me I would have mounted those 10” net-pots underneath the lids because that 1000w light is going to heat up those lava rocks very fast and put unnecessary stress on those root and the Beneficial Bacterium………..on the other hand it will let unnecessary trapped gases out that are a big problem in these types of systems so all in all you did great!!
2. 10” net-pots wow!! When those roots start coming out they will almost run start down those drain pip’s, but scents you’ve got your supply running separately from your drain it shouldn’t be that be of a deal.
3. I really cant teal how much of a drop you’ve got there but for four buckets a good 7” should work just fine and one foot would work even better!!
4. Using your reservoir in the same room as you grow in you should give special consideration about a few things……..like heat!! The Beneficial Bacterium that were using is an amphibious aquatic singled-celled microscopic organism, unlike that of the Beneficial Bacteria that is used in the making of compost witch are multi-celled Rods, the Beneficial Bacterium begin to brake down at 80 degrees and at 82 and higher they well begin to die………..so you want to make sure keep it between 75 and 80 for sure!! {It is a phenomenon to say the lest to me that some folks were able to successfully grow in such high temps like 85 to 90 but it has been done but I would not recommend it}. I keep mine anywhere from 67 to 75 degrees and I’ve never lost a crop yet, or had any root rot. I would also put a lid over top of the reservoir and leave a 3” to 5” cracks in it with a small fan blowing towards the waterfall.

bottom line is at exchanging each bucket at twenty times an hour there not much going to happen to ya I don’t thank………great job bro if there’s any thing else I can help ya with let me know.

 

[Sleepy]

praise from the master...

praise from the master...

wow, can it get any better?

kudos, tokinsmokin!!!

the man himself approves, in a big way.

much respect to you both!!!

good luck with the buckets, i hope you have a lot of fun with them!!!

i wish i was there!

-sleepy

 

[1/2man1/2amazin]

hey tokin',if you dont mind too much can you break down cost and a price list maybe??


i'm really interested in your ventilation setup and expense

 

[tokinsmokin]

Thanks, Red145, Sleepy, the protege (pm me when u start your buckets)

BigToke, Thanks Professor.
1. Yeah the ambient temps. in my room are around 78 degrees so I shouldn't have a problem.
2.Yeah I'll rotate the net pots like you say to.
3.The drop varies depending on water level but anywhere from 10-12".
4.Yeah Res. Temps. as you can see with the new pics are under control from the new addition of 3 pc fans that blow on top of my main res. which took the res. temps. down from 77 to 70 degrees, 10 bucks to lower res temps and save my crop .

1/2man, The Bio Buckets cost around $100 to make and the ventilation includes, Fantech F8XL for around $200, 12,000 Btu A/C for $400, DIY Carbon Scrubber $80.

I've also got a new intake that I'm intaking from a seperate room, and I've got a new res. and the 3 pc fans, RO Filter, A/C outtake.

The RO Filter helps my system a lot, since my tap water is pretty hard and to drop ph takes too much ph down for my liking, So RO water does that for me and brang my ph from 7 to 5.9 out of the tap. My system is staying at 6.9 ph.

The new Bogglegum are in the system, along with a stray ak47 which I'll add another bucket for, which is just for a different smoke. The EC is at .39 I'm using Flora Nova, Diamond Nectar, and Superthrive.

 

[okietokie]

tokin...a couple questions if you dont mind....what size is your grow room? and unless I missed it from the other links bigtoke had posted I never noticed an a/c unit in the grow room....im assuming heat obviously...but?? and one other newbie question....germinating seeds in oasis cubes? similar to soil?

 

[BigToke]

Good job tokin!! We must be on the same page on those fan’s, I put two 4” fan’s on the top led of my reservoir also ~ you know what they say? Great minds think alike!! ~ anyway it’s good to see that every thing is working out for ya ~ I’ll check back in with yea some time latter, until then have a good one bro.

 

[tokinsmokin]

okie, Grow rooms about 8x5, yeah theres an AC in mine and BigToke's room, never germed in oasis cubes before, these were clones.

BigToke, Hey man I appreciate the responses for keeping the thread going, I don't think many people come in growroom design, I'll have a new thread up in Hydro forum in a few weeks for flowering, if you'd like to follow along. Haha yep great minds do think a like, I've never seen your pc fans before, I assumed you had a res. chiller., any pics?

I'm wondering about the pc fans because, some times temps get higher than normal in the room for various reasons, and would like to keep res temps at 69-70 for piece of mind, I just have the fans laying on the main res. But I was thinking that I could put PVC pipe going down into the water at one end and the other with the pc fans, I was thinking this would create a better way of cooling the water, whats your thoughts? or anyone?

 

[tokinsmokin]

Due to recent security issues I had to disassemble the set up and here's a pic of the plants with out the bio running, it'll be put back up in a few hours. And now that I've got ph and res temps all settled, The plants have been taking off. MMHM Lighting up some DP Mazar as I speak .

 

[BigToke]

Yea I thank the hydro thread will turn more heads ~ my fans are seemlier to your except I have one blowing fresh air down into the res and another one pulling the old air out of the res, I’ll be posting some new pic’s in a few days ~ if I were you I would keep that 10” to 12” drop going!! If you have to buy a chiller I have one big ass chiller/heater that keeps every thing running just right.

 

[tokinsmokin]

hmm interesting BigToke, does that cool your res. better?

Ya, I'm keeping the 10-12" drop, What I meant by extending pvc in the res is some what like the link i gave, But extend that pvc down into the water so all the air is being put on the water.

Here's the link, http://www.overgrow.com/edge/showthread.php?t=611522

 

[BigToke]

Yea the rotating fan’s work great for me, I mostly use it to serve two of the greater purposes of running a Bio-Reservoir ~ the one is pushing fresh air 02 in the res to be mixed up with the turning process of the water-fall-effect ~ and the other is to pull the excess gases out of the res, this is critical during the flowing stages ~ this will be my first run like this but not with using a fan, I have always used a fan to blow over the top of my reservoir.

 

[Guest]

these bio buckets really economical? it looks great by the way... i was just wondering how much better it is than say... dwc or ebb and flow.. or just soil sog, scrog of growing in reg large containers....does it have a better yeild per square foot or is it better tasting....just curious... i might like to experiment with these in the future...

 

[Guest]

Angry scientist, here are a few of my observations on bio-buckets after two grows-

- Are bio-buckets economical?

That depends on your definition of economical. The cost of setup is slightly higher than a basic recirculating DWC due to the higher capacity water pump, extra plumbing supplies, etc. I have found that the most expensive parts of most grow setups are found in the lighting and ventilation/CO2 generation area. These costs are of course common to all grow designs. On average, as a ballpark figure, I would say that bio-buckets cost $200US per 1000w more to set up than regular recirculating DWC. However, manufactered hydroponic nutrient use in bio-buckets is extremely small. I use GH 3-part Lucas formula, and still have the same two gallons I purchased nearly a year ago after two and a half grows. Also, how much value do you place on your time? I spend between 30 minutes to one hour once per week on my grow for basic maintenance. This includes pruning of moms, taking cuttings, and most other maintenance other than system breakdown and cleaning after every grow.

- How much better are bio-buckets than DWC or Ebb and Flow?

Bio-buckets are DWC, just tweaked a little. I have no experience with Ebb and Flow, so I am not qualified to make an observation in that area.

- Do bio-buckets have a better yeild per square foot?

All hydro systems have the capability to produce outstanding yeilds in the hands of experienced, capable growers. I do not consider myself to be either of these. But, because bio-buckets rely on natural processes to maintain suitable nutrient solution chemistry, human intervention, and therefor human error, is nearly eliminated. All hydro systems can produce well, it is just easier to produce well in a bio-bucket, in my opinion.

- Do the buds grown in bio-buckets taste better?

I beleive the hydro system itself, if running properly, has no effect whatsoever on taste. Quality, quantity, and source of nutrients affect taste. All properly run hydro systems have the capability of producing excellent tasting buds.

A few observations based on your questions:

Don't let the "bio" in bio-buckets fool you. This is not necessarily organic hydro, just a specialized form of recirculating DWC where you promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in order to outcompete or even consume harmful bacteria. Bacteria is found everywhere. Most people need to replace or sterilize their nutrient solution periodically to prevent high populations of harmful bacteria that lead to numerous problems such as root rot, improper nutrient uptake, etc. Bio-buckets combat harmful bacteria through constant circulation, more efficient aeration, and increased colonization area for beneficial bacteria. If you provide nearly ideal conditions for benficial bacteria to multiply, they will overpopulate and destroy nearly all forms of harmful bacteria.

The bio-bucket design is not, in itself, organic. I believe bio-buckets would be more successful than most other hydro systems when used in conjuction with organics, but I have no direct observations to back this up since I currently use chemical nutrients. Organic nutrients rely upon micro organisms to break down organic compounds into simple compunds that the plants can absorb. Since bio-bucket users do not sterilize the nutrient solution, they should experience more efficient decomposition of organic nutrients, and therefor be more effecient (use less nutes) and run more stable. Once again though, these are only conjectures.

If you have not already, I highly suggest you read Bigtoke's bio-bucket threads. If the science behind the system is confusing, don't worry. Just remember that you need more circulation, aeration, and usually more growing medium than most other hydro systems. Follow Bigtoke's recommendations and you can't go too terribly wrong.

NTS

 

[tokinsmokin]

Good point BigToke, allowing fresh air to recirculate in the waterfall effect seems like an ingenious idea that I'd just never thought about, for the simple fact of recirculating air in the reservoir. ,

angry scientists, I think NT answered that pretty well, well done btw NT. All his points are pretty correct, and I like the point about the Organic nutes and I will be using GH Floralicious which has some Organic compounds for flowering.

I've ran DWC a few times before and they were great grows, But I wanted a few aspects of growing to happen differently, including the beneficial bacterium that most other systems don't have, also I wanted an easy set up, and the ability to grow in the same reservoir. Bio Buckets are awesome. And I'll learn more as I go on.

Here's New Bogglegum pics. Which recently had Nute Burn, this happened from a mis diagnosis of the plants needs because I got the plants from a buddy and wasn't looking nearly as dark as his at the same ec, so i tried raising the EC level and it reacted with a Bitch slap back!

 

[tokinsmokin]

Update with pics,

 

[tokinsmokin]

alright here are more updated pics, come on people reply I'm going to be starting a new thread in the hydro forum fairly soon, I just want you guys to see the whole progress of the grow within a week of my first post, that way it doesn't take a few months.

These are at day 3 flowering, this room should be full in another few weeks, I don't think I'll be able to get in and out of here , I'm thinking of adding my other parabolic 600 with out the reflector right in the middle of these plants and have the 1000 over top. . . .