BigTokes ~ "How-To" Of The Bio-Buckets 101

[bartender187]

"Oh well, were every your at Journeyman I wish you well."

hopin the best for you and yours Journey. Stay safe, and grow on!

 

[Korhash]

Hello BigToke and everyone else. Great thread you have here. I'm a newb to growing. Been growing in soil for about a year. But your system looks absolutely fabulous. So I plan on giving it a try but a much smaller version. I really have a question for ya but want to give ya some details of my future grow. Basically it's going to be 4 plants in 3 or 5 gallon buckets( let's just say 5 for refence purposes.) and a resevoir with 5 gallons, can hold up to 18. Anyhow, the big ??? How much nutrients would I need to complete a grow with this size system? I have to order all my stuff so I cannot just run down to the store. I don't want to over order to much but definately don't want to order to little. I am not looking for precise measurements just a rough estimate would be great so that I could get through my first soiless grow.

 

[BigToke]

Sup Korhash man ~ if you will go to the General Hydroponics site they will have a diagram on there that will tell you how much per-gallon at what time you should use it ~ then just times that by the total amount of volume in your system…………good luck bro….

 

[Guest]

hose barbs

hose barbs

where did you get the 3/4 " hose barbs that come out of the 3/4" shutoffs? i have tried lowes and h.d. with no luck. even the ones with threads do not match up

 

[BigToke]

I don’t really remember the site name ~ they are somewhat of a specialty idem, you mite want to try looking for something like a “insert male adapters” that should do the trick…….. or click HERE

 

[Korhash]

Thanks for the info. BT. peace bro

 

[petemoss]

Try cornerhardware.com. They have a good selection of irrigation fittings at reasonable prices.

 

[Guest]

best pumps

best pumps

what pump have you had the most luck with? I want a good one that will last at least a year,I do not get to check on grow but once or twice a week and do not want to replace pump

 

[BigToke]

Hillbilly ~~ As you know already I use a Mag-Drive 5000 ~ it’s been over two yours and it’s still going, there are other's that I considered; like the Little-Giant ~ these are good and will make some noise because they are magnetic drive pump’s ~ you can submerge the Mag-Drive that will reduce the noise somewhat and you can also find Little-Giant submerge pump’s ~ although this will quite down the noise in the grow/room it will raise the reservoir temp up a bit………….so you mite want a chiller if you decide on doing that.

 

[senseless]

hey big toke,

im looking to start growing again and i want to know if 2 plants using bio buckets and a Scrog screen will fill out my grow cabniet? its dimensions are 2feet deep x 4feet wide x 6feet tall(i removed the middle divider thats in the pic). each plant has 4 square feet of growing space it can fill and they will be under a 400w hps from clone.
is horizontle growth really good or do you think i might have to top my plants?


the resivour is going to be placed outside the cabniet so dont worry about where that thing is going.

thanks

 

[BigToke]

I would recommend for you to Check-This-Out and see if that’s not what your looking for ~ it is the best Scrog grow in the bio-buckets that I have every seen.

 

[senseless]

awsome thanks big toke.

my cabniet should be up and running sometime around the beggining of october.

is a ppm meter a necessity?

in my area i can only find 6" net pots, will they work ok?

im only running a 2 bucket system so do i need extra areation via a protien skimmer or fish water filter?

whats the Lucas ratio of 0-8-16?

does it have to do with GH nutreints? because i plan on using the PBP line.

when i start growing i will most likely recieving clones in small rockwool cubes. will it make a diffrence using rockwool rather than oasis cubes?

thanks for the help

 

[BigToke]

is a ppm meter a necessity?

yes!!

in my area i can only find 6" net pots, will they work ok?

yes!!

im only running a 2 bucket system so do i need extra areation via a protien skimmer or fish water filter?

if your running/building the original HurtBack System yes ~ your building the BigToke System no.

whats the Lucas ratio of 0-8-16?

I do not know as I do not use it.

does it have to do with GH nutreints? because i plan on using the PBP line.

not really, it is just the one that I recommend ~ I could name many that I would not recommend but try to stick with something that’s been proven.

when i start growing i will most likely recieving clones in small rockwool cubes. will it make a diffrence using rockwool rather than oasis cubes?

not as long as you follow the rules that I have laid down, although I do not recommend it I have seen it you will most likely have a little bit more of a {pH} fluctuation but other than that you should be just fine…………..here is a photo follow the rules.

 

[senseless]

Thanks for the help BigToke
what is the diffrence between the original hurtback version and your version?
BIGTOKE-
not really, it is just the one that I recommend ~ I could name many that I would not recommend but try to stick with something that’s been proven.
what do you mean by that^^

i thought they were the same except you reccomend using shorter sump hose to a pvc pipe draining to the resivour and running the supply line in a seperate section of the bucket.

i figured the rockwool might give a ph fluctuation. im going to search hard for the oasis cubes, im not rushing it because i want to get everything right the first time.

is there a diffrence between red and gray or black lava stones?

do you think im going to need to top my plants so they bush out more and fill the 2x2 screen? what about letting them get a little taller then cutting back and doing a SCROG? do you cut back?

 

[BigToke]

what is the diffrence between the original hurtback version and your version?

there are many settle differences between the original HurtBack version and the BigToke version but I suppose biggest diff between the two is the design ~ I’ll not get into all the things that we did diff than Hurt did because it is thing that everyone can see between the two

I was talking about sticking with nutrients that has been used before in these systems and work great for example: {GH} General Hydroponics ~ {AN} Advance Nutrients ~ or some other Name brand that has a great background in hydroponics.

is there a diffrence between red and gray or black lava stones?

yes there is!! Here’s a little info to help ya out on this ~ but remember in most cases Red-Lava Rocks are the best

Here are some things for you to think about when it comes to using lava rock.

Volcanic Rocks​

Magmas that erupt at Earth’s surface cool rapidly in contact with air or water to form volcanic rocks. The liquid portion of the magma commonly cools so rapidly that instead of forming crystals, it freezes to natural glass. Obsidian and pumice are both examples of natural volcanic glass.

If a magma is poor in gas, it will probably erupt to form lava that will flow downhill away from the eruption site. Depending upon its chemical composition, particularly the abundance of silica (SiO2), lava can be extremely fluid and fast moving (low silica), or a viscous pile of solidified blocks that moves sluggishly (high silica). Basalt is the name for Earth’s most common volcanic rock. Typically black to gray in color, this silica-poor rock floors the ocean basins that cover 71% of Earth’s surface.

Yes I know your probably saying “what does this have to do with growing?” I am getting to that. Although it is true that lava rock makes a perfect home for the beneficial bacterium to live/colonize there are some other things you mite wont to consider.

• When using lava rock you wont to know weather your water is Hard or Soft, as this makes a big deferent’s, let me explain; for example if your water is hard and your using Red Lava Rock, that is very rich in silica your going to have high amounts of ammonia in your system, which in retune will effect two things:
  1. High amounts of ammonia will lower your ph in your system, so be prepared to combat this.
  2. High amounts of ammonia will cause increases of uptake in nitrogen plus combine that with beneficial bacterium which immobilizes nutrients greatly and your going to have vary bad stretching problems and most likely airy buds.
• On the other hand if your using soft water the Red Lava Rock (high in silica) will be more chemically balanced and the ammonia will not be as high, which in retune your ph/ppm’s should be more balanced

I hope this helps you my friend, do well and grow safe!!

Well I tell ya, the way I like to grow in my Bio-System is Freedom Style I do top them at about 10” and cut back on a lot of the bush that grows out ~ it really all depends on the amount of light that you have to work with as to the amount of bush that you can have.

 

[vill]

I am impressed at your setup man. I have a few questions about your feeding etc...?

Ive been reading alot of your threads and theres something I'm still confused about, if you don't mind answering it for me.

Veg: 7-6.5 pH
Flower: 6.5-5.0 pH

Clone / early veg: 400ppm
Veg: ?
Flower: 1200-1500ppm?
Last week - Harvest: 600-800ppm

Nutrient Solution: Bucket + Reservoir / Gal

Do you use exactly what the directions say on the GH 3part? Or do you use about 1/2 strength? I see you use 400ppm then work your way up, but do you MIX in a different bucket (using 1/2 strength of recommended mix per gal) and stir it up and then add to reservoir or just straight add M then G then B into the res? then check for PPM an minute later then add some more until desired PPM?

And what do you use to raise/lower PH? Items like PH DOWN / UP by GH? Or use organic stuff like dolomite lime?

And the end pictures look like the plants have been topped. When do you top them?

Do you use fert on your mothers? or just MG potting soil and plain RO water?

 

[BigToke]

Np ~ this would be my normal set up:

Clone in Bio-System

• {pH} 7.0 ~ it has been my experience that clones like a slightly higher ph.
• {ppm} 400 ~ I give them one week to adjust and then go up.

Veg.

• two to three or four weeks just depends on how large I wish to grow them, I would recommend that if you wish to go three to four weeks make sure that you have a way to keep the humidity under control, it is a lot easier to keep the humidity under control one and two weeks but on average ppm’s are any were between 800 to 1000 I never go over a thousand ppm’s during veg through two weeks of flowering because it seems to me that if you push a plant to it’s max during veg or at the first two weeks of harvest it will starch more so to reduce starching I never go over 1000 ppm’s during this time frame, at the third or forth week of harvest I began to bump it up!!!

Harvest

• I do not like to starve my plants to death at harvest time but as in nature I do reduce certain nutrients for the last two weeks, like nitrogen I totally stop using it during the last two weeks.

Do you use exactly what the directions say on the GH 3part?

yes!!

And what do you use to raise/lower PH? Items like PH DOWN / UP by GH?

yes!!

And the end pictures look like the plants have been topped. When do you top them?

eight to ten inches.

but do you MIX in a different bucket

no ~ but if you don’t know what your doing you can damage your plants badly so as a rule of thumb I would recommend you to use unless you are skilled at it.

and stir it up and then add to reservoir or just straight add M then G then B into the res? then check for PPM an minute later then add some more until desired PPM?

yes!!

Do you use fert on your mothers? or just MG potting soil and plain RO water?

I use a potting soil for my mother plants but NOT with R/O water, I would never recommend using R/O with soil at all, ether use tap-water or ran-water.

 

[Bonzo]

Howgy Big Toke!? How the hell are ya?! I have been watering my current dirt grow with R/O water and adding Cal -Mag, you think i should switch to tap and if so should i still add the cal mag? Im using GH Flora Nova series nutes with Floralicious Bloom and some humic acids.

thanks dude

bonz

 

[BigToke]

All of my mother plant are kept in a five gallon bucket and the potting soil that I use is the Schultz brand, my mother plants will stay in those buckets for almost a year before I have to change them out with fresh it is the only potting soil that I use, low maintenance and all the nutrients that they need, I have had mine in there for seven mouths now and they are just now starting to turn a little yellow so I will give them a good change-out in another mouth or so, also I use no additives!!

Ran water is the very best that I have every used for mother plants that are kept in soil, but here’s BigTokes tip’s for watering and keeping mother plants for long periods at a time;
First do not use R/O water even if your adding additives ~ do not use hot-water or water that has been made by heating.

Second if at all possible use ran-water if not use tap-water just let it set overnight that’s not a must but will help or spring-water is fine also.

 

[UV Dreams]

Awesome Job!

Awesome Job!

Hats off to you BT for all the help you provide! Which brings me here to ask some questions that keep going through my mind.

Please accept my apologies if I may have missed the following questions in one of the numerous threads where you have lent a helping hand.

1. You mention The use of tap water. I see this ok for some people who have soft water (under 200 ppm) This may not be for everyone, especially those with chloramine in thier water system vs. chlorine which disapates within 24hrs. Even chloramine cannot fully be removed via RO.

2. Why allow the system to fluctuate your PH? I would assume that using Ph'd RO water would be the way to go to keep the PH stable throughout your cycle. The buffering agents in the nutes work much better in RO.

3. In one of your post you mention leaving the old solution in your system before you flip the switch and leave the nitrogen to be used up? Ive been pondering that and wondered if you wouldnt mind elaborating a bit on that one. How can nitrogen be used up? If there was a nitrogen deficiancy everything would start to go yellow from the bottom up.

4. Do your calculations for pump GPH include head? I see that you have 36 buckets connected to one pump(granted its a 5000gph pump) in which the feed line (3/4") to your bucket is about 15-20" in length. Does that affect the overall times the bucket turns over in an hour as opposed to plumbing your PVC 6-10 inches up from the base of your bucket so your 3/4" feed line is only about 6" in length?

5. The use of Lava rocks which are not inert seem to play a role in PH throught the system. This is where my theory in using RO water with an inert media such as the types used in marine aquarium filtration. There are media that have many many more micro pores for the BB to colonize that can be used instead of lava rock.

6. You mention using the 3 part GH vs the Lucas 0-8-16 due to algae growth. Where would this algae growth come from if you light proof everything in order to prevent that?

7. You mention using tap water in order to put back the micro nutrients into the system at top up. When you do your system maint like checking PH, adding back your nutrient solution to replace spent Macro nutrients would this not be sufficient micros going back into the system to replace the spent ones if one were using Ph'd RO water exclusively?




I just wanted an opinion from the man.