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

[Sir D]

Yo whats up everybody? Ive only been a member a short while but Ive been following the buckets for a while now. BT your awesome in the amount of time you have dedicated to the spread of knowledge thats priceless....much respect.....
Ive come to understand for the most part basic water chemistry though still have a question for anyone who might give it a go:
If you have soft water could there be a possiblity of not having a enough KH in the system to help sustain the ph making it more acidic? Therefore needing to buy the approriate nutes..? Or would just a little baking soda be fine like you mentioned or is that just a quick fix?

Now if you have an external res that is just regular (soft50ppm)tap water filled w/20 gals wit a lid running to the bucket's res would there be any problems with that water losing any of its beneficial elements from just sitting in the res? Is it optimum to be directly connected to a water line or would that be sufficient? Do you foresee any problems with that?
Thanks anybody who can help I appreciate your time

 

[ninfan77]

I'm hoping to setup a biobucket room in the near future, i've been doing DWC for quite a few grows, single buckets, airstones etc.

I've read probably 10 or 20 pages of this thread, and have really only one question at the moment...

I see that one needs at least a foot drop to have enough DO in the buckets. I'm a little confused on how this takes place? In the pics i see buckets are 22in off the floor. With the nutrient solution being pumped up to the top of the bucket, if the water level is only a few inches from the bottom of the netpot, how is there enough splashing to create the DO needed?

What am i missing? Is the drop from the top of the bucket, to the water level in the bucket enough to create the DO?


*thought of another question*

To determine the pump size, 30 buckets, 5 gal each, 10x per hour flow... i'd need 1500gph?

 

[Rattrap]

Hey ninfan,
The 1ft drop is into the res from the main drain pipe.
Personaly i don't trust the 1 foot drop to deliver sufficant air so i have added an air stone to the bottom of every bucket as well as the 1 foot waterfall effect.
U can't have too much air!

 

[Sir D]

ninfan-go back and reread it and read all the pages im telling you its worth the effort. Ive answered so many of my own questions doing so and not only that but you'll get a better understanding how everything works. The air is not created in each individual bucket but is made in the res from the waterfall. Look at what pics still remain and you should get a better understanding of how it works. Take my advice man read read read its your only salvation. And I think thats should be sufficient for the pump though if money isn't much of a concern bump it up to about 2000 its better over then under.

 

[GreenGeek]

Where are all the Biobucket heads? havent seen many threads dedicated to this method lately.

I am currently putting together my own set up. still havent finished it, but should be finished soon!

 

[stub]

whoa there GreenGeek. looks like way more than a hobby. where's the couch gonna go?

 

[Guest]

whoa there GreenGeek. looks like way more than a hobby. where's the couch gonna go?

COUCH?


COUCH???


WE DON NEED NO STINKING COUCH!!!!

 

[Joe Budden]

Hey guys I'm new to the bio-buckets but am very interested, if any of you guys can help me out that would be great.

First of all I understand that the water enters the bucket and is dropped 7-12" creating 'the waterfall effect'. Ok but how high is the water level in the bucket when the water is entering? Would the water entering the bucket still create lots of dissloved oxegen if the water level is full when the input water enters? please help me out here. And also is the water pump ever turn off or, are the buckets recirculating 24/7?

Is the waterfall effect done in the rez or inside the bucket?
Thanks to whoever helps me out!!

 

[cyoheights]

this is actually my first post, and i'm sorry if this is a stupid quest or a little of topic.(if you and others have answered many times). I was wondering how do you go about flushing with hydo? how long? is it a slow decrease in nutes or done all at once? can i use blackstrap mollasses for benificial bact and a bit of soy sauce for ben fungi without it being the demise of my plants through neg bacteria? Can u tell i used to be a soil lover?lol but now i am indoors and in city a little bit more tricky to dipose of soil, and so i am strongly leaning towards hydro. I have learned **so freakin much*** on this site and i thank the moderators for keeping much valued information so simple and free.

ans to these questions will be greatly appreciated.

i'm planning on combining CFL'S, 18gal rubbermaid, SCOG, with your bio-bucket set up (on a much smaller scale lol) just to learn hydro and work my way up.

i used to be in the islands where i got about 36 different breeds from a rasta in the rain forrest. and use to plant in 1/2 soil i got from a horse stable 1/2 potting soil. and watered with cistern water, blackstrap mollasses, and freshly blended seeweed(just picked and washed maybe two hours before) all through out the grow. Some tying down lots of transplanting with the essential b-vita's and two days in the dark(by accident i found this out rushing pulling in the tree in my house for harvest, but then rushing to work two jobs then falling to sleep when i got home, gotta try three and see what happens) with fantastic results. so sorry i don't have any pics to post but i didn't even think of using a computer or watching tv down there. i have been bless with good karma and this site so much. alot of people were very generous giving me there seeds to grow and funding because they liked what i would do with it.

really aplologize if it seems like i was brambling.

 

[messn'n'gommin']

Is the waterfall effect done in the rez or inside the bucket?

Joe: The rez...the water/nutes are about a half inch or so from the top of the lava rock...this ain't our daddy's DWC! : )


I was wondering how do you go about flushing with hydo? how long? is it a slow decrease in nutes or done all at once? can i use blackstrap mollasses for benificial bact and a bit of soy sauce for ben fungi without it being the demise of my plants through neg bacteria? Can u tell i used to be a soil lover?lol but now i am indoors and in city a little bit more tricky to dipose of soil, and so i am strongly leaning towards hydro.

cyo: Is NOTHING wrong with soil growing. But hydro takes a whole different mind-set. I would suggest that you take a look at some of the setups in the growroom design forum and maybe look into simpler systems, such as DWC (Deep Water Culture), for a first plunge (pardon the pun) into hydro. Once you get your feet wet (again with the puns) and get a feel for hydro, I would recommend the Bio-Bucket system (a highly modified and refined method of DWC). ALL of us have to learn to walk before we can run. But if your bound and determined, I think a read, then a reread, and a reread after that, of "BigToke's Bio-Bucket 101" tutorial and a read of his "Water Chemistry" tutorial would also be in order. Also, you could go to "cannabisculture.com" and search for "daltron" he tutled under BigToke and had a great setup. Sadly, there are few pics as it was first posted at "marijuana.com" and I think they no longer in business. "smokintokin" is another who did a 4 bucket grow and "rule35sub1" still another. Good luck...hope to see some of your grows. : )

 

[Dr Watt]

cyo : For beginners, soil is the simplest method. The most important aspect is the soil mix then just water with touch nutes fortnightly.... no need for special additives for starters
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=896
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=275

 

[cyoheights]

messn'n'grommin', followed your advice on the read and whoo! sound complicated, and a little more envolved than i like to be. but i guess when i do complete a two succesful indoor grows with soil (just so i know the breed i'm working with and get moma plants), and i do take the plunge , it'll sorta be like your first grow where you watch and swear you see a change from morning to night. lol i miss my first grow. it smelled just like mango and i do believe it was a sativa as it took a while fir it to finish and was very heady indeed, as opposed to 3-4 months for most others i had. i remember trying to make teas by blending fruits and garlic and sitting it out in the sun for a couple days. (i experimented so much when i first started makes me smile) i remember diluting piss and mixing it with waht i thought was tea hehe. but from what i read hydro isn't as forgiving but I CAN'T WAIT. and your right, i think imma strt with DWC. thankyou for response.

to johnstreet, thankyou for the links. been looking into this B.O.G. guy. he looks like he has some pretty serious experience and i see he's been doing the 48hr thing i'm guessing alot longer than i have, guess no-one ever really learns anything 'new' huh? just recycled eternal knowledge thru erudition. but i think he leans more towards the comercial aspect rather than embracing nature and information. not saying u shouldn't eat your bread but info being withheld amongst growers sorta goes against the cause if ya ask me. never know tho mayb he's using his profits 4the propagation of the mind freeing herb into babylon huh? (hopful thinking lol) mayb i'm wrong. my experience only stems about 4 years or so, so i am pretty new at growing, but my best grows has been from what i believe to be perfect soil (1/2 horse shit {wood chips,shit,piss directly from stable} 1/2 FFOF, and during flowering 2 transplants with guano added then increased on the second, transplanted into at just the right time bathing the roots with a light see weed and b-vitamin solution(during translpanting) and using the mollasses, seeweed, and plain water whole grow to bring out the most flavor. and just giving the herb a chance to do its thing. i thought this did pretty well, but i believe i could always, always learn more on how to do better.

best plant i had had some kinda dagger, leaves with puple and yellow jotting through the middle. still haven't heared of anything like this on any of these forums so i'm guessing it was a local (i was in U.S.V.I. st. croix) but i'm still looking. to this day still the longest and best high i ever had (happy and relaxing, very strong but still fuctional. litterally felt like a orgasm!! i trully loved this plant). please if any of you know what this breed is called or can post pics, even if not available comercially please let me know i would love to see her again.

BIG TOKE, thankyou for sharing all of this great info. it is greatly appreciated on my behalf and i'm sure many others.

 

[Joe Budden]

Ok guys thanks for your help I have educated myself and now I know nearly everyting about bio buckets the only problem is figuring out how much fresh water should be added to the res? I heard somone using big multipacations and I'm lost can anyone please help me out
thanks

 

[messn'n'gommin']

Ok guys thanks for your help I have educated myself and now I know nearly everyting about bio buckets the only problem is figuring out how much fresh water should be added to the res? I heard somone using big multipacations and I'm lost can anyone please help me out
thanks

Copied from Daltron's instructional:

(quote) What is my max depth/ res size ?? Determined by canopy size…..

sq ft of flowering canopy / 2 times 3 quarts per sq ft = res size ......there is 4 quarts to a gallon

I’m growing to create a canopy size of 5’ times 8’ = 40sqft

Divided by 2 = 20sqft

20sqft times **3 qts/sqft = 60 quarts…this is the size of your/my res

4 qts / gal therefore 60 divided by 4 = 15 gal for my res, I added 5 extra gallons to the size of my res to be safe and sure of going the whole grow without a res change out.

**water needed for a flowering canopy comes from the US Agricultural service and is listed at 3 quarts of water per square foot of flowering canopy……. Many will argue this number….however the bottom line is……this formula WORKS (unquote)

Just one more thing, if your growing on a VERY small scale (say, less than 5 buckets) I would go no less than a 5 gallon res.

 

[messn'n'gommin']

CYOHEIGHTS!!! My deepest apologies! Just read an old thread about the DEA, RCMP and the Marc Emery case in Canada. And I didn't know that CC was associated with him. Although I don't think anything would ever come of just visiting the site, I have personally deleted "cannabisculture.com" from my bookmarks and have no further plans to visit or recommend the site to anyone else. Again I apologize, and as a promise to not just you or me, but to others, I will NOT advise anyone to willy-nilly visit possibly compromised websites.

And just as embarrassing is the fact that "daltron's" threads were posted on the Garden's Cure site. I think I will just go back to lurking for awhile.

 

[BigToke]

GreenGeek
Wow!! Nice, now this looks like it’s going to be a grade A setup and grow…..good job bro.

 

[messn'n'gommin']

Hey Bigtoke, I know this is not really the time or place, but its nice to meet you. Have read as many threads of the Bio-Buckets as I could find, and will eventually try my hand at it. In the mean time I going to do a few small soil grows to get my legs under me before stepping up to the big time. But your tutorials, Bio-Buckets 101 and the Water Chemistry, have been enlightening and an inspiration. My only regret is that I wish I had been able to talk some with Daltron, he seemed like a good man. In the mean time, I am toying with the idea of a grow tunnel and using a few 250W CMH's up to one 600W CMH. But will have it hashed out, hopefully, by the end of the year. All that being said, and I know you have heard it many times, but........thanks for the time and effort you have put into this!

 

[BigToke]

Thanks for the prop’s bro, yea Daltron was a very cool cat…….the bio-bucket setup that he made was first class, he know how to follow instructions and was already a good ass grower, we talked a lot and I miss him but I’m quit sure I’ll see him again some day……

 

[GreenGeek]

GreenGeek
Wow!! Nice, now this looks like it’s going to be a grade A setup and grow…..good job bro.

Thanks BT, Good to see your back! I've been dragging my ass finishing it up, but its just about complete, been busy with my latest harvest, and revegging the moms, dealing with family etc etc. now that your back you make me wanna hurry up and launch this bad boy into action. I'll try to post some new updated pics, but it will basically look just like your set up, cept more buckets!

 

[messn'n'gommin']

we talked a lot and I miss him but I’m quit sure I’ll see him again some day……

lol...I suggest ya take a lighter as I suspect he'll have a fatone waitin for ya