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

[DankaholicO]

Reservoir Air Circulation

Reservoir Air Circulation

Do you need to add a fan to help circulate air throughout the reservoir? What type of conditions would cause you to have to do such a thing. If you do need to add a fan which direction should you have it blowing? This is the final piece in completing my system. Got my Lil babies vegging I've included some pictures to help explain my questions the first one is a picture of a reservoir I saw earlier in the thread with compact fans and the last one being my new Bio Bucket system that I just finished building.

 

[kp^]

Do you need to add a fan to help circulate air throughout the reservoir? What type of conditions would cause you to have to do such a thing. If you do need to add a fan which direction should you have it blowing? This is the final piece in completing my system. Got my Lil babies vegging I've included some pictures to help explain my questions the first one is a picture of a reservoir I saw earlier in the thread with compact fans and the last one being my new Bio Bucket system that I just finished building.

You don't need a fan over the rez, but its suggested; A fan helps cool the water and also adds O2 into the water....

I've have a 80mm fan mounted almost directly over my waterfall... I find that the fan really helps cool water temps during those hot days. It stays on 24/7!

Nice setup btw. What type of drain hose is that going into the 4" white pipe?

Peace, and happy growing!

 

[BudGood]

You don't need a fan over the rez, but its suggested; A fan helps cool the water and also adds O2 into the water....

I would have to respectfully disagree with you, a fan blowing on the waterfall IS necessary, unless you add a chiller, which is much more costly than a decent fan. I have a "Blizzard" fan (I think made by Holmes) pointing directly at my waterfall, it cools the water quite a bit, and adds O2 (I've not used one airstone in the past in my BB system, some do, not I nor BigToke do however). Heres a couple of pics to show you what I mean:






Hope that helps!

 

[kp^]

I would have to respectfully disagree with you, a fan blowing on the waterfall IS necessary, unless you add a chiller, which is much more costly than a decent fan. I have a "Blizzard" fan (I think made by Holmes) pointing directly at my waterfall, it cools the water quite a bit, and adds O2 (I've not used one airstone in the past in my BB system, some do, not I nor BigToke do however). Heres a couple of pics to show you what I mean:

https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=8592&pictureid=154727&thumb=1img][/url]
[url='https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=8592&pictureid=154726'][img]https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=8592&pictureid=154726&thumb=1img][/url]

Hope that helps! :wave:[/QUOTE]

[B]BudGood[/B]
Hey there.. Hows yer room/ladies doing? Last I saw was some giant AK's in there!

I don't think I was very clear :( I would also agree with you that a fan blowing on the waterfall [B]IS[/B] necessary... But I would ask, does it need to be a permanent fixture depending on room conditions, chiller etc...

I have an 80mm fan, and a 1/4 chiller for 85 gallons of water... If I did not have a chiller, my water would get to hot, kill the beneficials, root rot would set in and my plants would die. That's the reality of chiller or no chiller in my circumstances. A fan alone would not bring my water temp down.. but adding it with a chiller is a 'cheap' way to add O2.

Airstones? This system is designed not to utilize airstones.. Like BudGood says, some use em.. he nor BT does... I do not either.. My 11" waterfall does a pretty good job.

I do believe BT suggest to add a fan to add O2 and help colonize those BB's when you first start your BB system..... after that.... I have never seen a pic from BT that shows a fan blowing over his rez.... I wonder if he has one out of picture or something?

To me and you, its a cheap way to help chill the water...:tiphat::joint:

I hope we've answered and cleared up any questions pertaining to this.... :smoker:

Happy growing all! :rasta::bongsmi::smoweed:

 

[J.Magical]

Can Bio-Buckets be done without a waterfall.

Im growing in a loft with very little height, so am looking to build a Bio-bucket system without the water fall effect. Basicly an RDWC connected to tap and using lava rocks.

Can this work?

I run the system for 2 weeks before putting plants in ? plain water or with nutes?

Thanks

 

[BudGood]

Can Bio-Buckets be done without a waterfall.

Im growing in a loft with very little height, so am looking to build a Bio-bucket system without the water fall effect. Basicly an RDWC connected to tap and using lava rocks.

Can this work?

I run the system for 2 weeks before putting plants in ? plain water or with nutes?

Thanks

If I were you, I would try to create a waterfall somehow, using a trashcan or something similar, it's needed for: oxygenation, cooling and colonization of beneficials, all 3 are very important. Attempting to recreate this system without it's most important component is pissing in the wind, IMHO.

You run it with nutes in it. You can do it without, I think having nutrients helps the beneficials to get a foothold quicker. Yes, 2 weeks, until the water feels "slimy".

 

[J.Magical]

If I were you, I would try to create a waterfall somehow, using a trashcan or something similar, it's needed for: oxygenation, cooling and colonization of beneficials, all 3 are very important. Attempting to recreate this system without it's most important component is pissing in the wind, IMHO.

You run it with nutes in it. You can do it without, I think having nutrients helps the beneficials to get a foothold quicker. Yes, 2 weeks, until the water feels "slimy".

OK, will do this.

Also I have thought about running my cold air intake into the resevoir and then out the other side through the water fall effect. It can have the double effect of cooling the resevoir and cooling the 600w cooltube or the grow space itself (small grow space)

That way also any creepies will get just get washed into the resevoir.

 

[J.Magical]

Have decided to just go with ebb/flow because dwc/bio-buckets is going to be way too difficult in the loft (not enough height and too much heat).

If I had a basement id definately do it.

 

[Casual]

Hi J. Magical... I've been running a BB system for the past 3 months or so. Will be harvesting this weekend.
My buckets sit about 6" off the floor. My waterfall is only a couple of inches high.
I was worried about height as well, so I supplemented the waterfall with an Aquarium Powerhead. Cheap and works great. Check out my thread in my signature for details.

The BB system will definitely yield a lot more from the same number of plants. Something to keep in mind. It's about as low maintenance as it gets as well.
I stick my head in once a day to see how things are going, check the EC/pH, which I can do at a glance with the trimeter, close the door and get on with other things.

Caz

 

[jordan471]

can i use a kitchen silicone sealer, i already have a lot and its approved for food storage containers?

 

[Casual]

Hi Jordan. You can try it... I had assembled all 12 of mine with gorilla glue and silicone. As soon as I knocked against one of the fitting, it cracked loose... I said screw it and invested in some Uniseals... they ARE the cats ass!!

 

[J.Magical]

Hi J. Magical... I've been running a BB system for the past 3 months or so. Will be harvesting this weekend.
My buckets sit about 6" off the floor. My waterfall is only a couple of inches high.
I was worried about height as well, so I supplemented the waterfall with an Aquarium Powerhead. Cheap and works great. Check out my thread in my signature for details.

The BB system will definitely yield a lot more from the same number of plants. Something to keep in mind. It's about as low maintenance as it gets as well.
I stick my head in once a day to see how things are going, check the EC/pH, which I can do at a glance with the trimeter, close the door and get on with other things.

Caz

Hi Caz, I think it comes as an awakening of what I can get away with in the space.

It's very low and 1.2 mtrs x 1.2 mtrs 1.2mtrs. I have found an ebb/flow table which is this exact size and it fits just off the floor.

With a single 600w with cooled hood I think im better off with a SOG style grow. No heat issues and no fear of pump failure. Also no noise, and simple and cheap to setup.

All along ive been trying to come up with a way to make bio buckets work when I should have been looking at the best use of space/light economics.

If I had the room size to grow trees I would go Bio-Buckets, trying to make this system fit in my space is going to be costly on plumbing and will have a negative impact on grow space.

If I get this dialed in I should be able to shoot for 500g of dry bud and stand a decent chance of succeeding.

 

[Casual]

Magic, I understand... that's a REALLY low ceiling. I agree with you, you'll be better off with an Ebb and Flow on the floor, or slightly above it. That is definitely something the BB's require.. Headroom...
Best of luck on your grow. If the time comes when BB become viable, please drop in here and let everyone know what you're planning!

Caz

 

[J.Magical]

Definately

I think I have swayed this thread off topic somewhat, so lets get back to talking Bio-Buckets

 

[Smokin Sid]

You could substitute freshwater living fish etc and they would virtually live in this system.Its based on aquarium biology isnt it? Very much appreciated if youre still around man.

 

[lunar4772]

Lava Rock + BB

Lava Rock + BB

BT I am new and I have a question regarding the lava rock.
I was wondering in a bio bucket system with small 4" pots with limited space for rock ( styled exactly after Daltrons system from another site )would it be beneficial to add large pieces of lava rock to the reservoir or bottom of the buckets to allow more room for the BB to live and colonize in. Or does that create some other problem I am not aware of. What would your opinion be on this change.
Thanks

 

[the_lonely_one]

I would have to respectfully disagree with you, a fan blowing on the waterfall IS necessary, unless you add a chiller, which is much more costly than a decent fan. I have a "Blizzard" fan (I think made by Holmes) pointing directly at my waterfall, it cools the water quite a bit, and adds O2 (I've not used one airstone in the past in my BB system, some do, not I nor BigToke do however). Heres a couple of pics to show you what I mean:






Hope that helps!

Where did you get the container you used for your rez?

 

[Tweexican]

It looks like a feed trough from a tractor or farm supply store.

 

[BudGood]

BT I am new and I have a question regarding the lava rock.
I was wondering in a bio bucket system with small 4" pots with limited space for rock ( styled exactly after Daltrons system from another site )would it be beneficial to add large pieces of lava rock to the reservoir or bottom of the buckets to allow more room for the BB to live and colonize in. Or does that create some other problem I am not aware of. What would your opinion be on this change.
Thanks

In my opinion, it would help in the rez, but not at the bottom of it. Remember that the beneficials colonize where the air meets the water on the rocks, so you need the rocks to be near the top of the water in the rez in order for it to work effectively in colonizing bacteria. Really, you should just go with the 6" net pots, you'll need the extra rocks for weight and stability, the plants get big and heavy in this system. JMHO.

Where did you get the container you used for your rez?

In my area it's called a "Big R", outside in the yard, a farm supply store. It was around 70 bucks, SUPER fackin sturdy! Totally worth every penny!

It looks like a feed trough from a tractor or farm supply store.

Dunno if it was a feed or water trough, but you are correct on where I got it, haha.

 

[Tweexican]

Well, I wanted to contribute to the bio bucket forum. Thanks to all (especially bigtoke) on the inspiration for my grow.

Here are my buckets. I have 12 altogether. 6 clones of AK48 and 6 of Bubbleicious. The mothers are flowering right now (you can see my journal to see that grow).

These are under a 400W MH right now. Not enough light. I have two 600W HPS air cooled lights coming in from British Columbia. Once those get here the plants should take off.

The AK's

Bubbleicious

My Waterfall