kushkrab125
New member
so to give a little background. i just received my medical card and i have been researching different ways to grow here on IC and have decided to go the Bio Bucket route. I have never grown before and i don't know anyone that has done hydro before either. i am picking this route because it seems to be the most maintenance free and as far as hydro the most logical since it actually builds an ecosystem for the plant to thrive in. i am picking hydro because i have a few years of experience in saltwater reef aquariums and i think i will be able to use a lot of the same techniques or methodologies to the ecosystem, also aquariums use the same nitrogen cycle to break down waste in the system.
I have a few ideas of how i am going to go about putting my system together that i would like to run by everyone first and get some feedback on. my grow room that i have to use is 9'x9' with 8' ceiling. my goal is to have a continuous garden that always has some plants vegging and some flowering, but if it is not as economical or practical to do with my limit of 12 plants and my space alloted then i can go with one setup that i just switch the light cycle on and harvest all 12 at once. here are my different ideas:
#1 do a bio bucket set up of 8 plants that will always be flowering under a 1000w, plastic off part of the room with panda plastic and have a mother and 3 clones vegging in simple hydro bubbler buckets, every so often when the plants are ready i will harvest the oldest 3 plants flowering and then add the other 3 from veg, and start 3 new clones. this way i will harvest more often.
#2 i would panda plastic the room directly in half and run one reservoir for 2 bio bucket systems of 6, each under their own 1000w. one will be in veg at all times and one will be in flower at all times. this way i will always have a crop getting close to harvest, when i harvest one side i will take a clone off each plant in veg before it goes into flower and use the clones to start the other side. the main problem i see with this is the nutrients will be at flowering concentrations at all times and i will never get a chance to clean the system in between crops.
#3 the same as #2 just each system has its own reservoir so it can have proper nutrients and water parameters for veg and flower.
#4 and the plan i think will be easiest, cheapest to set up, and most practical. i run one bio bucket system with all 12 plants on it, and use a 1000w on a light mover. with the space alloted this will probably be my best bet but i would like to harvest more often than less often.
In any of my ideas does anyone see a problem with running a bio bucket system continuously adding in new plants for flower and never flushing it or maybe just doing a partial water change when i add new plants from my veg room. i would image it would be like an aquariums somewhat where the beneficial bacteria can get very well established and it becomes very stable. but im new at this so let me know.
i also have a question on the nitrogen cycle of a system like this. i know it runs on anaerobic and aerobic bacteria that break down waste through the nitrogen cycle the same way an aquarium does. i use a product on my aquarium that is specifically made as bacteria and enzymes to start the nitrogen cycle and also maintain it to be more efficient as well as make disolved oxygen more abundant. do you think i could use this the same way i would in an aquarium to help seed the beneficial bacteria as well as give them some extra help every week by dosing it with nutrients.
here is a link to a detailed description of what it does. if you read it, it is almost identical to BigTokes explanation of the nitrogen cycle in bio buckets.
http://www.marinedepot.com/Brightwe...-Brightwell_Aquatics-BW01220-FIADWTBS-vi.html
I also have one last question about pH. i know you can maintain pH in water with CO2, and i know pH down adds a lot of phosphates to a system. does anyone use a pH controller with a CO2 tank and regulator with a solenoid on it to keep their pH very stable and control it? i use this on my aquarium in a calcium reactor to lower the pH in the reactor to 6.5 to dissolve the media and it only takes 40 bubbles per minute to do so. the only problem i see with this is it could add to much CO2 to the water so their isn't enough dissolved oxygen.
thats it now, sorry it was so long but i have been doing lots of research and i am ready to get going on building my system.
I have a few ideas of how i am going to go about putting my system together that i would like to run by everyone first and get some feedback on. my grow room that i have to use is 9'x9' with 8' ceiling. my goal is to have a continuous garden that always has some plants vegging and some flowering, but if it is not as economical or practical to do with my limit of 12 plants and my space alloted then i can go with one setup that i just switch the light cycle on and harvest all 12 at once. here are my different ideas:
#1 do a bio bucket set up of 8 plants that will always be flowering under a 1000w, plastic off part of the room with panda plastic and have a mother and 3 clones vegging in simple hydro bubbler buckets, every so often when the plants are ready i will harvest the oldest 3 plants flowering and then add the other 3 from veg, and start 3 new clones. this way i will harvest more often.
#2 i would panda plastic the room directly in half and run one reservoir for 2 bio bucket systems of 6, each under their own 1000w. one will be in veg at all times and one will be in flower at all times. this way i will always have a crop getting close to harvest, when i harvest one side i will take a clone off each plant in veg before it goes into flower and use the clones to start the other side. the main problem i see with this is the nutrients will be at flowering concentrations at all times and i will never get a chance to clean the system in between crops.
#3 the same as #2 just each system has its own reservoir so it can have proper nutrients and water parameters for veg and flower.
#4 and the plan i think will be easiest, cheapest to set up, and most practical. i run one bio bucket system with all 12 plants on it, and use a 1000w on a light mover. with the space alloted this will probably be my best bet but i would like to harvest more often than less often.
In any of my ideas does anyone see a problem with running a bio bucket system continuously adding in new plants for flower and never flushing it or maybe just doing a partial water change when i add new plants from my veg room. i would image it would be like an aquariums somewhat where the beneficial bacteria can get very well established and it becomes very stable. but im new at this so let me know.
i also have a question on the nitrogen cycle of a system like this. i know it runs on anaerobic and aerobic bacteria that break down waste through the nitrogen cycle the same way an aquarium does. i use a product on my aquarium that is specifically made as bacteria and enzymes to start the nitrogen cycle and also maintain it to be more efficient as well as make disolved oxygen more abundant. do you think i could use this the same way i would in an aquarium to help seed the beneficial bacteria as well as give them some extra help every week by dosing it with nutrients.
here is a link to a detailed description of what it does. if you read it, it is almost identical to BigTokes explanation of the nitrogen cycle in bio buckets.
http://www.marinedepot.com/Brightwe...-Brightwell_Aquatics-BW01220-FIADWTBS-vi.html
I also have one last question about pH. i know you can maintain pH in water with CO2, and i know pH down adds a lot of phosphates to a system. does anyone use a pH controller with a CO2 tank and regulator with a solenoid on it to keep their pH very stable and control it? i use this on my aquarium in a calcium reactor to lower the pH in the reactor to 6.5 to dissolve the media and it only takes 40 bubbles per minute to do so. the only problem i see with this is it could add to much CO2 to the water so their isn't enough dissolved oxygen.
thats it now, sorry it was so long but i have been doing lots of research and i am ready to get going on building my system.
