Ideas For Modded Waterfarms and ebb n flow buckets

[cyat]

Just gonna list some mods I've done or am thinking about trying...

Why waterfarms./ and buckets?

Cuz the farms grow the sickest plants that look like they came from outerspace(hyper growth, dense nodes, huge stalks and leaves, etc!........ )

but they have downsides.. i.e clog easy, salt buildup, a pain to refill and maintain unless they're modded to recirculate, fairly expensive

now the ebb n flo buckets are super easy to maintain,simple to run a bunch,a huge res, cheap and reliable, just not as dynamic growth as the farms..

So, how bout combine the best of both or just improve on these designs?

any creative mediums being used?

I'm running 80/20 hydroton( with a 5 gal paint strainer) in a farm dripping nonstop, its working great, stems are a little smaller than one with all rocks tho.

any thoughts are welcome!!!

 

[cyat]

One farm I created has 2 drip columns and a double outlet air pump,one column has the drip ring removed...

this was made with a 5 gal bucket, and a net pot lid....drilled the grommet hole at 3/4 for leak free fit... used dish soap to get it on.. pics coming....

 

[cyat]

Has anyone raised the water level in ebb n flow buckets, up to the bottom of the top bucket and added an airstone for a dwc hybrid?

or how about instead of an airstone add a waterfarm drip ring kit?

 

[Guest 18340]

I drilled out the holes in the ring slightly larger, no more clogs!

 

[cyat]

I drilled out the holes in the ring slightly larger, no more clogs!

thats exactly what heath suggested i do, plus add air stones if I dont recirculate

 

[cyat]

waterfarms about 2 days into flowering

 

[cyat]

flo n gro buckets about 3 weeks into flowering

 

[Bigge]

I used two air pots with one bottom piece in the middle of the airports to make a divided column...ran air column and added hydroton...put in a 5 gal bucket....so it's a waterfarm with an airport column inside...three weeks into veg and stem is fat pencil thick and about as large a my normal harvested stems already...other stock waterfarms are growing well but not as thick....first run in the modded system...this is my experiment this grow...Mixed waterfarm/air siphon and airpot for a DYI waterfarm.

 

[Bigge]

Next Mod: Added a recirc to the Waterfarm reservoir...used a small submersible pump in the bottom res...drilled hole for hose in bottom lid and top lid...put timer on pump to pull water into top res once a day....this mixes water/nutes for even mix and ph and helps aerate all water so temps aren't as problematic. Added air line to top res so water is aerated a lot during mixing. Waterfarm buckets are on metal plant stand and are 4" Elevated with airflow allowed to increase cooling under the pot. Reservoirs are elevated 2" on wood. This promotes drainage from buckets during drain cycle. Easy mod to mix Waterfarm res.

Parts needed:
Submersible pump ($20)
3 feet of 1/2" tube ($3)
Plant stands ($1 each)
Board for reservoir platform ($5)
Timer basic capable of one on off cycle a day ($5)

Tools:
Drill with hole saw/bit

Result is Waterfarm setup that mixes itself daily using ebb and flow..I set my drain time to start of lights on...it's when I feed them anyway...so I add back, aerate, feed, test ph/ec all from the top waterfarm res.... If this system were commercialized other styles would go out of business.

Update on Waterfarm with Airpot mod....my modified Watefarm/airpot plant got so big it fell over (I bumped it...)...I've set a bamboo stake between buckets and its now growing like a huge LST'ed teen. I took clones and its doing great....stem is as wide around as a quarter and looks like a small tree trunk from outerspace...it's 7 weeks veg though...but wow.