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My Buckets
- Thread starter Lightning Bug
- Start date
Lightning Bug
Member
Hey guys, thanks for all the kind words and interest.
StayFrosty - You are correct, the pressure eq loop is not really needed since every bucket has its own ballvalve to adjust the flow. I just added it cuz it didn't really add to the expense and it makes for less tweaking on the valves, really I just like to over-engineer shit LOL.
Dubwise & Sleepy, thanks yeah like I am going to teach you something Sleepy LOL.
DankHawk, thanks for stopping by, you are def a sharp dude as evidenced by your killer 1st grow. You are correct, this entire space is a storage type closet built into the house to take advantage of dead spaces. I built the false closet for the entrance which cuts into usable space but makes it really stealth since the room now doesn't really exist unless you know it is there.
The ceiling is sharply sloped on this closet as it is the roofline and goes from I dunno 8' down to 2.5? Never really measured it but yes you have to crawl into it and can only stand up while leaning over if you are right next to the screen. That is the main reason I run the scrog for lack of vertical height and also plant count.
Def a disadvantage but it's no biggie as I have a couple stools me & the missus sit on while tending to the veg, aerocloner, buckets or scrog screen which are all close to the ground anyway. Def not an ideal ergonomic setup LOL but I will take the stealth over setting up in a spare bedroom which I have do plenty of.
Carboy - Yeah I dunno I guess the 1/2" feedlines cut the GPH down to maybe 800-1000 gph but the bigger pump is used also for the higher head pressure over smaller units.
Harvest, Nughit, & ajc0k, thanks for the props. I dunno how this system would compare to a UC with somebody running it who knows more WTF they are doing LOL. I am not saying this is the perfect system, there are many ways to skin a cat. :kitty:
Also about clogging - I noticed in my earlier posts I made it sound really breezy but the fact is with the high flow rates the roots do have a tendency to grow right down the bigass drain pipes. I usually let them grow in there a lil to get long enough and then pull them out and circle them around in the bucket and don't have to mess with them again but I do check every week or so to make sure esp. if I will be leaving town.
Well I'll try to keep things going with some updates, here is a a True Blueberry that did come up from some old seeds, I germed 7 LUI and 5 True Blue I think but this is the only thing that came up. It grew really really slow the first couple of weeks (not at all the 1st) but is catching up and I will see what comes of it, I'm not about to toss anything DJ made without a good look at it. Lil crinkly leaf beeyotch:
My seeds came from the Boo yesterday, what can I say those guys rock and everything came in great shape and QUICK! I see another order coming soon as I love having a safe addy and with those SD IBLs coming in Sept I am already making my plans. This order was:
Serious Seeds AK47
Grindhouse Medical Seeds - The Prophet
WallyDuck - C99XPanama Red
and of course I got the 5 freebie PPP:
I'm not wasting any time here so lets get the show on the road.
I dropped the 11 AK47s in some water and will soak them until tomorrow AM when I will plant them:
Thanks for stopping by!
StayFrosty - You are correct, the pressure eq loop is not really needed since every bucket has its own ballvalve to adjust the flow. I just added it cuz it didn't really add to the expense and it makes for less tweaking on the valves, really I just like to over-engineer shit LOL.
Dubwise & Sleepy, thanks yeah like I am going to teach you something Sleepy LOL.
DankHawk, thanks for stopping by, you are def a sharp dude as evidenced by your killer 1st grow. You are correct, this entire space is a storage type closet built into the house to take advantage of dead spaces. I built the false closet for the entrance which cuts into usable space but makes it really stealth since the room now doesn't really exist unless you know it is there.
The ceiling is sharply sloped on this closet as it is the roofline and goes from I dunno 8' down to 2.5? Never really measured it but yes you have to crawl into it and can only stand up while leaning over if you are right next to the screen. That is the main reason I run the scrog for lack of vertical height and also plant count.
Def a disadvantage but it's no biggie as I have a couple stools me & the missus sit on while tending to the veg, aerocloner, buckets or scrog screen which are all close to the ground anyway. Def not an ideal ergonomic setup LOL but I will take the stealth over setting up in a spare bedroom which I have do plenty of.
Carboy - Yeah I dunno I guess the 1/2" feedlines cut the GPH down to maybe 800-1000 gph but the bigger pump is used also for the higher head pressure over smaller units.
Harvest, Nughit, & ajc0k, thanks for the props. I dunno how this system would compare to a UC with somebody running it who knows more WTF they are doing LOL. I am not saying this is the perfect system, there are many ways to skin a cat. :kitty:
Also about clogging - I noticed in my earlier posts I made it sound really breezy but the fact is with the high flow rates the roots do have a tendency to grow right down the bigass drain pipes. I usually let them grow in there a lil to get long enough and then pull them out and circle them around in the bucket and don't have to mess with them again but I do check every week or so to make sure esp. if I will be leaving town.
Well I'll try to keep things going with some updates, here is a a True Blueberry that did come up from some old seeds, I germed 7 LUI and 5 True Blue I think but this is the only thing that came up. It grew really really slow the first couple of weeks (not at all the 1st) but is catching up and I will see what comes of it, I'm not about to toss anything DJ made without a good look at it. Lil crinkly leaf beeyotch:
My seeds came from the Boo yesterday, what can I say those guys rock and everything came in great shape and QUICK! I see another order coming soon as I love having a safe addy and with those SD IBLs coming in Sept I am already making my plans. This order was:
Serious Seeds AK47
Grindhouse Medical Seeds - The Prophet
WallyDuck - C99XPanama Red
and of course I got the 5 freebie PPP:
I'm not wasting any time here so lets get the show on the road.
I dropped the 11 AK47s in some water and will soak them until tomorrow AM when I will plant them:
Thanks for stopping by!
I have this one tagged for sure. I was planning on buying the 8xl UC system but not until the fall.
That will give me plenty of time to see just how this system works live. I know that any Bio bucket.....dwc.....or hydroponic system period pumps some monsters.
The only thing with the UC is just down right easy to operate and so much air. Anyway good luck with them true blues, i have 3 blueberry seeds for dj left. I put three out this summer and all have shown their masculinity. 
That will give me plenty of time to see just how this system works live. I know that any Bio bucket.....dwc.....or hydroponic system period pumps some monsters. The only thing with the UC is just down right easy to operate and so much air. Anyway good luck with them true blues, i have 3 blueberry seeds for dj left. I put three out this summer and all have shown their masculinity.
Lightning Bug
Member
Hey Hydrosun, thanks for stopping back by. I am going to drop by your thread when I get a chance, can't wait to see your new UC setup. What's that you are saying above? Are you saying you can't see the pics? What strain is that you are smoking now, I will put that on my next order LOL. Just messin with ya bro.
Only 1 plant per 5 gal bucket, 8 plants total under a screen that is 8' long by 42". I have a 1k and a 600 over the screen, my own personal test and of course the 1k brings more weight to that side LOL.How many plants per bucket, net pot size? Are the seeds feminized (else how we going to sex them)?
Peace,
No net pots, I run totally medium-less which I learned from our ol buddy joecrowe on OG, that dude was a genius where you at man? Plants just sit in 2.5" (I think) neoprene collars and the roots hang down in the buckets. WHY? Again, I am just a lazy SOB and don't want to haul/soak/clean hydroton, lava rock, whatever and wouldn't be caught dead in a grow shop buying the stuff. Medium is overrated IMO and is just another vector for disease and pests.
As to sexing the plants I will grow them out in soil, as soon as they are big enough I will take a bunch of clones off of each and label them. By the time we hit 6 weeks or so the soil plants should show some pre-flowers IME. At that time I will trash the male clones and I should have plenty of rooted female clones of each pheno for the 1st run. I will run an even amount of each (as close as possible) and use the 1st run to assess them for which one will be the keeper.
The soil plants I will prolly veg all winter in another closet under a 400W MH and switch them to flower sometime in Feb or so, put the females outside after last frost for an early harvest late April early May. The males will stay in the closet and be flowered for pollen collection from selected individuals. Dang I'm a typin mofo.
irieeyes808
Member
Those buckets are nice very smart system. If I end up building one this sis the set up I would want to go with for real. Do you think the airstones might have helped out a bit more???
Nice setup bro cant wait to see it blown up!
He is not growing blueberry right now.
He is not growing blueberry right now.
Feijao
Active member
Just a couple of questions my man
Thanks and tight ass setup!
- Do you have any pictures of your plants growing in the 2.5 inch collars? How much support is there or does the scrog provide the needed support for each plant?
- Do you recommend bulkheads over uniseals and if so do you have a link to some bulkheads that you might recommend? There are some cheap ones ans some pretty expensive ones as well.
- Do you think that you could use the flexible pvc and get a tight water leak free system as well? I am planning on running system like this but with vertical lighting and it would be nice to move the buckets even a couple inch if I needed to.
Thanks and tight ass setup!
Lightning Bug
Member
Hey Dan the there are a lot of blueberries running around all right, most originate from DJ. I dunno if you have DJ's Blueberry or True Blueberry or the DP BB. The True Blueberry is a fairly recent strain that came out a few (6?) years ago and was a new line which DJ selected from new parents. More sativa and yet better yield than the old BB, I got the impression that a lot of people thought the buzz was a lil weak but I found it to be very mind-expanding herb and is still my favorite buzz and taste from everything I have grown yet which includes SD IBL & orig Bro Grimms C99. Diff strokes ya know.
Thanks irieeyes, yes, I think airstones usually help everything! I ran the first run without them just to prove it could be done LOL, that was the grow on page 1. I then added stones to every bucket for the next runs, mainly to get the popping action to make the lids (and in turn roots) wet to help them get going from the start but any extra aeration can only help IMO until you reach saturation.
Thanks man! Me too, I know it will be like forever growing these seeds out but I will try to keep things fresh with some updates.
Hey thanks for stoppin in Feijao, sorry I don't have any other pics. I got these old ones off my old crippled laptop but I am still missing some (including my real jamaican outdoor grow pics
) so I will take another look tomorrow and see if I can find any other hidden folders my stoned ass hid somewhere.To answer your questions yeah the screen is definitely used to totally support the plants, if you are mediumless you have to use something. joecrowe used to tie them up with strings but I think he was some kinda bondage freak anyway.
I have never used uniseals so I can't speak to that but I highly recommend bulkheads anywhere you want a watertight seal you can trust. They are expensive esp the heavy duty ones I am using here. I had these laying around from aquarium setups from a long time ago. I just looked online and boy prices have gone up. You can order the heavy duty ones from someplace like http://www.plumbingsupply.com/bulkhead.html 1.25" for $17.80 ea but looks like http://savko.com/partlist.asp?pgid=2 has the best prices I could see quick at $10 for the heavy duties. You really don't even need the heavies and could use the lightweights on down the page but they don't have 1.25 so you could upsize to the 1.5 for only $7.35 ea. Woohoo bigger pipes.
No exp with the flex pvc either, but anything that is a real plumbing fitting that is designed to seal properly is usually OK in my book. No hot glue & caulking & shit LOL.
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone, hope I can make you all proud with this grow, I am stoked to be growing again and have really missed it.
really clean setup man, very professional, well thought out, and awe inspiring. You clearly take care and precision when you do what you do and I commend you for that. Really inspirational stuff right there.
As for the system and the way you broke it down it seems the best choice now for me as like you i didnt want to risk any leaks. so that worry is gone, and I think that this system is going to be used by a lot of people because its simple, leak free, efficient, low maintenance, and bolsters huge healthy mary jane plants haha.
What is that glue you used, just regular lowes or home depot pvc glue? and this system has never leakd? and any more info on your ppm levels would be awesome too. and how do you run your float valve supply line?
Anyways, your setup is legit and let us know more about it, i know i'm not the only one who wants to find out. l8r
As for the system and the way you broke it down it seems the best choice now for me as like you i didnt want to risk any leaks. so that worry is gone, and I think that this system is going to be used by a lot of people because its simple, leak free, efficient, low maintenance, and bolsters huge healthy mary jane plants haha.
What is that glue you used, just regular lowes or home depot pvc glue? and this system has never leakd? and any more info on your ppm levels would be awesome too. and how do you run your float valve supply line?
Anyways, your setup is legit and let us know more about it, i know i'm not the only one who wants to find out. l8r
Lightning Bug
Member
Hey Turbolaser thank you very much, I appreciate that. I was all logged off my proxies and ready to go to bed but wanted to log back on to respond to you.
My nephew got me started growing weed, we had an awesome summer growing an outdoor crop. When I decided to go indoors and started looking at the systems everybody was running I saw a lot of pumps but very few 'waterfalls'. I was like, 'I know I can do this'.
I had been breeding for many years some of the most expensive fish you can buy, one fish can bring thousands. I can't give specifics as there is maybe 100 guys in the country who can really breed these and it's a tight circle. Anyway basically we are really anal dudes with crazy expensive rigs & fly fish around on airplanes to each other & shit LOL. It's a very cut-throat and curious biz very much like the weed biz and everybody is trying to breed the new color strain and win the lotto.
In the fish breeding biz it's all about dissolved O2, the higher the O2 the more fish you can cram in the tank generally (to find that keeper LOL). There are a lot of ways to get water to near atmospheric O2 levels and actually I was really surprised that not more stoner/fishkeepers hadn't already come up with this type system when I made it a few years ago. I thought about a wet/dry bio-ball tower which I still think would be the ultimate but I was just afraid it would need to much cleaning all the time.
Aero really attracts me but it just seems like doomed to constantly clogging and high maint so DWC seemed like the easy way to go. Toss in the mediumless factor and easy draining and there is really little labor involved. It's really a lazy man's system which I have found is the only way I keep up with shit. I build great stuff but then kind of wander off to the next project sometimes LOL.
Anyhow, PVC gluing is a simple process which the dude at Lowes can explain to you, you buy PVC cement and purple primer shit and basically you:
You can get some sweet PVC cutters to use on the smaller pipes and it makes it quick work.
Other stuff- the float valve was just one I picked up at a online fish store somewhere. Your water supply line will vary depending on what you have to do. Most guys would use a pre-mixed res to feed it. In my case I just used an icemaker kit saddle valve tap onto a water line and ran the tubing into the float valve. That's not true I added an inline pressure reducer used for drip systems (still in Lowes LOL) and stood there for 30 mins looking at the different little connectors to fit it all together LOL. Lot less chances of leaks at 25 PSI which it reduces it to but it does slow the flow so I took it out now that I think about it LOL, took too long to fill the buckets.
So mine just drinks tapwater but I got good water and just addback nutes every couple of days or so to keep them topped off or crank it up a lil. As for numbers I will have to look at my notes if I can find them cuz I don't want to talk out my ass but want to say I never went much over 900 PPM on a .5 and have to start out ridiculously low in this system like 250 even w/pre-vegged 12" clones that were drinking 700 in the SWC they came out of. Still haven't figured that part out so much but it works for me so what the heck.
It did actually leak once, the roots clogged a bucket drain when I first started running it, it surprised me as it was my first time. I learned to check on them once a week or so. There has to be a way to prevent this but I haven't spent the time working on a solution as it's easy to keep up with. I wouldn't hesitate to leave the house for 2 weeks after checking them. OK I'm really off to bed, goodnight guys.
My nephew got me started growing weed, we had an awesome summer growing an outdoor crop. When I decided to go indoors and started looking at the systems everybody was running I saw a lot of pumps but very few 'waterfalls'. I was like, 'I know I can do this'.
I had been breeding for many years some of the most expensive fish you can buy, one fish can bring thousands. I can't give specifics as there is maybe 100 guys in the country who can really breed these and it's a tight circle. Anyway basically we are really anal dudes with crazy expensive rigs & fly fish around on airplanes to each other & shit LOL. It's a very cut-throat and curious biz very much like the weed biz and everybody is trying to breed the new color strain and win the lotto.
In the fish breeding biz it's all about dissolved O2, the higher the O2 the more fish you can cram in the tank generally (to find that keeper LOL). There are a lot of ways to get water to near atmospheric O2 levels and actually I was really surprised that not more stoner/fishkeepers hadn't already come up with this type system when I made it a few years ago. I thought about a wet/dry bio-ball tower which I still think would be the ultimate but I was just afraid it would need to much cleaning all the time.
Aero really attracts me but it just seems like doomed to constantly clogging and high maint so DWC seemed like the easy way to go. Toss in the mediumless factor and easy draining and there is really little labor involved. It's really a lazy man's system which I have found is the only way I keep up with shit. I build great stuff but then kind of wander off to the next project sometimes LOL.
Anyhow, PVC gluing is a simple process which the dude at Lowes can explain to you, you buy PVC cement and purple primer shit and basically you:
- cut pipe
- deburr with sandpaper
- clean off dirt w/rag
- paint pipe & fitting w/purple shit
- paint pipe & fitting w/pvc cement
- stick together w/ a slight twist (twist optional)
You can get some sweet PVC cutters to use on the smaller pipes and it makes it quick work.
Other stuff- the float valve was just one I picked up at a online fish store somewhere. Your water supply line will vary depending on what you have to do. Most guys would use a pre-mixed res to feed it. In my case I just used an icemaker kit saddle valve tap onto a water line and ran the tubing into the float valve. That's not true I added an inline pressure reducer used for drip systems (still in Lowes LOL) and stood there for 30 mins looking at the different little connectors to fit it all together LOL. Lot less chances of leaks at 25 PSI which it reduces it to but it does slow the flow so I took it out now that I think about it LOL, took too long to fill the buckets.
So mine just drinks tapwater but I got good water and just addback nutes every couple of days or so to keep them topped off or crank it up a lil. As for numbers I will have to look at my notes if I can find them cuz I don't want to talk out my ass but want to say I never went much over 900 PPM on a .5 and have to start out ridiculously low in this system like 250 even w/pre-vegged 12" clones that were drinking 700 in the SWC they came out of. Still haven't figured that part out so much but it works for me so what the heck.
It did actually leak once, the roots clogged a bucket drain when I first started running it, it surprised me as it was my first time. I learned to check on them once a week or so. There has to be a way to prevent this but I haven't spent the time working on a solution as it's easy to keep up with. I wouldn't hesitate to leave the house for 2 weeks after checking them. OK I'm really off to bed, goodnight guys.
This system must really make good use of nutes, being on the low end of ppm and using tap water. You wouldn't happen to know what ppm your water coming strait from tap is would you? Very informative journal, I can't wait to see that room filled. Great job and keep up the good work.
Hey LB,
I came at this inside stuff w/ a fish background also -- specifically koi. I just play around w/ them, but one of my best friends has a huge operation that literally uses millions of gallons. He's been a terrific resource and can quickly call bullshit when it comes to water flow, aeration, filters, algae control etc. Great place to have supplies dropped as an added bonus.
I do aero and your assessment is pretty damn close. Constant attention and religious schedule. Upside is that combined w/ vertical nothing comes close for yield. I shoot for as sterile as possible - uv, physan, h2o2, chlorimate and filters down to micron level. It works, but it is work.
Wanted to get you opinion about bio filter/bene bacteria as it applies to this growing app. I understand the function w/ fish. We need to break down the waste and keep the nitrogen cycle going. But what about w/ DWC? Had seen UC before, but followed Mash's pimping to increase my interest. Got a basic design I'd like to follow thru on in a few months that i think is simpler, cheaper and hope better. As you do -- water flow and aeration. Appreciate your thoughts on the bio part so that i might incorporate that too.
CB
ps Give me a shout when you can PM and i'll pass along some good sourcing for material and supplies.
I came at this inside stuff w/ a fish background also -- specifically koi. I just play around w/ them, but one of my best friends has a huge operation that literally uses millions of gallons. He's been a terrific resource and can quickly call bullshit when it comes to water flow, aeration, filters, algae control etc. Great place to have supplies dropped as an added bonus.
I do aero and your assessment is pretty damn close. Constant attention and religious schedule. Upside is that combined w/ vertical nothing comes close for yield. I shoot for as sterile as possible - uv, physan, h2o2, chlorimate and filters down to micron level. It works, but it is work.
Wanted to get you opinion about bio filter/bene bacteria as it applies to this growing app. I understand the function w/ fish. We need to break down the waste and keep the nitrogen cycle going. But what about w/ DWC? Had seen UC before, but followed Mash's pimping to increase my interest. Got a basic design I'd like to follow thru on in a few months that i think is simpler, cheaper and hope better. As you do -- water flow and aeration. Appreciate your thoughts on the bio part so that i might incorporate that too.
CB
ps Give me a shout when you can PM and i'll pass along some good sourcing for material and supplies.
Lightning Bug
Member
Thanks Dan, sorry I can't give specifics on my base water, it is unique enough to isolate me to a region and I am super secure type dude. My understanding is that as long as you are below 300ppm base or so you would be OK depending on what nutes you are using. PH would also be a concern. If you were going to try something like this you would have to know that your tap water is OK to grow with by having done it before you go installing it on a bigger sys like this.
Also your municipal water supply is likely treated with chloramine which unlike chlorine just stays in your water. This would not be good to use straight, you would have to remove the chloramine. One way to do this in this type setup would be to use an appropriate size carbon block filter which will break the chlorine/ammonia bond and allow the chlorine to gas off.
Your PH would also have to work and municipal tap has a buffer to keep it above 7 to keep it from eating your pipes out so this is not going to work for very many people at all. I am leary of giving out much advice in this aspect and think that for most peeps a couple successful smaller grows gives you an idea of what you can do with your water if you aren't already familiar with water chemistry.
As for the apparent lower nute requirements of this system yes that does seem to be an advantage but that isn't really a big deal to me as nutes are really cheap compared to what you get in return.
Hey Carboy, yeah you know what I'm talkin about bro. Yup, koi guys are very fanatical and will spare no expense. Hell they even got their own surgeon, I told the wife if I ever got to the point that I wanted a surgery for my fish to go ahead and commit my ass LOL. I have spent some dough on necropsies though LOL.
Yeah I know what you mean about a drop-point, a lot of growers worry about ordering stuff online but I used to order all kinds of crazy shit back in the day before I ever grew weed and my UPS man would never bat an eye, there are all kinds of crazy mofos around building all kinds of insane stuff for God knows why haha.
Yeah on the beneficial bacterias, the stuff that Mashed posted about the EWC tea and the claims by his supplier of running DWCs high temps outdoors was pretty damning evidence if true. The thing that really changed my mind more was RichieRich (I think) and his great work on the brown slime thread if you know what I am talking about, if not I will dig up a link for you. EWC tea seems to be the answer to that nasty shit and I will be using it as a preventative.
With no media, my only bed for these bacteria would be the rootmasses and bucket surfaces themselves, my intake filter sponge will be a nice place for them to live even though I will be adding EWC regular on these new runds and in my aerocloner and SWC also, I am pretty convinced. It seems to work well in Richies aerocloner even w/out any bio bed, just add it regular. I dunno if more bio-media would help put it would be a simple matter to add bio-balls to your res or control bucket. As you prolly know nylon pot scrubbers are cheaper and have more surface area than most expensive ass bioballs.
Lightning Bug
Member
Thanks Wayne. I hope to be able to give something back to the community which has been so giving with all the info here. I hate to be so wordy but guess I got a lot to say LOL.
Carboy - I wanted to share some other observations for your consideration or anyone else building a high-flow system. My fastest growing plant by far is in one bucket that is now different from the rest.
I added the chiller in the middle of a grow. Like I said earlier if I was building a new one (and I might be soon) I would have plumbed the chiller into the system to begin with. But I didn't.
My ghetto solution was dropping another 500 GPH pump into the control bucket. I used flex tubing and ran it into the chiller. It comes out of the chiller and dumps into one bucket on the far end from the control.
500 GPH of cold ass water dumping into that one bucket, I just put an elbow in the tubing and it dumps into the bucket a couple of inches above the waterline so hard there is no need for any spray head or anything, that thing is a gullywasher. I turned off the sprayhead feeding that bucket and the plant in that bucket always outperforms the rest filling the screen by far, maybe not 2 to 1 but dang close. I bet you could grow a hell of a tree with such a thing.
Carboy - I wanted to share some other observations for your consideration or anyone else building a high-flow system. My fastest growing plant by far is in one bucket that is now different from the rest.
I added the chiller in the middle of a grow. Like I said earlier if I was building a new one (and I might be soon) I would have plumbed the chiller into the system to begin with. But I didn't.
My ghetto solution was dropping another 500 GPH pump into the control bucket. I used flex tubing and ran it into the chiller. It comes out of the chiller and dumps into one bucket on the far end from the control.
500 GPH of cold ass water dumping into that one bucket, I just put an elbow in the tubing and it dumps into the bucket a couple of inches above the waterline so hard there is no need for any spray head or anything, that thing is a gullywasher. I turned off the sprayhead feeding that bucket and the plant in that bucket always outperforms the rest filling the screen by far, maybe not 2 to 1 but dang close. I bet you could grow a hell of a tree with such a thing.
Yeah on the beneficial bacterias, the stuff that Mashed posted about the EWC tea and the claims by his supplier of running DWCs high temps outdoors was pretty damning evidence if true. The thing that really changed my mind more was RichieRich (I think) and his great work on the brown slime thread if you know what I am talking about, if not I will dig up a link for you. EWC tea seems to be the answer to that nasty shit and I will be using it as a preventative.
With no media, my only bed for these bacteria would be the rootmasses and bucket surfaces themselves, my intake filter sponge will be a nice place for them to live even though I will be adding EWC regular on these new runds and in my aerocloner and SWC also, I am pretty convinced. It seems to work well in Richies aerocloner even w/out any bio bed, just add it regular. I dunno if more bio-media would help put it would be a simple matter to add bio-balls to your res or control bucket. As you prolly know nylon pot scrubbers are cheaper and have more surface area than most expensive ass bioballs.
LB
Media: Yeah, for bio material i use scrap from where they make buffing pads then put that in a net laundry bag. The bag would go into the "epicenter" as UC so elegantly calls it. As w/ fish, want to start a new system -- grab a bag out and ya got a ready started culture.
Rich's thread: I knew i'd stumbled into the right place when a saw "brown snot" mention. I didn't know what it was but had already encountered the problem. Really pissed me off and i went into the killallthemotherfuckers mode. Works and sticking w/ that for the aero. Can not give too much praise to RR for all he's added --- people ought to really appreciate what he's done and gone thru.
EWC tea: Talked to Micheal who is the owner/researcher at Soil Secrets that makes EA&EN plus EWC. Ran everything by him. He knows his soils and said right up front that hydro wasn't his strong suit. But of his products, he recommended TerraPro over the others. He said screw the aeration and pour 12parts boiling water over 1 cup TP. Use the tea in the aero. I'm thinking in the DWC, tie up TP in a nylon sock and put it w/ the filter media. If EA,EN & EWC works for you, i wouldn't shoot a winning horse. Regardless, you can order any of the above direct from his retail outlet Trees that Please. 505.866.5027 I'd rather he make the retail vig, so that's where my dollar voted.
Design: Going w/ high volume fast flowing under current (oh, no, sounds like i'm ripping off someone -- never had an original idea in my life anyway -- gotta steal from someplace!!). I'll use an Aqua-Flow pump that does 2100 gph on 1.3 amps. Put in a diverter valve to tone it down (or not). Each "compartment" will have a disc diffuser for a total of 6. That pretty much gets the max. output from 2 50 l/m air pumps. 3 1/2 - 4' W X 12-16' L dependent on other variables. 200 to 350 gallon. 2.4 - 4 KW. 1/3 hp chiller. DWC on crack.
Sure glad ya started posting here. You are a great addition. Fish heads that are pot heads ----- that oughta put us in a pretty small subset. Any comments/thoughts/critics are sure welcome.
CB
Feijao
Active member
Carboy -
Are there going to be any major differences between your system and the UC. If so I would love to know what you might be altering to make an even greater system. I was thinking of doing something like that as well. I have a 10 plant limit but no limit on electricity so one of these roided up RDWC growing trees via vertical lighting is right up my alley. One thing I was concerned about was roots making there way down to the reducer where the water is sucked back to the pump. Do you think this could be an issue and if so are there any easy fixes for this?
Brother Lightning -
What do you think is the cause of your one bucket to be producing so well? The cold water, the waterfall effect ......
Thanks again guys,
Are there going to be any major differences between your system and the UC. If so I would love to know what you might be altering to make an even greater system. I was thinking of doing something like that as well. I have a 10 plant limit but no limit on electricity so one of these roided up RDWC growing trees via vertical lighting is right up my alley. One thing I was concerned about was roots making there way down to the reducer where the water is sucked back to the pump. Do you think this could be an issue and if so are there any easy fixes for this?
Brother Lightning -
What do you think is the cause of your one bucket to be producing so well? The cold water, the waterfall effect ......
Thanks again guys,
Feijao, I was looking at 55gal rain water capture system with 8" net capture on top. These things are 38" high, but if I had a 12' or higher garage I'd grow my tress in the 55gal and scrog. I've gotten more than 1lb with a 5gal, could only imagine what 55gal would do.
On that note check out my 5gal buckets, it is any easy DIY. The 20gal Rubber Maid trashcan I just bought for has making is only 24" tall, how about cutting their lids to fit standard 11" net pots and then grow trees four times bigger than my 5gal one pounders?
Peace,
PS. LB Thanks for letting me spam up your thread
On that note check out my 5gal buckets, it is any easy DIY. The 20gal Rubber Maid trashcan I just bought for has making is only 24" tall, how about cutting their lids to fit standard 11" net pots and then grow trees four times bigger than my 5gal one pounders?
Peace,
PS. LB Thanks for letting me spam up your thread
