new room, bio-bucket first-timer

[OGPurp]

Flowering Day 28 - Res change-out

Flowering Day 28 - Res change-out

Buds are swelling! If anyone out there is considering doing bio-buckets, let me say it's a great system if you can keep the res temps under control.

All 4 buckets are now wrapped with Reflectix for insulation.



I changed out the nute solution in the buckets. There were some yellowing leaves that the good folks over at the Cannabis Infirmary diagnosed as a Mag deficiency. The prospect of not doing res change-outs for the entire grow as BigToke documents interests and I'm going to try it in the future, but I have not kept accurate enough records about water and nute additions/use during this grow to make it happen. I figured it was just easier to start with new (GH 3-part flowering application, mixed at a 75% strength).



The smell is getting pretty funky, but the room is depressurized and my DIY C scrubber seems to do the trick.

The two E&F plants are also doing well, the stretch is stopping and I'm waiting for the budswell.



Peace OGP

 

[drummerlars]

looking good champ!

i have noticed that alot of people are getting root rot in the bio system????

most roots ive seen are beautiful and pure white but a few of late have been getin bad root rot on here

 

[OGPurp]

Flowering Day 39

Flowering Day 39

Buds continue to swell, and some of the Sensi Stars are showing brown pistil hairs. I took an 8-day trip and the external

res kept the garden replenished with about 25 gal. Leaves are yellowing, I guess because there was no way to top up the

nutes and maybe the cooling fan is causing some kind of nute lockout. But generally they're doing well, and the growth is

impressive.

The ebb and flow plants are doing well, I'm expecting some budswell soon.

 

[pontiac]

God DAMN! Looking good purp!

 

[rule35sub1]

Your leaves may be yellowing cuz you are getting close to harvest. Looks great.
I think you are getting the hang of it for sure. How do you feel about the system now that you have used it for awhile?

 

[OGPurp]

thanks for the props, pontiac!

rule, I'd been growing for 1.5 years using ebb and flow before deciding to try bio-buckets. I love them! The external res keeps the garden replenished, so it's no problem for me to leave and travel for a while. Growth rates are outstanding. It's also low maintenance, with not res change-outs. It's also cool that it's so easy to check the health of the rootball, everything is visible.

The only negative I've noticed is the need to keep res temps cool. You'll notice most of the spec changes that I made to my system during the grow (making pump inline not submersed, insulation, air stones, cooling fan) were to try to keep the res cool. Also, since you need access to the roots, this might not be the best system for scrogging.

thanks to everyone at ICMag for answering questions and giving input...I could not have got this far without you!

 

[Hydropimp]

Nice forest where did you get the Reflectix?

 

[OGPurp]

I bought a role at Lowes. It's in the insulation section.

 

[Black Ra1n]

Nice setup, good luck with your grow!

B/R

 

[OGPurp]

Day 40

Day 40

Here are some pictures from a better camera, enjoy!

 

[OGPurp]

Day 43 - Starting to Flush

Day 43 - Starting to Flush

From checking the trichomes with my Radio Shack microscope, most are cloudy, some are amber and the rare one is still clear. I drained my system, and refilled with water. If everything goes as as planned, chopping will start around 4/20 (the irony).

Question to ICers who have grown Sensi Star - does a 53-day flowering period (including flush time) sound about right? I'm surprised it's so fast, but the buds look ready (fat, lots of reddish-brown pistil hairs).

 

[Guest]

OG 53 days sounds about right if you include your flush time. Remember i grew mine in soil and hydro is always a couple of weeks faster. So at 53 days you will be fine. Look at the trichs they will tell you.

Nice grow
GCG

 

[Dreamscape]

Nice grow show Purp , i'm glad to see someone having some success with the Biosystem considering midtowns frustrations and all ... You have fully restored my faith in the biobuckets with this show , thanks ...

Did you run the system for two weeks through the lavarocks and all before planting ? My assumption is that midtown may not have done this and / or his rez temps were too high and thats why he hit the constant root rot issues ...

thanks
best of luck
~ Dream

 

[OGPurp]

Hey Dreamscape, thanks for the props! I think I put in the clones about 1 day after running the system with nutes. At first they were sluggish and there was some leaf yellowing, then growth just took off.

IMO, bio-buckets are a great system provided you can keep the res temps under control. Incidentally, I'm not planning to grow bio-buckets through the summer, nor use my 1000W since I'm growing in a hot garage and temperature control will be tough. But come next fall, I'm going to try again.

 

[SirSmokalot]

awsome OGP. i was scared too after reading mid towns thread. i have three buckets now waiting for use and want to add three more. i figured three to learn but they seem so easy. i just dont have the time soil requires. thanks for the inspiration, and i will need your help soon my friend.HAHA do you think a 18 gal res is sufficient w/ a 18 gal top off res too for three buckes that is what i have. also i wanted to run my ac drain tube to my top off res. i will still need to add other water too, but you think that is safe or what. i cant wait for yor chop! peace man and i love the setup.

 

[OGPurp]

Flowering Day 51 (Flush Day 9) - Almost there

Flowering Day 51 (Flush Day 9) - Almost there

I'm almost done flushing and this weekend I'm gonna chop and finish off the buckets (my 2 E&F plants still need a couple of weeks). I changed out the water once on flush day 3, but the thick jungle made it tough. I planned to change out the water again, but I didn't want to risk snapping branches...they're already straining under the weight of the buds.

Lots of leaves are turning yellow. I've been checking the trichomes every couple of days with my Radio Shack microscope and most are now cloudy, and the odd one is amber.

SirSmokalot, good luck with your grow and PM me if you start a grow diary...I'll be interested to watch your progress. My res is 28 gal for 4 plants, so an 18 gal res may work for your needs. But the experts on this forum have warned that pH buffering suffers with a smaller res, and it's worse if you cool your res via evaporation with a fan. An 18 gal top-off res would sustain your plants for a few days. I used a 32 gal res, but my schedule means I sometimes can't check on my ladies for 11 or 12 day stretches so I need a bigger one.

I remember another grower asked a question about draining their AC into the secondary res, and he was warned that AC condensation often has bacteria or fungus in it...peace, good luck, grow safe!

 

[InNvBoarder]

Those colas looking great OG what color are they without the hps runnin I bet they got all kinda of kool colors?? Huge props on first run at the buckets I would love to get 4 buckets into my little 4x4 box!

 

[SirSmokalot]

Thanks so much for the advise. greatly appreciated. no moe ac water for me and ill get the res bigger. i can switch with my aero cloner rubbermaid. i wanted to use frozen 2liters to cool res if i even need to. at least until one grow and get time to afford chiller. would that work? i know it is constant maintnence but i can manage for 2 or 4 months. besides is the ph flux that bad? so bad BB cant handle? with a small res i mean. i do know that the 18 gal allows for ten inch waterfall max to where i water level is set and i would like more, but less bucket=less waterfall height(as long as min DO in water is achieved) but the more the better right hence the air stones. sorry for blabbing i just want hard facts and i like you grow. i do have a diary started like a week ago, but is soil and one baby DWC ghetto style. here is a pic for you.(not a thread jack) just want some opinions. what do you think man? for a first timer?

 

[OGPurp]

InNVBoarder, yup the colas look great. Lots of orange hairs, and they smell very nice...I can hardly wait.

SirSmokalot, I tried using frozen bottles (one 0.5 L drinking water bottle in each bucket) for a while, but I didn't really notice much of a difference. The ice melts fast...this was before I insulated the buckets with Reflectix though. Have your considered affixing a fan to the res lid and cooling the res through evaporation? I cut a 6" diamater hole in the res for an inline duct fan and it really does keep the res cool. I probably don't check the pH as often as I should...the bio bucket experts on this forum warn of pH flux and I believe them. I'm sure a chiller would be great, but it's overkill for my personal medical needs.

I think adding airstones to each bucket really made a difference, I recommend it if you're just running 6 buckets or less.

Your pics look great, nice and frosty. What kind of container are you using for the bucket, what size? The bio-bucket system, when working right, produces huge root balls and I wouldn't try anything less than a 5 gal bucket.

 

[SirSmokalot]

yeah og i got the 5 gal bios already built completely. just unassembled now. to answer your questions to me yes i considered a fan, just cant find power supplies for my pc fans, to attach to res. i rarely leave for more than a weekend i have pets to feed so 18gal top off should be ok. i dont think ill need a chiller if i get the fans going. my roow sitts at 74.3 all day lights on at canopy level. the res is lower and shaded. if i insulate w/ reflectux and add a fan ill be cool i think. the dwc is in a protein powder container. its a gal but its not full. the net pot and an inch beneath that then the water level so not much room. these roots stopped growing about a week into flower. and they were nothing like bio roots. but all healthy. i started for giggles but it turned out to be my fav. go figure! thanks again. oh yeah and those pics are flower day 24 and younger. trichromes galore for so young. thanks so much for the responces. peace and cant wait to see your harvest. GROW SAFE SSA