Grasscity.com Forums - View Single Post - General Hydroponic WaterFarm Modification Tutorial

WhobeBoo · #1 (**permalink**) 09-23-2009, 11:30 PM

I have made some changes and updates to this tutorial and decided to repost it as a fresh thread and delete the old one.

Thanks - Whobe

General Hydroponics Waterfarm Modifications.

The Waterfarm from General Hydroponics is a drip system that has been around for many years. A reservoir add-on is available along with a recirculating system. This tutorial will show you how to make good system into a great system.

Here is a picture of a single waterfarm unit.

Here is General Hydroponics description of the Waterfarm unit.

“The complete WaterFarm is designed to be a stand alone system and includes all the items listed below. This system is sized 1’ x 1’
This system includes
• 4-gallon reservoir
• 2-gallon growing chamber
• Pumping column
• Column support tube
• Drip ring
• 1/2" grommet
• Drain level tube
• Elite® 800 air pump”

It consists of an upper chamber that hold the grow medium (usually hydroton or something similar), a lower chamber that hold the nutrient mixture, and a tube that show you the level of nutrient in the lower chamber. Internally, there is percolator tube (just like the old coffee makers) that uses an air pump to bring the nutrient from the lower chamber to the drip ring on top.

Here is a picture of 8 waterfarm 8-pack system.

Here is General Hydroponics description of the 8-pack system.

“The WaterFarm 8-pack is eight WaterFarm module units connected to one General Hydroponics Controller: and integrated 13 gallon reservoir and an 8 gallon controller unit. The Controller will keep each unit topped off with the correct level of nutrient for low maintenance. The kit is powered by GH’s Dual Diaphragm Air Pump, and includes all the necessary hardware…”

Here is a picture from the instructions file that gives you a better idea of how the system works.

Now for the modifications

Individual waterfarms.

The first thing that you want to do is to drill out the holes in the upper chamber. They are too small and do not allow the roots to get into the lower chamber. I drill them out to be slightly smaller than the medium being used. This prevents the medium from falling into the lower chamber. This also allows the root system to get into the lower chamber.

Now I add an airstone to each individual bucket and to the reservoir. By adding the air stones, they become a DWC system (bubble buckets) when the roots get into the lower chamber. This combination of a drip system and DWC system provide lots of oxygen and nutrient to our babies.

8-pack system

One inherent problem with the 8-pack system is keeping the nutrients in each individual unit to the correct PH and PPM. You would have to check each unit, the controller and the reservoir. General Hydroponics realized this and created a circulation system kit. This system circulates the nutrient through all of the individual units and back into the Controller reservoir. The kit costs about $30, but can be created by purchasing the individual parts for much cheaper. The system uses the same percolation tube to circulate the nutrient as the individual waterfarms use to pull the nutrients into the drip ring. You can purchase the additional grommets, tubing and a waterfarm modular kit (that has the percolation tube) and do it yourself.

Here is a picture of the General Hydroponic installation instructions for the circulation kit.

The link for this pdf is located at the end of this tutorial.

As you can see, the circulation kit is pretty simple to replicate for the DIYer. If you don't want to DIY, you can purchase this upgrade from any Hydro store, they may have to order it in.

Now you have a system that will circulate the nutrients between each unit and the Controller reservoir. I know of some growers that just use the Controller reservoir at this point. The Controller reservoir is the unit that I check the PH and PPM. If I need to change the PH, then I add the PH up/down to the Controller. I will also use the R.O. water to raise my PH if it only needs a little change (my R.O. water is at 7.0 PH). If the PPM is getting too high, then I will add R.O. water to the Controller to drop the PPM.

I wanted to incorporate the Large reservoir into the system. I use the Lucas Formula (with some slight modifications - more on the modifications at the bottom of this tutorial) for my nutrient program. There are two ways to do Lucas. The first method is to top off your Controller reservoir with R.O. water only. When you have put in the same amount of R.O. water as the capacity of your reservoir and buckets, then you put in fresh nutrients. The second way is to top off your Controller reservoir with full strength nutrients. This is the method I use. I fill the Large reservoir with full strength nutrients, and that feeds the Controller reservoir. I only change my nutrients when I am moving from one strength to another (vegetation to transition, transition to flowering, flowering to ripen, or ripen to flush). I will occasionally change the nutrients if my PPM or PH gets way out of balance.

With an air stone in each individual unit, I have created a drip/DWC system with a large reservoir capacity that circulates the nutrients through all components of the system.

A couple of things to remember:

Use dark tubing to prevent light from getting into your system. Light = algae.

Keep the temperature of your nutrients below 70 degrees. If your nutrients get too warm, then you can have algea problems.

I originally used hydroton as the hydroponic medium (it came with the 8-pack). During the first month, I had a teribble time keeping the PH down. I was adding PH Down on a daily basis. After doing more research, I determined that I had not soaked and rinsed the hydroton enough to prevent this problem. Since then, I soak the hydroton in 4.5 PH water for at least 72 hours. This seems to have solved the PH problem. Now I am now using a mixture of hydroton (25%) and higromite ( 75% Here is a link to their site) . Higromite is high in silica (which our plants love) and doesn't have the PH issues.

Happy Growing!

Here are some links to General Hydroponic pdf instruction files.

General Hydroponics: GENERAL HYDROPONICS

Waterfarm Individual Instructions:
[http://www.generalhydroponics.com/ge...structions.pdf

Waterfarm 8-pack Instructions:
http://www.generalhydroponics.com/ge...oller_inst.pdf

Circulation Upgrade Kit Instructions:
http://www.generalhydroponics.com/ge...structions.pdf

Do-It-Yourself

For those of you who want to make your own General Hydroponics WaterFarms, add more Waterfarms to your existing setup, or want to add the controller unit, I found a company that makes the exact same sized buckets that are used on the WaterFarms. The only difference is these buckets are white and will need to be painted or taped to prevent light from getting into the reservoirs (4-gallon, 8-gallon, & 13-gallon).

The company is called Container and Packaging Supply and there are located at http://www.containerandpackaging.com

The top 2 gallon growing chamber is part # P102P ($4.19).
The bottom 4 gallon chamber is part # P104P ($5.88).
The 8 gallon controller is part # P108 ($13.29).
The 13 gallon reservoir is part # P113 ($17.01).
The lids for the 8 & 13 gallon buckets is part # PL6138 ($4.39).

These price are for singles, you get a discount for higher quantites.

The best price I have found on the WaterFarm modules (drip ring, pumping column, grommet and connectors) is $10.21 at Green Tree Hydroponics - http://www.hydroponics.net/i/214115

Modified Lucas Formula

I have had lots of success with the Lucas Formula, but I felt that I was missing out on all of the plant enhancers (as GH calls them). I know that one of the ideas of the Lucas Formula was to keep it simple, but I just wasn't happy with simple

. What I am currently doing (and modifing as I go) is this. I run the Lucas ratios (8/16) at a slightly lower amount (.875) and I have added the other General Hydroponics additives at .33 of the GH Expert Recirculating program. This way I include GH Floraliscous Plus, Flora Nectar, Flora Blend, Kool Bloom, and Diamon Nectar along with the Flora Micro and Flora Bloom. By running the lower ratios, I keep the PPM in the range recommended by Lucas (1330 ppm) and still have all of the suppliments.

If you would like me to send you a spreadsheet of my current formula, send me a message and I would be happy to.

If anybody has any recommendation, additions, or deletions, please send them to me. This tutorial is a ‘work in progress’ and I’m always trying to improve it.

#1 (permalink) 09-23-2009, 11:30 PM
WhobeBoo Your Name Here Join Date: May 2009 Location: State of Confusion Posts: 428	General Hydroponic WaterFarm Modification Tutorial - 2009/09/23 I have made some changes and updates to this tutorial and decided to repost it as a fresh thread and delete the old one. Thanks - Whobe General Hydroponics Waterfarm Modifications. The Waterfarm from General Hydroponics is a drip system that has been around for many years. A reservoir add-on is available along with a recirculating system. This tutorial will show you how to make good system into a great system. Here is a picture of a single waterfarm unit. Here is General Hydroponics description of the Waterfarm unit. “The complete WaterFarm is designed to be a stand alone system and includes all the items listed below. This system is sized 1’ x 1’ This system includes • 4-gallon reservoir • 2-gallon growing chamber • Pumping column • Column support tube • Drip ring • 1/2" grommet • Drain level tube • Elite® 800 air pump” It consists of an upper chamber that hold the grow medium (usually hydroton or something similar), a lower chamber that hold the nutrient mixture, and a tube that show you the level of nutrient in the lower chamber. Internally, there is percolator tube (just like the old coffee makers) that uses an air pump to bring the nutrient from the lower chamber to the drip ring on top. Here is a picture of 8 waterfarm 8-pack system. Here is General Hydroponics description of the 8-pack system. “The WaterFarm 8-pack is eight WaterFarm module units connected to one General Hydroponics Controller: and integrated 13 gallon reservoir and an 8 gallon controller unit. The Controller will keep each unit topped off with the correct level of nutrient for low maintenance. The kit is powered by GH’s Dual Diaphragm Air Pump, and includes all the necessary hardware…” Here is a picture from the instructions file that gives you a better idea of how the system works. Now for the modifications Individual waterfarms. The first thing that you want to do is to drill out the holes in the upper chamber. They are too small and do not allow the roots to get into the lower chamber. I drill them out to be slightly smaller than the medium being used. This prevents the medium from falling into the lower chamber. This also allows the root system to get into the lower chamber. Now I add an airstone to each individual bucket and to the reservoir. By adding the air stones, they become a DWC system (bubble buckets) when the roots get into the lower chamber. This combination of a drip system and DWC system provide lots of oxygen and nutrient to our babies. 8-pack system One inherent problem with the 8-pack system is keeping the nutrients in each individual unit to the correct PH and PPM. You would have to check each unit, the controller and the reservoir. General Hydroponics realized this and created a circulation system kit. This system circulates the nutrient through all of the individual units and back into the Controller reservoir. The kit costs about $30, but can be created by purchasing the individual parts for much cheaper. The system uses the same percolation tube to circulate the nutrient as the individual waterfarms use to pull the nutrients into the drip ring. You can purchase the additional grommets, tubing and a waterfarm modular kit (that has the percolation tube) and do it yourself. Here is a picture of the General Hydroponic installation instructions for the circulation kit. The link for this pdf is located at the end of this tutorial. As you can see, the circulation kit is pretty simple to replicate for the DIYer. If you don't want to DIY, you can purchase this upgrade from any Hydro store, they may have to order it in. Now you have a system that will circulate the nutrients between each unit and the Controller reservoir. I know of some growers that just use the Controller reservoir at this point. The Controller reservoir is the unit that I check the PH and PPM. If I need to change the PH, then I add the PH up/down to the Controller. I will also use the R.O. water to raise my PH if it only needs a little change (my R.O. water is at 7.0 PH). If the PPM is getting too high, then I will add R.O. water to the Controller to drop the PPM. I wanted to incorporate the Large reservoir into the system. I use the Lucas Formula (with some slight modifications - more on the modifications at the bottom of this tutorial) for my nutrient program. There are two ways to do Lucas. The first method is to top off your Controller reservoir with R.O. water only. When you have put in the same amount of R.O. water as the capacity of your reservoir and buckets, then you put in fresh nutrients. The second way is to top off your Controller reservoir with full strength nutrients. This is the method I use. I fill the Large reservoir with full strength nutrients, and that feeds the Controller reservoir. I only change my nutrients when I am moving from one strength to another (vegetation to transition, transition to flowering, flowering to ripen, or ripen to flush). I will occasionally change the nutrients if my PPM or PH gets way out of balance. With an air stone in each individual unit, I have created a drip/DWC system with a large reservoir capacity that circulates the nutrients through all components of the system. A couple of things to remember: Use dark tubing to prevent light from getting into your system. Light = algae. Keep the temperature of your nutrients below 70 degrees. If your nutrients get too warm, then you can have algea problems. I originally used hydroton as the hydroponic medium (it came with the 8-pack). During the first month, I had a teribble time keeping the PH down. I was adding PH Down on a daily basis. After doing more research, I determined that I had not soaked and rinsed the hydroton enough to prevent this problem. Since then, I soak the hydroton in 4.5 PH water for at least 72 hours. This seems to have solved the PH problem. Now I am now using a mixture of hydroton (25%) and higromite ( 75% Here is a link to their site) . Higromite is high in silica (which our plants love) and doesn't have the PH issues. Happy Growing! Here are some links to General Hydroponic pdf instruction files. General Hydroponics: GENERAL HYDROPONICS Waterfarm Individual Instructions: [http://www.generalhydroponics.com/ge...structions.pdf Waterfarm 8-pack Instructions: http://www.generalhydroponics.com/ge...oller_inst.pdf Circulation Upgrade Kit Instructions: http://www.generalhydroponics.com/ge...structions.pdf Do-It-Yourself For those of you who want to make your own General Hydroponics WaterFarms, add more Waterfarms to your existing setup, or want to add the controller unit, I found a company that makes the exact same sized buckets that are used on the WaterFarms. The only difference is these buckets are white and will need to be painted or taped to prevent light from getting into the reservoirs (4-gallon, 8-gallon, & 13-gallon). The company is called Container and Packaging Supply and there are located at http://www.containerandpackaging.com The top 2 gallon growing chamber is part # P102P ($4.19). The bottom 4 gallon chamber is part # P104P ($5.88). The 8 gallon controller is part # P108 ($13.29). The 13 gallon reservoir is part # P113 ($17.01). The lids for the 8 & 13 gallon buckets is part # PL6138 ($4.39). These price are for singles, you get a discount for higher quantites. The best price I have found on the WaterFarm modules (drip ring, pumping column, grommet and connectors) is $10.21 at Green Tree Hydroponics - http://www.hydroponics.net/i/214115 Modified Lucas Formula I have had lots of success with the Lucas Formula, but I felt that I was missing out on all of the plant enhancers (as GH calls them). I know that one of the ideas of the Lucas Formula was to keep it simple, but I just wasn't happy with simple . What I am currently doing (and modifing as I go) is this. I run the Lucas ratios (8/16) at a slightly lower amount (.875) and I have added the other General Hydroponics additives at .33 of the GH Expert Recirculating program. This way I include GH Floraliscous Plus, Flora Nectar, Flora Blend, Kool Bloom, and Diamon Nectar along with the Flora Micro and Flora Bloom. By running the lower ratios, I keep the PPM in the range recommended by Lucas (1330 ppm) and still have all of the suppliments. If you would like me to send you a spreadsheet of my current formula, send me a message and I would be happy to. If anybody has any recommendation, additions, or deletions, please send them to me. This tutorial is a ‘work in progress’ and I’m always trying to improve it. __________________ WhoBe 'Been dazed and confused for so long its not true' See my tutorial on modifying the General Hydroponics Waterfarm systems located Here. Last edited by WhobeBoo; 10-23-2009 at 07:36 PM.