Bubble bucket hydro method 101

[afghanman]

just built a four plant setup in an 18 gallon dark blue rubbermaid container..couple ?'s

1) will the roots all get tangled with eachother--and does it matter since the container is so big?

2) the container is realllllly dark blue and i ductaped the top once with black duct tape---should that be enough?

[afghanman]

also...the four net pots are semi close together..not too much tho..its just that it is a four plant setup for the 18 galon reservoir..what would be a good strain for this

[kine box maker]

Originally Posted by Big Poppa Puff

Alright, here goes. Only one room in my class: no cursing. I have a obscenity blocker on my computer that is unhackable and if you curse, it blocks from coming back to this thread.

Today class we are going to start with the basics: Equipment. I am not going to discuss lights, fans, grow boxes, etc. Just the equipment to grow bubble bucket, herafter aka as BB. And this will be for a single bucket system.

Get any type of plastic container/bucket you can that is fairly inexpensive, as long as it has a a fitted lid with it. The darker the color the bucket the better. 5 gallon buckets work fine, but so do smaller rubbermaid contianers sold at Wal Mart. 5 gallon capacity or larger is the right size for not having to fill it up as often, but most anysize works fine. Too big and its a pain to handle and dump, too small and you are constantly refilling it and you chemicals get out of whack earlier.


You need to make sure your bucket is clean and didn't hold a bunch of funky chemicals before you got it.

If you couldn't find an all black bucket you need to triple wrap your bucket in duct tape. Lighter color plastic allows light to pass through encouraging algal growth on the roots which is problem. Three layers of standard duct tape or 1 layer or mirrored reflective tape works fine. Cover the sides, and cover the top of the bucket as well. DO NOT tape your lid to the bucket.

Air source: Go buy two relatively cheap aquarium pump at Wal MArt. Buy some air line while you are there and a couple of T-connectors. Cut a couple of short lengths of line, 6" should do, but its no big deal and hook up the two outlets of the air pump to the T so they form just 1 line. Then run the main line from each pump to your bucket. I am assuming that you know already where your system is going to be, etc.....

Why two air pumps? More air the better the growth, and if one pump goes out, you still have a back-up so your plant doesn't die.

You should drill a couple of holes into your bucket. Put them near the top so you don't lose any water. In a 5 gallon bucket, the best place is right beneath where the metal handle attahes to the bucket. That way you can pick your bucket up and dump it out without having to unhook the whole contraption.

Run the air line inside your drilled holes and hook up a air stone to the end of the line. Some people glue the air stones down to the bottom of the bucket, but its personnel preference.

So our equipment list for today is:

bucket, with lid
duct tape
aquarium air pump
air line
T-connector
air stones

All of this can be picked up at Wal Mart for about $40. With the air pumps about $15 each.

Next Lesson: meters, nutes, & recipes

hi im new, i want to hear more about growing hydr using buckets, can u tell me more?

[Freeze]

dude, just read the thread from the beginning

[fulner]

sounds good i just started in a 4 gal tub kind of like a rubber maid but hard clear plastic an used 2 4in net pots 2$each a 12in air stone3$ an a pump for 15$ at wal mart rated for a 80gal tank opened a trash bag flat an pulled it around the tub an closed the top over the ends of the bag that hang in side the tub filled it up with 3 1/2 to start now using 4 gals of water mixed with dyna grow i have all 3 grow bloom and protekt im using protekt an grow now mixing 2 gal of protekt with 2 gal of grow an filling it up i have a 2 foot t12 flor light on 24/7 an there about a month an a half old an looking great so its workin good so far the ph is around 6-7 an ther about 6-8 in tall with some roots coming out the bottom an sides of the pots

any questions or anything i might be doing wrong please tell me

[Mork]

If you can't get a pH tester, I'd at least get a roll of pH paper and some pH up and pH down solutions (or baking soda and vinegar, respectively).

Problems I've had with my current dwc grow included problems that I believe started with a high pH (my test paper showed a color that looked like 7- I had chlorosis and leaf burn, wilting, on old growth). Deficiencies start to show with nutrient lockout, which can begin with a pH higher than 6.5 (read from GC!).

I added small capfuls of vinegar until the pH registered at the 6 color spot on. Vinegar, only because I'm on a very limited budget at the moment!

Oh and Id put in a fan too.
peace

[fulner]

Originally Posted by Mork

If you can't get a pH tester, I'd at least get a roll of pH paper and some pH up and pH down solutions (or baking soda and vinegar, respectively).

Problems I've had with my current dwc grow included problems that I believe started with a high pH (my test paper showed a color that looked like 7- I had chlorosis and leaf burn, wilting, on old growth). Deficiencies start to show with nutrient lockout, which can begin with a pH higher than 6.5 (read from GC!).

I added small capfuls of vinegar until the pH registered at the 6 color spot on. Vinegar, only because I'm on a very limited budget at the moment!

Oh and Id put in a fan too.
peace

i have the ph drops an up an down but not a ppm meater keep it from 6-7 an the roots are startin to take off o have a few that are touching the bottom of the tub now

[Mork]

Nice! mad props to you bro.

Here's mine so far, 2 weeks into flowering.


As of today I spot 35 budsites that, properly tended, have the potential to grow me some biga$$ buds. Lets see some more pics from yall!

[fulner]

Originally Posted by Mork

Nice! mad props to you bro.

Here's mine so far, 2 weeks into flowering.


As of today I spot 35 budsites that, properly tended, have the potential to grow me some biga$$ buds. Lets see some more pics from yall!

my pics are up on my post they look kinda small for a month but hey its my first dro ive grown dirt for about 3 years an they all had about an o a plant

[oskillzzo]

i got 4 bubble buckets setup and ready, cant fuckin wait

but lemme get this straight
What does a EC meter exactly do? i got a ph and tds meter but i didnt know a ec meter was mandatory
under 250ppms for seedlings and than the ppms should gradually rise week by week?
oh and is that 250 ppms of nutrients? like say the water from my tap is 150 ppms...i put nutrients in till it reaches 250 more?

[mordgrow]

if you have PH and TDS ur fine.

Raise your PPM to 250 (not 250 above 150) see how the plants do, gradualy increase

its easyer than you'd think

[kclemmz1]

I just built myself 3 bubble buckets myself and I dont have a clue what to do. Should i put fertilizers (organic) in the water?? and how often do I need to change the water??
Thanks

[Durban_Guy]

hey hey.
Ok ive had my seedlings on drippers in small pots with vermiculite. they sit in the lid of my bucket. they are almost 3 inches tall now and i think the roots are ready and long enough for me to change my system to a bubbler.
Any idea what meduim i can use instead of rockwool or clay pebbles? I say this cuz here in south africa its almost impossible to find. I know i would have to change to meshed pots but not sure what medium i could use.
Any advice?
Cheerz

[WrldWidRadio911]

Legos work

[shalionzfinest]

another good idea is to go to ur local fish store n buy a water pump and tubing and a splitter the splitters come in 2,4,6,8 holes so they work good and make a drip system insted of having the water just sit on the bottom it help move the water with the airpump and keeps the neutrients from settling to the bottom of the resevior