EDIT: Didn't know wiether to put this in Hydro section or here... so it's kinda in both! MY BAD! Figured I'd get more "looks" here! Exactly as the title says.... I've came up, with what IMO, seems to be a good/cheap way for me to try a hydroponics grow! Keep in mind that I've never done one, but just from WHAT I DO KNOW about them - I've came up with a "contraption" that JUST MAY work and it would be PERFECT for my grow setup (as far as stealth - vision wise) if it'll work! I'm very high right now and didn't want to type it all out SOOOOO.... haha! I used Microsoft Paint and drew it out for yall! If anything looks "out of wack" let me know! I just need some opinions on this and also if it will SUFFICIENTLY yield ONE good plant? I already own EVERYTHING I need to build this... so for it to be possible (with maybe some guidance here and there or some SUGGESTIONS!) would be BADASS!!! Here's the drawing... PLEASE, someone let me know if this is a sufficient Hydro Setup!!! Thanks!!!
Whats the point of using the reservoir? For this the bubble bucket will be fine without it, 5 gallons is plenty for one plant I would say even 3 gallons is enough. I would keep the bucket high and have a hose at the bottom for draining maybe into the cooler.
So you're saying NOT use a reservoir? I don't want JUST a bubble bucket (I have a SMALL version DIY one for cloning)... all it does is bubble air/water into the perlite in a cup with LOTS of holes cut in the bottom (diy net pot), inside of ANOTHER "cup" with a dome on top! (Though I DO WANT the "air pump" to give the roots air from the inside out, if I'm going to use this system!) I'm kind of confused too! As you said NOT to use the reservoir, but than turn around and say use the cooler (the reservoir! lol) for the drainage?! I'm not saying what you're saying is irrelevent or inaccurate information, so DO NOT take what I'm saying wrong... I'm just not sure about hydroponics, just trying to "explain" AND understand better! What I'm trying to do is this... I want the bucket on a table, inside of the tent. I want a reservoir to CONSTANTLY pump "fresh" water and nutes into the plants "medium" (water in bucket). I figured the best way to do this would be to pump from a "standalone reservoir" that overflows a 5 gallon bucket RIGHT as it reaches the top of the bucket (where the base of the plant would stand in a net pot full of perlite!)... And the overflown water would go into the reservoir obviously) it would just be a constant system of water steadily flowing.... PLUS bubbles pumping into the root system on top of it! Isn't this how a HYDRO SYSTEM WORKS?! Or am I confused as hell?? Haha! ANY INFO IS APPRECIATED AND SO WAS YOURS MAN... JUST LOOKING FOR DIFFERENT OPINIONS!!
Sounds like you're crossing an ebb and flow with a controller bucket...If you have the cooler or another 5 gallon bucket level with the one in the room then the water will always be the height of the water in the controller bucket and then you add the fresh nutes to the controller which also would have an airstone in it...ebb and flow would be where you pump it into the plant bucket like in the pic but only for 15mins or so until the medium is moist and then it all drains back into the bucket and it does that so many times a day...no airstone required...what you have would work but theres no point on having it constantly circulate if you have an air stone in there that does the same thing
Gotcha! Makes sense! Sooo... which way you think I should go? lol... I'm looking for the cheapest way and only ONE 5 gallon bucket for ONE plant! So are you saying the system I have will work fine? All I have to do is hook the pump to a timer so that it goes on and off AND just put the airstone in the "reservoir" instead of the actual bucket WITH THE PLANT? In what time increments should the bucket fill? How long should the medium be submerged in the H20 and how many times a day? Thanks for info... REP SLAP!!!
Not sure never did ebb and flow but you can look it up and find out...yes you would only need it in the reservoir then..I personally would just have an air stone in the plant bucket and forget the controller unless you need it (too hot in grow room for the water or cant move the plant to swap out new water every week)...even then you could just put a drain in like green bowl said and then use the pump to pump fresh nutes in every 7-10 days...your call good luck man
I have a mini bubble bucket for clones ..... It seems to be working pretty well so far! Its nothing but a homemade net pot in a plastic coffee can! Just has a mini air pump (that actually puts out A LOT of air for its size) hooked in through it and an airstone on the bottom! I just feed it, change water thru the coffee container and its as simple as that! I use perlite for my medium.... I think ill just do the EXACT same thing with the setup I've got built, except with a REAL 10in net pot, 5 gallon bucket and BIGGER airstone and pump! Thanks for tthe replies everyone! I think If I was to do an ebb and flow type setup I would just purchase it! Makes things easier and I don't want a soaked tent over some BULLSHIT! lol
It looks like you want to set up a RDWC (Recirculating Deep Water Culture) system. This is the type of system I have set up in my veg room. I use five buckets, four for plants, and one bucket as a reservoir. There are TONS of plans on this forum showing how to do this. I keep all my buckets on one level. I also have air stones in all my buckets and my reservoir. IMHO this is a good system for two reasons: First, because of the reservoir it is much easier to check PH, PPM, and make and adjustments to the whole system from the one reservoir system - Caution, even though you can just check your nutes from the reservoir you should continue to check your plant's roots on a regular basis. Second, this type of system puts a lot of O2 in the water. Which is what these type of systems are all about. A couple of tips: The more air in the water the better. I use those "barrel shaped" air stones I can get at the grow store for about $3. They do a great job, their cheap, and they last. Air pumps are not expensive, get a nice, quiet, air pump that you will be able to use if you expand your system. Instead of PUMPING water into your plant bucket(s) PULL the water out of them. The reason for this is that roots can clog your hoses coming into and out of your buckets. If you are PULLING the water out of your plant bucket you will not get an overflow if this happens. I would be glad to help in any way I can. I run and RDWC system and a Under Current system for my flower. I've made lots of mistakes along the way so I sort of know what works and what doesn't.
I just don't see WHY my EXACT "system" I "made up" wouldn't work??? I'm actually going to post some pics of WHAT I HAVE to show exactly how it would go down... It's as simple as a submersible pump going into the reservoir, then into the bottom of the "GROW BUCKET" and then draining out at the top of the so called grow bucket! So the water level would ONLY reach the root system and then just keep on trucking BY GRAVITY, back down to the reservoir! I kinda feel like it's the best of both worlds?! You have constant flow of water/nutes trolling through the root system, an airstone in the RESERVOIR AND GROW BUCKET to keep things moving EVEN BETTER and it would just WORK PERFECT with the tent I have!! Lemme go snap some photo's of what I have (everything needs to be cleaned btw) and if someone can tell me why this wouldn't work.... I won't do it! lol... I just want to TRY THE HYDRO SYSTEM!!! Especially with the "Auto Pineapple Express" seed I have coming!!! If THIS is not a good setup than I'm just going to go with the 5 gallon bucket and air stones I suppose..... I'll just attach a sort of draining system so it's easier to change out the reservoir! Pics.... imagine an airstone(s) in the reservoir AND the bottom "trashcan".... Along with a DRAIN/OVERFLOW HOSE coming from the TOP of the trashcan where the plants' root system would be, draining by overflowing BACK INTO the cooler. Cooler already has a drainage system and EVERYTHING for changing out the reservoir (since IT IS a cooler lol) and filling it would be as easy as opening the top! This setup would just be SO PERFECT because it's a ONE PLANT system and the hoses can come out of my tent, where the reservoir would be.... the only thing(s) that would be in the tent is the trashcans, an air pump AND the fill and drain hose! ANY REPLIES, GUIDANCE? 12 gallon reservoir..... 13 Gallon "fill bucket"....
I see what you want to do. I think what you are going to find is that your pump will deliver water MUCH faster than the return hose will be able to remove. Your pump is going to be dumping a little over 9 gal a minute into your grow bucket. I don't think a gravity return through a hose will be enough to handle that. If you still want to set it up that way you might be able to use a 2" PVC pipe, that may be big enough for your return.
What I was saying is the water/nutrients will not be fresh they will just cycle around which isnt going to make much of a difference. Take for instance if you were using a 5 gallon bucket with a 5 gallon cooler reservoir. It will be the same as if your using a 10 gallon bubble bucket. With one plant its not going to matter if theres a flow its not going to be fresh nutrients but the same nutrients flowing over and over. The reason people build a reservoir for bubble buckets is with multiple plants connected to the reservoir you can put all your nutes and ph test just from the reservoir. I hope this helps but if you want to try your way go for it
You have a valid point. For a new grower, a single bubble bucket for one plant is probably the easiest and best way to go. Cheap and simple and would allow you get figure a lot of things out. If you are going to be growing on a continuing basis however, there are advantages of setting up one "bubble bucket" to a reservoir. First, you only have about three gallons of nute solution in your 5 gal bucket. Adding a reservoir will double this amount. This allows for your roots to be in MORE oxygenated water for a longer period before PPM adjustment or nute change out. Second, since in a RDWC system the water is moving it will pickup more O2. Third, the addition of a reservoir allow you to easily add another air stone to your system allowing you to add even more O2 to the water. Fourth, it is much easier to take PH & PPM readings, and make solution adjustments in the reservoir since you have no need to lift your plant or disturb the roots. This one item alone was enough for me to begin using RDWC.