Hey GC people! I'm considering the results of a hydro setup, but I am a little confused. Well I understand what I want, but I don't know all the names of where to get stuff and what things are called, and stuff. Yeah. If any of this doesn't make sense or contradicts itself please let me know, I'm a noob and need to be directed! I'm considering 2 plants side by side in their own home depot buckets. You know those Home Depot buckets they sell that are orange I believe?? I'm thinking about those. So I know I need to get the right size hole in the lid for my net pots (I guess they're called net pots?) which will be filled with whatever I decide to get, I don't really care. Rocks or something? Somebody just tell me what to use! The two buckets will be slightly elevated and have a hole in the bottom of each with a line connecting to a reservoir. The grow buckets are slightly elevated so gravity continuously feeds water back into the reservoir. then each bucket also has another line near the top that feeds water into the bucket but it SPRAYS it everywhere in the bucket. I've seen this on youtube and imagine the items are in the fish section of a pet store? I want to just have a continuous (or intervals, whatever) stream on the roots. Is the called a bubbler? I don't know anything. So with this I would need a water pump. I saw an air pump for a fish tank with 2 'blowers' the other day for 14 bucks so I bought it on a whim. How much do water pumps go for? Anybody with a better idea to simplify, I'm open to suggestion and need guidance. Thanks!
If you are just useing 2 buckets id reccomend that you just do 2 DWC or bubble buckets since it would not be very hard to monitor them individually the idea of a rez if for larger systems allowing you to monitor your whole water system from one location which you dont really need to worry about also doing just 2 stand alone DWC will save you money on water pumps and tubing all you will need for the system is just the 2 buckests and the air pump. check out the thread bubble bucket hydro method 101... hope this helps
General Hydroponics WaterFarm Complete [706975] - $49.90 : The Hydro Source - Hydroponics Experts, Leaders in Environmentally Friendly Hydroponics its fifty bucks... comes with nutrients and its top drip... like you wanted... also.. if you want to expand you can... you can easily link the buckets together and your money is not wasted for larger grows
Ya, I'd agree... They are the simplest and for 50 bucks you don't have to deal with buying buckets, cutting holes, etc, etc, etc, making one.. I know a few people using them, what they do is take the water level tube and turn it sidewards to drain it, and then they fill from the top, which gives them kind a once a week flush of the hydroton.....
This is exactly what I was looking for, and 50 bucks seems fair though I'm kicking myself in the ass for having already purchased the air pump. I see your point about the reservoir. So in order to add nutes and water I'd need to take off the top of the bucket.. So I should have at least one extra of the same size bucket to put the plant in when I change the water etc, yeah? So with the DWC you talked about, the only thing I would need would be a line going in from the airpump to the airstone for the bubbles? I guess that makes sense since there's no reservoir. Then I just keep adding water as necessary..
Ya, to fill I just used a 5gal bucket and poured it over the hydroton when I was running this type of system... No need to separate it...
Keep the extra air pump Get a air stone and some aquarium silicone and sick the stone in the bottom of the bucket Win, win
The way I fill mine is I mix the nutrients in a separate five gallon bucket and then use a water pump with a hose attaches to the outlet and drop that in the bucket I just mixed. Then with your working bucket already drained move the net pot over enough to get the hose in it and turn the pump on till its full. Takes five minutes and I don't have to move the plants and worry about breaking a branch. Which I have done more than once by moving them from bucket to bucket.