Hey ya all. I have had this system kinda grow itself and I have finally documented it in a drawing which I would like some comments on - thinking about putting together a complete how-to, DIY thing. The system's heart is a "standard" Rumple style Bubble Bucket with two 18 gallon tote placed on top to provide a light-tight grow chamber that is lit with (8) 26w CFL and vented with a 5" Massey type personal fan exhausting out the top and (4) 3" PVC 90s around the bottom for air intake. I also have 3" ducting dangling off the 90s to provide more light isolation.
Interesting setup. I find it somewhat funny that you went to the trouble of making such precise drawings but with imprecise measurements It looks pretty good, what is the bottom tub for? And what about smell? Would the top two bins be openable so you can tend to the plant? How about changing water? Would this be enclosed in anything so it's not a random stack of bins sitting in a room (e.g. for stealth)? If not, why not just built a box that is like 1.5X1.5 X 4 feet for the purpose?
Bottom tub is a stand. Smell is handled by a Renuzit smell eating gel parked on top of the fan Kinda like [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Renuzit-Neutralizer-Freshening-Lavender-3-52oz/dp/B001J9QNI4]Amazon.com: Renuzit Super Odor Neutralizer Air Freshening Pearls, Fresh Lavender 3.52oz.: Kitchen & Dining[/ame] Top tote removes for plant tending, light change, whatever. The plant is topped and LST'd - growth pretty much fills the two totes.. The Bubble Bucket has a drain on the bottom and a fill on the top. This is much more portable than a constructed box. Thanks for the comments / questions
I am always interested in peoples setups that they do themselves... I have been pondering this same sort of setup... my mind is always moving... however... i cannot really see what its is.... any pictures? or is this something your going to make? why the lower tote?... why not just attach three five gallon buckets to each other? any pictures of a build?
Yea - the problem with drawing is you dont get all the dimension queues .. So here is a picture of the two units side-by-side. The two totes on top of the Bubble Bucket are the are in which the plant grows. The bottom tote is just a stand ...
and that bottom tote does not give way with all that weight on top of it? interesting design... I like the fact that it seems to be fairly cheap to build and im assuming easy to to run.... maybe next time try hooking the two buckets together .... easier to fill and drain why the green line? does it stave away algae? pictures of the plant? whats the inside grow space temp? got any pictures of your light rig? when you turn out the lights in the room, does the light come out of the grow?
Nope - that shelf piece spreads the load. It is a weak point in the design. Geee - Thanks ... I think One of the buckets has high P and the other has high N. Yups Sorry - for reason of state prosecution I dont do that. But trust me - it works Temp runs about room temp. There are CFLs in there and the fan moves quite a bit of air. The fixture looks like http://forum.grasscity.com/lighting/633871-yet-another-cfl-fixture.html I built a platform from the tote lid - cut out a 10x14 square of plastic and covered that with the foil tape. The light bracket is attached to that with wire-ties and the whole thing is hung on a pair of chains from the top so it can be raised / lowered. The 10x14 piece pretty much covers the "top" of the tote so the light from the top (around the fan) does not hit the plant The totes are lined with foil tape .. really cant tell if its on or off. There is some light leak out the bottom of the duct tube and a little out the top around the fan.
The green tubing came from a water softener ... the unit came with about 10 ft of the stuff. You can cover the tubing with Armacell 3/4 in. x 6 ft. Tubolit Foam Pipe Insulation - OEP07838 at The Home Depot About the tote on the floor / stand .. The question has been made that a couple cinder-blocks would be more stable and I agree. The reason that the totes are there is because while I was learning how to make Bubble Buckets there were some issues about leaks and there is 3.5 gal of water in that thing - so I figured I should have something to catch the water should I have a "failure". Since I have the leak issue pretty much nailed I guess I could get rid of the tote / stand.
where was the leaks from? fittings? I frequent my local hydro shop... I asked about leaks and the kid that was behind the counter was a total dick but had some really good advice... my question was about push fittings and how to make them fit better using a drimel to clean and de-bur the freshly cut holes... i'd had just put together a system that leaked all over the floor.. and across some electrical(guess i got lucky with my first few systems)... he said he does not even clean up his cut holes... just sticks the CAP push gromit right into the bucket...I was a little pissed that he just said cut the hole and stick it in... Then he showed me the bit he uses... said it did all the work... step bit.... problem solved... 22 gromits... not one drip while this does not help you now... maybe it will in the future. I know this wasn't really what your thread was about... but I really am impressed with this bit and how it cuts holes in plastic buckets... wish i had know about this with my previous system builds
well thanks man.. but this was a post... if yours saying this is worth a thread.. i guess i could make one... and maybe stick it in my sig... might help others... I'll give it a go.. thanks for the advice
Duh, yeah, I'm a moron, I meant thread. I would love to have a thread devoted to the RIGHT way of doing leaktight connections for drains, fill holes, etc. for hydro and any other needs. This would be a great start and you could augment it with other things you've learned along the way, as could other people. e.g.: -this is the RIGHT way to drill a hole (vs. the wrong way) -here is how to make a nice leak tight connection -this is the right caulk/o-ring/valves to use -this will hold a lot of pressure/not a lot of pressure etc. If you started this and really fleshed it out, it would be a wonderful sticky, and others could come in and throw their two cents in too. It could be titled something like "How to make proper plumbing connections and tricks learned along the way." If you do this, let me know (PM or repost here)! Thanks, and sorry for hijacking the thread -OH