Puff- The Magic Dragon
The Gingerbread Man
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2007
- Messages
- 60
- Reaction score
- 27
I thought about patenting this system and trying to make money by selling them- a la Hydro-Farm and their outrageously priced systems. However, I decided that I would like to share it with the community.
Everything I did, I did by myself. Meaning that where I live I didn't have any type of resources like people in CA and OR and WA (and others) have with the local grow shops. I never did have a "green thumb", so my plant-growing skills were basically non-existent. I was using inexpensive chemical nutes and tap water. I believe this system, utilized by a "master grower", will produce better results that any other type of hydro system, hands-down, no question. My results were simply amazing. I have some pictures that I am going to share, but I can't find the bulk of the pictures. I had hundreds of macro shots and all kinds of stuff. In case you are wondering, I got busted here in VA and now I'm moving to CA and getting back into the game, so to speak.
I used to post on OG several years ago, so some people may remember my stunning results, probably not though; I wasn't a prolific poster.
Essentially, this system combines Bubble Buckets (DWC) and Ebb & Flow (with a little aeroponics thrown in for good measure). If you already have a DWC system, you can convert to this system by simply adding another water line and a pump and timer.
Here are the main parts-
• A reservoir, mine was 50 gallons for 8 buckets and it was perfect.
• Control bucket, this is how the water height is controlled in the grow buckets.
• Grow buckets, I used 8. You can use as many as you want, but the reservoir, air pump, water pump and water lines all need to be sized accordingly.
• Water pump
• Water lines, I used ½” ID non-kink black water line. It was expensive, but worth every penny.
• Air pump
• Air stones. I aerated everything. If it had nutrient solution, it had an air stone (or 2 or 3)
Here’s general idea behind the operation-
Basically, it’s just like DWC, except that every hour the water pump comes on for 15 minutes. During this time, here’s what happens- the nutes are pumped from the buckets via the drain line and pumped up to the reservoir, as the nute level in the buckets starts to drop the control bucket starts to drain into the grow buckets, this in turn opens the float valve to the reservoir and the nutes start flowing back into the control and eventually to the grow buckets. In order for this to work correctly, the water pump has to be able to pump faster than the flow going back into the buckets via the supply line. In my system it took 15 minutes to fully drain, then they would fill for about another 20 minutes, they would have about 25 minutes when the bucket was full, then the cycle starts again.
I tried several different configurations when I initially came up with the idea and this was the best, but if you choose to try this system, feel free to experiment away!
The benefits to growing this way should be obvious. My roots were always white and healthy, the plants were simply stunning.
I also came up with a way of rooting clones using a smaller version of this and utilizing a blast of oxygenated solution. I call it “Bubble Tubes”.
Anyway, here’s a few pics. I’ll be happy to answer any questions.
Everything I did, I did by myself. Meaning that where I live I didn't have any type of resources like people in CA and OR and WA (and others) have with the local grow shops. I never did have a "green thumb", so my plant-growing skills were basically non-existent. I was using inexpensive chemical nutes and tap water. I believe this system, utilized by a "master grower", will produce better results that any other type of hydro system, hands-down, no question. My results were simply amazing. I have some pictures that I am going to share, but I can't find the bulk of the pictures. I had hundreds of macro shots and all kinds of stuff. In case you are wondering, I got busted here in VA and now I'm moving to CA and getting back into the game, so to speak.
I used to post on OG several years ago, so some people may remember my stunning results, probably not though; I wasn't a prolific poster.
Essentially, this system combines Bubble Buckets (DWC) and Ebb & Flow (with a little aeroponics thrown in for good measure). If you already have a DWC system, you can convert to this system by simply adding another water line and a pump and timer.
Here are the main parts-
• A reservoir, mine was 50 gallons for 8 buckets and it was perfect.
• Control bucket, this is how the water height is controlled in the grow buckets.
• Grow buckets, I used 8. You can use as many as you want, but the reservoir, air pump, water pump and water lines all need to be sized accordingly.
• Water pump
• Water lines, I used ½” ID non-kink black water line. It was expensive, but worth every penny.
• Air pump
• Air stones. I aerated everything. If it had nutrient solution, it had an air stone (or 2 or 3)
Here’s general idea behind the operation-
Basically, it’s just like DWC, except that every hour the water pump comes on for 15 minutes. During this time, here’s what happens- the nutes are pumped from the buckets via the drain line and pumped up to the reservoir, as the nute level in the buckets starts to drop the control bucket starts to drain into the grow buckets, this in turn opens the float valve to the reservoir and the nutes start flowing back into the control and eventually to the grow buckets. In order for this to work correctly, the water pump has to be able to pump faster than the flow going back into the buckets via the supply line. In my system it took 15 minutes to fully drain, then they would fill for about another 20 minutes, they would have about 25 minutes when the bucket was full, then the cycle starts again.
I tried several different configurations when I initially came up with the idea and this was the best, but if you choose to try this system, feel free to experiment away!
The benefits to growing this way should be obvious. My roots were always white and healthy, the plants were simply stunning.
I also came up with a way of rooting clones using a smaller version of this and utilizing a blast of oxygenated solution. I call it “Bubble Tubes”.
Anyway, here’s a few pics. I’ll be happy to answer any questions.
GL playing
