Bucket Bubbler!!!!

[rustafa]

O.K. so i have been researching bucket bubbler methods and im guessing it it as easy as just putting an airstone in the bucket and placing the plant in the bucket well this seems extreamly easy to grow. So what i was planning.
4 - 6 5 gallon buckets dark colored not to let any light shine through.
2- 3 air pumps pending on how many buckets i have with duel air ports..for one pump to pump 2 buckets
i was thinking along the lines of a 12" air stone if not one of those round ceramic ones for each of the buckets
lighting i was thinking either 400w MH/HPS or one of those ho T5 systems to keep temperature to min. becasue this will be a closest grow.


now if i am missing any thing please let me know now come the questions.

what size air pumps should i be using for 2 buckets how mnay gallons air pump
air stones is one better then the other or does only the air pump really matter once it comes down to it.
do you guys think that a 400w MH/HPS will be enough for 4 - 6 plants or will the floros be enough your opinion.
i was going to grow to commercialize it seeds either (northernlight x bigbud) (bigbud) (northern light) or (critical mass) my main goal it to have a strain that wont stink up my apartment yet produce as much yield as possible.
the one thing i dont know much about is nutrients if people can help me out with nutrient info that would be a plus if you could reccomend me with what brand worked best for you.
last but not least how much yield do you think i could possibly achieve with this setup from each bucket.

thank you guys for all your help and info and i know you guys wont let me down:dance:

[Buddahbear]

For a closet grow I think HOT5's would be right up your alley. You almost completely elliminate the heat factor, with just a T5 I would build an inner structure with some kind of vent (computer fan, or darkroom vents, http://www.amazon.com/Pack-Midget-Louver-Darkroom-4-inch/dp/B00068ZAII) and an oscillating fan you'd be good to go. Seeing as T5's don't get the best penetration you'd be wise to toss in some mylar.

For the bubble bucket systems I think it'd be best to use General Hydroponic's 3-part system (Florabloom, floramicro/floramicrohardwater, floragrow) with some suppliments (superthrive for vegging, calmag+, a general B1 vitamin) and you're good to go! I'd go with two dual output air pumps.

You're probably gonna end up screen of greening. Sounds like you've got a pretty smart set up imagined.

[xcrispi]

i believe in g/h 3 part nutes also . either 123 /321 recipe or some folks dont belive in using the grow nute . i myself would go for the 400 hps cause your gonna shit when you see how well this works . and if your like most of us your gonna want to expand your hobby once seeing this .
i've also found that the larger airstones dont always work as well , u might want to add a tee in your airlines and run 2 smaller stones per bucket verses 1 big 1 .
peace

[latewood]

use the 5" or small airstones...you only actually need one per bucket, but 2 work better, because the more oxy the better.

buy gh 3- part and use it 5-5-5 for veg and 4-8-12 for bloom* 3 ml per gallon calmag+. LK as directed every 2-3 rez changes.
*values are each part per gallon g-m-b. This recipe works awesome in a bubble bucket...I will show you a couple of piks of mine in a simple bucket.

NYCD in front and Fantasma(AKx) backleft. Both plant are in a 5 gallon bubblerm with 1 airstone and I used: gh 3-part, calmag+, liquid Karma or sea blast for B-vits and catalyst.

these are in the beginning of wk4f...This entire grow is under a 1000w MH agrosun gold. I wired ballasts** myself and whole lighting unit (ballast, lamp, hardware, and box) cost me under 200 bucks, including a ballast box from bghydro.

**I have wiring step-by-step in growfaqs. Although that is and hps s-b-s...I might be persuaded to do a MH ballast hook-up, but they are the same, except MH does not use an igniter like hps...peace

[Buddahbear]

Woohoohooo baby! Those are some fantastic looking plants Latewood! Is that Soma Seed's NYCD strain?

[BlazeIdo]

Latewood. With the nutrient schudule posted above, how often do you do rez changes, and do you top off with RO water only?

[latewood]

I change every 7-10 days, and I top off with ph'd ro water. sometimes I put LK, or sea blast in top off. sometimes just water.

[chisme]

hey latewood how are you lately looks good man i have one of those bubblers buckets too

[BlazeIdo]

Latewood, So you only add LK with water top offs and not in the initial rez change? What is the reasoning behind this? Have you noticed an increased build up in your system from LK? And whats the shelf life on LK?

[BlazeIdo]

Latewood. One more thing. Where do you keep your water level at in your bubble bucket? Below, or on the net pot? And are your systems circulating? Sorry bout all the questions.

[latewood]

I like the formula I came up with, and LK puts the ppm/EC level too high, + LK seems to cause "TOO MUCH" growth and the underside of the canopy gets overwhelmed.

I keep water level right up to/touching the netpot.

I do not use recycling in my DWC, but I have drip, aero and ebb and flow sytems that do recirculate.

I am build a drip to waste for my peppers and tomato's and a long nft gully for lettuce. I will be rooting seedlings in ebb and flow.

ask all the Q's you want.

Hey chisme. It's all good. Glad to see you. peace

[turtle420]

Just some thoughts...

4-6 5gallon buckets...

That's somewhere around 20 to 30 gallons of water (yes, I know... I rock on math).
Plus the odd 2-3 gallons you absolutely HAVE to spill all over your house in order to keep the universe and its Entropy laws happy.

20 gallons... every 10-14 days.
Get a water filter... unless you have good tap water (blessed!).

In addition, think about changing the water... you might want to raise the buckets a little bit, and install some plumbing... so you don't have to physically remove the entire bucket for every rez change.

Just two or three ideas... keep at it buddy! :)

[rustafa]

Like i said im a bit new to hydro but what does topping mean as well as rezing im guessing rezzing means completely changing out the water. Topping im also guessing means when water runs low you fill it back up to a stable level:confused in the bucket if i am wrong please let me know. Also what is a good scheduale to completely change the water of of the bucket. one more questions (by the way sorry for all the noob questions im just trying to get this down right) what is RO water. I will also be growing these plants from seed what should i start them in after germinating would rockwool be good i know usually people start from 2" rockwool cubes then transfer them in 4" till roots show them place them in bucket if this is right or wrong pls let me know.:confused: :confused: :confused:

[DrGreenBean]

i'd go with a cool tube setup. I think you will see better results with the cooler temps and more lumans than the t5.

I just bought the gh 3 part nutes for my bubble bucket system.

I also recommend the 10" netpots that replace the whole lid and fig snug over a 5 gal bucket.

[latewood]

Like i said im a bit new to hydro but what does topping mean as well as rezing im guessing rezzing means completely changing out the water. Topping im also guessing means when water runs low you fill it back up to a stable level:confused in the bucket if i am wrong please let me know. Also what is a good scheduale to completely change the water of of the bucket. one more questions (by the way sorry for all the noob questions im just trying to get this down right) what is RO water. I will also be growing these plants from seed what should i start them in after germinating would rockwool be good i know usually people start from 2" rockwool cubes then transfer them in 4" till roots show them place them in bucket if this is right or wrong pls let me know.:confused: :confused: :confused:you have it figured out, pretty much.

germinate just like you said...make sure the rockwool remains damp and not soaking wet.

read this thread again...I gave you all the info. peace

[latewood]

those big netpot tops are nice, but I use 3..5" netpots...sometimes 5". If you grow a big plant, and you will in a bubbler...you will most likely have to support the stem at some point. I wouldn't waste my money on large netpots, or all the hydroton you will need to fill them...Stay small and if necessary use some string to hold plant erect after it get's 4-5 feet tall. peace

[latewood]

Oh, Sorry. RO=reverse-osmosis. you can buy a nice ro filter on ebay for 80-90 bucks. It basically distills the water for you.

this allows you to control exactly what is fed to your plants.

[GluteusMaximus]

Like i said im a bit new to hydro but what does topping mean as well as rezing im guessing rezzing means completely changing out the water. Topping im also guessing means when water runs low you fill it back up to a stable level:confused in the bucket if i am wrong please let me know. Also what is a good scheduale to completely change the water of of the bucket. one more questions (by the way sorry for all the noob questions im just trying to get this down right) what is RO water. I will also be growing these plants from seed what should i start them in after germinating would rockwool be good i know usually people start from 2" rockwool cubes then transfer them in 4" till roots show them place them in bucket if this is right or wrong pls let me know.:confused: :confused: :confused:


Whew, you're asking more questions than you think.

Topping your reservoir means that you replace the water and/or nutrient solution that is evaporated or consumed by your grow. This is done between full reservoir changes. The frequency of full reservoir changes depends on how much activity is going on with the balance of water/nutes in your reservoir. 10 full sized plants growing from a single reservoir will require much more frequent top-offs and reservoir changes than 10 immature plants would require. Most reservoir changes never exceed 14 days and the typical reservoir change is around every week to 10 days depending on the plant's demands from the reservoir. RO water is hyper filtered water and is free of contaminates. The benefits of RO water are endless. Aside from having good drinking water around the house, using RO water prevents contaminates from raising your PH levels inside your reservoir. Don't think that any filtered water will do, Reverse Osmosis is a very specific process that eliminates particles at the micron level. Well worth the investment.

What you start your plants in depends a lot on what you'll grow them in afterwards. Rockwool is very versitile as it will allow you to transfer it to almost any medium after germination. You could put the small rockwool cube into a larger cube for a drip system. You could also place the rockwool cube inside a netpot filled with hydroton for a DWC system. Be aware, rockwool needs to be treated (soaked in PH adjusted water) before you start growing in it.

You've still got some research to do, but you're asking all the right questions. The only stupid question is the one you didn't ask. If you can describe the type of system you plan to grow in, we can advise you better on the variety of methods you could use with that system.