One box, two box, veg box, bloom box

So this is my conversion from soil to Hydro.
I have ran 8 cycles in soil, perpetual SOG with a harvest every 7 weeks. Yield was not what I expected and more than likely due to PH issues (now that I have a PH pen). Yield was approx 8oz for 80 plants 2 week veg and 7 week flower. Very dissapointing and demotivating. Two hours of watering every three days turned me away and I tired of it all.

Did some talking with the local hydro store and decided to read a little and get some ideas for a conversion to hydro to at least try it out.

Veg spot is a shelf with 3x Sunblaster T5's
Lighting is 24/0

Bloom Room is 4h x 4w x 8l
Lights are Hortilux 400W HPS with expanded spectrum (This is clearly bullshit to me as I ran lights in comparison and noticed no difference)
4x 4" fans
540CFM Exhaust
Odor Sock (I love these things)


So, after doing some reading, my limited height moved me away from flood and drain (ebb and flow) and my limited knowledge moved me away from NFT or any aeroponic system.

I was looking for a low budget system that would fit my space and experience and DWC is where I am at.

Pics attached are of my Veg box.
Clones are done in rockwool and once showing roots and moved to this veg box. Here they will flourish for 2 weeks before the move to the bloom box.

Supplies required to make this veg box were all found at walmart with the exception of my hydrotron, net pots and PH pen.

2 airstones 12"
1 airpump dual outlet
Appropriate rubbermaid container
Aluminum tape for HVAC
Standar air hose
1 1/2 inch net pots

As you can see by the photos there really isn't much to it.

Using a hole saw, drill out enough holes for the netpots. Leave spacing dependent on how many plants.

Drill two small holes at the top side of the container for the airhose.

Fill with PH adjusted water to 5.8.

Put the air pump higher than the container, or use backcheck valves so the water doesn't get in to the airpump.

Use the aluminum tape, or paint or panda plastic to make the sides of the container light proof.

Plug it in and start bubbling.

I will cut some small circles out of panda plastic to cover the tops of the net pots so as to avoid more light to the water and roots.


Next up I will build the bloom box, a larger version of this small box.
Hydrotron is soaking in ph adjusted water to 6.0


That's it for now.
I will post a few pics of the vegging girls soon.

Any comments, questions or criticism welcome.

I should metion that the materials cost a total of $61 with the exception of the PH pen that cost me $140

My only comment is that you measured the yield by the number of plants instead of by the wattage of light. And i'd say if you yielded 8oz from 2-400 watters, in an area of 32 square feet, you did pretty well!

BTW, you don't measure the spectrum by looking at the light with your human eyes. You need a spectrometer (sp?).

one gram per watt is pathetic IMO...

anyway, i can't believe the difference that this bubbler makes.
The growth is uncomparable to what I was getting in soil.
Perhaps measuring PH accurately makes all the difference.
After two weeks the growth and health is hard to believe.
I will post pics later.