Building a Rubbermaid Hydro Bubbler Unit - Cheap and Effective

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Originally Posted by Opie Yutts

MVP, Nice, real nice. Have some rep.

If I may though, I've built quite a few of these bubblers in various configurations. I have learned that:

- Polyester absorbs and wicks water better than cotton. You can buy a square yard of thick polyester (mostly) material for about $2.50 from most any place that sells fabric, like Walmart. That's quite a few wicks. You can also get more expensive professional wicking material from the hydro store. It's called capillary matting.
- Even the colored plastic tubs that look opaque will let light shine through them. I recommend wrapping the entire box with foil duct tape, or good thick, expensive regular duct tape, or cheap duct tape and do two passes. A little light is OK, but try to keep it out.
- For the lid, heres a real easy way: You get a quarter or half sheet of sturdy foam insulation, and cut holes in it with an exacto knife. Much, much easier than cutting in the hard plastic. It might just save you a little blood. 3/4" thick insulation is usually fine, but I get 1" since it's not that much more money. If you get white insulation this is best, because it will reflect light back up to the plants without having to cover it in mylar or a white material. You can trace around the lip of the net pot, then cut just a little smaller than the lip and the pot will fit down in the lid perfectly, with the lip sitting on the foam. Nice and tight and free from light leaks. Also the foam is really easy to sand. You might want to cut your hole ever so slightly smaller than you want, then make it nice and round and tidy with the sand paper (about 150 grit). It's much easier to take a little foam off than it is to put some back. Of course if you have a scroll saw like me, cutting the holes is extremely easy and tidy.
- Your plants will grow big and fast if you get a bunch of air to the roots. Also this way you don't have to worry about root rot. You can do this several ways. Use a big air pump and put a shitload of air stones in there (actually air wands are much better), put a power head submersible pump in there (the one that injects air into the stream) and it will circulate the water, or make sure you design you box so that there is a few inches between the bottom of the net pot and the bottom of the reservoir (so that you can have some of your roots dangling in regular old air), or do some combination of 2 or 3 of those. Oxygen to the roots is the key.

Perhaps it would help to confuse him if we were to run away more.

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Opie, welcome to the thread! It's good to have your experience and input here. I have highlighted the key info in red.

- Great points about the wick material, I haven't tried polyester yet, but will next cycle.

- I definitely like the aluminum tape the best as it blocks light completely when applied correctly.

- I like the lid idea for a number of reasons: 1) it is light weight and easy to work with; 2) I can change net pot arrangements (number, spacing, etc) without having to buy a new lid or container; and 3) it will save bleeding for newbs that are not experienced or confortable with knives or power tools.

- I cannot agree more or stress enough to maximize airflow through the solution and roots = maximizing growth and minimizing root problems.

Thanks for the contribution, I'm sure it will help a bunch of folks as they build their bubblers.

MVP :jointsmile:

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Originally Posted by Opie Yutts

Different strokes and all, but I can't stand that black air line. It is real stiff, and when it gets stretched out, like to go over an air nozzle, it just stays that shape and likes to kinda just fall off the nozzles after awhile. I got a big roll of supple, soft air tube from the aquarium supply section of a pet store. It's kinda clear, but translucent green, and stays soft forever. Algae is not a problem since it doesn't grow in air lines. It will stay on a nozzle forever, and remain nice and soft a long time.

And check valves: I would not use these unless you have a big air pump. Especially on weaker pumps, they reduce the air flow considerably, like to half or less sometimes. Instead, I use a gravity valve: simply put your pump on a small shelf or something above your reservoir, and the water cannot get into it through the air hoses.

I've got a bunch of em, but I'll try and shut up and let MVP do his thing.

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Regarding air line, I pickup up a nice flexible roll from the hydro store and haven't noticed issues yet. Could be just a preference thing but I plan to replace after every couple of cycles since it is so inexpensive. And on my bubblers that have clear line, I haven't noticed any significant discoloration so perhaps it is a non-issue.

I agree with ya Opie on the check valves. I don't use then myself anymore but wanted to bring it up so that people know they are out there and recommended if the air pump is on the ground or sits below the water level in the res. I would rather elevate the pumps and have full force airflow than deal with the check valves.

Anyhow, don't worry about taking over the thread, I was asked by a few folks to start it and explain how I made my bubblers. Now that we have some good experienced folks chipping in, lets keep it going. All ideas are good to post!

MVP :jointsmile:

Glad I can be of service, and I'll check back in from time to time. I hope we can see the grow through to the conclusion, along with your revelations along the way. Please keep those pictures coming too. Good luck, not that you need it. It seems like you have everything pretty much under control.

Damn MVP, is there anything you CAN'T do? lol

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Originally Posted by cm8883

Damn MVP, is there anything you CAN'T do? lol

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I can't seem to get thru a day without (accidentally) pissing someone off... I am a bit edgy sometimes. :)

Some may think I'm an asshole for being the type that 'stirs the pot' to make people think.... and thin skinned folks take it personally when its meant to get people to think and open their minds. The "Unpopular Opinions" thread is a perfect example.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy info here and the brownies on the other thread. I just made another batch with 12 grams for 16 brownies... 3/4 gram per cake will kick my ass I'm sure!

Peace amigos,

MVP :hippy:

this is a great tutorial!

do you think you would get bigger plants and more yield with 4 or 5 plants in a similar unit? I'm thinking you would rotate the plants in their 6 holes so they can get equal light penetration; but don't they still get crowded?

Excellent information just built my first bubbler and will be refering back to this when the time come to add the plants to it.. I'm still in the seedling stage and will be a week or two before I get to this ponit.

how does it water the plants?

I love to build bubblers, this a great thread for newbs, this serves as a great template to building your own bubbler to fit each individual growers needs.

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Originally Posted by ljproud

this is a great tutorial!

do you think you would get bigger plants and more yield with 4 or 5 plants in a similar unit? I'm thinking you would rotate the plants in their 6 holes so they can get equal light penetration; but don't they still get crowded?

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I was curious about this too. I would imagine it would be crowded. Can you grow 6 close together like that all the way to harvest? How tall are your plants when you flower them? How tall are they at harvest?