Quote 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.
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:
MVP Reviewed by MVP on . Building a Rubbermaid Hydro Bubbler Unit - Cheap and Effective Okay gang, here is a quick instructional thread on how to build a home made bubbler. I have seen friends use store bought units that are similar (google for Emily??s Garden). If you wanna see the concept, check out Greg Green's book "The Cannabis Grow Bible" where this idea is discussed as well. Getting started - first the parts list: (1) 10-gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck storage bin (Lowes $5.50) (1) ½ inch I.D. clear vinyl flexible tubing, 12? length (Lowes $0.50) (1) ½ inch Rating: 5