Contest entry! Build your own Bubbleponics system! for under 80$

yourname said:

hOW BIG OF A PUMP DO YOU NEED FOR 18 GALLON RES ?

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twistedheat57 said:

Build your own Bubbleponics system! for under 80$
Reservoir=4$
buckets=.88$x6 = 6$ each
Air pump = 7-12$
air hose = 2.5$ for 25ft
air stone = 5$
water tight cylicone = 2-5$
water pump = 17$
Hydrotron = 11$
nuets = 16-20$
misc = 5-10$

These are the prices of everything i purchased, prices may very, but i
bought everything from my local walmart store and the water pump, hydrotron
and nuets from BGhyrdo.com...
Ill go through the process step by step as i did. That way you dont make
the same mistakes i did.

Step 1: First You want to grab your make-shift pots, i got mine in the
painting section of walmart for .88$ each. they are 1 quart in size. the
diamiter is 4in and the lenght is 5in...i got the pots first cause i took
the 6 of them and made sure they all fit on the lid to my reservoir. so make
sure to do this when you are buying reservoir and pots.

Step 2: second i started off by getting a reservoir from walmart, i belive i
got an 18 gallon reservoir for 4$ from walmart. depending on how many plants
you want to grow depends on the size of the reservoir. I.E. The bigger the
lid to the reservoir the more pots it can hold.the only other things you
need to make sure of is that light can not pennetrate the reservoir. the
roots dont like the light, also it promotes the growth of algea and we dont
want that.

step 3: Well if your shopping in walmart like i was, you get the next three
items in the fish section, your going to want an air pump, air hose, and
air stone(s)... Roots, love oxygen, so this is how we are going to give it
to them. if you want your plants to grow faster your should buy a decent
air pump(the more bubbles the better). i on the other hand am poor, so i
bought the 7$ air pump it has two outputs so i bought two airstones and
25ft of air hose just in case. also since yoru in this section you might
want to pick up some of the sealant they have for fish tanks. Its more
expensive but its PH stable so its good to use.

Step 4: Other things you might need if they are not layting around your
house. These are things i used cause they were laying around other things
could be more usefull i suppose, Zip ties, utility knife and fishing line.

Step 5: Well before we start building i think we shoudl order the other
parts. Bghydro.com has really good deals and are reliable but you can get
this stuff from anywhere i guess. I order 10L of hydrotron, 1 318GPH water
pump, and some neutrients. you dont need to buy a 300+ GPH unless you want
to do maybe 8 or more plants. but i was not sure so i got it. but
Stealthhydro.com uses a 200gph pump. i wont give advice on the neutriants
being as i only bought what was cheap. but 10L of hydrotron was mroe then
enough.

Step 6: Time to put the reservoir together...first take a pencil, and your
(for my case 6) pots and put them where you want them on the lid upside
down and trace around them. i found using a utility knife (razor blade) was
easiest when cutting them out. after you have your six holes in your lid
your going to want to put holes in your pots! You dont even want to know
how i made the holes (involved lots of melting with a wood burning kit) but
a drill would be the best way. make sure there is alot of holes so water
drains easily but dont make the holes to big or the hydrotron will fall
out. size of a dime or penny i would say. place pots in lid.

Step 7: Next lets put the air pump in, now i attached mine to the side of
the reservoir with Zip ties. this involves drilling 4 holes in the reservoir
plus holes for the tubing(so you make the choice) but you must drill a hole
for the air tub. but first place the air stones where you want them on the
bottom of the reservoir, then put some of that sylicone under them and place
them so they can dry and stay put. drill a hole in the side of the reservoir
for the tubbing attach the tubbing to airstone and pump to see how much you
need then sylicone the hole with the tubing in it shut. (now you have to
wait for the sylicone to dry, but thats ok we still need our water pump.
and a few more items which you might have to go to your local hardware
store to get.

Step 8: ok well, i got my water pump EXCITED RIGHT? suction cup your water
pump to the bottom of the resivour(should come with your pump)..now here
was the biggest problem for me... you need a 6 hose splitter for the
tubing to run to each of the pots. but you have to be carefull cause the
splitter i got, i didnt realize had a pressure regulator in it.(thats bad)
so i ended up buying 1/2inch hose and putting 6 what i like to call TEETH
in it. they are barb tubes big enough for air hose to fit on. anyways i
stabbed 6 holes into the 1/2inch tubing and put the 6 teeth in there... and
the on one end of the 1/2 inch tubing i put a 1/2inch plug now take a
connector that comes with your pump. should be a 90deg angle connector... attach
it to your pump and the other end attach your 1/2inch tubing.

step 9: take your 25ft of air tubing and cut 6 1 1/2 foot lenghts these
will run from the 1/2 inch tube and the teeth to the pots. connect them and
your going to want to use somthing to tie them to the pots.. i used hemp
HAHA, but im sure fishing line would be alot better and its PH safe.

step 10: i think your done by now. And if you missed somthing im sure you
can figure it out with the pictures, now follow rosemans
instructions for growing with the Bubbleponiocs system and your SET!@
Thanks,
LET ME KNOW IF YOU GUYS WANT MORE PICS

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