DIY hydro

rkymtnman

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
Hash Hound said:
Yes 2 ltr and if I remember correct the piping is 1" thin wall and a piece of that goes in to the top of the "T" and the caps fit into that small piece.
I used Peters 20-20-20 for nutes.

this isnt the same site, but has similar plans using 3/4"
http://www.homehydrosystems.com/system_plans/Flood and drain system plans/6 plant 2 liter bottle system/6 Plant Flood & Drain Hydroponic system.html
Click to expand...
that's cool as hell. thatnks for the links too. i might try to get one of those going for tomatos in my outdoor greenhouse
 
C

CannabisCanuckles

Member
HippieMonkey said:
Planning on building this kind of system
Planning on using 160mm drainage pipe.
Will there be enough space for roots to thrive? 12/12 straight from seed
What do you guys think?
Also does it make sense to add top feeding with micro tubing to each plant?
Click to expand...
This is the wrong system for cannabis. Want something super easy to DIY? Go buy some of the taller rubbermaid bins, aquarium air pumps/air stones, a 6-8" netted pot and a bag of hydroton. Fill the rubbermaid bin about 2/3 full of water, and have enough air stones in there that you can literally feel a mist from all the bubbles popping on the surface. Do one plant per bin, and prepare to be amazed. It is the simplest thing you can do, and provides outstanding results. I would argue with anybody that a bubbleponics / DWC system outperforms all these new fancy systems, including floraflex. It truly gets no easier. Just make sure your water doesn't get too warm. I used to do 3 of these in a bedroom closet under a 430w San Agro way back in the day and never needed a chiller. The extra volume of water in the taller bins vs the shorter ones make a huge difference in the volume of water and resistance to heating.
 
H

HippieMonkey

Member
CannabisCanuckles said:
This is the wrong system for cannabis. Want something super easy to DIY? Go buy some of the taller rubbermaid bins, aquarium air pumps/air stones, a 6-8" netted pot and a bag of hydroton. Fill the rubbermaid bin about 2/3 full of water, and have enough air stones in there that you can literally feel a mist from all the bubbles popping on the surface. Do one plant per bin, and prepare to be amazed. It is the simplest thing you can do, and provides outstanding results. I would argue with anybody that a bubbleponics / DWC system outperforms all these new fancy systems, including floraflex. It truly gets no easier. Just make sure your water doesn't get too warm. I used to do 3 of these in a bedroom closet under a 430w San Agro way back in the day and never needed a chiller. The extra volume of water in the taller bins vs the shorter ones make a huge difference in the volume of water and resistance to heating.
Click to expand...
Why are you saying it is wrong for cannabis? Have you tried NFT before?
 
H

HippieMonkey

Member
Drop That Sound said:
Makes more sense to install spray rails inside the tubes (like stinkbuds aero system, aeroflo, etc), than top feed tubes up top.

Smaller plants will work ok in a round pipe system, but cannabis will probably clog it, even if its 4 inch or more. Like stated above, you won't get the film your looking for, just o2 starved roots.. which isn't a big of deal for lettuce or something.

5x5 fence post sleeves are better (with or without sprayers), but $40 a piece right now in my area. Even the 4x4 sleeves are like 26 bucks.

I Would probably just use plastic tubs with sprayers inside instead of doing aero NFT channels with costly vinyl post sleeves, if making a low pressure aero type of system right now.

I wouldn't use a standard NFT system to grow cannabis at all, really. But if you do, your probably better off building a long and wide table, with a pond liner or something.
Click to expand...
I wish I've read you message before buying all the tubes :cry:
You think cannabis will clog even 6" pipe? Not sure about o2 starved roots tho, if I'll keep the temps of water under control and have plenty of air stones...
 
H

HippieMonkey

Member
Hash Hound said:
You might like something like this, I've used it as flood and drain and top feed both worked good. (20+ yrs ago)
Easy to build and adapt. I haven't tried it for weed yet, but I think 12/12 from seed would do good.
I think I found the plan at the hot pepper club.

View attachment 5137884

View attachment 5137885
Click to expand...
This system looks cheap and easy to build, thanks for an idea, the question is - would 2 liter bottles be enough?
 
xtsho

xtsho

Well-Known Member
Hash Hound said:
Yes 2 ltr and if I remember correct the piping is 1" thin wall and a piece of that goes in to the top of the "T" and the caps fit into that small piece.
I used Peters 20-20-20 for nutes.

this isnt the same site, but has similar plans using 3/4"
http://www.homehydrosystems.com/system_plans/Flood and drain system plans/6 plant 2 liter bottle system/6 Plant Flood & Drain Hydroponic system.html
Click to expand...
I had some of these running years ago. Real easy to build and they work great.

6-plant-overflow2.png
 
xtsho

xtsho

Well-Known Member
HippieMonkey said:
Have you grown cannabis in it? What bottles did you use, is 2 liters enough?
Click to expand...
Yes I grew cannabis in them That's what I built them for. I used 2 liter bottles. I put holes around the rims of the inverted bottles and used those as tie down points for LST. I was doing short vegged plants. I had multiple units going. I'd have plants in veg and flower. Moving the plants from the veg room was as easy as moving the 2 liter bottles with the plants in them to the other room and plugging them into the other unit.

And yes 2 liters is enough in hydro.
 
H

HippieMonkey

Member
xtsho said:
Yes I grew cannabis in them That's what I built them for. I used 2 liter bottles. I put holes around the rims of the inverted bottles and used those as tie down points for LST. I was doing short vegged plants. I had multiple units going. I'd have plants in veg and flower. Moving the plants from the veg room was as easy as moving the 2 liter bottles with the plants in them to the other room and plugging them into the other unit.

And yes 2 liters is enough in hydro.
Click to expand...
Did you use hydroton as a medium?
 
Last edited:
H

HippieMonkey

Member
xtsho said:
Yes I was using hydroton when growing in that setup.
Click to expand...
How long did you veg, seed or clone? And did you have like bottle inside of other bottle to be able to move them? If not, how long did it take your plants to fill that 2l bottle with roots to be able to move them around from veg to flower room for example?
 
Last edited:
xtsho

xtsho

Well-Known Member
HippieMonkey said:
How long did you veg, seed or clone? And did you have like bottle inside of other bottle to be able to move them? If not, how long did it take your plants to fill that 2l bottle with roots to be able to move them around from veg to flower room for example?
Click to expand...
I did a short veg of maybe 4-5 weeks at most. The bottles come off of the PVC and are easily moved around. I don't remember how long it took to fill the roots but with a flood and drain system where you're irrigating frequently you don't need massive roots to grow big plants.

I found the exact plans I used when making mine. Might be useful as it shows in detail what needs to be done and has a parts list. There are better systems but for a cheap and easy DIY foray into hydro it's not a bad. You can source everything at Home Depot.

 
H

HippieMonkey

Member
xtsho said:
I did a short veg of maybe 4-5 weeks at most. The bottles come off of the PVC and are easily moved around. I don't remember how long it took to fill the roots but with a flood and drain system where you're irrigating frequently you don't need massive roots to grow big plants.

I found the exact plans I used when making mine. Might be useful as it shows in detail what needs to be done and has a parts list. There are better systems but for a cheap and easy DIY foray into hydro it's not a bad. You can source everything at Home Depot.

Click to expand...
Planning on building this system for indoor grow, is there any way to eliminate the drip from the bottles other then glue :) cos from the link you posted it says - "the dripping will slowly stop after mineral build up" maybe some kind of a tape :D ?
 
xtsho

xtsho

Well-Known Member
HippieMonkey said:
Planning on building this system for indoor grow, is there any way to eliminate the drip from the bottles other then glue :) cos from the link you posted it says - "the dripping will slowly stop after mineral build up" maybe some kind of a tape :D ?
Click to expand...
I don't remember any dripping. Maybe just a very slight amount of wetness on the tubing right below the bottles but no dripping. But some kind of all weather waterproof tape put on would probably stop any leaks.
 
H

HippieMonkey

Member
xtsho said:
I don't remember any dripping. Maybe just a very slight amount of wetness on the tubing right below the bottles but no dripping. But some kind of all weather waterproof tape put on would probably stop any leaks.
Click to expand...
both some 3/4 to 3/4 connectors but bottle does not fit into it, how did you manage to fit into it :cry: ?
 
xtsho

xtsho

Well-Known Member
HippieMonkey said:
both some 3/4 to 3/4 connectors but bottle does not fit into it, how did you manage to fit into it :cry: ?
Click to expand...
You have to file down the threads.

"Now grind off enough of the threads from the neck of the bottle so they fit inside the ¾ inch straight PVC tubing connectors. Once they fit inside, then glue them in place using the epoxy glue or hot glue. Try and make them as straight as you can so the bottles point straight up (it looks better when they are all straight)."
 
Drop That Sound

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
I was under the impression that the bottles screw right down into the pvc fittings (female NPT with threads)..... Then use teflon tape or something.

If its just a slip fit, you could probably heat up the threads on the HDPE bottle, and force it into the hole for a tighter fit.

Or just sand the threads a bit, and use some J-B weld PlasticWeld repair putty to glue em in. Its approved for drinking water, NSF certified, unlike most epoxies.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top