My first hydroponics experience, DIY bubbleponic setup

bump1987

Active Member
As a new guy here I felt like I may can show a few other guys how to setup the bubbleponics system as seen in the Roseman (I believe) thread. Here goes.

First, you need a tub. I happened to have an 18USGal rubbermaid tub. I'll be using it.

Second, you need some parts for the irrigation portion of the build. You need a submersible pump which in my case is a ~300gph fish pump that was in our saltwater tank that no long exists. I have an extra if we succeed with this attempt I will double my build.



You will also need an irrigation manifold. This is available at lowes on the isle with the all the plastic fittings and such for plumbing in my store. Notice the hose barb, this is a 1/2 inch hose barb that I found in the plastic fittings section.



Ziptie that fucker good.



Cut your holes out. I looked for a hole saw kit but struck out and wasn't sure of exact dimension of the hole so I didnt buy the 5" or 6"...I just scored and broke off the circle a chuck at a time.



Once holes are cut and everything fits, find a place for your manifold and pump assembly. Mine is going to be in the corner away from being directly below a plant.



...my dogs are not interested at all


Once everything is mocked up, your going to need grow medium in the net pots as you see fit and secure the lines within the medium so that the plant can intake its nutrients as needed.
I STILL NEED TO HOOK UP THE AIR PUMP, BUT I DO HAVE ONE!
 

bump1987

Active Member
A question mine for anyone that may can answer...when starting off your grow do you need the reservoir liquid to run to the top of the plant and soak down to the roots or do you want it something like in the middle so the roots have to stretch to reach the nutrients?
 

Mineralz

Well-Known Member
Nice work with the duplicate man ;) I Veg my girlz with a bubbleponics system and set my drip lines towards the top part of the rockwool. You can even nudge it inside the rockwool a bit if you want. I wasnt gonna take the chance of putting them on the bottom of the rockwool for fear of roots actually plugging your lines up, but its just a thought :D Once the roots hit your reservoir the feed lines up top are pretty much just extras because your plants will be eating/drinking on their own. Either way it should work out nicely for ya ;) Good luck and happy growing!
 

ru4r34l

Well-Known Member
A question mine for anyone that may can answer...when starting off your grow do you need the reservoir liquid to run to the top of the plant and soak down to the roots or do you want it something like in the middle so the roots have to stretch to reach the nutrients?
As Mineralz said bubbleponics usually has a drip line to strat out young ladies.

I also run a modified bubbleponics set-up which has a drip line that is nested inside each basket.

The drip line allows the young plant to have nutrients and the roots soon follow the drips to the nutrient pool below, once the roots are submerged about 4" - 6" I pull the drip lines and pump out.

I have just recently (at the early flower stage of my grow) been trying some new feeding techniques; I have started to flood my reservoir so the it sits just above the bottom of the net pots (actually it's been as high as half way up the pot), it's allowed some awesome new root growth just below the plant base.

It takes about 1/2 a day for the plants to drink up enough water then the roots are rewarded with an awesome air bath, when the girls have lapped up a little more than half the reservoir then I fill it back up (usually with a stronger dose of nutrients).

regards,
 

bump1987

Active Member
One other thing I am having problems with is finding cups that are able to be used for potting, locally. I may have to order some I guess but i'd also rather not pay shipping for my grow medium. I have read a few places that you can use red lava rock for medium. I have a bag of this and would like to use it if possible, it's porous and will not hold nutrients at all I believe.
 

bump1987

Active Member
Alright guys, i'm trying to really get my stuff together for this setup and I have a lot of questions. I'm going to stick with basics for now and i'll ask more as I feel it's welcome haha. I don't want to overload y'all!

Here goes...

-To figure hardness of my tap water that i'll be using, is it simply a strip kit from wal-mart or the pet store that I need? Can this be measured with the EC meter I am going to order?

-When measuring out my nutrients, will the bottles give me a guide for each time period or do I need to come up with something custom to each situation? I'm growing tomatoes for now...

-I have my basic setup running as you can see up top but aside from seeds, hydroton, better net pots, a ph test kit, and the TDS-3 meter, is there anything that is absolutely needed?

-I am going to fashion a stand for my reservoir that will allow for some natural sunlight but I want artificial lighting as well. I guess I can leave that for my other thread and leave the water/nutrient aspects of the grow in here.
 

bump1987

Active Member
I am having trouble figuring out my light setup. I'd like to do CFL as they are a bit cheaper but I don't know exactly what I need. I've been told ~100-150 watts per plant but i'm ending up with a 150 dollar order that I don't want to place haha. I still have to buy sockets and plugs too after that....plus a 140 dollar order for nutrients, pots, hydroton and other randoms.
 

vhampyre

Member
I'll be following closely, in the same boat. Just built the reservoir setup today. Interesting data on lighting efficiency: http://www.nofs.navy.mil/about_NOFS/staff/cbl/lumentab.html. Out of sheer stubborness, I'm planning on running six 65 watt CFL's for 390 watts on a 3x3 ScrOG; giving me the 40 watts/sq foot standard. HPS would be about the same price, but I'm thinking the heat will be easier to deal with, and the lights are more flexible for moving around. GL.
 

bump1987

Active Member
Alright, so I went and bought a basic little 10 dollar ph/hardness/alkalinity/chlorine test so I can buy the right nutrients and it seems I have perfect water. haha

Results -

Chlorine - 0ppm
Alkalinity - 80ppm
pH - 5
Hardness - 0-3 grain/0-50 ppm

Obviously there is some error/wiggle room to these findings on the strip style tests but it lets me order my nutrients amond other things without wasting money. My list is below.

FloraGro
FloraMicro
FloraBloom (1 Qt. Each for now)

6" Net Pots
Hydroton (10 Liter bag)
1.5" cube rockwool (98 pc. sheet)

HM Digitial TDS-3 Meter
pH Control Kit (with up/down/test)

All of this shipped is going to set me back 131.81

I am also going to order my light kit. I am getting an HPS HTG Supply 400 watt Grow Light. I am getting a 400 watt MH Conversion Bulb as well.

The lighting is going to set me back 166.93

Total: 298.74, my budget was 300 haha.
 

ULMResearch

Active Member
I'll be following closely, in the same boat. Just built the reservoir setup today. Interesting data on lighting efficiency: http://www.nofs.navy.mil/about_NOFS/staff/cbl/lumentab.html. Out of sheer stubborness, I'm planning on running six 65 watt CFL's for 390 watts on a 3x3 ScrOG; giving me the 40 watts/sq foot standard. HPS would be about the same price, but I'm thinking the heat will be easier to deal with, and the lights are more flexible for moving around. GL.
Cool chart. Amazing how HPS is the most efficient cost-wise and output-wise. I guess there is a reason it's the defacto standard for growing!
 

ULMResearch

Active Member
Oh, I took that page and put it into Excel and cleaned it up so it can be sorted. Really cool. HPS and T8 are neck and neck in efficiency.

Here it is in case anyone is interested!
 

dman8168

Well-Known Member
ok so im down with this so far but what about cooling that hot bulb,and your grow area,have u considered those costs? i personally use cfls,not one big bulb either several different wattages and specs.side lighting is just as critical imho especially with a hps/mh. just a thought. Btw really like the rest of your setup.
 

bump1987

Active Member
it's crossed my mind and i've got fans available...they may not be prime for the application but i'm working with what i've got. it's all a test right now to see what needs to be done.
 

bump1987

Active Member
Hey guys, just so i'm clear and know i'm doing what is right here...when the pump pushes the water up for the seeds, you should have a steady stream of water coming out...right?
 

faller200

Well-Known Member
I am having trouble figuring out my light setup. I'd like to do CFL as they are a bit cheaper but I don't know exactly what I need. I've been told ~100-150 watts per plant but i'm ending up with a 150 dollar order that I don't want to place haha. I still have to buy sockets and plugs too after that....plus a 140 dollar order for nutrients, pots, hydroton and other randoms.

It might be cheap but it ain't free LOL
 
Top