Quiet at the back please! (Stealthiest hydro?)

randomlygrow

Well-Known Member
Ok, so I'd really like to dip my toes into something hydro. I'm hoping something a bit more autonomous, something that I can control more, and most importantly increase yield and/or cut grow time. So a miracle please.

But in all seriousness I've been using soil forever, yes it works, but I watch these hydroponic threads and feel once these systems are fine tuned and set up they're easier to maintain.

Now my big issue is, I have a fairly successful stealth cab, which has almost zero noise, certainly no humming. Just a few low cfm hot air extracts.

Is there such a thing as a quiet hydro setup? What is the quietest? I'm willing to invest, and DIY and build whatever would be sensible. I've built my own CXA & Vero LED lights, and i'm happy to get stuck in with the right stuff.

I just feel all the air pumps and water pumps would make too much noise for me... :(

Thoughts? Shall I just stick with soil/coco since it works and its totally silent? Am i asking too much?
 

conni

Well-Known Member
the problem i find is the air stone, I chose 8 inch discs the problem is bubbles come out the bottom and lift the stone which makes it tap on the bottom

conni
 

Hydroburn

Well-Known Member
active hydro makes noise... very hard to not hear buzzing of an air pump or the sound of a waterfall or sprayers when they kick on. if you are willing to invest in acoustic foam it might be possible. ambient white noise also helps like a fan or appliance in the room thats always on, an aquarium, road noise, etc.

look into hempy buckets, and maybe ebb n flo or nft. the main thing is finding a way to aerate your water without making noise... nft in 4" pvc pipes might be good... the water should get aerated as it flows provided fresh air can get in the system... and you can have it flow silently back into the res. a small water pump shouldn't make much noise underwater. thats all stoner theory though.
 
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randomlygrow

Well-Known Member
Nah I think we're/i'm right, its hard to beat the silence of a hempy bucket, i think i'm jut expecting too much. Can't have it all!
 

conni

Well-Known Member
air stone is the same both sides, ive been reading that you get more oxygen without an air stone so just tried it but it makes way too much noise and im growing in the loft but can hear it down stairs its a very heavy hum and i can feel the vibes through the tub so thats a no go, im thinking now to use an L piece plastic tube put the airline through this then a ball type air stone so it doesnt touch the bottom of the tub??

conni
 

WeedFreak78

Well-Known Member
Look into passive hydro systems. Hempy's, hand watering or a wick system in coco could work, but they could end up needing daily/ multiple times a day maintenance/checking. The advantage to hydro is the oxygen to the roots, so without a air/water pump your going to need to figure out a system that will water-dry out-water-repeat to get the full benefit off hydro. Go buy an air pump and plug it in..see what it sounds like..if ya don't like it return it..make sure you put a line and airstone on it in a bucket of water. I ran my pump right out of the box and it was loud, once i put lines and stones on it it quieted down, the slight amount of pressure has a dampening effect on the system. You could also put the pump in a foam enclosure for soundproofing, as long as it has some air flow for cooling. I saw one post where the air pump was in a foam cooler with some holes punched in it, then the cooler was wrapped in polyfil( the fiber stuffing in pillows), hung by bungee cords. They claimed it eliminated sound and vibration from the pump
 

ChuckNice

Well-Known Member
Just do rock wool in a sealed room. Instead to the drip baskets use a drip hose in a ring around the base of the plant. That will eliminate the sound of the pressure you hear on drippers. With those cobs temp shouldn't be an issue with co2 supplementation. Use a muffler on your carbon filter, dim the fan and have it recycle the air in the room. Overall the set-up will be very quiet.
 

VegasWinner

Well-Known Member
I use a clone spinner in a two gallon bucket with a small water pump. the only noise is the water droplets hitting he side of the bucket like raindrops. One minute one four minutes off all the time. I place the bucket on a magazine or some foam and no noise anywhere. My light is LED so I only have a small pc fan in the tent and a small fan exhausting thru a duct. Works great. I use a two gallon bucket and a three gallon bucket for bloom. grow trees in a three gallon bucket with hydro/aero. I also use custom nute program starts with PB, Liquid Karma, Cal/Mag, and a bat guano tea, following my masters Soma and BOG. They do dirt, I do hydro/custom aero. peace.
 

VegasWinner

Well-Known Member
In case no one ever explained it to you, bubbling raises the ph of the water. Using a raindrip system, water falling 12" allows oxygenation and no water stones required. I hate bubblers for the noise and mess. Get a Home Depot bucket and lid, some hydro lava rocks, some net pots, a small water submersible pump, fit some pvc to it, buy some clone spinners and have some fun. auto all day long. just watch them grow is all that is left to do. peace.
clone spinner -> http://www.horticulturesource.com/product_info.php?products_id=17198&gclid=CjwKEAjwxce4BRDE2dG4ueLArHMSJADStCqMzrb9uJGMokP7lsGwMMZ3OnZQuw20CjzWmDIHaU9jghoCEqrw_wcB
water pump ->http://www.amazon.com/EcoPlus-728490-Submersible-Pump-75GPH/dp/B0018WVNX2 you can use a 60 or smaller too.
 

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
Hey, can you go into more detail about that? Maybe a picture or if you have a link to something I can read not sure what to search when looking for that. I have an Eco plus and it's driving me crazy it being the loudest thing.

Thanks.
Pump water above the waterline of your dwc and let it fall back in the open. The water falling and churning the surface will aerate and mix.
 

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
Look into passive hydro systems. Hempy's, hand watering or a wick system in coco could work, but they could end up needing daily/ multiple times a day maintenance/checking. The advantage to hydro is the oxygen to the roots, so without a air/water pump your going to need to figure out a system that will water-dry out-water-repeat to get the full benefit off hydro. Go buy an air pump and plug it in..see what it sounds like..if ya don't like it return it..make sure you put a line and airstone on it in a bucket of water. I ran my pump right out of the box and it was loud, once i put lines and stones on it it quieted down, the slight amount of pressure has a dampening effect on the system. You could also put the pump in a foam enclosure for soundproofing, as long as it has some air flow for cooling. I saw one post where the air pump was in a foam cooler with some holes punched in it, then the cooler was wrapped in polyfil( the fiber stuffing in pillows), hung by bungee cords. They claimed it eliminated sound and vibration from the pump
What's a hempy? I'm not quite sure how it works.

I can attest to hanging air pumps by bungee cords for noise isolation. Works great!
 

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
I guess could do that with another pump on and attach a house that has holes in it going up the side wall. Could even make it go around in a circle and have it fall that be a water fall. But that seems like it be noiser then bubbles no? Also the whole adding oxygen to the water is still new to me. I tried to put my head in my res tank and I couldnt breathe for beans (I joke..)

But does that really supply an equal amount of o2 to the water compared to air stones?

Also yeah, I tried to hang mine with a bungee pretty sure it laughed at me :P
It's not hard to aerate water. Just do it in a continuous loop and you'll be fine.
 

WeedFreak78

Well-Known Member
What's a hempy? I'm not quite sure how it works.

I can attest to hanging air pumps by bungee cords for noise isolation. Works great!
Damn, pulling up old posts. I've never actually done a hempy bucket, but it's just a pot filled with perlite that has a drain hole in the side to set a shallow, non aerated res in the bottom . I guess you just hand water with nute mix every few days.
https://www.rollitup.org/t/an-idiots-guide-to-hempy.386008/
 
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