JCool09 Cabinet Hydro Caramelicious 9/2009

[Soniq420]

I think FreakNature speaks Dutch, I've seen him converse in language (unless he's got a killer babblefish)

You could PM him your card

[jcool09]

Germination update
The most developed plant showed a root through the bottom of the media today! It was time to implement the hydro system in the cabinet.

IT IS ON!


My next post will detail the concepts, parts required, and setup of my DIY bubbler buckets.

Cabinet upgrade
So the inside dimensions of my cabinet are 29"W x 16"D. I had been resting my germination tray on top of a couple of Rubbermaid bins to bring the height up closer to the lights. The problem with this was the tubs had a large footprint so they created issues with airflow and space for infrastructure items (power connections, bubbler air pumps, air intake, deodorizer) that I wanted to locate on the base of the cabinet. I needed some type of shelving in the cabinet; the problem was that the shelves that came with the cabinet were very snug and were damaging the mylar. A bigger issue was that air flow was non-existant from top to bottom with even one shelf installed. Would you believe that Home Depot has plastic shelving that measures 28"W x 15"D?!?!? It is a beautiful thing! Here you can see the shelves built inside the cabinet. I plan shorten the legs on some sections (like the bottom) where I do not need the standard clearance. I will also use my 2" hole saw to drill ventilation holes through the shelves where they are needed.

Shelving inside cabinet - Bottom view


The photo also shows all the items that are starting to accumulate on the base shelf. One new concept that I have not shared is using Cat5 cable to provide connections to multiple CPU fans in the cabinet. Category 5 is low-voltage cabling that is used to wire computer data networks. It has 4 color-coded twisted pairs of wires inside. I connected all of the striped wires to my DC adapter + and all the solid wires to -. I can then route the Cat 5 cable (seen in the photo in front) to where I want to implement a CPU fan and splice off one of the pairs to power a fan.

I will be using the second shelf for germination and rooting of clones. For lighting I will likely install an inexpensive 24" T5 grow fixture.

[boxpipe]

That is so fucking cool. Nice find! I love it when I find something that just works beautifully with no muss.


The part where the root leaves the cup and hits the nute solution is a rockin day. I don't know how else to say it. Love it.

[jcool09]

Originally Posted by Soniq420

I think FreakNature speaks Dutch, I've seen him converse in language (unless he's got a killer babblefish). You could PM him your card

C'mon Soniq! Isn't guessing more fun? How about "Best wishes on your upcoming grow. I pray your flowers grow bigger than the one on my head."

Originally Posted by boxpipe

That is so fucking cool. Nice find! I love it when I find something that just works beautifully with no muss. The part where the root leaves the cup and hits the nute solution is a rockin day. I don't know how else to say it. Love it.

Thanks, Boxpipe. I read your journal tonight and really enjoyed it. Yes, once the roots meet the hydro system IT IS ON!

[Soniq420]

C'mon Soniq! Isn't guessing more fun? How about "Best wishes on your upcoming grow. I pray your flowers grow bigger than the one on my head."

Too much scientific method in my blood. Search for the truth. Black magic is only science we haven't discovered or learned yet

But - Good luck for best big buds

[boxpipe]

Originally Posted by Soniq420

Too much scientific method in my blood. Search for the truth. Black magic is only science we haven't discovered or learned yet

But - Good luck for best big buds

I dunno. Beer Goggles is still a huge, frustrating unknown.

[Tunes420]

nice upgrade on cabinet!

[The Butcher]

nice cab forsure, and oh man that tap root makes me gitty..lol

[jcool09]

Originally Posted by boxpipe

I dunno. Beer Goggles is still a huge, frustrating unknown.

Boxpipe, unfortunately too often with the emphasis on huge. Brought home some biguns back in the day

Originally Posted by Tunes420

nice upgrade on cabinet!

Tunes thanks for the post and for your support.

Originally Posted by The Butcher

nice cab forsure, and oh man that tap root makes me gitty..lol

I have had really sh*t results with this first attempt at germination. I was thrilled that this one made it to the hydro phase. I have one more that is iffy and the last three I have pretty much written off at this point. Glad to have you around, Butcher.

[jcool09]

DIY Hydro Setup
OK so I have done hydro grows in the past, three times with a store bought system of 6 pots with a pump that fed the nutes 6x a day through spigots in the top the pots that drained into a series of pots below. This was "back in the day" and while this system was OK but I found that the roots could care less about the rockwool and just followed the path of the water to get to the reservior though the drain holes. The last two hydro grows I did were the product of research to design and build a system based on the environment I had available to grow. I went with reservior-based systems the first was NFT and the last was DWC.

I really get so much enjoyment out of building a system from scratch. This is the first hydro grow where I built both the grow box and the hydro system. This has been a learning experience with every step so far with lots more to come I'm sure.

Parts


The short list of parts I have used to build my system were purchased at my local hydro store and over the Internet. The core component of this first phase of the hydro setup is the 1 gal bucket, lid, and 5" airstone seen in the upper right. The buckets and lids were ordered from US Plastic. The airpump, air stone, blue tubing, and 4 gang air valve to aerify the nutrient solution are from Petsmart.

On the left bottom you can see the 1/2" rubber grommets, T connectors and shut-off valve. Just above that is the 1/2" black tubing to transport the nutrient solution. The tubing and pots are all black to keep light away from the nutrient solution. The middle bottom shows the 2" netpot, Sure To Grow (STG) cube, and 2" neoprene plugs. STG cubes in netpots will be used to host seedlings and clones. The neoprene plugs are used in empty netpots to blank out unused holes in my bubbler lids. Light must be kept out of the buckets at all costs!

DWC (Bubbler) Concepts
The Deep Water Culture or "Bubbler Bucket" creates an environment where the plant roots can survive while emersed 24x7 in the nutrient solution. There are two air pumps connected to a gang valve and then to airstones in the bottom of each bucket. The airstones keep the nutrient solution highly aerified. Enemies of DWC are light, heat, and high concentrations of nutrients. Keep the buckets/reservior as dark and cool as possible. Having a meter to measure EC or PPM is crucial to monitor nutirent levels. Follow the mfg instructions on proper EC/PPM and always start with a weak solution and build the plants up gradually. The plants will only be able to absorb nutrients properly when the nutrient solution PH is between 5.2 and 6.2. A PH test kit is mandatory, a PH meter is very handy.

Inside the Bubbler


Continuity of air is crucial for plant survival. The plants will literally drown if the bubbles stop so two pumps are used to protect against failure. The dual pumps come into each side on the bottom of the valve and there are outputs on top to drive up to 4 bubblers.

Air valves


The lids of the buckets have holes drilled with a 2" hole saw to seat the netpots.

Bubbler System


The system should be designed to minimize the exposure of the nutirent solution to light. The top view shows that the netpots fit snugly in their holes without any gaps. The empty netpots are covered with neoprene plugs to complete the light barrier. The solution needs to be kept cool but the black buckets will absorb heat from the lights. Painting the lids white will help minimize the heat and also reflect light back to the plants.



The first plant went into the bubbler yesterday. Now it is going to get interesting! No nutes in the solution yet. Will likely start with 1/4 strength nutes tomorrow.



The bigger picture concept here is to have multiple bubblers buckets connected together. I will explain later how this will work and eventually integrate a water pump and a 15 gal reservior into the system.

[boxpipe]

Beautifully documented, bro. +rep

[Bolivar]

Good explanations, good pics. Thanks.

[boxpipe]

I'm really loving this DWC system. I think it would work awesome in a scrog setup. You could attach the scrog to the bucket as well, so you could remove the whole unit to work on it (square bucket might be better). Or simply attach the scrog to the inside of the cabinet.

Also, what heights did you put your intake and outflow at? What height are you trying to keep the water at?

[jcool09]

Originally Posted by boxpipe

Beautifully documented, bro. +rep

Thanks, Boxpipe. Just trying to share some of the experience I have accumulated over the years. Hydroponics have their own set of rules but can be so simple once you understand the concepts. I think it is important to give back to the forums so we can all learn together.

Originally Posted by Bolivar

Good explanations, good pics. Thanks.

Nice to see you Bolivar. Thank you for stopping by.

[Tunes420]

Awesome set up bro....this grow is going to be awesome