Justin's Experimental Jungles

[Proverbs]

And I'm back. Told you all I was busy!

Update... My friends grow never did recover from his refusal to take learned advice. So now he's down in the dumps because his yield didn't yield Bub kiss. I can't tell you how many times I told him to add light. I mean he had the bulbs and the ballasts right there!! Nope.

He did do my studio film (Gel) idea and it worked well. It changed the color spectrum to what the plants desire without changing the bulbs. No matter. He was low light to begin with and it ended the same way. Now he's ticked at my solar powered outdoor 12 plant Flood and Drain, Nutrient Film Transfer, Stone filled, Deep Water Culture in the bottom of each plant zone system array I created. (I need to come up with a really neat word for this Hybrid system)

Let's see.... FNDNSTBPA; nope

Bubble-Blasted Solar Flood Stone System.
Much better.

Bubble-Flooded-Stoned-Solar-System (BFSS)
Yeah... I like that.


It's a work in progress.

Stones help the Plant stability and reduce the amount of water and nutes going into each 5 gallon bucket. It cuts it by more than half. About 2 inches from the bottom of each Stoned Bucket there is a 'drain back to reservoir' line. In this 2 inch water zone per bucket is an air-line that generates bubbles. This keeps the air flowing up and into the root zone giving it moisture and evoporation cooling as well.

The solar powered air and water pumps keep everything running. The Water pump is on a timer and runs for only 15 mins during each cycle. 15 on with 30 mins off during the heat of the day. Then it goes to 15 on and 45 mins off in the early AM and late PM with 1 hour off 15 min on cycle during the night.

Currently the plants are growing at 1.5 to 2 inches per day. The should be 6 feet tall by early to mid August depending on the strain. Currently they are around 3 feet wide and just shy of 4 feet high. They are almost two months old as of today.
Pictures tomorrow.

 

[TheAnswer1776]

Can't wait for pics brother!!Sounds amazing! Have you talked to FPF at all recently?

 

[Proverbs]

Stone Flooded-Bubble Budded-Solar Array

Call'em "Bubble Floyd" for short.

 

[Proverbs]

Can't wait for pics brother!!Sounds amazing! Have you talked to FPF at all recently?

Called him and left a message. Don't know what to say. But it's uncool to bad mouth an advertiser. That's what I heard was done. But to ban him??
I don't know. Seems a bit rich but I wasn't here to see what went down.
I'm just glad to be back in Montana full time. No more going back and forth to California.

 

[SnowBender]

Sweet! Solar hydro! +reps+
Im trying to run a solar ebb/flow, but locating a 12v DC timer that doesn't cost an arm and leg has been impossible. How can it be that a decent 120VAC timer is $15, yet a 12VDC one is $70? Any tips on good timers?

What air pump(s) do you use?

I already figured out the hard way i need stones next time...outdoor wind and ebb/flow tables with small pots of hydroton do not work well.



Solar Flooded Bubbling Stoneyponics

 

[Proverbs]

I use Backwoodssolar.com. Phone 208-263-4290. I wish their web site was a bit easier to follow but...
Under electrical parts you'll find the timers.
Water pumps are under light submersible water pumps.

Air pumps : This one is the best I've found yet.
Marine Metal Livewell Air Pumps & Surelife Water Treament Products
Power Bubbles™ (B-15)
12 VOLT AIR PUMP
· 12 volt DC aeration system · Low current 1/4amp · Dual bellows, high volume - pumps 2 liters of air per minute · Saturates water with oxygen · Double discharge allows aeration of 1 or 2 livewells · Increases capacity of flow through livewells · 10 ft. of air tubing with 2 large air stones allows pump to be mounted in any protected area · For fresh or salt water · 2 anti-siphon valves protect pump against water intrusion · Quiet solid state circuits · 1 year limited warranty
2932696350
MARINE METAL B15 POWER BUBBLES PUMP 39.99

The neat thing about adding the stones is that the small amount of water in the bottom of the Grow Chamber needs little oxygen to saturate the water. The water was O2 filled in the res and is also "oxygen bumped" in the 2 inches of water. The biggest benefit is the humid air circulation to the root zone, Evaporated cooling effect help keep the grow chamber cool as well. The water too!
Pictures at 11 !

 

[lil stinker 420]

i didnt see no jungle what a tease

 

[Proverbs]

i didnt see no jungle what a tease

I resize the images and it still says I'm exceeding the file size. One posted but none of the others. Go figure.

 

[lil stinker 420]

yeh id like to post mine, but i dont know how oh well g.l. with your grow any way

 

[SnowBender]

Photo Gallery Guide: How to Resize, Upload & Post Photos

 

[Proverbs]

Thanks! But I just kept fiddling with it and... well, I finally got it to work!

Some pictures are up in the gallery area.

 

[Proverbs]

This is one of the Super Nova Solar Hydro Outdoor sets. It's just shy of 4' and is growing just shy of 2" per day.

 

[Proverbs]

Here is another look at this one plant.

 

[Proverbs]

I had to increase the space between each grow chamber due to their mass. I may run out of room on the deck.

The deck is above the res water chamber. The chamber hold 55 gallons but I modified it so I use less water and, thus, nutrients.
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The above photo shows the stone grow chamber. It has just finished flooding as evidenced by the stone still being wet. Each grow site within the set are identical. I may have 3 sets in the one soloar grow.
Solar meaning solar powered. All pumps are DC and fed of the 175 watt 9 amp panel.

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Here is the main rise (branch) on a Super Nova. Notice the mass of the stem. It's the thickness of a chop stick just below where the new leaf set id forming. By my pinky finger it's just shy of three chop sticks in diameter. Just massive and healthy.

 

[Proverbs]

Another look at another Super Nova Lady.


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Here is a view of a Super Nova and a Blue Rhino. Both are just shy of 4 feet as well. 3+ feet from side to side.

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New ladies coming on line. New sets of White Widow, Purple Trinity and soon... my strain "Stick Floyd". It fun to get them all fat and happy with the outdoor environment and then place then in their own stone grow chamber and watch them rock!!

 

[Proverbs]

Heres how they begin life indoor. These are part of the new set outside.

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Here others are getting ready to go outside. "Stick Floyd" in on the right under the moisture trap. (She had some issues going from one indoor grow room to the other 'dry' room. Had to put the 'moisture coat' on her.)

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Heres the "Surround Sound" (light set up) casting light from the T8s on the top and sides. This is my indoor winter style of growing.

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As you can see they are doing well. These are using a Deep Water Culture System but in a modified grow chamber. They just got too big for the WalMart plastic containers. So I modified a 8' fiberglass res to accommodate this grow set. Theses are all white widow.

 

[Proverbs]

Fact of the matter is... T8's are great. T5's are too spendy for most people. 1000 bulbs.com is the best place for many types of lights and ballasts.
Deep Water Culture is great for some types of grows. I just had a water issue with all the plants in all the grow sets and sites. Too much was being used and replaced each week. The nute requirements also demanded that I modify my grows earlier this spring.
So I came up with the Ebb and Flood over stones for stability and cooling.

As the water drains back to the main res the evaporation of the residual water within each chamber cools the rocks and the roots. When the new water cycle begins it too is cooled via the evaporative heat transfer that is taking place. And being that the res is below the grow deck which supports the grow chamber array- it stays cool as well.

 

[Proverbs]

Tomorrow I am going to redo the water to grow and drain back lines using PEX tubing. The garden hose just doesn't cut it. Too wimpy. I'm also going to leave the small plants in the coffee containers and see if they grow like the ones in the 5 gallon buckets.
One thing you must do in all drain back operations is use a root stopping fabric - place stones around your inner drain back line ( a tube INSIDE the grow chamber with a number of hole along it's side) and place the root stopping fabric over this.

It does exactly that- it stops the roots from clogging your drain back line. If you do not do this you will have roots blocking your drain back line. When this happens you will be sorry.

I will also insulate the small stone chambers from the heat of the sun. They will be more sensitive to "temp up" than the larger ones due to their size.

 

[Proverbs]

Just another look at what the T8 grow set ups look like.

Little heat form this set up. But lots of light.
I also use "Studio Gels" to change the light color being cast on the garden. This makes buying bulbs easy. Just get the 6500k's and be done with it. Add gels when you are ready to change your light cycle and your done.
I even remove the Gel panels every now and then to give them a 'drink' of the other spectrum's. I even change up the color of the panels by having different color panels at my disposal. It works. No need to change out the lights. But I do add more during Bud Bloom.

 

[H6251686]

Nice setup. reps to ya. Umm I got a question, but how much did that cost????