2'x4' 600w DWC Tent - Spring 2011 Grow

Icannabis said:

I hated that about single buckets changing them out...what to do with the plant? Be careful with the roots...damn this is heavy and awkward. I promise you if you switch to Ebb & flow as your main grow system and use what you've learned in dwc...ep. cool res temps and aeration...you'll never go back...one new thing I'm going to add is a diffuser to the flood table and flood for 30 minutes or more with larger pots. MY roots mass was very large with these autos. Just testing and combining new ideas. Good growing Tao

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Yeah that stumped me at first but I have it worked out now. When they are small - it's just a matter of mixing up a new bucket, setting the lid on the new bucket and dumping the old one (3 gallons to empty is an easy 10' walk to the bathroom). When they get bigger, they stay in the same bucket and I use a liquid transfer pump to empty the old. Then just have to refill it. Takes about 3 minutes a plant. No biggie - the liquid transfer pump that makes all the difference. BUT easier and efficient is always better in my book and I definitely want to give E&F a try - especially if I move and have a higher number of plants (wouldn't want to mess with individual buckets then).

In any case, going to keep your setup referenced for the future when I change things up so I appreciate the opinions/advice.

Tao are you still doing the Time Lapse Photo of MD? If so when will you be posting it?

Peace

BKB

View attachment 1449339
Hey Tao, i just ordered a 55 litre per min pump that looks exactly the same....mine was $50 free shipping on ebay, im upgrading from a 8Lpm
Does it work how you thought it was going to? im interested, as i hope its big enough for my res which is any where between 35-45L and my bubble cloner's which are about 15L.
and how noisy are they compared to the lil aquarium pumps

Tao I have a question for you since you seem a little more experienced with the dwc, if i am using a small aquarium air pump, that is only 20-30 gal per hour, would i see a significant improvement if I switched to one of those massive air pumps above?

tricka said:

Hey Tao, i just ordered a 55 litre per min pump that looks exactly the same....mine was $50 free shipping on ebay, im upgrading from a 8Lpm
Does it work how you thought it was going to? im interested, as i hope its big enough for my res which is any where between 35-45L and my bubble cloner's which are about 15L.
and how noisy are they compared to the lil aquarium pumps

Click to expand...

My impression with mine so far is good and it works slightly better than I initially thought it would...

But a couple of differences (to diaphragm pumps):

1. They can get hot if not in a well ventilated area. I keep mine outside the tent (still in the closet) with a small fan blowing across both my light ballast and air pump which keeps both just barely warm to the touch. Although the heat produced is really a non-issue compared to something like a 600w HPS, I'd plan on installing it remotely just like a like light ballast.
2. As far as the noise goes, mine (at ~18w) really isn't bad compared to larger diaphragm air pumps. However, mine put out some serious vibrations in comparison, so I'd plan on hanging your air pump w/ bungees or something to cut down on vibration noise.

Since I took that picture, I've moved the pump to be suspended underneath the ballast. I don't notice any noise from it when standing outside the closet and I can't hear it over the inline and circulating fans when inside the closet... It ran louder for the first 24 hours or so but became considerably quiter running after being broken in and hooked up to the air lines. Basically, they are louder than diphragm pumps but not loud enough so to be an issue in my case [even with my bed being just about 7' away from the tent].

I'm sold on them as long as their reliability compared to diaphragm pumps holds true.

billcollector99 said:

Tao I have a question for you since you seem a little more experienced with the dwc, if i am using a small aquarium air pump, that is only 20-30 gal per hour, would i see a significant improvement if I switched to one of those massive air pumps above?

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Man that's kind of hard to answer when I think about it... but as long as your air pump is moving enough air to replace dissolved oxygen (DO) in the water faster than the plant and microbes are using it... it won't matter how many more liters per minute of air you throw at it above that point... In which case, almost any aquarium air pump would be capable of getting the job done.

Reliability and cost was the real draw to me (I have a pile of used/broken diaphragm pumps in the corner). However, I've noticed the buckets seem to stay cleaner overall and the nutrient solution is constantly mixing and flowing due to the action of the air bubbles and I don't have any sediment buildup on the bottom or dead spots where the water isn't moving. Which is a plus in my book - and will probably be a bigger deal once the plants develop thick root masses.

So I'd guess you'd likely see an improvement... but not necessarily a significant improvement if you aren't having any issues already with the smaller pump. I do have to say my plant roots look better than in the past (whiter and fuzzier) but I'm not sure if that's due to the air pump or the beneficial microbes I just started adding in.

bekindbud said:

Tao are you still doing the Time Lapse Photo of MD? If so when will you be posting it?

Peace

BKB

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I meant to update about that. I'm going to have to wait until I can get a tripod or make some sort of contraption to position the camera better. I'm trying to figure out something right now because I really want to get some substantial time-lapse before this grow is done. Might make something today actually... but I'm going to play some BC2 while it's working first. lol

Yeah I had a problem too...so I merge the buckets together. I got a 30 gallon trash can and put a pump in it to keep water flowing through the buckets at all times. This also solved the problem of mixing nutrients for all the buckets. And I could extend the system if I wanted by adding a bucket to the middle and just add more water to the level I want. If I wanted to lower the water level in all my bucket I'd take out 2 gallons of water per1/2 inch or so. And I could cool all the bucket with a cooler a homemade ice chest cooler I put two in the lid of the trash can...I didn't want to spend all that money on a per made system. So I model my own after the hydrofarm units.

Icannabis said:

Yeah I had a problem too...so I merge the buckets together. I got a 30 gallon trash can and put a pump in it to keep water flowing through the buckets at all times. This also solved the problem of mixing nutrients for all the buckets. And I could extend the system if I wanted by adding a bucket to the middle and just add more water to the level I want. If I wanted to lower the water level in all my bucket I'd take out 2 gallons of water per1/2 inch or so. And I could cool all the bucket with a cooler a homemade ice chest cooler I put two in the lid of the trash can...I didn't want to spend all that money on a per made system. So I model my own after the hydrofarm units.

Click to expand...

I'd love to do a recirculating system like that (esp. w/ cooling) but I don't have the space for a separate reservoir really - either in or out of the tent as it is now.

TaoWolf said:

My impression with mine so far is good and it works slightly better than I initially thought it would...

But a couple of differences (to diaphragm pumps):

1. They can get hot if not in a well ventilated area. I keep mine outside the tent (still in the closet) with a small fan blowing across both my light ballast and air pump which keeps both just barely warm to the touch. Although the heat produced is really a non-issue compared to something like a 600w HPS, I'd plan on installing it remotely just like a like light ballast.
2. As far as the noise goes, mine (at ~18w) really isn't bad compared to larger diaphragm air pumps. However, mine put out some serious vibrations in comparison, so I'd plan on hanging your air pump w/ bungees or something to cut down on vibration noise.

Since I took that picture, I've moved the pump to be suspended underneath the ballast. I don't notice any noise from it when standing outside the closet and I can't hear it over the inline and circulating fans when inside the closet... It ran louder for the first 24 hours or so but became considerably quiter running after being broken in and hooked up to the air lines. Basically, they are louder than diphragm pumps but not loud enough so to be an issue in my case [even with my bed being just about 7' away from the tent].

I'm sold on them as long as their reliability compared to diaphragm pumps holds true.

Click to expand...

Good feebback thanks Toa, thats what i was after, i am not concerned about noise as per say i was just 'wondering', yeah i will see if i can hang it on bungies in a level position just as to add to its shelf life....i too have a build up of diaphram pumps...
hate to ba a pain in ring hole but you didnt actually say what LPM yours runs at...do you know??

I wish i could sleep my 'other' girls, but one in the bed with me in more than enough sometimes haha lol

tricka said:

Good feebback thanks Toa, thats what i was after, i am not concerned about noise as per say i was just 'wondering', yeah i will see if i can hang it on bungies in a level position just as to add to its shelf life....i too have a build up of diaphram pumps...
hate to ba a pain in ring hole but you didnt actually say what LPM yours runs at...do you know??

Click to expand...

Mine does 38 lpm for 18 watts. It was the smallest commercial pump I saw. In hindsight, I probably would have gotten a higher lpm model though because the price was nearly the same for the smallest. But the one I have suits my needs and then for the time-being so it's all good.

tricka said:

I wish i could sleep my 'other' girls, but one in the bed with me in more than enough sometimes haha lol

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Hey maybe you could just ask your girl to dress up as a big pot plant and kill two birds with one stone?

oh dont get me started on costumes, lol is that your Mrs, she is very pretty did you smoke her? lol

No my girl would kill me if I posted a picture of her and then my plants would become sad orphans... and in light of the fact that she's reading over my shoulder, I would like to point out that my girl is WAY more beautiful than that ugly poor excuse for a whore in that picture.

nice turn around, played well and i shall pack a cone for you!

My wife makes me dress up as a pot plant...

Icannabis said:

My wife makes me dress up as a pot plant...

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You should go hermie on her!

17Feb - Snow White - 30mL PBP:B - 5mL CM+ - 1 tsp pH Down
18Feb - MD2 - 45mL PBP:B - 5mL CM+ - 1 tsp pH Down
19Feb - MD1 - 45mL PBP:B - 5mL CM+ - 1 tsp pH Down
20Feb - Athena - 45mL PBP:B - 5mL CM+ - 1 tsp pH Down
@ 3 gallons/bucket

I'll be out of town this Mon through Fri. so I finished up week 2 reservoir changes and I don't think they'll need anything else until I get back.

Athena clone is starting to take off:

TaoWolf said:

17Feb - Snow White - 30mL PBP:B - 5mL CM+ - 1 tsp pH Down
18Feb - MD2 - 45mL PBP:B - 5mL CM+ - 1 tsp pH Down
19Feb - MD1 - 45mL PBP:B - 5mL CM+ - 1 tsp pH Down
20Feb - Athena - 45mL PBP:B - 5mL CM+ - 1 tsp pH Down
@ 3 gallons/bucket

I'll be out of town this Mon through Fri. so I finished up week 2 reservoir changes and I don't think they'll need anything else until I get back.

Athena clone is starting to take off:

View attachment 1451722

Click to expand...

Oh boy you brought the Bush Beast Yield Master out...Athena!!! SWEET!!! I am sure you will harvest a POUND of Bud now, even with the 3 gallon buckets. Did you ever get a chance to clone Isis? I dont remember if you had or not.

Also how is the MRS plant going (Multiple Root System)? I was reading on Danielsgb thread about that, he is trying it too but in soil. I might give it a whirl with a MD seed.

Hope you have a good relaxing week away and make sure youpack enough Athena Bud for you trip....LOL I dont think you ever gave a final full smoke report on Athena.

Peace bro and be safe.

BKB

bekindbud said:

Oh boy you brought the Bush Beast Yield Master out...Athena!!! SWEET!!! I am sure you will harvest a POUND of Bud now, even with the 3 gallon buckets. Did you ever get a chance to clone Isis? I dont remember if you had or not.

Also how is the MRS plant going (Multiple Root System)? I was reading on Danielsgb thread about that, he is trying it too but in soil. I might give it a whirl with a MD seed.

Hope you have a good relaxing week away and make sure youpack enough Athena Bud for you trip....LOL I dont think you ever gave a final full smoke report on Athena.

Peace bro and be safe.

BKB

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Yeah I had a clone of Isis but I decided just to keep the Athena clone in the end. Nothing happening with the MRS experiment so far. I've reapplied cloning powder several times now but no roots. But no die-back either. Just nothing happening. The plant is really healthy though and continues to grow fast so I'll let it ride indefinitely and see what happens.

Bro, I had to get a picture for you before the lights came on just a few minutes ago. Check out how luxurious looking her leaves are - she's a beauty:


And I started laying a towel over Athena during lights out to flatten her out:

TaoWolf said:

And I started laying a towel over Athena during lights out to flatten her out:

Click to expand...

That's an interesting way to train the plants.