DunwichHorror
Member
I'm starting to become interesting in a hydroponics grow, maybe 2-5 plants. With all my school fees, I can't afford to go out and buy all of those fancy tents and hydroponics systems and junk. What should I use in replacement?
Poor Man's Hydroponic
- Thread starter DunwichHorror
- Start date
Metasynth
Well-Known Member
Now that I got that out of the way...You should BUILD a grow tent out of PVC and panda(black white poly, available for $1 a foot at your local hydrop store...it's cheap)...PVC is easy to assemble using the fittings found at any major hardware store. Make sure you pick up a couple rolls of duct tape to secure the panda to the pvc, or whatever...Duct tape is useful for a DIY build. So yeah, now that you've got a PVC box covered in black plastic, you need a door...
I suggest cutting a hole in your newly built tent, and then cutting a piece of panda a few inches larger on each side than the hole as a door...Duct tape the top edge of the piece you cut to cover the hole in your tent a couple inches above the top edge of the hole. It should overlap over all egdes of the hole a few inches on each side, making sure you can light proof the tent. Roll it up to the top, securing temporarily with a small piece of tape. Next, proceed to line the hole a couple inches from the edge with one side(lets say fuzzy side) of velcro tape or dots(I get them at 99 cent store, cheap at walmart, target, Home Depot, etc)...Then remove the adhesive backing of the prickley side of the tape or dots, and velcro it to the fuzzy side...then carefully unroll your "door" piece onto the adhesive side of the velcro lining your door hole...Leave this shit alone for 24 hours for the glue on the adhesive backing to cure a little, or they might pull off when you go to open the door.
Ok...that takes care of the tent...Next, lets go back to home depot and get a couple 5 gallon buckets ...about 4 bucks for each including lids . Next, make your way to a pet store, or better yet a hydro store, and buy an air pump for a large aquarium...this might be the most expensive piece, but you should be able to get a decent air pump for 20 bucks that will power two 5 gallon buckets...Don't forget to get some airline tubing and airstones too...
Next we gotta get net pots...these are pots with holes in them for the roots to grow out out. They're like a buck a piece for 5" pots. While you're at the hydro store, try to pick up a 10L bag of hydroton...these are expanded clay pellets that will hold your plants in place in the net pots. It's like 15 bucks for a small bag, but you should get a couple grows out of it.
So take all your stuff home, and get out the net pots...turn them upside down on the bucket lids and trace the outline of top of the pot...Cut about 1/4" INSIDE the line you just drew, leaving you with a neat(or not so neat) circle that the netpots should fit into, but stay suspended by the rim of the hole by a lip around the top of the net pot. Poke a couple little holes just big enough for the airline tubing in the lids as well, and slide the tubing through and attach the airstones in the buckets. Hook to the air pump, add water, nutrients, lights, and plants.
I suggest cutting a hole in your newly built tent, and then cutting a piece of panda a few inches larger on each side than the hole as a door...Duct tape the top edge of the piece you cut to cover the hole in your tent a couple inches above the top edge of the hole. It should overlap over all egdes of the hole a few inches on each side, making sure you can light proof the tent. Roll it up to the top, securing temporarily with a small piece of tape. Next, proceed to line the hole a couple inches from the edge with one side(lets say fuzzy side) of velcro tape or dots(I get them at 99 cent store, cheap at walmart, target, Home Depot, etc)...Then remove the adhesive backing of the prickley side of the tape or dots, and velcro it to the fuzzy side...then carefully unroll your "door" piece onto the adhesive side of the velcro lining your door hole...Leave this shit alone for 24 hours for the glue on the adhesive backing to cure a little, or they might pull off when you go to open the door.
Ok...that takes care of the tent...Next, lets go back to home depot and get a couple 5 gallon buckets ...about 4 bucks for each including lids . Next, make your way to a pet store, or better yet a hydro store, and buy an air pump for a large aquarium...this might be the most expensive piece, but you should be able to get a decent air pump for 20 bucks that will power two 5 gallon buckets...Don't forget to get some airline tubing and airstones too...
Next we gotta get net pots...these are pots with holes in them for the roots to grow out out. They're like a buck a piece for 5" pots. While you're at the hydro store, try to pick up a 10L bag of hydroton...these are expanded clay pellets that will hold your plants in place in the net pots. It's like 15 bucks for a small bag, but you should get a couple grows out of it.
So take all your stuff home, and get out the net pots...turn them upside down on the bucket lids and trace the outline of top of the pot...Cut about 1/4" INSIDE the line you just drew, leaving you with a neat(or not so neat) circle that the netpots should fit into, but stay suspended by the rim of the hole by a lip around the top of the net pot. Poke a couple little holes just big enough for the airline tubing in the lids as well, and slide the tubing through and attach the airstones in the buckets. Hook to the air pump, add water, nutrients, lights, and plants.
DunwichHorror
Member
Dude, thank you for all of this. Sounds like I'm gonna have a fun summer project
Metasynth
Well-Known Member
Yeah, if you just have like 60 bucks to spare, it can get done in a couple hours...But if you're collecting pieces bit by bit, yeah, it should be a fun project! I would recommend only putting one plant/netpot per five gallon bucket, in case that wasn't clear. Growing is fun, if you can't afford HID lights, you can get CFL's in the right spectrums for veg and flower. Just don't forget you're gonna need a fan for air circulation, and preferable some way to exhaust the hot air out of your tent too...But the first step is getting a tent set up, right? I've found if you're not too concerned about smell in your room, a "window" fan works well for exhaust in small tents, and are about 20 bucks...
Warlock1369
Well-Known Member
For around $60 you can build something like this.
Almost everything from homedepot.
5x5 square fence post. $25
2 end caps $4 each
1 10 gallon tote. $8
1 tube of silcon calking
Now for the hydro store
1small water pump. $15-25
Few feet of 3/4 hose for overflow.
Few feet of 1/2 hose for your feed.
Few rubber gromets 1/2&3/4
And a few 90 elbows 1/2&3/4.
5 inch net pots. $2 each.
Now find out how many plants you want. Mark the on the fence post. Drill 5 inch holes. Clean the cut with sand paper. Sand around ends and caps. Silicon inside of the caps. Place caps on. Smooth silicon on the inside and out. Let sit a day or 2. Use the leftover PVC from your homemade tent and build a stand for your system. Make sure the tote fits under it. Drill hole in side of tote. Place 1/2 gromet there. And use 1 straight fitting to canect pumpin 1 side and have room for a hose on the outside. Now drill a 1/2 hole on 1 side of you fence post. Make sure it is as low as you can get it but still use the gromet. And at the water level you want. Drill 3/4 holes. 1 on each end. Set your system up. Now add the 3/4 hose have it drop into the tote. Mark where they sit without bends. Drill 1 inch holes in the totes lid. Add water and run it for leaks. It's ready. You should also have a 1/4 hole in the lid for a air stone. But that's a different cost. Air pump 15 bucks. You don't really need a big one. And a airstone 3 bucks. Now your ready for you nutes and media. Add a light to the tent and start growing.
Almost everything from homedepot.
5x5 square fence post. $25
2 end caps $4 each
1 10 gallon tote. $8
1 tube of silcon calking
Now for the hydro store
1small water pump. $15-25
Few feet of 3/4 hose for overflow.
Few feet of 1/2 hose for your feed.
Few rubber gromets 1/2&3/4
And a few 90 elbows 1/2&3/4.
5 inch net pots. $2 each.
Now find out how many plants you want. Mark the on the fence post. Drill 5 inch holes. Clean the cut with sand paper. Sand around ends and caps. Silicon inside of the caps. Place caps on. Smooth silicon on the inside and out. Let sit a day or 2. Use the leftover PVC from your homemade tent and build a stand for your system. Make sure the tote fits under it. Drill hole in side of tote. Place 1/2 gromet there. And use 1 straight fitting to canect pumpin 1 side and have room for a hose on the outside. Now drill a 1/2 hole on 1 side of you fence post. Make sure it is as low as you can get it but still use the gromet. And at the water level you want. Drill 3/4 holes. 1 on each end. Set your system up. Now add the 3/4 hose have it drop into the tote. Mark where they sit without bends. Drill 1 inch holes in the totes lid. Add water and run it for leaks. It's ready. You should also have a 1/4 hole in the lid for a air stone. But that's a different cost. Air pump 15 bucks. You don't really need a big one. And a airstone 3 bucks. Now your ready for you nutes and media. Add a light to the tent and start growing.
Metasynth
Well-Known Member
Nice build! Funny we're talking the 60 dollar range, I just built this for 60 bucks...
So in an effort to avoid paying $50-$100 on just a flood tray by itself, I recently set out to build my own for much cheaper...What I ended up with was a 2' x 3' concrete mixing tub from Lowes, flat bottom and straight sides. It was a whopping 14 bucks. So I'll start with a parts list...
2 x bulkheads...1 x 1/2", and 1 x 3/4" $2.50 each...$5.00
1 x Concrete mixing tub $14.00
1 x 160 GPH powerhead that lifts water 4' (not at 160GPH, but enough for this build) $16.00
1 x Five foot length of 1/2" I.D. tubing $3.50
1 x Two foot length of 3/4" I.D. tubing (i had this already, it's like a buck a foot) $2.00
2 x 10' lengths of one inch PVC $3.50 each...$7.00
8 x PVC "T" fittings...$0.50 each...$4.00
8 x PVC Elbow fittings...$0.50 each...$4.00
1 x 18 gallon tote...$5.00
1 x PVC riser $0.50
So this entire build cost about $61 dollars for the complete setup, minus an air pump and airstone...I need to add some wood boards underneath to prevent bowing from repeated flooding, and need some filters to prevent the tubes from clogging. Also need to cut the riser the the appropriate flood level, and I'm going to get a larger reservoir. (though this one would work just fine)
The current 18 gallon tote is going to be the freshwater auto top-off reservoir, purchased a float valve for 5 bucks today too...But this WOULD work just fine, as long as you top off with a couple gallons freshwater a week.
So lets begin!
I drilled a couple 1 1/4" holes at one end of the tray with my trusty porter cable...
Next I screwed in the bulkheads...The 1/2" is for the flood line, and the 3/4" is for the drain
Then I attached the riser, which I need to cut to length when I decide on what medium I'm going to use.
Ok...Lets put this stand together! I began but cutting the 1" PVC into 6 x 20" pieces, 4 x 19.5" pieces, and 8 x 3" pieces
Then I put it all together!
Quickly attached the tubing to the pump, and slapped on the drain tube...
And VOILA!!
[video=youtube;j8jOnrR0mSM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8jOnrR0mSM[/video]
So in an effort to avoid paying $50-$100 on just a flood tray by itself, I recently set out to build my own for much cheaper...What I ended up with was a 2' x 3' concrete mixing tub from Lowes, flat bottom and straight sides. It was a whopping 14 bucks. So I'll start with a parts list...
2 x bulkheads...1 x 1/2", and 1 x 3/4" $2.50 each...$5.00
1 x Concrete mixing tub $14.00
1 x 160 GPH powerhead that lifts water 4' (not at 160GPH, but enough for this build) $16.00
1 x Five foot length of 1/2" I.D. tubing $3.50
1 x Two foot length of 3/4" I.D. tubing (i had this already, it's like a buck a foot) $2.00
2 x 10' lengths of one inch PVC $3.50 each...$7.00
8 x PVC "T" fittings...$0.50 each...$4.00
8 x PVC Elbow fittings...$0.50 each...$4.00
1 x 18 gallon tote...$5.00
1 x PVC riser $0.50
So this entire build cost about $61 dollars for the complete setup, minus an air pump and airstone...I need to add some wood boards underneath to prevent bowing from repeated flooding, and need some filters to prevent the tubes from clogging. Also need to cut the riser the the appropriate flood level, and I'm going to get a larger reservoir. (though this one would work just fine)
The current 18 gallon tote is going to be the freshwater auto top-off reservoir, purchased a float valve for 5 bucks today too...But this WOULD work just fine, as long as you top off with a couple gallons freshwater a week.
So lets begin!
I drilled a couple 1 1/4" holes at one end of the tray with my trusty porter cable...
Next I screwed in the bulkheads...The 1/2" is for the flood line, and the 3/4" is for the drain
Then I attached the riser, which I need to cut to length when I decide on what medium I'm going to use.
Ok...Lets put this stand together! I began but cutting the 1" PVC into 6 x 20" pieces, 4 x 19.5" pieces, and 8 x 3" pieces
Then I put it all together!
Quickly attached the tubing to the pump, and slapped on the drain tube...
And VOILA!!
[video=youtube;j8jOnrR0mSM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8jOnrR0mSM[/video]
Warlock1369
Well-Known Member
If you have any knowhow on building anything. You can make a system for cheep. Most likely around the sales tax of a store bought setup. I built mine for 80 bucks but if I was to buy it it would of been 400. No need for name brand stuff. Building as much as you can saves money for better lights and nutes.
Metasynth
Well-Known Member
+Rep...Clean buildFor around $60 you can build something like this.
Almost everything from homedepot.
5x5 square fence post. $25
2 end caps $4 each
1 10 gallon tote. $8
1 tube of silcon calking
Now for the hydro store
1small water pump. $15-25
Few feet of 3/4 hose for overflow.
Few feet of 1/2 hose for your feed.
Few rubber gromets 1/2&3/4
And a few 90 elbows 1/2&3/4.
5 inch net pots. $2 each.
Now find out how many plants you want. Mark the on the fence post. Drill 5 inch holes. Clean the cut with sand paper. Sand around ends and caps. Silicon inside of the caps. Place caps on. Smooth silicon on the inside and out. Let sit a day or 2. Use the leftover PVC from your homemade tent and build a stand for your system. Make sure the tote fits under it. Drill hole in side of tote. Place 1/2 gromet there. And use 1 straight fitting to canect pumpin 1 side and have room for a hose on the outside. Now drill a 1/2 hole on 1 side of you fence post. Make sure it is as low as you can get it but still use the gromet. And at the water level you want. Drill 3/4 holes. 1 on each end. Set your system up. Now add the 3/4 hose have it drop into the tote. Mark where they sit without bends. Drill 1 inch holes in the totes lid. Add water and run it for leaks. It's ready. You should also have a 1/4 hole in the lid for a air stone. But that's a different cost. Air pump 15 bucks. You don't really need a big one. And a airstone 3 bucks. Now your ready for you nutes and media. Add a light to the tent and start growing.
monkeybones
Well-Known Member
if you're a poor man, soil is a whole lot cheaper and easier than a hydro set up
Metasynth
Well-Known Member
Eh...Soil is cool, I like growing in soil outdoors where the natural organic ecosystem benefits the grow...Soil indoors is sort of a pain in the ass, IMO. And you can build some pretty cheap hydro setups if you're handy. It all just boils down to preference, but when I grew soil and hydro side by side indoors, the hydro plants always blew the soil plants away.
Warlock1369
Well-Known Member
I run 15 min 4 times a day.