Damn Bio-buckets

[Arlen]

I'm trying to diagnose a problem I am having with my buckets. After a semi-successfull grow with these, again I am having probs. I have followed big tokes build to the tee, and even modified the system with an overkill pump. I am using a 3600 gph danner with 12 buckets (way overkill I know but I figured the danner 1800 wasnt enough). I have a 14 inch waterfall with the chiller outlet splashing also. I run 65 degree water and set the clones exactly like he suggests. I am running out of variables to check so this is a last ditch question.

What happends is after a bit of growth, the roots start dieing towards the top of the net pot, so I am thinking stagnant water in that area. take a look at this netpot (this is the 10 inch version, I use the 8 inch versions) does anyone use these netpots? See the solid ring of plastic at the top? I am wondering if this is the issue,causing the water to not flow around the top of the pot or if someone else uses these pots in thier bio-buckets system? I am saving the grow by injecting air into each bucket with my trusty thomas compressor ( A KFB style compressor) and they are loving it, but , as stubborn as I am I just HAVE to solve this problem!! Any help from bio users would be appreciated. For the bio-bucket haters out there I cant quit on them because of the benifits low maintenance, stable PH and uneeded res change outs. Thanks for any help

 

[Raphael]

I have separate air lines running into each of my buckets all with air stones. This would be the easiest fix to the problem of not enough movement / not enough o2.

 

[turbolaser4528]

I have separate air lines running into each of my buckets all with air stones. This would be the easiest fix to the problem of not enough movement / not enough o2.

word, get a heavy duty air pump and run open lines for maximum output/circulation. keep it up buddy!

 

[Raphael]

Like this:

 

[turbolaser4528]

YES EXACTLY. just make sure those lines are held to the bottom of the buckets otherwise they will be pretty inneffective. Or take some cheapo airstones and break them in half so you get the air source to stay at the bottom, and you get the large and small bubbles.

pics of the inside of the buckets would be nice, clean setup homie

 

[Raphael]

Here is a picture of inside one of my buckets. Each one has its own airstone and the hydro shop was nice enough to hook me up with a 8 port manifold so I only have one pump that I soundproof / dampen per 8 buckets.

 

[2fast4u2]

Arlan:


dude.

that monstrosity of a setup ya got there, well.... it sucks.

Now dont get all mad and stuff, im not a jerk, and i could care less what you grow with.

As for efficiency and "no brainer" ease of use, space, maintenance etc. and the list goes on,

Look into ebb&flow.

I really see all other forms of hydroponics to be quite frankly retarded. Sure when you reinvent the wheel, but why? if its not MORE efficient than ebb&flow, then the hierarchy of logic would assume you default to the next logical answer.

how many square feet does that beast use?

hey, to each his own, but pound for pound ebb&flow is the truth.

 

[the_lonely_one]

I think the problem you are having is caused by the net pots you are using. I too used the 8" netpots with the solid 3-3.5 inch area at the top of the mesh. Either get the correct nets or do what I did and drill those babies out.

The solid area is trapping water and creating still water where all kinds of bad stuff can grow. I know I had some funky stuff growing in mine and a weird film on the top of the water. I drilled the netpot out and the problem fixed itself.

I am no expert but this seems very similar to my problem and this was my solution. I actually went through the process of elimination on the parts that I didn't get off of Big Tokes list. It lead me to the netpots, everything else I followed exactly.

 

[petemoss]

the lonely one may be right about your netpots. Lack of circulation at the top of the pot could be causing a stagnant dead spot. Wouldn't hurt to drill a few holes in the top part of the netpot. Another reason your roots are drowning may be because you are planting the oasis cube (hope you are using them and not rockwool or rapid rooters) too deep in the pot. If the bottom of the cube is sitting in water, the cube is too wet and you will likely get drowned roots or stem rot. This is a very common mistake with Bio Buckets. Look at the top of the cube. If it is dark and damp, it's too wet. The top of the cube should be light colored and dry.

I have to take issue with advice to add airstones to your buckets. Bio buckets do not need airstones for sufficient dissolved O2. That would defeat the low-maintenance aspect of the buckets since airstones will quickly clog and need frequent replacement. Follow BigToke's design if you want run Bio buckets and not a DWC bubbler.

 

[petemoss]

Picture drawn by Foggy Goggles. Notice the bottom of the cube is above the water line.

 

[chronisseur]

i got "snot" chunks in mine all in between the pot and hydroton (normal single DWC bucket)... thinking it was the glue/adhesive at the top getting wet etc but since I had the water level at the bottom of the pot (for the beginning until roots reached the water below) maybe I too had stagnant spots? Lemonhead suggested ading an airstone IN the pot at the bottom within the clay so that area is well aerated - Im gonna try that if this comes back (I bleached/scrubbed/replaced everything and put a new cut in)... The water is JUST at the bottom though and the exposed roots are touching the splashes...
man that snot was gross though...

 

[Balazar]

Sounds like a dead spot to me. I had the exact same problem and I used "flexible air stones". They are like the air wands but flexible so you can mold them into any shape. I wrapped them around my drain screens so they would stay at the bottom and they never clog cause they are rubberized plastic! Regular air stones clog with mineral deposits from your nutes so I would stay way from those just cause they are a pain in the ass to change every time they clog.