First attempt at Bio-Buckets

[earthwormgod]

Hi everyone. Since Im new to Bio-buckets and starting a new room I figured Id post my grow. This is my 3rd grow. My first was a few years ago and was cut short due to bad luck, luckily I came away unscathed. My 2nd grow was posted here and was a freakin train wreck well, at least it started out that way, got some dank buds in the end. I was one of the first people that got hit with the whole off-gassing HydroHut fiasco, went through a ton of clones before I figured out the problem.

My room is 11x10x8 and I have a 1- 600watt HPS for now. Room was sprayed down with a strong disinfectant last week. Today I used PHAYSAN 20 (Algacide/Fungicide) before I started with the poly. I have read BigTokes bio bucket tutorial and feel comfortable with most of it. With that said, I wouldn't mind suggestions regarding the actual bucket configuration/layout. I figure, I have 1 600watt for now so Id keep it at 6-8 buckets. My concern is expansion. I plan on adding a second light in a few months and want to make sure that the design will accommodate the addition with out having to redesign the system.

Do people think its necessary to poly the ceiling?

Here is the room as of 3 hours ago. Not much going on yet but I move fast!! I did most of that work today. There is also a bay window that you cant see that I covered up already. Hung curtains (looks great from the outside) and glued/tacked board to seal it up.

This is the front door to the room

This is the bathroom door

This is a close up shot of the bathroom door. Since this is the main shared bathroom for guests I decided to padlock it, silicone around the seems, put a rubber flap on the bottom of the door and tomorrow Im picking up a piece of insulation that ill tack down before I poly it. I think this should help with noise and smell in the bathroom.

Sliding door closet. That should be poly'd by tomorrow. My fresh air will be coming from the room behind the closet. It happens to be another bathroom, the sink actually, it should be easy to tap into the water feed.

Last but not least, this is a A/C duct that came with the rental. Luckily for my grow room we dont have central a/c so this is the perfect exhaust (unless someone tells me different)

 

[earthwormgod]

Do I smell?

Do I smell?

Anybody out there?

 

[greenwithenvy]

looks like your on the right track. Ill be watching, keep posting pics of the progress.

 

[#9Dream]

I’ve been running bio buckets for about four years now. I think that 6 is the maximum number of plants you should consider under one light unless you have a light rail. I am running 10 plants under 2 lights on a rail with a travel of about two feet. I find the rail helps fill out the buds more. I am also using a scrog screen as I have had problems in the past with the lower growth not getting enough light and the plant getting too heavy and tipping over late in flower. The screen solves both of those problems. Also watch for a rapid drop in PH after 2 to 3 weeks. I lost a whole grow to it a couple months ago. The drop happens consistently with mine every grow, could be because I use RO.
The hardest part of doing bio buckets is cleaning the lava rock for the next grow. Too much debris left over from the previous grow will rot and take the new roots with them. (Another lesson learned the hard way)
I highly recommend that you get a good sized carbon filter. I used to vent to the outside through a carbon filter but could often smell it easily. Now I run a closed room and only vent the lights outside with air taken from outside the room and a carbon filter cleaning the air inside. It works for me. Venting the room into that AC duct would probably just distribute the smell all through the house. I would vent the light into there with the air from the room behind the closet and run it closed with a good carbon filter. That’s my opinion, I hope it helps, good luck.

 

[kp^]

Few things come to mind.

It appears you're on the right track.... If you have not already, I would suggest you to check out some of the other BB threads, and some of BigTokes previous threads for info.. etc. Reading it is one thing, putting a BB system together is another story...

I hear rental, and you putting a pad lock on a door....? Is this true?

If so, renting is risky, but can be done. Stealth, and keeping the smell at baay is a MUST. IF your renter wants to inspect, they will give you 24-48hours and then you must let them in. A large BB room would be tough to hide IMO. ... then a lock on a "shared" door to the bathroom would be very suspect.

With the risks noted......

For 1 600w, I would suggest 4-6 plants.

To be able to expand to something larger I would suggest you buy a pump which will be larger for your needs. So to figure out your pump size:

From BigToke or another BB user Start with your desired turnover, say 15X per hour for example. That means each 5 gal bucket will get 5X15 or 75GPH. All together, your 16 buckets should receive 16X75 or 1200 gph total. Add about 15% more flow to compensate for the bends and length of the feed run and you will need to pump about 1400 gph. Now you need to find a pump that will deliver 1400GPH. You will have to understand head pressure, and add that to your size of a pump.

And lastly, heat rises.... Can you vent in the attic?

Keep up the work, I know its tough but it will show in your plants in the long run. I'm working on another BB run... Been redoing the room, making some tweaks... trying not to kill my mums.. etc.. Fun fun!

 

[earthwormgod]

Greenwithenvy thanks for stopping by!!

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#9Dream - Thank for your help!! I like the sealed room idea but dont understand the drawbacks, if any. Could you explain this a little more?


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KC^ - Just checked out your first grow - fuckin amazing results!! Kudos!
We're in California so we can legally grow. Plus we have a super cool landlord that doesn't even live in the country. With that said, the homes are close to each other so masking the smell is still VERY important. We might be able to modify an exhaust vent or something on the roof (very thin walls and ceiling) but short of that my only options are down in that unused A/C vent or under the house (there is a 2' crawl space) #9Dream suggested a closed room, I need to learn about this method before I can make a decision. I do like the sound of it tho. About the pumps, assuming I can max out at around 20 buckets or so in my room, and I buy a pump that is based on that assumption, is there risk of having too much power for my 4-6 buckets?

 

[greenwithenvy]

Hey if you want to learn more about the recirculating system. Take a look at blazeoneup's.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=26343

This is where I learned what im going to do. Check out what I got going also.

 

[earthwormgod]

Thanks for the link Green! im definitely going the bio-bucket route this run and see how it goes.

 

[#9Dream]

The only disadvantage to a closed room is that since you are not venting the room to the outside heat can build up. Thus you would need to vent the heat from the lights out of the room and you may need to control the temperature with an air conditioner depending on your climate and the size of your room. It needs to stay below 80 to 85 degrees. It is the stealthiest way unless you can vent out the roof where the smell is less likely to reach the ground or a neighbors window. My carbon filter sits on the floor with a vortex fan sitting on top of it that continuously filters the air in the room. If you are going to vent outside an ozone filter may work for you but they are expensive and I have never used one myself.

 

[kp^]

earthwormgod Sounds like yer on track! Listen to 9Dream... great source of knowledge.

The pics in my gallery are from my older soil cab grows, and some mock designs of what I have now for my growing needs.... I will be posting my BB grow in a bit... still have tweaks todo before I share...

9Dream Funny you mention about the screen for HEAVY buds in flower. I've had to do the same thing... works great!

Your drop in PH is in first few of veg, or Flower?

 

[#9Dream]

Thanks kp. I haven't determined exactly what causes the ph drop. Could be the RO or me giving nutes too fast or just my laziness in week 2 or 3 of veg and not calibrating my pen enough. It takes experimenting and failure to really learn anything. I try to maintain a balance in everything not push it to the limits. Here is my screen in action at about 1 1/2 weeks in flower.
Peace

 

[earthwormgod]

I've been reading all posts that talk about bio-buckets and came across a post by Big-toke that gave me pause. Big-toke was critiquing a Bio-system, the grower mounted 10” net-pots on top of the bucket lids instead of underneath the lids. He said it could be a problem due to the light heating up the lava rocks too quickly and putting unnecessary stress on the roots and Beneficial Bacterium. He then went on to say that it will also let unnecessary trapped gases out that are a big problem in Bio systems. So, what's up wit dat? Trapped gasses are a big problem in bio systems? Will a fan on the res solve this potential issue?

Here is the link to the post. Its on the 1st page about a 1/4 way down the page:
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=10778&highlight=bio+buckets

 

[kp^]

I've been reading all posts that talk about bio-buckets and came across a post by Big-toke that gave me pause. Big-toke was critiquing a Bio-system, the grower mounted 10” net-pots on top of the bucket lids instead of underneath the lids. He said it could be a problem due to the light heating up the lava rocks too quickly and putting unnecessary stress on the roots and Beneficial Bacterium. He then went on to say that it will also let unnecessary trapped gases out that are a big problem in Bio systems. So, what's up wit dat? Trapped gasses are a big problem in bio systems? Will a fan on the res solve this potential issue?

Here is the link to the post. Its on the 1st page about a 1/4 way down the page:
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=10778&highlight=bio+buckets

Trapped gases in my past have not been an issues for me, or any BB threads that I have read. I do not use the DIY netpot. I have purchased ...6" or 8" nepots.. I forgot but I have not had any issues.

I may have missed it, but did you give your system at least 2 weeks to run with the lava rock? Adding a fan to the res will speed up the beneficial creation process... Keeping a fan on the res will help with beneficial's, and also decrease res temps...

Good luck, and happy growing!

Hopefully I've been able to answer your question.

 

[petemoss]

Hi earthwormgod! I can't see your pics in the first post. I think what BT meant was that you need to let the stale air out. In one of my first grows, a three week old plant suddenly keeled over from stem rot. I had a plastic sheet covering the top of the rocks with a small hole for the stem. Apparently, there was not enough room for the stale, humid air to escape. I'll try to find a pic to show what I mean.

 

[foliohattu]

In one of my first grows, a three week old plant suddenly keeled over from stem rot. I had a plastic sheet covering the top of the rocks with a small hole for the stem.

whoa pete, nice looking stem you've got there... i sorted this covering lavarocks and net-pots with leca pebbles. no light leaks, no gases, no stem rot. works like a charm.

like so:


fh

 

[Casual]

BigToke's setup uses the standard bucket lids with a 4" hole in them, and an 8" netpot bolted in from underneath. The 8" pot allows for plenty of medium, and the 4" hole allows plenty of area for the gases to escape, without having a HUGE area of the rocks exposed to the light.
I copied the exact setup BT uses, using stainless hardware to secure it to the lid. The net pots have 6 holes in them around top lip, making it VERY easy to setup.

Caz