v2 'dream system' DIY and diary

[GMax]

Hey everyone… I been out of touch for a while..

Couple months back I finally made the milestone of moving out of my grow house… I started showing up couple times a week and ket forgetting to take pics before I left …once I was comfortable I was only coming once a week

At the beginning of the summer we were in a drought but that is now over so I have to come twice a week anyway to mow the lawn

Long story short my cooler systems have been in the ultimate cruise control.. I am completely comfortable being away from them for a week even up to two, although they prob suffer a bit nute wise.. And on top of all that I have them pulling between 5- 6 oz every time.

Everything was going swell until a couple weeks ago when I forgot to change the rez or even top off my mother and when I came back a week later she was dried up… so I started a new mom (same genetics) and she is buffing up now but I havent been able to take any clones for three weeks so I got a few empty systems

There still a learning curve from growing away from my plants.. But I not gonna make the same mistake twice.. So I built this controller bucker out of a kitty litter container





Still running the same original Sour Bubble and I popped more a few days ago that havent broken the surface.. Looking into some new strains that heavier yeilders.

Anyways..

I have had this system built in my head for about 2 years now and it was starting to eat away at my brain… so since I moved out I decided I would do a flip flop and hopefully be able to be comfortable with my new system enough to be away from it too.. So here it goes…

This is a TWO part system.. Meaning it takes two to fill a space

Parts List

50 ft of 4 inch PVC cut into 5’ pieces (10)… I paid a little more for precut 5’ lengths
(8) 4 inch 22degree elbows
(1) 4 inch 90degree elbow
(7) 4 inch Tee
(8) 4 inch Rubber Caps
(8) 10ft lengths ¾” PVC
(8) ¾” PVC threaded elbow
(10) ¾” PVC female adapters
(7) ¾” PVC Tee
(1) ¾” cross piece
(8) ¾” caps
(3) ¾” 45 degree elbow
Approx 10 ft ¾” flexible tubing
(12) pieces of 2x4 cu to 5”
PVC glue
(8) SWIVEL caster wheels
(50) ezclone misters
(5) ¾” threaded barbed adapter
Pump of your choice (powerful) I am using an eco1500
Large rez, I am using a Rubbermaid 100 gallon horse trough

Tools needed
Drill
Tape measure
PVC scissors
11/32” drill bit
1” drill bit
2” drill bit
Screwdriver
Hacksaw ( a pull down type table saw would be ideal)
Tape

Ok to start you have to cut sixteen pieces of 4 inch PVC at 2 ¾” lengths.. This is the hardest part.. If you bought 10’ lengths of PVC you will also need to cut 8 pieces that are 5’.

Take four of your 4” Tees and drill a 1” hole through the center like so.. ( drain holes)




Pull a lot of thread tape on your threaded barbed adapter and insert it in the hole. Silicone glue to seal if u are not satisfied (not necessary if done correct) I also took the PVC scissors and trimmed down the threaded side so it would be flush when inserted



Take all your 5” wood pieces and screw them together like this and attach 2 wheels a piece to each set.




Once all of this is done then you can build your base .. Tee piece then 22 degree elbow.. don’t forget the wheels Once they are all together cap off one end and the other has a 90 degree elbow… ( when the second system is there the opposite end will have an 90 elbow and the two will ‘ying yang’ to become a perfect circle) In the pic there are still two elbows but this wrong

 

[GMax]

up.. Then it is a good idea to tape up all the joints.. This is just to keep it sturdy while you finish putting it together



Once that is finished you can then work on the pipes. Take your 5’ lengths and drill 5, or as many as u want, holes. I did mine 6” from the edge and every foot after that. Then drill a 1” hole in the rubber caps




Take your ¾’’ PVC and cut (8) 5’ lengths and drill holes with your 11/32 bit. I did mine 3” from the edge and every foot after. You can go more if you wish. I only use 6 misters per pipe but each site gets 2 misters one above and one below . people may have negative opinions on my waatering setup but i use the solid pvc to add to the structural integrity of the system .After your holes are drilled you can put in the misters and put a cap on one of the ends.



Feed the uncapped end through the rubber cap


Attach the female adapter to the other end after it has been feed through once this is done you can feed it through the 4” pipe and tighten the cap. Think of this now as one piece.. I will go into this later… You should finish all the pipes like this before you start attaching to the base.



Next attach all you finished pipes to the base start in the middle and work around..

 

[GMax]

Once that is done you can start working one the spray manifold. You start from the middle once again and add a cross piece. I didn’t do any measuring for this sorry but you attach a tee piece for each pipe and a one 22 degree el on one side and two 22 degree elbows on the side that has a 4” elbow.. Pics help







Once it all together you can twist each misting pipe to line up the misters you attach a female adapter and a barb fitting in the center and then attach your pump with flexible tubing. Use ¾ tubing to attach all the drain hole together and have it run down a drain.



How it works.. The water sprays through the tubes and drains out the bottom and down a drain. I will be running the pumps for 3-5 sec every 5-6 min

Everything comes apart easily. The only thing that is glued is the top part of the manifold, Everything else either unscrews or slides out. Once all your pieces laid out and ready to go it can be assembled in under and hour and taken apart in the same time.


There are a few features to the system


I used male and female parts so I can adjust my misters if necessary also I can remove a pipe if need be (with plants even) I have been thinking about having a few extra pipes with ten holes drilled in them laying around so I can have one row with 5 and one row with ten and they will be interchangeable .. Just an option

The wheels give the system mobility. It is way sturdier than it looks. I can spread the systems apart to work on the canopy and then close it and seal in all the light in and have no wasted space at the same time

The drain to waste gives me full control.. I will install a float valve on the rez but I cant put it at the top because I will be watering down the nutes after the first spray.. so I am installing a float valve at the bottom 1/3 of the rez. I use an extra rubber grommet on the outside to keep it from leaking .. The nutes will be full strength until it gets down to bout 25 gal or so and then the float valve will kick on and keep it safely topped off in case I am gone longer.

No matter how long I am gone nothing in my grow house will run out of water.. I can be gone for a whole month and my plants would still be alive just very hungry.. I putting float valves on my cloners even lol

there are still things left to do to the system

one, i am gonna wrap each pipe in reflectix and then put a 'curtain' sheet of reflectix

two, i havent got the rez or attached the pump to the system

three, I am building a circular screen for it as well

still about three weeks out from filling her up

i have made some changes to my setup when i get home later i will post pics of the new veg etc and i am documenting this grow so stay tuned


****Changes were made to the setup and I ended up using wyes because of leaks... pictures of th finished WW and pump setup are on pg 5****

 

[Zdub7k]

vert hydro? crazy shit right there buddy...looks sweet, I bet you've thought about this for many moons

 

[GMax]

vert hydro? crazy shit right there buddy...looks sweet, I bet you've thought about this for many moons

yeah thanks bro i called it the dream system because it kept me up at night thinking about it lol

forgot to mention there is one other feature to the system... the wood and the wheels raise the system off the ground 5.5".. since i have such a large rez filled up to 5.5 inches is still enough to run the system recirculating...first few weeks to save water..maybe

the overall setup..

for veg i built a 7x6' tent.. there is a 6" duct fan for intake and a 8" duct for exhaust i am just gonna use a bunch of cfls for light i like them

i got my same two cloners and 15 site veg but i built a 77 site cloner and a 45 site veg.. the new veg looks a little crowded i might divide this into two containers





everything is going to be linked together and out one drain for hassle free rez changes

here my mom she is in heaven right now and probably be big enough to take a batch of clones for my coolers at least in few days



then the flowering rooms are matching 10x10 tents each with a 8'' 875 cfm exhaust and 6" 440 cfm intake

each with 1800 watts on a flip/flop (not currently).. i havent yet but i think i am just gonna buy a flip/flop i know there is a lot of diy but i am not that electrical savvy and it is a pretty main component so i feel like i would sleep better and i am new to being away from the plants and i want to be thorough even though nothing really changing i was still checking on my plants every 3-4 days near the end when i lived with them

my stores got it for 549.99 with a 15% discount

the flowering rooms each have a radiator box.. they are linked together and attached to a 50 gal rez with two 1/4 hp chillers( i found the second one for cheap..i prob be looking into soleniods and stuff soon )

and then the rest of the area in the basement around all the tents is cooled with a 12000btu AC just for summer i am new to the lung room but i dont think this counts

i have been using tanks for co2 when needed my water cooled generator is just collecting dust right now

forgot to to take any of pics my flowering plants but i be coming here more for these next few weeks i still have a lot of work left

I am here for questions

 

[bobblehead]

nice! Keep the updates coming!

 

[high life 45]

Lookin good!

what strain are you running?

 

[NorCalGanjanetX]

Pretty tight!
love the DIY cloners doin it big

 

[GMax]

nice! Keep the updates coming!

thanks bobble i not fallin off with this one

Lookin good!

what strain are you running?

BOG sour bubble at the moment looking into some higher yeilder to test the system with

Pretty tight!
love the DIY cloners doin it big

thanks a lot of people have negative opinions on aero cloners but i love them !!! but the way i grow i am forced to use it.. i have the choice between aero or bubbler cloners cause i need a mediumlesss clone

i get nearly 100% success everytime with clonex and sm90.. i did lose two batches though because i had to duct my AC exhaust through the window in my veg and it was toasting my room and caused them all to dampen off cause water too warm... under control now


My hydro store started carrying HG root exculerator 79.95 with 15% off so i switched.. my next batch of clones will be the first to try it

I am doing a lot of running around today gathering equipment

Picked up this rez for the system..100g horse trough...



may be too big actually but fuck it..YOLO

and i also got this 150g tote this is going to be my main rez and water storage..got it used so i need clean it up would of gotten a square one but i would have never been able to get it through the door



still need to get the float valves and i am afraid my 100gpd RO is no longer enough


I still got some stuff to do but i have to come back later.. i havent checked on flowering room #1 since monday so i need to see if anything need done in there and i will take some plant pics then

later

 

[GMax]

everything still smooth in the old flowering room

i didnt turn off the light so the pics arent good i will get better next time





and this is the last one left of my old mom it is only 5 plants but they stretching nicely



i took clones from them couple days ago that are starting to root now

my next batch will be from my new mom and get things rolling

 

[Wise]

You're a maniac.. and I love it!

 

[Abja Roots]

Very interesting and thanks for sharing. Congrats on moving out of the spot. I know the feeling. It's strange not to be able to check in on them whenever you want to. It is nice to have a quiet and clean place. Enjoy it.

 

[GMax]

You're a maniac.. and I love it!

lol thanks

Very interesting and thanks for sharing. Congrats on moving out of the spot. I know the feeling. It's strange not to be able to check in on them whenever you want to. It is nice to have a quiet and clean place. Enjoy it.

yeah it has been a big adjustment but i wish i would have done it sooner... I only live like twenty min away so it not that bad.. i dont live hours away yet.

the biggest things are the little things... mowing my lawn.. not letting mail pile up in the mailbox.. putting timers on my house lights so it still look like people live there... having trash still cause what kinda house never has trash out, and i cant put my weed trash on the corner...shoveling the driveway come winter... the list goes on and i just trying to be as thorough as possible

the good thing about it is my grow house has an attached garage, an almost neccessary feature imo and all of my neighbors are friendly but keep to themselves and they never talk to me or eachother

my landlord stays out of my business, honestly he prob smokes too, but i changed they locks and went one extra step and installed lock door knobs on every door in the house..bathroom, pantry, closets, everthing just in case he ever is in my house and i not there its not just the basement that is inconspicuously locked..I 99% positive this never be an issue but again being thorough and trying to expect the unexpected


renting isnt ideal but it is very possible.. i am trying to not rent ASAP i have been steady looking at houses all last year.. i have always been on kinda budget though...and i picky about my houses.. it HAS to have a basement and attached garage and i can never seem to find a place that has both and isnt in the ghetto and if i do it too expensive or owner want me to go through a bank etc.. finding the right house is the hardest part of growing to me

my lease is up in march 2013.. i can probably resign without a walkthrough or since i have built up credibility with my landlord i may try to land contract this place since i know he wants to sell and he can barely afford it and wants to wash his hands of it as hassle free as possible

i might stop by later tonight to get some work done i get some pics if i do

thanks for stopping by everyone

 

[Bonzo]

 

[dubwise]

wow! great work!!! Keep 'em coming.

 

[GMax]

stopped by the grow house today..

didnt need to change any rez so i just check on everthing and it running smooth so i spent my time getting chores done..

got my rez ready to go.. got an attachment so i can run tubing for the drain hose with a shutoff valve and a float valve for when the rez gets real low



everthing in the veg tent and the 100g rez and system (eventually two) is connected to the same drain hose with 3/4" tubing... next on the list is to run water to everywhere i need it...everthing is going to be drained and filled with just the turn of a knob..everything in flower room number one already has this i am just gonna attach the control rez to that room to my new 150g tote instead of directly to the RO machine

secured the tubes to the system..



and the clones i took the other day are rooted..they seemed to root quicker than usual but i think it because they from plants in stretch...give them a short veg and then i be filling systems up

and another crop from my old coolers under my belt...






i was experimenting with cooling during this one so enviroment was inconsistent so it is only 131.7g.. i was expecting more like 5.5-6 oz . my next one already ready for harvest to but i am in no rush to not have weed so i let it go few extra days

thanks bonzo and dubwise

 

[DHF]

Looks like a recipe for success Bro..... Runs under yer belt and consistency rules the day....

Only gets better G....so...good luck and....

Peace...DHF........

 

[GMax]

Looks like a recipe for success Bro..... Runs under yer belt and consistency rules the day....

Only gets better G....so...good luck and....

Peace...DHF........

hey thanks freds.. keep dropping by cause i will probably need to pick your brain a few times before this is over

i had to stop by today because the clones i took before were ready to transplant



while i was here i decided to take some clones from my new mom so she starts growing more shoots.. i was only able to get 13 from her but i have 4 leftover from my last batch...

this is my first go with HG roots excelurator. I am already getting great results with clonex so i am really excited to see the results... as of today(tues) these clones were taken



1ml excelurator 1ml sm90 per gal phd to 6.0

then i got a little done in the new flowering room

reflectix... one around the pipe to block light to roots and one around the outside to reflect light back in




still need to cut my holes..

thats it for now

 

[farmhouse cat]

Looks great GMAX! I was reading and you mentioned 3-5 second on feed times? Are you using a high pressure pump and misters? But, i think i saw the ez clone sprayers?

Also, you are using roots excelerator and sm-90 together? I would be interested in your results as i have heard that the sm-90 kills the beneficial bacteria. So i havent used them together. Maybe i heard wrong.

 

[DHF]

Looks great GMAX! I was reading and you mentioned 3-5 second on feed times? Are you using a high pressure pump and misters? But, i think i saw the ez clone sprayers?

Also, you are using roots excelerator and sm-90 together? I would be interested in your results as i have heard that the sm-90 kills the beneficial bacteria. So i havent used them together. Maybe i heard wrong.

You read right FHC.....but......

I got gifted a cylinder of H&G`s Root Excellurator and mixed 1 ml per gal with my weak nute juice along with my SM-90 and Silicablast in my pre-washed and pre- charged coco in clear solo cups......and.....

No bullshit....I had established taproots and laterals waaay more developed than I`d ever had in a 7 day period from cuttin and rootin.....except for Chem D...but that`s another thread....so....

That continued till I ran outta the shit right before havin ta shut down......that said....

Run it FHC....guaranteed....the mix works with no contraindications from SM-90 inhibiting being mixed with beneficials , and have been documented at the other sites I visit.........

Shit`s expensive but worth every penny , and lasts forever at 1 ml per gal......and.....

I`ve said it in many threads for the last several yrs that nothin`s new under the sun and NPK is NPK with most all bullshit additives are sales hype and disguised as another form of the basic 3 elements essential to growin dope..... but.....

H&G`s "Dripclean and Roots Excellurator" are the ONLY 2 products I`ve EVER seen in well over 20 yrs of croppin and readin the message boards that actually helps the grower/caregiver in commercial settings.......now....

GMax.... Raise them CFL`s up above the cuts in the cloner unless yas need em that close for elevated temps.....as a rule....

Low light needed fer rootin cuts , but 80% RH and 80 degree ambient temps will accelerate the process , so do whatever`s necessary for your own environment....

Respect....and Holler if I can help Bro.....

Peace....Freds...........