-
Happy Birthday ICMag! Been 20 years since Gypsy Nirvana created the forum! We are celebrating with a 4/20 Giveaway and by launching a new Patreon tier called "420club". You can read more here.
-
Important notice: ICMag's T.O.U. has been updated. Please review it here. For your convenience, it is also available in the main forum menu, under 'Quick Links"!
cravin morehead's bio-bucket c99 bx1
- Thread starter cravin morehead
- Start date
KryptKeepa
Member
Looks amazing!
So impressed!
So impressed!
paperchaser825
Active member
One day.....ONE DAY.....my roots will be as white as Cravin's.
That is all.
That is all.
That's it for me --- my present room is 8 1/2' x 10 1/2' x 8' and I've been running a 4x8 flood table with 2 1000watt fixtures for several years. Been studying this bio-bucket stuff and I'm changing over...
...gonna take that flood table, remove the drain/feed fixtures, plug the holes and put it on the floor as a leak catcher if ever needed. Will fashion an 8 bucket system sitting in that table and let her rip. Nutes? I've been mixing my own for quite some time and will stick with that....
...thanks a lot there Cravin for sharing and providing inspiration --- I'll be thinking of ya every harvest!!!
...gonna take that flood table, remove the drain/feed fixtures, plug the holes and put it on the floor as a leak catcher if ever needed. Will fashion an 8 bucket system sitting in that table and let her rip. Nutes? I've been mixing my own for quite some time and will stick with that....
...thanks a lot there Cravin for sharing and providing inspiration --- I'll be thinking of ya every harvest!!!
hey JJ- sorry its taken me so long to reply, i hadn't checked this thread in awhile. im glad to hear you're going to start a bio-bucket system. you will be happy. be sure to stay within the guidelines laid out by BigToke and you'll be fine.
to answer your questions.
-my discharge assemblies are as follows: 1 1/2" male tubing fitting on the buckets. with 1 1/2" flexable pvc (you can use regular pvc with a male adapter at the bucket). 90* 1 1/2" fitting leading to the main drain return line. the main drain return line is 2" leading to the top of my reservoir. the main return line is sloped down about 3/8" per foot to facilitate draining to the reservoir. there are a bunch of pics of the assembly/building process in my albums, have a look.
- cleaning the lava rocks is pretty simple. i remove as much of the roots as i can. then i dump them all in a bucket and fill with water. i swish them around and dump the water. after about 4 times, they are pretty clean. i have also just replaced the lava a couple of times. around here, they are really cheap, $5 for enough to do 6 buckets. just give them a couple days and the bennies are growing in/on them again. when i did this, i just took my cuttings the same day as adding new lava rocks. by the time i had roots, the system was ready to go.
if there is anything i can help you with, let me know. please post some pics or pm me them, i'd love to see your set-up.
good luck bud,
cm
to answer your questions.
-my discharge assemblies are as follows: 1 1/2" male tubing fitting on the buckets. with 1 1/2" flexable pvc (you can use regular pvc with a male adapter at the bucket). 90* 1 1/2" fitting leading to the main drain return line. the main drain return line is 2" leading to the top of my reservoir. the main return line is sloped down about 3/8" per foot to facilitate draining to the reservoir. there are a bunch of pics of the assembly/building process in my albums, have a look.
- cleaning the lava rocks is pretty simple. i remove as much of the roots as i can. then i dump them all in a bucket and fill with water. i swish them around and dump the water. after about 4 times, they are pretty clean. i have also just replaced the lava a couple of times. around here, they are really cheap, $5 for enough to do 6 buckets. just give them a couple days and the bennies are growing in/on them again. when i did this, i just took my cuttings the same day as adding new lava rocks. by the time i had roots, the system was ready to go.
if there is anything i can help you with, let me know. please post some pics or pm me them, i'd love to see your set-up.
good luck bud,
cm
Thanks much for the response Cravin --- my build will be very similar to yours with the exception of going with 8 buckets because I have the room. My tap water is bad...the source of the mag and calcium produces large molecules and actually inhibits water/nute uptake --- had to go to RO several years back. I'll prep the water with silicate, fulvic acid, my mix of cal-mag and some Subculture B to speed up the BB. Once I have it all together I'll post a thread with some pics...
...thanks again.....
...thanks again.....
marinemansf
Member
Two quick questions for ya crave. One, what is the name of the reflective material you have covering the buckets and we're I might be able to get some? And two, you spoke about having problems priming your water pump incase the electricity went out, and I'm having the same problem. I have to pull the pump out of the water, and then place it back in to get it going each time. Currently it's an 800gph mag drive with 6 bio buckets. I'm trying to get some root port as amazing as yours. Thanks bro.
hey marineman-
i believe the material is called 'reflectix' or something similar. i found mine at home depot and lowes near the water heaters. not too expensive either.
i put my pump in the tent under the buckets, hooked up in-line, not submerged. the pump pulls from the reservoir through 3/4" pvc. the pvc enters the tent about 18" above the floor. i ran enough pvc lower than where it enters the tent to trap water in the line that cannot return to the reservoir. so when my pump turns back on, there is enough water in the line to get the suction/flow started again. kinda hard to explain, hope you get it. think of it like the trap in the drain line under your sink.
hope i helped you out a little bit, im no expert, but i have some good experience bio-bucketing and am willing to help you out with whatever you may need...
cm
i believe the material is called 'reflectix' or something similar. i found mine at home depot and lowes near the water heaters. not too expensive either.
i put my pump in the tent under the buckets, hooked up in-line, not submerged. the pump pulls from the reservoir through 3/4" pvc. the pvc enters the tent about 18" above the floor. i ran enough pvc lower than where it enters the tent to trap water in the line that cannot return to the reservoir. so when my pump turns back on, there is enough water in the line to get the suction/flow started again. kinda hard to explain, hope you get it. think of it like the trap in the drain line under your sink.
hope i helped you out a little bit, im no expert, but i have some good experience bio-bucketing and am willing to help you out with whatever you may need...
cm
whats up sqydro. yes, i run a chiller. however, i have run without one also. my water temps reached like 74*f. i never saw a problem, but i did feel better about it with the chiller. Plus, cold water can hold more dissolved oxygen than warm. i have heard of some bio-bucket guys running much warmer with no problems. i heard that, i never tried it myself.
and yes, for me, bio-buckets do kick ass! i can't believe how long i was running without them. so simple and worry free and efficient.
cm
and yes, for me, bio-buckets do kick ass! i can't believe how long i was running without them. so simple and worry free and efficient.
cm
Im completly new with all this, been growing organic vegs and pot since the 60's; now decided to start learning indoor. so decommissioned my kitchen pantry, took the shelving mostly out, llined the walls with alumanum (SP) foil and been trying to figure how to propogate clones and stuff. but keep my store bought ones under 24/7 light until it's time to put them out
Just bought and installed a yield lab 600w HPS wing reflector digital dimming grow light and reserving the top 50 inches to bring plants to flower. So, the top of the pantry is currently 44.5 inchs wide two feet deep and 50 inchs high. Is that to small for a 600w thatg I can dim to 75 or 50%. also anybody know the best way to cool that puppy. First turned it on today, bakersfield ca. temp was mid seventys and the pantry got to the mid 80's with the light at 100% I know ducts and fans are needed, as there is no vent in the pantry and it's gona get much hotter here. what other cooling options would there be?.I heard using water? I'm afraid your all gona say my area is to small for 600w maybe but thats the only place I can do it in my little abode, unless I put a tent in my bedroom (my dear wife died a couple years ago and I guess I don't need that giant bed anymore but I wanna grow some hard little buds in my pantry. any feed back would be much appreciated, I am an old man that cant afford his medicne at the store and must do it at home. All I can look forward to is my dogs my gardens and a philosophers stone
Just bought and installed a yield lab 600w HPS wing reflector digital dimming grow light and reserving the top 50 inches to bring plants to flower. So, the top of the pantry is currently 44.5 inchs wide two feet deep and 50 inchs high. Is that to small for a 600w thatg I can dim to 75 or 50%. also anybody know the best way to cool that puppy. First turned it on today, bakersfield ca. temp was mid seventys and the pantry got to the mid 80's with the light at 100% I know ducts and fans are needed, as there is no vent in the pantry and it's gona get much hotter here. what other cooling options would there be?.I heard using water? I'm afraid your all gona say my area is to small for 600w maybe but thats the only place I can do it in my little abode, unless I put a tent in my bedroom (my dear wife died a couple years ago and I guess I don't need that giant bed anymore but I wanna grow some hard little buds in my pantry. any feed back would be much appreciated, I am an old man that cant afford his medicne at the store and must do it at home. All I can look forward to is my dogs my gardens and a philosophers stone
Wu Wei
Member
Hey seamansm, it is great to hear that you have set up a room. What is the height from the floor to the roof, is it 2foot as you stated buddy? Hps do get very hot, I would suggest a inline fan for extraction and a air cooled reflector to hook up to it. But if the total height is 2 foot then CFL would be the best option friend! I am very sorry to hear about your dear wife I hope all is well for you.
I am quite sure tents are cheap I bought mine for £45 brand new of ebay (4x4 1.2 meters squared) but I am in the UK. Hope to hear back from you soon buddy, take care!
Peace Brother
Last edited:
marinemansf
Member
Hey guys! I just wanted drop in and offer a little help. If you are thinking about running bio buckets seaman, i started a grow journal for my current run (link in my signature) and the author of this post (cravin morehead) has helped me a TON throughout my grow. He really knows what he's doing! I think my post would answer alot of your questions. And I would highly suggest running bio buckets if your still unsure what method you want to run. They are the best of every type of hydro grow. Below is a link to the Holy grail of Bio bucket threads. Full of great info! The best thing about bio buckets is they are almost automated after initial setup. No ph checking, no water changes, nothing. Just top with nutes once a week and your good for another week. And cravin has one of the best setups for this system, he really put a lot of thought into how he made his, and made it an even better system than bigtokes original. Do a little reading on it and let me know what you think, hope that helps.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=8182
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=8182
thanks for the props marineman!!
wu wei was right, aircooled reflector is the way to go. especially in Bakersfield. but not all is lost with the wing reflector you got. 600w is a little much for that space, but dialed down, it should be fine. for cooling, try a passive intake system. which is, a fan pulling hot air out of your space (with a carbon filter on it to prevent odors form letting others know what you're doing) and exhausting somewhere away from your grow (window,attic,etc) the fresh air intake should be located down low and has no fan on it. just a light trap to control light/dark inside. the key is to make the intake opening twice as big as the size fan exhausting the pantry. so, if you are using a 6" inline fan for heat exhausting, the passive intake openings need to be 12" or equal in area. this system creates negative pressure inside the pantry and does not let smell escape without passing through the carbon filter. there is a ton of stuff to think about when designing a grow. you are on the right site to learn. i have no problem helping you design a system. however you may get more/better help if you try to open a thread in either new growers, micro grows, or growroom design. there are lots of helpful people on here.
did you want to try bio-buckets? or stick with what you know about organic soil growing? these are big considerations and will help to dictate how you set up your space.
cm
ps- loose lips sink ships. don't tell anyone about your grow. here in california, we got to worry about people coming to rip you off more than the cops...
wu wei was right, aircooled reflector is the way to go. especially in Bakersfield. but not all is lost with the wing reflector you got. 600w is a little much for that space, but dialed down, it should be fine. for cooling, try a passive intake system. which is, a fan pulling hot air out of your space (with a carbon filter on it to prevent odors form letting others know what you're doing) and exhausting somewhere away from your grow (window,attic,etc) the fresh air intake should be located down low and has no fan on it. just a light trap to control light/dark inside. the key is to make the intake opening twice as big as the size fan exhausting the pantry. so, if you are using a 6" inline fan for heat exhausting, the passive intake openings need to be 12" or equal in area. this system creates negative pressure inside the pantry and does not let smell escape without passing through the carbon filter. there is a ton of stuff to think about when designing a grow. you are on the right site to learn. i have no problem helping you design a system. however you may get more/better help if you try to open a thread in either new growers, micro grows, or growroom design. there are lots of helpful people on here.
did you want to try bio-buckets? or stick with what you know about organic soil growing? these are big considerations and will help to dictate how you set up your space.
cm
ps- loose lips sink ships. don't tell anyone about your grow. here in california, we got to worry about people coming to rip you off more than the cops...
tokersmoke
Member
Im a little late to the party Cravin but im definetly giving a big thumbs up!!More then enough evidence for me to build a bucket!Thanks for sharing!!
you got it buddy and thanks alot. you're welcome anytime buudy
cm
cm
tokersmoke
Member
We were promised pics this weekend!!!Hopefully i can get roots like that!
sorry buddy, this grow was over about a year ago. still, smoking on it though. but, i'll add a couple current grow pics here if you want them. yes, your roots can be just like these, if you follow the parameters closely...
cm
cm
