big plant ppk

[DamnUglyDogE]

are there any other valid choices for a top tub? TSC has them for pickup only. i really wanna build one to try out. im a big fan of DIY hydro. on a second thought, i cant find turface or similar here either. a sense of impending doom is surrounding my project dreams already lol. i can get small red lava rock at lowes and thats about it.

Any horse and tackle shop will carry those...
I would imagine online as well...

I have yet to have a real issue with any of the media mixes i have used... IDK, maybe im not getting some kind of growth or something
im missing but seems to me there really are a ton of ways you can fill a pot with a PPK system...

Straight perlite turned out a great set of roots and beautiful ladies as of late and I for one would Dig seeing some soil or peat or lava or marbles...lol

2 Cents...





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[DamnUglyDogE]

Most farm supply stores should carry something similar to the tractor supply containers DH. Not sure if the lava rock has enough wicking ability for a ppk, but it's possible. Maybe a test is in order

Ya beat me to it...

Is it just me or does the wicking ability seem less and less important with the Wide pot design ? Beyond a back up if pumps fail...

If your not going to be weeks away at a time.
would it really make a difference in growth or anything...

I still see need for the tail piece(s) and PWT level yet I dont think of wicking anymore...

I want to see a marble grow...

Crushed screened and well washed lava would be interesting ta say the least...

2 + 2 = 4 cents...

 

[disciple]

 

[DamnUglyDogE]

I would love to see a PPK 10 commandments....

 

[otis33]

are there any other valid choices for a top tub? TSC has them for pickup only. i really wanna build one to try out. im a big fan of DIY hydro. on a second thought, i cant find turface or similar here either. a sense of impending doom is surrounding my project dreams already lol. i can get small red lava rock at lowes and thats about it.

I'm running my ppks with chow mix 50/50 coco clay pebbles with the tail pieces filled with coco only..... mine are the old style buckets with sidewall holes. many have had problems with coco, I did my first 2 runs with straight coco and had no issues. these are my first runs in chow, but so far so good...

 

[Desert Hydro]

are your containers from the tack and feed store soft flexible rubber rubber feeling? that seems to be all i can find around here. if not i will improvise. yours look like a hard plastic rather than a flexible rubber.

 

[FlowerFarmer]

They are hard plastic. Rubber feed pans seemed to be all I could find as well. I had to have TSC order the correct ones in for me. (the identical ones shown above that D9 uses)

Any wide tube that holds around 5 gal of media should do the trick. Maybe you can find some kind of dish pan or beverage/cooler type of tub. (the kind with the rope handles)

Go to walmart website and look for the following.
Mainstays Kids 10-Gallon Rope Tub, Set of 6
6pc for $30. They are 10 gallon, but perhaps you could cut them down a bit, or simply not fill all the way. I'm unsure of the dimensions, just looking at the pics and providing examples.

 

[Desert Hydro]

i was gonna buy a few of those for my big rockwool trees anyways so i guess i could simply cut them down a bit for the ppk setup and they are half the price of the tuff tubs too. my only problem i forsee is headroom. my tent is only 6.5' tall lol. if the plants are in tall ass buckets/tubs im killing my headroom but at least im going vert and not hanging reflectors so i may be ok?

 

[disciple]

 

[high life 45]

..

 

[gregor_mendel]

Desert Hydro

You could either screen the larger lava rocks out, or add peat until you reach 30% air filled porosity (or whatever our goal is here). Add 1 cup of calcium carbonate (calcite) to each cubic foot of your moistened peat first for CEC base saturation. You can pick up the peat up at Lowe's while you are getting the lava rock. If Lowe's doesn't have calcite, a feed store will, at less than $10 for a 50 pound bag.

gregor_mendel

 

[disciple]

 

[Big John]

Ya beat me to it...

Is it just me or does the wicking ability seem less and less important with the Wide pot design ? Beyond a back up if pumps fail...

If your not going to be weeks away at a time.
would it really make a difference in growth or anything...

I still see need for the tail piece(s) and PWT level yet I dont think of wicking anymore...

I want to see a marble grow...

Crushed screened and well washed lava would be interesting ta say the least...

2 + 2 = 4 cents...

I think the wicking ability is a really great feature, no one wants a total crop failure if your timer goes bad or the power cord gets kicked. It's one of those things that probably won't happen, but it sure makes it easier to sleep at night.

 

[Desert Hydro]

i should be able to source pumice locally as well and its not so damn heavy lol. gonna run my bulk rockwool this round but i may set up a ppk for next round and get all the bugs worked out before i even need it

 

[DamnUglyDogE]

I think the wicking ability is a really great feature, no one wants a total crop failure if your timer goes bad or the power cord gets kicked. It's one of those things that probably won't happen, but it sure makes it easier to sleep at night.

I wanna see a marble grow PPK plant. .

Screw the what if's. .
No guts~~No glory. ..

​

 

[Desert Hydro]

i feel like marbles would need to be flooded like every 30 min or so lol. no porosity at all, no wicking and no room for error lol. with that being said, isnt one of the benefits of hydro the frequent feedings and increased growth? im thinking pumice or growstones for mine, but probably pumice in pea size since thats what i can get locally

 

[DamnUglyDogE]

i feel like marbles would need to be flooded like every 30 min or so lol. no porosity at all, no wicking and no room for error lol. with that being said, isnt one of the benefits of hydro the frequent feedings and increased growth? im thinking pumice or growstones for mine, but probably pumice in pea size since thats what i can get locally

No one ever said marbles were a good idea...
Just want to see it done..

A smart grower stays with the 30% air filled porosity and ignores the stoner in the corner yelling.. GO AHEAHD BRO... You got this shit... JUMP>>>>> Splat....

Listen to the pros bro.. Work some magic and stay green...

Peace...

 

[Desert Hydro]

my quest to build my first PPK has lead me on multiple wild goose chases throughout town. one after another. i was in a pretty good mood until it was one fail after another. the worst by far was looking for the carlon fittings. i have no hydro store so i thought these would be perfect and locally available. wrong again. checked lowes and they didnt have them. checked the HD website and they said they had them so i drove across town only to find out they had replaced the carlon one with a shitty looking different brand even though it says they have them.......ughh. i ordered them off amazon and now im gonna have to wait until they show up. i was hoping to build everything today. shit.

on a lighter note, i bought my hose, pvc, hose clamps, rez tub, tailpieces etc. my nursery was out of pumice stone. fail again. cant find turface or the like even though there are baseball fields EVERYWHERE here lol. im gonna get er done eventually even if i have to drive shitty distance to get what i need. it will make the success that much better feeling knowing the struggle i went through to build this beast!

 

[Desert Hydro]

im really contemplating a straight perlite ppk or a mix between perlite and lava rock. i can get both locally but thats about it.

i found some calcined clay at a local nusery but its is mostly a powder with very little chunks of clay. it wont work unless i wanna make mud. i will keep calling places i guess lol

 

[Mister_D]

You might try hitting up napa for some bags of "floor dry". I've been using it as a perlite replacement for a couple years, it's better in every way. Bonsai tree growers have used it for decades also. Totally inert, doesn't float, doesn't crumble, reusable, excellent drainage and water retention, wicks well, etc. I suspect it would work equally well when compared to turface.