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Pipedream"s 150w Tiny Bubbler System

stub

Member
Addes cfls to the back corners

Addes cfls to the back corners

:joint:
Wuddup Pipe,

I added some cfls about a week ago and can tell a noticeable difference. Nute/water uptake has increased and bud growth is more aggressive. I added 2 100w ultra brite cfls inside drinking glasses with saran wrap and zip ties to hold it all together with some foil as reflectors. Cheeeesy but effective.

Question: Do you start counting flowering time when 12/12 starts or when the plants actually sex and start flowering? I think my anticipated harvest of 12-22 is a little premature based on how the plants are looking. I think I may need to add another two weeks.

Pic with flash


Pic without flash


Pic of nice bud on older plant


Pic of cola bud on older plant


Pic of middle plants top pulled down 90 degrees with pipe cleaners. This plant is nearly six feet tall from bottom of bucket to tip.


Pic of various branches pulled down with pipe cleaners


My box has a total of 5 feet 4 inches of grow space from the bottom to the glass at the top and these guys are using up all of it. WW grows tall fo sho!
 

Pipedream

Proudly Growing My Own Since 1969
Veteran
Lookin' good there Stub.

To tell the truth, I never really count or try to figure out flowering times that close. When things are in full swing here, my plants are at all different stages. I just keep an eye on the glands and harvest the ladies when they reach my desired stage of decay. (amber)
 

stub

Member
I plan on heading over to radio shack to pick up a magnifier so I can see what those little dudes look like. Thanks again for the advice!
 
E

easyrasta

I love your tutorial here bro,
what you do for these guys is awesome
Peace
Ez
 

The St.

Member
hey Pipe! i was just wondering what your temps and humidity were usually like? my 150w box is staying around 78-84 with 16% humidity, and they seem grow sooooo slow when the humidity is that low. what can i do? also, ive been thinking about going DWC and making a similar set up to yours, what size air pump should be used for buckets your size? i see the suggested size fish tank on the box, but whats a good size for growing, haha!?!

thanks bro!

oh, by the way, did you get those tomatoes out of that box yet or what?!?! hahaha!
 

Pipedream

Proudly Growing My Own Since 1969
Veteran
:rasta:

The temps i the top of my box constantly run in the 90 degree range. And on hot summer days, can creep up to 95. Is it perfect? No way. However, the strain I usually grow is a true local Jamaican Sativa. The seed are from plants that grow outdoors there and have for decades. As a result, they are quite at home in the high temp range. When I throw some other strain into the box, I do all I can to bring the temps down a few degrees. But as the box is not in an airconditioned environment, during hot weather there is just no way they get below 84. I'd give my left nut to have temps constantly in the high 70's. However at age 55 I find I still use it on a very regular basis and would miss it sorely if it were gone.

As far as humidity goes, keep this in mind..... My set-up relys on 6 buckets of water constantly bubbling away in a confined area. Add to this, the high transpiration rate of plants in a hyrdoponic system, the fact that the growing medium is designed to wick moisture up to the surface for consumption, and the high temps in the box, and you have all the perfect conditions for excessive humidity. Remember, the warmer any volume of air is, the more moisture it can hold. As a result, my relative humidity flirts around 50%

If I was growing an Indica or using a larger bulb, either of which might produce tighter colas, these conditions would be perfect for the growth of mold in the dark damp center of a bud. As it is, I've only experienced that issue once and now prevent it with a small additional fan blowing on the buds as they reach maturity.

Lastly, there is no magic number or formula for the size of an airpump. Just go as big as your budget will allow. You can't have too much air going thru the water, but you can have too little. My only suggestion is to stay away from the mechanical dual piston-type pump you see in my set-up. While they move a ton of air, they require constant maintenance and oiling, and make a bit of noise.

:rasta:
 

The St.

Member
ah, ok. so i guess my temps arent really going to kill my plants then. im just worried about my humidity, i cant find a way to raise it without raising the temps. theyre growing but, but slowly. however, id settle for a neutical in place of a nut for ideal conditions haha! but, i didnt even consider the fact that theres bubbling buckets of water raising your humidity :kos: ....
i will be growing a few indicas, and some indica/sativa mixes (i will be making another chamber for mothers) so my lack of humidity will do well in flowering i guess(?).
when i do get my dwc set up going, ill be getting a/some regular fishtank air pump(s). and using that set up for my flowering cab.

thanks alot man!

Peace!
 

beadwindow2001

New member
For the lighting. Are you able to go through the entire grow cycle using only CFL lights or should you switch to HPS later on in the grow cycle?
 

Pipedream

Proudly Growing My Own Since 1969
Veteran
:rasta:

While some micro-growers do use CFL's from start to finish, my system is really based on the 150w HPS lamp. And, I do use it from sprouting all the way through harvest. It produces far more than CFL's could on their own. I only use the CFL's to supplement the HPS and not even all of the time at that. If you are interested in growing with CFL's check out the "Micro Grow" thread. You find some great folks there just waiting to lend a hand.

:Wave:
 
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Pipedream

Proudly Growing My Own Since 1969
Veteran
:rasta:

True, but if you read closely you'll realize that there in no circulating water in this system. In fact, there is no plumbing at all. The only thing I move is air.

The placement of the ballast and air-pumps below the shelf delivers much-needed warmth to the buckets in the winter months, as the entire unit resides in an unheated environment.

You make a good point though for many other systems in which liquids are being circulated.

:wave:
 
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stub

Member
George-Don't be hatin the Pipe playa! Rules were meant to be broken eventually, did'nt ya know that by now? If you played by the rules you wouldnt be verbalizin about the herbalizin now would ya?

Pipe-How have you been doing? I am a few days into flush and am gonna give em a couple of days of darkness before the final chop. Looking back I am amazed at what these little buckets can do. Here is a couple of picks of white widow grown under the 150w hps with the info that Pipe hooked us up with. I owe you much thanks my fellow herbologist.





I will probably be chopping these down in the next 24-48 hours. Can't wiat to get a taste of the home gown for the first time!!!! I have 8 clones that should be showing roots any day now, the best 4 will keep the crop going and the rest will be given away.

This has been a great experience! I am going to make some changes on the next go around. The first thing is to brighten it up a bit with some white paint like you mentioned. I would also like to increase water circulation in the bucket a bit as well but am not sure how to go about it yet, still thinking. I also learned that the Botanicare Pure Blend Pro nutes I am using should not be in contact with hydrogen peroxide (per botanicare website). Apparently these "organic" nutes need beneficial bacteria to breakdown the organic particles into a form the plant can directly use. H202 will effectively harm the beneficial as well as the bad bacteria. H202 apparently does not affect the more "chemical" nutes as they are in a form readily absorbed by the plant. Supposedly, I don't know jack $#!^ yet. Fortunately the capful once a week advice is sound and should not ever get anyone into trouble, it actually really helped to clear what I now think is something called "pythium" All I know is that some sweet nugs are coming my way despite my lack of experience. Thanks for your advice, you never pointed me in the wrong direction. You provided me with what you do with your setup/nutes and all that and it really helped me out. I know the next grow will be even better.

It is important that everyone remember to calibrate their ph and tds meter. Especially their ph meter. Mine was off by over 1/2 a ph for about...maybe 2-3 weeks and that contributed to the "bad" fungi buldup.
 

Pipedream

Proudly Growing My Own Since 1969
Veteran
:rasta:

stub - what can I say but "wow" and "thanks for the kind words". The ladies look fantastic. I would be pleased myself if it were one of my crops. Its very tough to tell the maturity from the pictures, so by what method did you decide to proceed with the chop? From here, they look like they could go a bit longer.

:wave:
 

stub

Member
Pipe,
Yeah it was tough for me to really know for sure since this is my first. It has been 11 weeks since 12/12 started and over 9 weeks since I knew they were ladies. The branches are bending quite a bit from the weight of the buds. There is a mixture of trich color as well, some places clear, some cloudy and some amber. You are probably right, they could go longer but I mostly got tired of waiting and don't want to buy it anymore. Everyday has been tougher and tougher to wait, especially since i thought Christmas would be a good harvest time. I could tell then even as a newb they were'nt ready but now it is alot tougher for me to tell.
 

Pipedream

Proudly Growing My Own Since 1969
Veteran
:rasta:

I almost always go by trich color. I need a heavy narcotic feel to help out with the pain, so I usually let them go 70 to 80% amber/brown. However, even if you don't look at the trichs, you want to see the pistels going brown. As long as the buds are producing new pistels faster than they are dying, the buds are still growing and swelling. Try to hang in there a while longer, the wait will surely be worth it if you can.

:wave:
 

stub

Member
Pipe,

It might be too late for me now. I switched to plain water on the 1-3-08 and have had it in the dark now for approx 28 hours. Should I kick back on the lights to 12/12 and add nutes? Or should I just harvest? How bad am I screwin up here? Is this gonna be good smoke as is or really weak? You got me worried now mon!
 
Great thread, and PD, you are truly a pioneer in the field. Good on ya.

Can you provide a schematic breakdown of how you did the airline system for the buckets? I like the idea of using a bigger pump and manifolding them off to aerate multiple bucket as I'd like to do a 4 pot version of yours but with bigger tubs (in the 3-5 gallon size, actually). But I'm having issues seeing the entire breakdown of how to hook up the air lines and such. A picture would help as well.

Thank you muchly! :D
 

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