Do you need to add a fan to help circulate air throughout the reservoir? What type of conditions would cause you to have to do such a thing. If you do need to add a fan which direction should you have it blowing? This is the final piece in completing my system. Got my Lil babies vegging I've included some pictures to help explain my questions the first one is a picture of a reservoir I saw earlier in the thread with compact fans and the last one being my new Bio Bucket system that I just finished building.

[kp^]

Originally Posted by DankaholicO

Do you need to add a fan to help circulate air throughout the reservoir? What type of conditions would cause you to have to do such a thing. If you do need to add a fan which direction should you have it blowing? This is the final piece in completing my system. Got my Lil babies vegging I've included some pictures to help explain my questions the first one is a picture of a reservoir I saw earlier in the thread with compact fans and the last one being my new Bio Bucket system that I just finished building.

You don't need a fan over the rez, but its suggested; A fan helps cool the water and also adds O2 into the water....

I've have a 80mm fan mounted almost directly over my waterfall... I find that the fan really helps cool water temps during those hot days. It stays on 24/7!

Nice setup btw. What type of drain hose is that going into the 4" white pipe?

Peace, and happy growing!

[BudGood]

Originally Posted by kp^

You don't need a fan over the rez, but its suggested; A fan helps cool the water and also adds O2 into the water....

I would have to respectfully disagree with you, a fan blowing on the waterfall IS necessary, unless you add a chiller, which is much more costly than a decent fan. I have a "Blizzard" fan (I think made by Holmes) pointing directly at my waterfall, it cools the water quite a bit, and adds O2 (I've not used one airstone in the past in my BB system, some do, not I nor BigToke do however). Heres a couple of pics to show you what I mean:






Hope that helps!

[kp^]

Originally Posted by BudGood

I would have to respectfully disagree with you, a fan blowing on the waterfall IS necessary, unless you add a chiller, which is much more costly than a decent fan. I have a "Blizzard" fan (I think made by Holmes) pointing directly at my waterfall, it cools the water quite a bit, and adds O2 (I've not used one airstone in the past in my BB system, some do, not I nor BigToke do however). Heres a couple of pics to show you what I mean:

[img]https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=8592&pictu reid=154727&thumb=1img]
[img]https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=8592&pictu reid=154726&thumb=1img]

Hope that helps!

BudGood
Hey there.. Hows yer room/ladies doing? Last I saw was some giant AK's in there!

I don't think I was very clear :( I would also agree with you that a fan blowing on the waterfall IS necessary... But I would ask, does it need to be a permanent fixture depending on room conditions, chiller etc...

I have an 80mm fan, and a 1/4 chiller for 85 gallons of water... If I did not have a chiller, my water would get to hot, kill the beneficials, root rot would set in and my plants would die. That's the reality of chiller or no chiller in my circumstances. A fan alone would not bring my water temp down.. but adding it with a chiller is a 'cheap' way to add O2.

Airstones? This system is designed not to utilize airstones.. Like BudGood says, some use em.. he nor BT does... I do not either.. My 11" waterfall does a pretty good job.

I do believe BT suggest to add a fan to add O2 and help colonize those BB's when you first start your BB system..... after that.... I have never seen a pic from BT that shows a fan blowing over his rez.... I wonder if he has one out of picture or something?

To me and you, its a cheap way to help chill the water...

I hope we've answered and cleared up any questions pertaining to this....

Happy growing all!

Can Bio-Buckets be done without a waterfall.

Im growing in a loft with very little height, so am looking to build a Bio-bucket system without the water fall effect. Basicly an RDWC connected to tap and using lava rocks.

Can this work?

I run the system for 2 weeks before putting plants in ? plain water or with nutes?

Thanks

[BudGood]

Originally Posted by J.Magical

Can Bio-Buckets be done without a waterfall.

Im growing in a loft with very little height, so am looking to build a Bio-bucket system without the water fall effect. Basicly an RDWC connected to tap and using lava rocks.

Can this work?

I run the system for 2 weeks before putting plants in ? plain water or with nutes?

Thanks

If I were you, I would try to create a waterfall somehow, using a trashcan or something similar, it's needed for: oxygenation, cooling and colonization of beneficials, all 3 are very important. Attempting to recreate this system without it's most important component is pissing in the wind, IMHO.

You run it with nutes in it. You can do it without, I think having nutrients helps the beneficials to get a foothold quicker. Yes, 2 weeks, until the water feels "slimy".

Originally Posted by BudGood

If I were you, I would try to create a waterfall somehow, using a trashcan or something similar, it's needed for: oxygenation, cooling and colonization of beneficials, all 3 are very important. Attempting to recreate this system without it's most important component is pissing in the wind, IMHO.

You run it with nutes in it. You can do it without, I think having nutrients helps the beneficials to get a foothold quicker. Yes, 2 weeks, until the water feels "slimy".

OK, will do this.

Also I have thought about running my cold air intake into the resevoir and then out the other side through the water fall effect. It can have the double effect of cooling the resevoir and cooling the 600w cooltube or the grow space itself (small grow space)

That way also any creepies will get just get washed into the resevoir.

Have decided to just go with ebb/flow because dwc/bio-buckets is going to be way too difficult in the loft (not enough height and too much heat).

If I had a basement id definately do it.

Hi J. Magical... I've been running a BB system for the past 3 months or so. Will be harvesting this weekend.
My buckets sit about 6" off the floor. My waterfall is only a couple of inches high.
I was worried about height as well, so I supplemented the waterfall with an Aquarium Powerhead. Cheap and works great. Check out my thread in my signature for details.

The BB system will definitely yield a lot more from the same number of plants. Something to keep in mind. It's about as low maintenance as it gets as well.
I stick my head in once a day to see how things are going, check the EC/pH, which I can do at a glance with the trimeter, close the door and get on with other things.

Caz

[jordan471]

can i use a kitchen silicone sealer, i already have a lot and its approved for food storage containers?