[BudGood2006]

Hello to all. Some of you I know, some of you I am meeting for ...the very first time.


I built a Bio-Bucket system many moons ago. I'm sure the build thread is around here somewhere. Anyhow, since my hiatus from IC, I've revised it a bit, with a bigger pump and intake manifold. Also, I now have 3-600w HPS lighting the area instead of 2. (Area is 4x8)

Here are some pics from the first few weeks (veg and flowering). The rate of growth is amazing, especially once the beneficials are fully established. I put the clones in after only 6 days of colonizing time. I'm still using the same lava rocks from the first time, they've made it through many grows (I soak them in peroxide solution for a day or so and rinse thoroughly with a powerfulwater sprayer).

Nutrients are Dutchmaster Gold series with some of their Max Flower additive. The rocks are releasing plenty of silica, so I don't use their Silica as they recommend. Also, I don't use Zone, which is a root zone "cleaner". The beneficial bacteria do that job just fine. Since I've tried Gold, I have no desire to use anything else, as the rate of growth is explosive (even more than standard Bio-Bucket growth levels), and the taste from the buds (and hash) is superb imho. I was using 50/50 ro/tap water, but have been using tap since my ro needs new filters.

I almost forgot to mention, I have a flipflop going. The other side is lighting a soil grow, trying to find some new moms. In the soil room I have Hashberry, GodbudxDreamweaver, Orange Diesel, AK and Bubbleberry. In the hydro is 9 Bubbleberry and 1 AK.


Anyway, on to the pictures!

































Any questions/comments welcome.

Looks great bud.

[Belthane]

Hi there

I like your set up bro. Bio buckets is how i found IC Mag 4 months ago, and have been researching, while gathering my materials. The current dirt grow will be finishing up couple weeks, can start to assemble.
One question for ya. How tall do you let em go before the flower switch?

Looks great man, ty for posting the growth show

[BudGood2006]

Rule, thanks dude. It's been awhile since I was last here. How goes it?


Belthane, thank you and you're welcome. I flip em when they start showing good growth, both vegetative and root. Bio-Buckets are so easy, it's almost TOO easy! Seriously, this is the best system for people who are (A) busy or (B) lazy. I work between 40-70 hours a week, so this system works well for me. Good luck on your setup!

[Wonderkid420]

Do you ever have any rootzone problems primarily root rot? I was considering doing bio-buckets but I heard for a beginner ( which I know you're not) it can get difficult keeping away the evil root rot, is this true? and if so what countermeasures do you take?

[BudGood2006]

Wonderkid420 Hello! No, I've never had any root rot problems. I've never done hydro any other way, although I've had much experience with soil before I started Bio-Buckets. So the way I see it, I was a beginner to hydro when I undertook this.

Keep in mind, my res sits on a concrete floor in a basement, my pump is external (submersibles heat the water) and my res is outside the grow area, all of which help keep my water temps optimal (around 67-70F is where my temp usually stays). I recommend using a pump bigger than you think you need, because many different things can affect how much water the pump is actually moving. For example, if you calculate you need a 1500 gph pump, you need to factor in head pressure , amount of bends in the intake plumbing, the pipe size, etc, in order to know what the pump is actually outputting pressure-wise. A 1500 gph pump could only be outputting 1000 or 900 depending on the above factors. I cant remember what size my pump is, but it is definitely more than big enough for my grow. You can adjust the flow down if it's too much, using the ball valves before each bucket.

I'm extremely high, so pardon me for rambling.

Nice thread bro im glad the bio buckets worked out for ya.... gonna look good when they get flipped....

[nano]

I just have a question, I plan on bulding a system like yours, but usually in my ebb and flow I use peroxyde. I know I must not use peroxyde in bio-bucket, so If I only used hygrozyme (I use that too) in the buckets, would that be good enough to keep rot away? I know temps are supposed to be low, but my reservoir always stays between 70 and 75 so this concerns me a bit.

[opt1c]

nice setup man... i take it the buckets are sitting on a table?

Have you experimented with other brands of nutes before? Addatives? What ec are you running the Gold at?

I've just gotten my own buckets running thanks to ICmag, and BigToke especially. I'm using the standard GH 3part series but i'm always interested in experimenting. Nice to see someone else doing the same thing.

BTW... i went from soil to coco to bio-buckets myself.

-opt1c

[BudGood2006]

Blunted22, they're in flowering already. I flipped em after the 3rd pic, the last one with the metal halide. They're at day 36 now. I took some pics last night. Finally got the date and time set correctly on that damn camera!


nano, I don't use anything to prevent rot. As I said in a previous post, I think its important to keep flow high and temp in an acceptable range. I've never used Hygrozyme, but I can tell you the beneficial bacteria (which are great because they are FREE) do some seriously amazing things for the plants. Can you get a chiller or perhaps make a "room within a room" to keep the majority of the heat away from the water? Try wrapping your piping and buckets with insulation too. I used silver reflective tape on the buckets (after a layer of black plastic and regular duct tape) to prevent light and heat getting in. Also, don't run your pump as a submersible, it creates a lot of heat. I use peroxide only to clean the system between grows.


opt1c, thanks! And, yes, I built a custom table (and room) for the system. I tried using GH 3 part before, keeping it as close as possible to BigTokes specs. I had good results with GH, but amazing results with Gold. I have been keeping it at around 1500 ppm. Nice to see others doing this system, it truely is a stoners DIY dream!


Now, to the pictures:













The Bubbleberry is a leafy beast, but the buds are great (so are the trics, which are not in short supply on these babies). In the last picture you can see the AK47 right in the middle (I know, I know, I probably shouldn't be running multiple strains in the same system. Meh, it's working.) Sorry I didn't have time to color correct these, it's been a hectic day.