bobblepods v2.0. bobbleracks revamped.

[bobblehead]

So with the help I've been getting... and a lot of thinking... I redid my veg, again... It's been getting cold so I decided I should move the veg down to the basement to help warm things up down there. I've been sending the heat from the veg to the attic until now. I built a shelf to root cuts above, and hold my t5 below for pre-vegging plants and moms. Ultra-sonic fogger-humidifier box, with extra shelving for clones. Those flats with perlite are my clones for the next grow. I have to take more cuts. I'm gonna fill this thing up ompletely.

and just as I'm posting this... My bonsai hero electric scissors are here... I'm prepared for heavy harvests.

 

[Mister_D]

Megayields - Thanks man Love your avatar too, cracks me up everytime I see it. Any idea where you found it? I'd like to send a bigger version to a friend of mine that's a die hard cat lover. Kind of fits with an inside joke we have going.

Bobble - Man I need to catch up before you go hitting the next level. Makin me look bad already . Seriously though, with DHF's help and your ambition you will kill it no doubts. Just some dialing and thinking standing in your way. I've been stuck at around 2lbs per 600 in dialed multi-light setups for a couple years now, but thats with trees and long veg times. You, lawlow, megayields and a couple others here at the vert forum have me thinking I should just bite the bullet and up my plant numbers. Not getting any younger after all . Strongly considering switching up to something like your bobblepods. Anyway just make sure you detail your progress so myself and others can learn from your trials. 3 gpw is in your future. Now like fred says handle it, baby shit. I'll be watchin....

 

[Anti]

and just as I'm posting this... My bonsai hero electric scissors are here... I'm prepared for heavy harvests.

I just watched a couple of vids on youtube of people using those. Did yours come with two trimmers? Looks way easier than trimming with fiskars, that's for sure.

A lot less arthritis-inducing, too. Definitely let me know what your opinion of those turns out to be.

 

[GMax]

respect

 

[DHF]

Well Fred mine is regularly over $800 per month......but Santa Cruz PGE actually asks you on a form " are you growing medicinal marijuana?"......I've never had to fill out the form but for obvious reasons.....I'm really not worried at all.....it's good to live in the 95060[/quote Ahhh the promised land ....Hell Mega.....If they ran down all ya`ll hippie`s growin dope on da left coast from the powerbills they`d be kickin in every other door.......

The rest of us poor bastards gotta git in where we fit in flyin under radar with as low an amp draw as possible for safety`s sake but still keep rotations flowin for the portfolio....

Go get em Bobbles....waitin on dialage....looks like this run oughta nail down some shit....Luv da lectric squizzers....

Peace.....Freds..........

 

[AOD2012]

Incredible homey. Doing great. If anyone can do this, it will be you, and honestly, now that I have 1800 watts running, Im gonna try and really get over 1.5 gpw. Just gotta grow my mommas a lil bigger like tyou, and take a shit ton of clones. Haha dude its hilarious, you start using perlite as a cloning medium, and it stops working for me! Haha now I have been flushing brand new coco with a light feed and 3ml, of 35% h202, and i Have been getting roots in 10 days!


Dude, keep fucking rocking, and I really hope maybe one day we can all get together and burn a fatty. Hmmm......Icmag 420 cup is sounding like a reallly good idea right now. Keep it green homey.



aod

 

[~Shhh~]

electric scissors ftw! Nice !!

 

[Grizz]

go bobble go, I myself hate the aero cloners to. mine is in the garage SOMEWHERE lol. I went back to the old dome cloners with rapid rooters, i modified the bottom pan though, i put 2 of those plastic air tubes on the bottom and hot glued them down and hooked a air pump to them, put a 1in spacer in and put just enough water in to cover air tubes set my tray on top of spacers and never looked back. getting 90 to 100 % everytime for the last year. this saved my bacon when i was running a perpetual stadium.

 

[megayields]

Well Fred mine is regularly over $800 per month......but Santa Cruz PGE actually asks you on a form " are you growing medicinal marijuana?"......I've never had to fill out the form but for obvious reasons.....I'm really not worried at all.....it's good to live in the 95060[/quote Ahhh the promised land ....Hell Mega.....If they ran down all ya`ll hippie`s growin dope on da left coast from the powerbills they`d be kickin in every other door.......

The rest of us poor bastards gotta git in where we fit in flyin under radar with as low an amp draw as possible for safety`s sake but still keep rotations flowin for the portfolio....

Go get em Bobbles....waitin on dialage....looks like this run oughta nail down some shit....Luv da lectric squizzers....

Peace.....Freds..........

Fred your right....I am planning on building the "MEGAPODS"...in early spring, to be honest with the 3 separate business and a full time OTR job, I have to prioritize, and with recent events outside of my control coming down.....I have to get one of those 3 business into hi gear toot suite.....I always wonder where " HELL" is, but I know DHF is their waiting for us

 

[bobblehead]

Somethings big is happening right now in this country... People are taking to the streets, the "Occupy" movement has left the parks and now they're taking bridges and subways... We are part of this movement by choice or not. Every one of you growing a cannabis plant is occupying. Let the government know you won't stand for injustice.

The DEA only has so many agents... And they're part of the 99%... This week all across the country, the DEA has shut down a lot of dispensaries. I want to know why they aren't using their manpower to fight the cartel that's making their way ever further north into our country. It's time they stop working against us, and start working with us. Keep out the competition. Stop the violence.

Overgrow.

 

[megayields]

Speak your truth man.....fight the power.....( fist raised)...... I can get pretty mad for a white guy ....watch out Obummer!

 

[Mister_D]

Alright bobble, just finished reading all you threads again and have two questions.

1. I'm planning to build bobblepods with the addition of rain gutter drains ala heath's design (http://strainguide.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/heaths-vertical-racks-strainguide.html). My question is when you water, being the pots are at a 45 deg angle, will the run off drain out the bottom edge (same area heath's hard pots drain) or does water leak from the side of the pots? I know you aim for no run off, but while dialing the system have you noticed where the excess exits the smart pot? I'll be doing RDTW, so I need to know if smart pots will work.

2. Could you elaborate a bit on how your light flip is set up? Specificly is there a timed delay when switching between pods? I have read that digital ballasts don't work with instant switching due to the soft start technology.

Thanks for your time, and especially the detailed pics and descriptions on how you set things up. Saves me from having to bug you or DHF about the weak points in my take on your design. Feeling for you on the root aphid situation, have them for the first time ever in my small room...... Handling it

 

[bobblehead]

Alright bobble, just finished reading all you threads again and have two questions.

1. I'm planning to build bobblepods with the addition of rain gutter drains ala heath's design (http://strainguide.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/heaths-vertical-racks-strainguide.html). My question is when you water, being the pots are at a 45 deg angle, will the run off drain out the bottom edge (same area heath's hard pots drain) or does water leak from the side of the pots? I know you aim for no run off, but while dialing the system have you noticed where the excess exits the smart pot? I'll be doing RDTW, so I need to know if smart pots will work.

2. Could you elaborate a bit on how your light flip is set up? Specificly is there a timed delay when switching between pods? I have read that digital ballasts don't work with instant switching due to the soft start technology.

Thanks for your time, and especially the detailed pics and descriptions on how you set things up. Saves me from having to bug you or DHF about the weak points in my take on your design. Feeling for you on the root aphid situation, have them for the first time ever in my small room...... Handling it

Thank you D! You have given the perfect example of how a question should be asked. Thank you for taking the time to read my past threads, and learn where I'm coming from to get where I am today.

Now, let's get down to business... Gutters are okay for small pots, but they're only 4-5" wide, and they're very flimsy. You're going to spend a lot of money of extra parts, like end caps, braces, etc.. the gutters themselves are cheap, but the extras cost you. Almsot like I've used them before... they're not meant to support anything, just catch water.

Recirculating your nutes isn't that great of an idea in coco... I mean yeah I'm sure lots of ppl do it and it works... But if you want dialed results, don't reuse the juice. With the addition of drip clean, you don't need a lot of runoff. In reality I have some, b/c the pots let water fall straight through, and you can't saturate the pot w/o some going through. That's why I've added trays. If you're set on using gutters, I would rather point you in the direction of dutch leach trays. Get 30-36" trays and build a hexagon. I'll probably use this design in the future.

My flip is set up so that the ballasts are off 5 mins 2x a day. They shut off at 9:00am, the flip powers on at 9:02am, the ballasts power on at 9:05am. Then the same thing except the flip powers off in the evening. Baby-shit.

I'm expecting something big from you D.

 

[madalasatori]

Bobble - the bigger your clones the bigger your yield. Grow those mums big, chops big 6" clones and your arse will follow..

 

[bobblehead]

I just watched a couple of vids on youtube of people using those. Did yours come with two trimmers? Looks way easier than trimming with fiskars, that's for sure.

A lot less arthritis-inducing, too. Definitely let me know what your opinion of those turns out to be.

sorry, I missed this question Anti. I ordered the replacement trimmers for $360... They don't tell you what size power converter you need to run the bonsai hero, but they do tell you that you can run it on a 12v car battery... So I put 2 and 2 together, and ordered a 12v power supply from China for cheap, and banana plugs. Total cost of the Bonsai Hero for bobblehead? $380. It's $540 for the whole kit from the bonsai hero retailer.

My apologies to the ppl at bonsai hero for taking $180 out of your pocket, but the 12v power supply doesn't cost that much...

 

[Mister_D]

The pleasure has been mine, as I said before you have taught an old dog some new tricks

Now then. I don't need the gutters to support anything, just collect and drain water. As you mention they are pretty narrow, this is why I am wondering where runoff exits the smart part? A picture of runoff coming from your pots would be worth a thousand words. If you've got time that is, i'm sure you're a busy guy. That is very important for me to know as I will be ordering 200 pots, and need to be sure I can use smart pots with the desired draining effect. This is what I mean by desired draining effect. Out the bottom lip, not the side.

If they won't work like I desire it's simple enough to order hard plastic pots. Prefer smart pots though, more for moving locations than anything. 200 smart pots fit in a small tote, the same cannot be said of hard plastic pots . I will revisit those dutch leach trays you mentioned. Saw them earlier in the thread, but figured gutters would be cheaper and more versatile. I better look into them a bit more I guess. I don't like flimsy shit in my grow anyway Like lazyman says "over kill is under rated"

As for recirculated juice, I think you may be right on that one. I'll probably try it both ways just to see what works best for me. Flexability is part of the design goal after all. Just one last question. How are those two 500 gph pumps working out? I only ask because heath was using almost twice as much (~1800 gph) to run 80 plant sites with slightly less head (~4ft vs your 6ft). He used open ended lines vs the basket stakes, but it seems to me a basket stake is principally the same as open end lines (both have no water restriction). I will be copying your latest design basicly to a T, so what is relevant to your grow will also apply to mine.

Not quite understanding how your flip works. I don't get how power to the relay gets shut off at 9:00, then 9:02 power to the relay comes back on, but the second pod doesn't light for 3 more mins? I'm going to read up on how to build flip for digitals right now, clearly i'm missing something...... Anyway thanks bobble. I may have some more questions for you in the future, but not many. I think i've pretty much got this worked out. Doing a google sketchup model at the moment.

 

[bobblehead]

The pleasure has been mine, as I said before you have taught an old dog some new tricks

Now then. I don't need the gutters to support anything, just collect and drain water. As you mention they are pretty narrow, this is why I am wondering where runoff exits the smart part? A picture of runoff coming from your pots would be worth a thousand words. If you've got time that is, i'm sure you're a busy guy. That is very important for me to know as I will be ordering 200 pots, and need to be sure I can use smart pots with the desired draining effect. This is what I mean by desired draining effect. Out the bottom lip, not the side.

If they won't work like I desire it's simple enough to order hard plastic pots. Prefer smart pots though, more for moving locations than anything. 200 smart pots fit in a small tote, the same cannot be said of hard plastic pots . I will revisit those dutch leach trays you mentioned. Saw them earlier in the thread, but figured gutters would be cheaper and more versatile. I better look into them a bit more I guess. I don't like flimsy shit in my grow anyway Like lazyman says "over kill is under rated"

As for recirculated juice, I think you may be right on that one. I'll probably try it both ways just to see what works best for me. Flexability is part of the design goal after all. Just one last question. How are those two 500 gph pumps working out? I only ask because heath was using almost twice as much (~1800 gph) to run 80 plant sites with slightly less head (~4ft vs your 6ft). He used open ended lines vs the basket stakes, but it seems to me a basket stake is principally the same as open end lines (both have no water restriction). I will be copying your latest design basicly to a T, so what is relevant to your grow will also apply to mine.

Not quite understanding how your flip works. I don't get how power to the relay gets shut off at 9:00, then 9:02 power to the relay comes back on, but the second pod doesn't light for 3 more mins? I'm going to read up on how to build flip for digitals right now, clearly i'm missing something...... Anyway thanks bobble. I may have some more questions for you in the future, but not many. I think i've pretty much got this worked out. Doing a google sketchup model at the moment.

It would be difficult to get a good pic of the runoff... But take my word it trickles out all over the bottom and the side of the pot that's facing down. That's why I only do a 1-2 min feed, so the nute solutuion is absorbed before breaking the water tension and runoff starts. So far 1 500gph pump has been sufficient to pump the water to each plant site. What's important is that you have enough head pressure to hit the ceiling. Heath ran hydroton, so he needed more water than me. Part of my feeding philosophy is to only give the plants a little at a time, so the lower pressure is fine for me. 2 500gph pumps, 1 on each side, evens out the pressure, so that there is water coming in both sides on each level.

The solution to getting your runoff to land in gutters would be to put down a flat piece of plastic with some plastic grid on top of it to raise the pot up... Rather than piece all that together, I recommend the dutch leach trays, b/c they're solid and you can set the pots right in them, and build your racks around them. This is the direction I'm headed. I'm going to frame in my new rooms, and build shelving into the walls to hold dutch leach trays. 1 36" leach tray can hold 2 bobblebags.

When you read more about the flip, you'll understand. The ballasts power on and off, and the flip powers on OR off in between. There is no power running through the flip relays when the power is applied or turned off. They are controlled by separate timers.

 

[DHF]

Ok....Let`s go ta school on basket stakes and 1/4" open end drip tube comin out of tophat grommets from a 3/4" cpvc hard plumbed loopfield up , down , and all around the bloom room feedin individual smartpots on multiple levels.........so...

First off....had my angled racks covered in pondliner usin smartpots cuz as Bobbles explained once surface tension of said container fabric is broken , juice starts fallin out everywhere due to gravity/total saturation and there`s no way a gutter like Heathie used with plastic pots and hydroton with specific drain holes would work especially on #5/5 gal sp`s like I used cuz juice would be drippin all over the place ....but.....

I folded the backs of the sp`s down with the coco level in the racks and had the basket stakes in the fronts so total saturation could occur the easiest before the juice started leakin out the containers cuz the stakes were in the deepest part of the bags....and Mister D...

Heathie`s setup was a totally recirculating system with hydroton , not coco and 1800 gph pump was for the head pressure to keep juice constantly pushed up to the top levels before gravity drove it back down to the sump rez in the gutters before being pumped backed to the main rez via float switch and then pumped back upstairs again to the top levels of plants to repeat said process....

DTW/drain to waste is nothing like recirculating and with the improvements dripclean has brought to the table in the last couple yrs , I`d almost go so far as to say DTW`s all but not needed anymore to prevent residual salt buildup........so....back to basics....

My pumps were 5200 gph pond pumps with bigass 1/1/2" outlets so how you reduce and relieve pressure for equal plantsite distribution is paramount in importance thus why rez bypasses and control valves are required on each level for dialage.....

Heath`s shit is intermediate level with buncha grow skills and runs under yer belt required to understand when somethin`s wong and needs tweakin and kept in line for a fast hydro setup........so....

Bobble`s interpretation with his pods is just another wayta grow more plants in smaller surroundings that works for him.....Nuthin written in stone on what size pumps are needed , but rather that they perform their function as needed with whatever sized equipment yas decide ta use...

Hang tough Bobbles...Holler if yas need anytihng....anything....

Peace....Freds.........

 

[bobblehead]

Ok....Let`s go ta school on basket stakes and 1/4" open end drip tube comin out of tophat grommets from a 3/4" cpvc hard plumbed loopfield up , down , and all around the bloom room feedin individual smartpots on multiple levels.........so...

First off....had my angled racks covered in pondliner usin smartpots cuz as Bobbles explained once surface tension of said container fabric is broken , juice starts fallin out everywhere due to gravity/total saturation and there`s no way a gutter like Heathie used with plastic pots and hydroton with specific drain holes would work especially on #5/5 gal sp`s like I used cuz juice would be drippin all over the place ....but.....

I folded the backs of the sp`s down with the coco level in the racks and had the basket stakes in the back so total saturation could occur the easiest before the juice started leakin out the containers cuz the stakes were in the deepest part of the bags....and Mister D...

Heathie`s setup was a totally recirculating system with hydroton , not coco and 1800 gph pump was for the head pressure to keep juice constantly pushed up to the top levels before gravity drove it back down to the sump rez in the gutters before being pumped backed to the main rez via float switch and then pumped back upstairs again to the top levels of plants to repeat said process....

DTW/drain to waste is nothing like recirculating and with the improvements dripclean has brought to the table in the last couple yrs , I`d almost go so far as to say DTW`s all but not needed anymore to prevent residual salt buildup........so....back to basics....

My pumps were 5200 gph pond pumps with bigass 1/1/2" outlets so how you reduce and relieve pressure for equal plantsite distribution is paramount in importance thus why rez bypasses and control valves are required on each level for dialage.....

Heath`s shit is intermediate level with buncha grow skills and runs under yer belt required to understand when somethin`s wong and needs tweakin and kept in line for a fast hydro setup........so....

Bobble`s interpretation with his pods is just another wayta grow more plants in smaller surroundings that works for him.....Nuthin written in stone on what size pumps are needed , but rather that they perform their function as needed with whatever sized equipment yas decide ta use...

Hang tough Bobbles...Holler if yas need anytihng....anything....

Peace....Freds.........

some things I think I should share with everyone, from advise I've got from Freds...

Pond pumps. You find these at Home Depot, in the plumbing section, with all the copper, pvc, and sprinkler stuff. You can screw on a garden hose, and run the garden hose to your manifold that feeds your plants... I have a picture of just such a manifold made from 1/2" pvc a few pages back. Currently I'm using smaller pumps, but please believe any future pumps I buy, will be the large several thousand gph pond pumps. Overkill can be dialed down, but you can't dial up a weak pump.

rubbermaid horse trough, is literally a rubbermaid horse trough. I though Freds was referring to the big 50g totes that look like they could be a horse trough cause they're so friggin long. I went to tractor supply, and they have rubbermaid horse troughs. lol... Holy fucking shit I think that's a much easier way to obtain a clean reservoir. Thanks for the tip. A 150g horse trough is like $150 or so... I forget exactly. I'd only have to haul it 20mins as opposed to hauling much larger tanks or barrels from the city all the way up north. Much less suspicious looking.

Freds doesn't post pictures... hasn't ever. It's kinda hard to put this all together w/o a picture, so I have to be creative. I'm no carpenter. I'm a college student studying things that have nothing to do with plants. My building skills have progressed with my growing skills. Anybody can do this stuff if they try. Power tools aren't that expensive, and once you have them, generally you don't have to buy them again. Building skills and tools are a necessity when you're a homeowner anyway. Being a homeowner, or rather rent-to-owner, adds to your security as a grower... I feel REAL good about having my spot up north where nobody goes but me. It's well worth the monthly payment.

That's all for now. I'm gonna bring this thread to a close, and start a new one in a few days. The dynamics of my operation have changed, and so should the thread. I'll link y'all to the new thread when it's made.

 

[Mister_D]

Bobble, Fred, I can't thank you guys enough. I have the skills and experience to pull this system together, but you two sharing your trials and tribulations is going to save me massive amounts of headache dialing things in.

Bobble - Makes perfect sense about the pot leakage, and was exactly what I expected. Just don't like to make assumptions. They make an ass outta you and umption ya know? I did some checking into those dutch leach trays, and they are the perfect size for the racks. Glad you pointed out the pots will fit inside them, this is exactly what I was thinking when I started looking at them. Researched the flip and I understand how it works now. Was just missing the second timer when working it out in my head earlier. As you said baby shit . Good to know one 500 gph is sufficent. I want to use two pumps for equal pressure, but also for redundancy in case one fails. Gave up on full on hydro because of total crop failure due to pumps dying. Coco is the shit though Thanks for reminding me about the horse troughs, I used those as a res in my hydro days. Forgot all about them until now. Sturdy as fuck, black, and they work great. Even have a drain hole pre drilled in the bottom so you can hook a pump inline if desired. Good stuff bobble, looking forward to a new thread. 10-12lbs is the future, I can see it.

Fred - Been pondering how to keep the racks water tight. Pond liner came to mind, but honestly seems like a big pain in the ass. Current thinking has lead me to coating all wood surfaces in a water sealant like is used for outdoor decks etc. polyurathane (sp) or similar. Thinking this is the best way to prevent water issues. Good points on the larger pump size, I know all about how to dial an oversized pump back , and use it to my benefit.

Due to the situation with my grow partner I won't be setting up this system for a few months, just too much life shit on my plate at the moment. Still going to start collecting equipment and plan, plan, plan until then.