Looking for most silent hydro setup options.

[GF-Z]

Hello IC community,
Was wondering for the next year project.. The aim is to switch from organic soil/organic nutes into some hydro. It is just more clean doing it in small space appartament, and more safe due to ferocious amounts of soil being bought over and over again.. Another problem is that organics is atracting those fungus cunts constantly. And I dont want to use all those bio/synthetic tipes of insecticides, they work moderate, but finally bugs come back and even becomes more resistant, So idea is to just start clean without any other plants, put intake filters, seal everything and have a completely fungus-twat free environment for ladies.

But I have stuck in choosing right system for compact 4 plant per cab grow.

Most important is the noise, which system makes
DWC - air pumps
RDWC - air pumps + water pump + waterfall sound
Aero - waterfall sound + water pump + nozzle

But what about growing in clay pebbles and flood/drain system ?
It looks most silent to me, but problems is what about draining/clogging problems? It would be fatal for me, as it is appartament and basically I would get into big big troubles because of that. So I have no space to make mistakes.
What do you think overall, because I have much more experience doing in hydro rather than indoor soil.

Which one would be better in compact small space conditions ???
Coco is the last option if none of the systems above is possible with dampening sound to a minimal. But seeing problems of Na/sodium with coco I would like to dodge it.

Grateful for any ideas !

 

[DandAbc]

Fungus gnats can do just fine in coco. If you are not in a rush you can do kratky for veg and convert to dwc for the flip.

Otherwise get an aquarium add an extra line and the air pump noise has an excuse. Only shrimp and a sponge filter powered by air sorts out everything relatively cheap.

What size system are you thinking of?

 

[GF-Z]

Fungus gnats can do just fine in coco. If you are not in a rush you can do kratky for veg and convert to dwc for the flip.

Otherwise get an aquarium add an extra line and the air pump noise has an excuse. Only shrimp and a sponge filter powered by air sorts out everything relatively cheap.

What size system are you thinking of?

Kratky was in my mind, but my previous experience seeing root slime/ root rot / unwanted myco growing and ruining a solid part of whole operation was a bad experience. So air in water for me = peaceful sleep.
I have an idea, creating vibration dampening box for air pump in center of room and put 4 buckets around it, by his most of vibration should be silenced. (if it will be succeed , will provide DIY for community aswell)

Currently in mind is something around flower 3-4gal buckets 180w-240w led bars (2.5ft x 2.5ft x 6ft) , same sized buckets for veg cab and 120-180w led there.
2x Silent Inline Booster Fan, 47 CFM (~160m3/h) which will also will be in separate sound dampening box under veg cab (will run 2 cabs in total connecting it through plastic square pipes to make it look nice)
Idea is to make family-friendly micro cabinet setup which would be as quiet as possible. Mothers will be in separate little space together with my herbs and spices, together with clones).
Idea is to run 2 buckets with 60/40 and 2 buckets with other 2 buckets 40/60 strain, which by structure and streching are very similar to each other (Kings juice and fullgas! by GHS). Thats why I dont want to connect it to RDWC, but rather have DWC and try to turn it into micro RDWC with 1 res per 2 buckets for different feedings in future. But keep it compact at same time.

 

[Drop That Sound]

Yeah they love coir too, maybe even more? Less likely to be transported in that way though, especially if you expand your own blocks.

Don't use rapid rooter or riot plugs to start the plants/clones into any sterile hydro setups. I've had gnats infest my DWC containers too, trying to lay eggs all up in the hydroton & organic root plug matter that was breaking down in the netcups over time. They were hiding\crawling around under the lids too, little #^%&ers! lol. Even in bare root hydro they can find a way, although rare. Easy to get rid of though, compared to other grow mediums.

Undercurrent RDWC is the way. No less than 1-1/2 inch bulkheads and plumbing for the main return lines/manifolds.


Use cheap pool shock to keep pathogens at bay. Don't let the water go much over 69F, which means insulating or adding a chiller, or whatever you have to do.


I've found its best to buy multiple smaller aquarium air pumps, instead of one bigger noisier one with more output. One for each stone/diffuser, or bucket. Maybe even 2 of them for 10+ gallon containers. 4 for big 20+ gallon totes, etc. Ends up being around the same price anyway, compared to a commercial pump. Cheap $10 pumps run forever. Even the fanciest bigger sized low decibal advertised special diagphram pumps make plenty of noise, whereas the small ones are almost "whisper" quiet, even if your running 10 of them..

 

[Drop That Sound]

Those o2grow emitters that use electrolysis to generate pure oxygen are still a thing. No air pumps needed, but it does produce hydrogen HHO browns gas too. There are ways to seperate the pure 02 from the hydrogen though, and safely ventilate it out of the space, but the small amount generated doesn't appear to be a problem. The o2grow guys would be out of business already if someones house blew up, lol.


Here is one way to make your own cells!


I would use titanium or something better though.

 

[GF-Z]

Yeah they love coir too, maybe even more? Less likely to be transported in that way though, especially if you expand your own blocks.

Don't use rapid rooter or riot plugs to start the plants/clones into any sterile hydro setups. I've had gnats infest my DWC containers too, trying to lay eggs all up in the hydroton & organic root plug matter that was breaking down in the netcups over time. They were hiding\crawling around under the lids too, little #^%&ers! lol. Even in bare root hydro they can find a way, although rare. Easy to get rid of though, compared to other grow mediums.

Undercurrent RDWC is the way. No less than 1-1/2 inch bulkheads and plumbing for the main return lines/manifolds.


Use cheap pool shock to keep pathogens at bay. Don't let the water go much over 69F, which means insulating or adding a chiller, or whatever you have to do.


I've found its best to buy multiple smaller aquarium air pumps, instead of one bigger noisier one with more output. One for each stone/diffuser, or bucket. Maybe even 2 of them for 10+ gallon containers. 4 for big 20+ gallon totes, etc. Ends up being around the same price anyway, compared to a commercial pump. Cheap $10 pumps run forever. Even the fanciest bigger sized low decibal advertised special diagphram pumps make plenty of noise, whereas the small ones are almost "whisper" quiet, even if your running 10 of them..

Yeah those buggers are insanely adapted to dogde everything... And they sense plants so well, especially organics.. I moved my box to other part of room, same evening I saw couple of f*$@rs flying in circles around old place where plants where. So they even remember the spots where plants are... And when people say they thrive only on top of the container, thats false. Complete false. I have 1 small clone in beer cup especially to see how they doing their life cycle and guess what??
I unwrap plastic cover from cup and see larvae in middle of cup instantly running into center of roots from lightning. Also gnat crawls from bottom holes and flies away in a hurry, cuz mothe*#@@!r knows hes gonna be smashed in second... So they will abuse every hole, every part of container in every conditions... But good one was small UV lamp zappers which catch like 5 to 10 insects every 24hours. And sticky traps, everywhere, on inline, on pots, on bottom of cabinet in corners .. Helps to control them quite effectively.. Annoying pests...
Currently I have 3w hailea 2x outlet pump (just to oxygenate water before feeding), if I turn it to max - it is quite noisy, but if I would put it into vibration dampening box (osb > acoustic sealant for frames > rubber pvc > rockwool > pvc rubber 2x > osb on top) I guess it will be barely disturb human ear and will be complete silent for surroundings. And it will be plently of O2 for 4 buckets.
Problem with small ones is that they take place, so making silent box will be a problem, unless to make 4 small boxes =).. Will see...

 

[ChemDogLover]

Aquarium is the answer

 

[Drop That Sound]

I would be wrapping that small beer cup clone in some panty hose, and being done with the litte F***ers. Wrap it all the away around, and twisty tie it around the stalk. That way, you can still water, and also get drainage. I've used the panty hose technique to rid FGs a few times now. For bigger pots, I would cut the panty liners up into sheets, and cover the whole opening of big 3-5 gallon pots. You can completely wrap smaller 1 gal pots with xxxl lphose . Make sure to cut little squares to cover each drain hole, because they will crawl in through the bottoms too. I'd use water proof tape. Then flush em with mosquito bit\dunk water, and after a week or so they would be gone. They can't fly in or out go go lay more eggs, and die off soon that way.

 

[GF-Z]

Aquarium is the answer

Wow BROsky, that is actually what I was looking for. Damn it, super stealth !!!

 

[ChemDogLover]

Wow BROsky, that is actually what I was looking for. Damn it, super stealth !!!

I built and used it back in the early 2000’s. It was quite a giggle with family and friends staring at the fishy’s while they had no idea what grew under their noses.

VERY STEALTH - Fishtank Wardrobe Cabinet

This is from several years back. This cabinet can no longer be purchased and I no longer own this cabinet. Let me say this cabinet was a winner. I grew in an apartment with maintenance men in and out while i wasn't home. i grew in rental homes. i have literally had family and friends...

www.icmag.com

Would be much easier to do these days with LEDs

 

[stiff]

That's good camouflage @ChemDogLover

I also use coco and found less fungus gnats than when I'm growing in soil.
Topfeeding with a drainaway-tray and a run off solution is really quite. You only hear the pump three times a day for a minute or two.
Much quiter than airpumps all day long.
But that's just my two cents...

 

[Veritas629]

How about Hempy Buckets? Water and fertilize by hand, so zero noise. Coco on top and perlite or clay pebbles on the bottom. As a bonus, cheap to build and grows big plants!

 

[negative37dBA]

I run a flood and drain for veg. It is very quiet. I small pump that comes on every hour or so and then a bit of drain back sound...that's it besides you normal fans. I run them in hydroton in baskets to. Works a charm.
Peace, negative.

 

[Hiddenjems]

If I were you I’d setup a little 2x4 flood table with containers of Hydroton as the medium.


By the way, “organic” herb consistently has way more contaminants than a clean hydro/mineral salt grow. Good decision for your health. Neem may be natural, but I sure don’t want to smoke it.

I usually have 50+ plants in flower and I use zero insecticide. Cleanliness is godliness.

 

[jackspratt61]

Hello IC community,
Was wondering for the next year project.. The aim is to switch from organic soil/organic nutes into some hydro. It is just more clean doing it in small space appartament, and more safe due to ferocious amounts of soil being bought over and over again.. Another problem is that organics is atracting those fungus cunts constantly. And I dont want to use all those bio/synthetic tipes of insecticides, they work moderate, but finally bugs come back and even becomes more resistant, So idea is to just start clean without any other plants, put intake filters, seal everything and have a completely fungus-twat free environment for ladies.

But I have stuck in choosing right system for compact 4 plant per cab grow.

Most important is the noise, which system makes
DWC - air pumps
RDWC - air pumps + water pump + waterfall sound
Aero - waterfall sound + water pump + nozzle

But what about growing in clay pebbles and flood/drain system ?
It looks most silent to me, but problems is what about draining/clogging problems? It would be fatal for me, as it is appartament and basically I would get into big big troubles because of that. So I have no space to make mistakes.
What do you think overall, because I have much more experience doing in hydro rather than indoor soil.

Which one would be better in compact small space conditions ???
Coco is the last option if none of the systems above is possible with dampening sound to a minimal. But seeing problems of Na/sodium with coco I would like to dodge it.

Grateful for any ideas !

Earthbound or similar would be quietest.

 

[bigbadbillybob]

flood and drain is quietest, rdwc most productive id say

 

[negative37dBA]

That is absolutely spot on brother.
Have a sweet day. Peace, negative.

 

[Ca++]

Air pumps can be hung with clothing elastic. Decoupling the pumps body from the building. It's still a pneumatic hammer in your tank though. A 2L pop bottle makes a good res, placed between pump and tank. It evens out the pulses. Always use silicone pipe, except where you suspend the stone off the bottom. That should be butyl fuel hose, to resist stretching. Or PVC if you ignore the problem of heavy metal and plasticiser leaching. Most dwc guys are using waste pipe anyway, which isn't fit for drinking water. So a bit of pvc airline is little concern to them.

Pumps should be chose from the 3 phase pumps thread. Not AC ones. The 12vdc 3 phase one's kick ass, while making a lot less noise. It's like a 100 fold difference.

You could stand your build in a pool, if you really want it leak resistant. Something like these, but with the legs shortened a bit, perhaps

Obviously the fans should also be of the same DC construction. That doesn't mean they don't plug into the AC. It just means they are not AC motors. We are talking EC and BLDC, like the 3~ pumps.

 

[negative37dBA]

As far a leakage that is so overkill. I dont even have a liner and have never had a leak in my DIY undercurrent setup. Make it correct the first time and there will be no leaks...PVC is completely fine for potable water.

 

[Artful Codger]

Coco + Blumats = silent. Not sure if it qualifies as hydro, but it grows nice plants for me.