Pipedream"s 150w Tiny Bubbler System

[Pipedream]

Gastro - The first rule of growing is "tell no one" the second rule of growing is "tell no one" and the third rule is, you guessed it "tell no one. You are moving into a room with someone you really don't know. As close as you may feel that person is, you'll never really know.

OK, that being said, the system really takes little effort to manage, and as long as you design your odor control properly, you'll be totally stealth. Of course, growing in a dorm is a great way to get kicked out of school and arrested. My suggestion is to wait a year or two till you are in an apartment.

Best luck with whatever you decide, and let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Gastronomicus]

Yeah, I figured as much. It's just such an exciting thought for me to finally start growing my own. But no amount of weed is worth spending time in jail. Hopefully I can move off campus at Quarter, then I'd have my own space.

 

[JerryPakul]

Hey Pipedream

I've read through this thread several time now i love it...im an experienced outdoor grower...but a rookie to the hydro game ...ur set-up looks small easy to manage an economical, i love it

I wont be doin mine in a cabinet but a a closet with pretty much exact dimensions over yours...

I do have a question though that mainfold there...how wide in the PVC an is it only those two pieces?

I went out today lookin for a pump an im kinda lost here...buddy was tryin to talk me into one...i told him a six small tanks to deal with ...he pointed out the most reasonable one at 60.00 does this sound right,....the thing i notices was it only had one valve on it... but i got just by a attachment could i not?

All and all man amazing thread an your other threads are just as useful...thanks alot an hope to hear back from you..

Jerry

 

[JerryPakul]

one more thing... what is the size of plastic tubing u are using? just the standard stuff from the pet store?
haha i know it mite bte a silly question but i wanna make sure of these things

jerry

 

[Pipedream]

You got it. The standard tubing from the petstore. I usually get my pumps and valves there too. It tends to be much cheaper than buying the same item in a hydro-shop. And, yes, a single outlet or dual outlet pump will both work. The idea here is to get a really good constant supply of air to all of the buckets. One of my favorite places for supplies is www.petsolutions.com. Plus you can get on their mailing list and receive a fairly comprehensive catalog in the mail for free. Check them out online. The PVC is 1/2 inch. The smallest stuff Home DePot carries. A ten foot piece is only about $2-$3.

 

[JerryPakul]

Hey Pipedream

Thanks so much for the reply haha been sittin aorund just waiting for it...but everything sound good should have my closet up an runnin by the weekend
One more question i know it may repeating my self...but what size is ur pump...like i one that moves for 30 gal 50 gal? i just done want to by the biggest one for no reason ... thanks again for all the help man, much appreciated

Jerry

 

[Pipedream]

I'm actually running two different pumps in the system at the same time. The first is a dual-diaphram dual-outlet. There's no marking on it so I really can't give you its rating. However, it was about 20 bucks at PetSmart. The second is the dual piston pump yu can see with the attached motor and belt. About $40 bucks online, moves a ton of air, but requires maintenance and makes a bit of noise. My suggestion is to stay away from them. I plan to replace it with another diaphram type in the near future.

 

[stub]

Stub's cab inspired by Pipedream

Stub's cab inspired by Pipedream

Cheers Pipedream,

Well....I ordered 10 white widow seeds and began the journey. The cab should support 6 plants but I wanted to start out with 4 seeds in case things go wrong. I soaked 4 rockwool cubes over night in tap water, mine measures 149 ppm 8.3 ph. I brought down the ph to 6.0 for soaking the cubes. Then I put the seeds in cubes pointy end up in a tupperware container on top of the water heater with a temp of aprox 85 deg. One shot up right away after about 4 days..the taller one you see now. The other three just sprouted little tails but would not shed the seed case so I waited for about 3 more days before using tweezers to take the seed case off and the little sack lining. One of those seeds recovered well and grew to the smaller plant on the right. The other two seeds did not recover. I planted two more seeds by soaking them in a glass of 6 ph water for about 24 hours, they floated at first but when I checked the next day they fell to the bottom. I put them in in ph'd rockwool again but this time I placed seeds horizontaly and put the cubes under the 150 hps light keeping them moist with much better results. I have a pretty staggered grow right now because of my seed trial and error...Live and Learn. I am thinking about vegging the big one a little longer and flowering the smaller ones asap so I can 12/12 all at the same time. I still dont know the sex... next time I will get ferminized seeds to save time. Hopefully I can get 6 female clones out of these beauties for next time. I am building a 18x16x14 inch clone box in the bottom of the cabinet. I plan on using rockwool cubes and cfl's for cloning to keep it simple and cheap.





Thanks for the help Pipe...the advice you gave really helped out!
Stub

 

[stub]

Stub's white widow 3 weeks old

Stub's white widow 3 weeks old

Can you tell the sex from these pics? The plant is 3 weeks old and still on a 24/7 light cycle. I read somewhere that after 4 weeks above the 4th node you could determine the sex by looking at the new growth. If it is long and wispy = female, if it has a round shape = male. Is this true?

 

[Pipedream]

stub - Nice clean set-up you've got there. Best of luck with it. You might want to consider a bit of flat white paint on the inside walls. It will help in a big way with reflecting your light and brightening things up. I also like the black containers.

From my experience, you really can't tell the sex of a plant till they start to develope pre-flowers. You usually see them after the plant is mature enough to start growing in an alternating node pattern. Look in the crotch of the branches for a small thin group of leaves starting to grow with two white hairs sticking out. If you see them, "ITS A GIRL"

Here's just what you DON'T want to see......

 

[stub]

Pipe- I know what you mean about the white paint. I have some but just can't bring myself to paint over the nice looking wood ya know. I am thinking about painting up some cardboard panels and thumb-tacking them to the walls. I tried to find containers like yours but this was the best I could do....black electrical tape over clear containers. The green lids are cool though. A bucket with a snug fitting lid that can be cut out for the 6 inch net pots makes life so much easier. You can just pull out the net pot with the plant roots and all and put it in a similar container while you check the ph and nutes. Simple and easy.

Thanks for the pic of the unwanted male. I will know one of these days what they are.... shoulda got the feminized seeds. Oh-well, been wanting to do this for years so what is a month or so...

I am really pleased with the Rena Air 100 pump so far. It is very quiet, runs all six buckets with no problems and has a rebuild kit for about 5 bucks.

This is a fun little project. It is fascinating to watch them grow. I am looking forward to enjoying some home grown goodness.

 

[stub]

Hey Pipedream

Things are growin great here!! I started the biggest plant on a 12/12 schedule 4 days ago...no signs yet but got the fingers crossed. I am noticing a little brownish stuff on the upper root structure and am curious if I should do something about it. I have read hydrogen peroxide can be a good preventative maintenance tool but am not sure how to exactly go about it. Any advice sir?

Grassy ass in advance
Stub

 

[Pipedream]

I use it all of the time. I buy the cheap stuff that you find at any Dollar Store. I use about a capfull in each bucket once a week. Keeps everything nice and bright white and healthy. You can add a bit more if things are already funky, but start off slow so the plants don't get a shock.

 

[stub]

Sweet, one capful of the 3% cheapie stuff once a week. I can handle that. The higher concentrated stuff seems like overkill to me but I don't know what the hay I'm doing so what do I know! So far I am stickin with your advice and the weeds be growin!
I wanted to share a couple things I have experimented with.
Heat was a bit of an issue in the beginning, even with the ballast mounted on top outside of the cabinet. I made a carbon filter/exaust fan combo but it did not move enough air. I removed the filter and it helped alot but not enough. I ended up putting some 1/4 glass in the top of the cabinet to keep the heat isolated and it worked wonders. Temps in cab are now about 3-4 degrees above outside amb temp. I also used a cardboard box and rubber floor mat from the dollar store to make a veg chamber in the bottom of the cabinet. I bought more floormats and cut them into strips to lightproof the cabinet doors...it worked better than anything else I tried. An athalon processor fan and an empty dvd case was used to move air and a simple socket and floro bulb for light. The processor fan was very loud using a 12v transformer so I switched it to a 4.5 volt one laying around and it slowed/quieted it down nicely. The tray is from the dollar store as well. I cut a couple of clones from the biggest plant and they are still alive on day 5. Just used rooting gel and rockwool with ph'd water...very simple. For odor I bought a hepa filter from Sears for 80 bucks and made my own filter using the 10 dollar carbon furnace filter from web and a glue gun and filled it with activated carbon from petco. It drowns out all the sound from the air pump and fans in the cabinet and cleans the odor up nicely. It does not get rid of it all though...there is still a light smell. I bought a jar of ONA gel and scoop out a couple of teaspoons full in a cup inside of the cabinet. The air is pumped out of the cab with the weed smell covered up...it does not eliminate it but masks it so noone could distinguish the weed smell. ONA with the modified hepa filter it has kept my wife happy. She was walking in the door and noticing right away coming home from work...now she says it is gone. I have burned candles and it works good too. ONA is ok but I think it claims of "neutralizing" are overrated. I think this setup is great for bedroom grower...at night all I hear is the hepa filter cleaning the air. Nighty night little buds

 

[Pipedream]

Very cool. A man after my own heart, searching the Dollar Stores! Its the only thing better than "dumpster diving".

I used to grow with no odor control at all, till my wife started asking me to do something. She said it smelled like we had 5 skunks for pets even in veg. Then when things went into flower, don't even ask.

I built the carbon scrubber and used it with great success for a couple of years, but then for other "space" reasons I had to move the box out into the garage. Since its no longer in the living area of the house, I built an ozone generator and so far, so good. Of course, only 6 flowering ladies will be the real test.

 

[stub]

I hear that! We are trying to save money by growin ourselves not spend it on fancy smancy stuff. The weeds can't tell if it from a dumpster or the dollar store.
Starting to notice a difference after second day of using 3% peroxide by the capful. The roots are looking whiter and the brown stuff is starting to retreat. The big plant sure is using alot of H20. I am topping off every two days now.....still on 12/12 with no signs of sex yet. The two clones I took from this plant are still holding on. Will keep u posted.

 

[stub]

Pipedream,

I think it's a girl! I am curious what you think before I get all excited.


If so then the two clones from this plant are keepers too. They are still looking healthy but no signs of roots yet. I think I'll celebrate with a little...

 

[Pipedream]

Based on the nice close-up shot you've provided, I'd be handing out cigars with "Pink Ribbons".

Treat her with care during the early stages. It s the time they are most affected by environmental changes that can force them to change sex or go hermie.

Congrats!!

 

[stub]

SWEET! Thanks for the confirmation Dr. I was pulling this plant out and putting in the closet during dark time. I stopped doing that and am leaving it in the cabinet with the other plants as they are all large enough to go 12/12 now. That should reduce stress and keep it even darker since it is virtually light proof. Thanks for steering me in the right direction. Your advice has saved me sooo much time and headache. Ya just can't go wrong with the tiny bubbler set-up and the 150 hps, it kicks butt. I am getting awesome results with zero experience. Just got the electric bill and it is 12 dollars above last months. The heater has been kicking on the last week also. I would guestimate about 9 bucks is what it is costing for electricity. This set-up will probably pay for itself with the first plant!!!!

 

[sugabear_II]

Hey pipedream my old friend and mentor so when will we see the tiny bubbles get bubbling again?

-suga