Bio-Ponic's: From Bubblers to Bio Buckets

daltron · 06-24-2005, 08:33 PM

BioPonic’s……..From bubbler’s to Bio-Buckets

First off major kudo’s to Big Toke and HurtBack…….HB for creating the original system designed for 1 to 6 buckets…….and BT for taking it to the next step……..6 buckets or 60 buckets

Gentlemen my hat is off to the both of you ……..

I have followed Big Tokes directions step by step, I’ve studied HB’s system…plus have read and study my a*s off…….so now come take a look at what I’ve been doing and see why I’m doing it….. plus what I have yet to do……..

MY Goals:

Try and grow as organically as I can……via hydro

Grow enough so I don’t have to grow again for at least 6 to 12 months…..hopefully 3 pounds from 2800 watts….14 5gal bio-buckets

Perform NO res change outs

Learn…learn….learn….

OK so here we go………intro:

The system will be 100% organic….we will being using 14 5gal buckets…….8 inch net pots with Lava Rock and sump pump hose to provide a home for the Beneficial Bacteria {BB}…..by changing the solution in each bucket completely 7 – 10 times / hour…this fast moving current will help eliminate any dead spots where the bad bacteria could grow…..while supplying a constant fresh supply of
oxygen to the plants…..all buckets tied to a central reservoir which is being oxygenated by the returning nute’s via a one foot waterfall into the reservoir…….I must say that I am amazed at the high concentration of DO in the water…..this is a simple system for a simple man

I will be using FloraNova grow and bloom and nothing else……if all works as it should I will do NO reservoir changes and have hopes of trying to get 2 grows out of one filling……don’t know if it will work….but we will see……

Under construction

This is a current pic of where I am at in my new build....I also built a whole new grow room just for this system.....I've been doing the Pepetual harvest thing for over a year now and I an tired of it.....think I might get enough to take a few months off from growing??

daltron · 06-24-2005, 08:39 PM

Bio-Ponic's: organic growing via Hydro

Bio-Buckets is a Recirculation System, that exchanges the buckets water/nutrients at least 7 to 10 times an hour. The idea being that with a constantly moving current you prevent the growth of bad bacteria…while supplying the plants with constant fresh oxygen from the reservoir……the remote-reservoir is highly active which
generates it’s own oxygen by water-fall effect…..no more air pumps are needed…..at all……with a waterfall of at least 10” to 12” inches…….

Bio-Buckets use lava rocks has it’s medium to harbor the live beneficial bacterium {B.B.} which lives in the pores of the lava rock. This is why we will be using 8 inch net pots attached to the bottom of the lid……thus allowing for max exposer to the nutes and water……we will also be using sump pump hose for the return lines thus giving us more growth areas for the B.B.

Why grow with Bio-Ponic bubbler buckets: Some of the fastest and healthiest growing plants that you have ever seen: uses no added air, with no reservoir change-outs,safe for the mother earth environment*stable ph levels, and can run at higher temps, and no root-rot, works best using plain tap water, uses ONLY grow and bloom nutes……nothing else……One could say that it is the only hydroponics system that has aImmune System Anti-Viral Support Matrix.

* stable pH levels: this is where the experienced grower may have a problem……since No pH adjustments will be made by the grower, but rather by the Beneficial Bacteria…..in it’s own time…..a true test of patience…..for it is slow to change …but will change

daltron · 06-24-2005, 08:42 PM

Operation of bio-bucket’s:

Once the system is built ……fill the buckets and reservoir with plan tap water and run the system for 10 to 14 days…..at first the high chlorine levels will help to purify all the buckets, lines and tubs…..hence starting with a clean system……soon the chlorine will evaporate out of the water……making it safe for the beneficial bacterium which is a airborne bacteria…..these will seed the system finding a home in the pores of the lava rocks……

....the round clay balls {Hygroton} will not work for this…..to hard with not enough pores…..if you wish you may add some of the GH Sub Culture to help jump start the system and provide a greater variety of B.B….but it is not necessary to add the Sub Culture……this system will work and has worked great using just the local air borne bacteria ……

The Bio-Buckets because of it’s non-change-outs of the reservoir builds up a certain amount of decomposing plant matter, which is not a problem because of the Beneficial Bacterium that is already established/colonized in the lava rock, but on the other hand will lower your ph some what, my tap-water ph is 7.0 right out of the sink, after adding nutrients to the system the ph will drop again to about 6.0 {as per Big Toke system}

When you first fill the Bio-Buckets up let the system run 24/7 for one to two weeks at 7.0 then add nutes and pH to 6.0 {the only time you pH the system} place my cutting/clones in the system at 6.0 after a few weeks in the Bio-System the pH will drop to about 5.5 and after that, will even go down to 4.8 but will come back up to about 6.0 in a few weeks.

I will not add anything other than nutrients to my Bio-System because by now the system is very much alive!! Remember NO pH up or down…….The system/beneficial bacterium will make the necessary changes as needed, all you have to do is add nutrients, check on the lights and do nothing else!!

daltron · 06-24-2005, 08:46 PM

I’m sure that you have often heard it said that unless you keep your pH between 5.5 to 6.5 that some of the nutrients will not be available for the plants to use, well that may be true in the ordinary hydro system but it’s not true in the Bio-System……..

you can think of the Beneficial Bacterium as hooking up your nutrients …..thus the explosive massive growth of the Bio-Buckets, the Beneficial Bacterium makes your nutrients very mobile/highly active. So as time goes on the 7.0 ph tap-water is constantly toping the reservoir with a high ph of 7.0 {for this a float valve is a must have to add a little at a time} which helps the system level it’s self out to were it wants to be.

Also over time because of the non-change-outs of the system, some of the very small trace elements may come in short supply if using R/O.

If tap-water is used, zinc sulfate and copper sulfate will be added back to the system. The small amounts of zinc and sulfur needed are usually present in the tap-water but would not be there if you used R/O.

daltron · 06-24-2005, 08:50 PM

Doesn't the chlorine in the tap water kill some of the bacteria that you are trying to keep?

let me explain: after filling your Bio-System up with fresh tap-water…yes the chlorine is to high for the Beneficial Bacterium to form, that is the reason that I encourage people to let the Bio-System set and run 24/7 for two weeks before putting there plants in the system, (depending upon the size of your Bio-System and the amount of fresh air you have circulating in the grow/room,)

After the Beneficial Bacterium has colonized throughout the Bio-System adding a little tap-water with chlorine into the system will not effect the Beneficial Bacterium, because it has already established a foot hold throughout theBio-System and is deeply colonized in the pores of the lava rock…..

this is why we use a float valve connected to tap water so that only a little bit will be added at a time, this, your system can handle and even helps to keep the bad bacteria from gaining a foot hold.

I do believe that it is due to the fact that these singled-cell microorganisms; having a well designed Bio-Bucket System, will provide plenty of oxygen at such a rapid pace that the Beneficial Bacterium will be able to overcome most any root-rot dieses.

Btw if you are wondering how to tell when your Bio-System has sufficient enough Beneficial Bacterium established or colonized, simply put your fingers into the water to test: by dipping your fingers in the water and rubbing them together, if they fill slick or slimy, you are ready, and if not you are not ready, don’t expect a great deal of slickness just a little will do.

daltron · 06-24-2005, 08:54 PM

Now let’s discuss the good and the bad of using plane old tap-water

After the system has been established and the Beneficial Bacterium has a foot-hold in the system, let’s look at what happens when a little amount of chlorine-tap-water is added on a daily basis, first the chlorine is going to assist the BB in fighting off the bad fungi (algae)

Here’s how it does that, first we need to understand that chlorine mainly attacks the multi-cell bacteria such as algae, the Beneficial Bacterium that we are harboring and colonizing is a single-cell bacteria that not only lives in the pores of the lava rock but because of their microscopic size can even penetrate the fibrous roots themselves, thereby the chlorine that is introduced into the Bio-System will attack the multi-celled bacteria first and thereby using up what little chlorine is introduced to the system.

Now on the other hand if you use something like H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) in the Bio-System you will be successful in killing all bacteria in the system, hydrogen peroxide will penetrate the lava rocks and the fibrous roots and kill even the roots too!!

I use nothing to jump start my Bio-Buckets, simply fill them up and turn on the fan’s to circulate fresh air in the grow/room, let set for one to two weeks and your ready to go; no need to get complicated with this thing but if you want I suppose there are products out there that would do the trick for you but most importantly remember were not raising fish were growing huge mj plants!! This changes every thing.

daltron · 06-24-2005, 09:10 PM

Bio-Buckets

From Bubblers to Bio-Buckets

In 5 easy steps

1 - Bucket & Lid construction:

5 gallon buckets black is best to block incoming light

¾” pvc barb is used for nute input …..inserted just under the top lip of the bucket

1 ¼” pvc insert coupling for the nute out flow……..placed with center of coupling 2 ½” below the top of the bucket

click on image for larger pic’s

Lid Construction:

Using a 8” net pots { 10” net pot leaves no room for the pvc fittings} will give us max lava rocks and porous material for beneficial bacteria……..

Connect the net pot to the underside of the lid using at least 3 nuts, bolts, washers and lock washers…..

Why to the under side of the lid?? To give us that much more space for some extra lava rock……waste not - want not… J

note that I did not build drains into the buckets.....it would make life easier to do so....It is recomended that you put drains in.....I am running low on funds {14 times everything adds up to some major $$} I have a small water pump that I will use to pump out the buckets into the 4" pvc return line.....then I added one extra valve just after the out put of the main 2400 gph......using the main pump I can now empty most of the res though this vavle connected to a garden hose and out she goes......

Bucket insulation: I started with some pipe insulation tape with a RH factor of 4 then put some duct tape aroud that to hold it tight.....plus that last part of the new build will be encasing the buckets and res in full insulation....RH 12.....this with my small chiller should help keep temps down....

2 – Support frame:

do the math…….you need a 1 foot waterfall drop…….so design a support for your buckets that will give this 1 foot drop into the res plus support all the weight of the fluids in the buckets and return lines……how tall is your res now do the math from there….

3 - Supply Line Construction:

Going from pump to buckets ……..

Pump output was 1” bushed up to 1 ½” to 1 ½” union {breaks pump free from system…..for replacement or storage}

Run 1 ½” main to the ¾” valve’s {controls flow to buckets}

to a ¾” barb connected to a ¾” hose connected to bucket at the ¾” pvc elbow barb…

…barb points down into the buckets

{creates constant movement though out the entire bucket}

4 - Return Line to Res Construction:

From the buckets to the res is a gravity fed system…….therefore the bucket output is the high point in the system….

Coming out of the bucket via the 1 ¼” pvc coupling into the 1 ¼” sup-pump hose ……… connects to a 4” pvc pipe ….set to a ½ down slope bubble ……….this moving, rolling, flowing mass of nutes and water starts to oxygenate………

4” pvc terminates at the top of the res creating a 10” to 1’ waterfall……. oxygenating the nute solution before once again being sucked out by the pump……

4” pvc pipe connects to the res just under the top lip of reservoir……this allows you to place the lid on the res keeping it clean…….note: res lid will need to be vented in some way to allow fresh air into and used/bad air out of the res….. 2nd note: in case of power loss to pump….. res will fill then overflow back up the 4” pvc return line preventing spills and or a big mess J

5 - Reservoir Construction:

sorry no pic's of the res .....because this is where I am at in my build....pic's will be posted after I complete my res.....

Connect the 4” pvc pipe as described above

Connect the water pump to the res as low as possible in the res

Connect a float valve to the res and set for max depth, connect the other end to the tap water…….

What is my max depth/ res size ?? Determined by canopy size…..

sq ft of flowering canopy / 2 times 3 quarts per sq ft = res size ......there is 4 quarts to a gallon

I’m growing to create a canopy size of 5’ times 8’ = 40sqft

Divided by 2 = 20sqft

20sqft times **3 qts/sqft = 60 quarts…this is the size of your/my res

4 qts / gal therefore 60 divided by 4 = 15 gal for my res, I added 5 extra gallons to the size of my res to be safe and sure of going the whole grow without a res change out.

**water needed for a flowering canopy comes from the US Agricultural service and is listed at 3 quarts of water per square foot of flowering canopy……. Many will argue this number….however the bottom line is……this formula WORKS

daltron · 06-24-2005, 09:28 PM

Ok people what do you think so far??

I'm working on my res and hope to have it completed tommorow.......

then I will encase it with more insulation......plus a big surprise to me my honey { mrs D} bought me a chiller so I won't stress over nute temps.....God I love that woman

have to hook that up also......we've tested all the buckets for leaks and found NONE...oh thank-god.....

very soon I will fill the system and off we go YaHoo..WaHooo

for the first grow we will have all BOG seeds...LifeStar.....LifeSaver and Boggelgum with Snow White back up in case I get to many males....

I will keep you all posted as I move forward.....and make sure to stay tuned for this should be a interesting grow......and YES this is the start of my Grow Journal...

OK people what do you all think???

panamajuice · 06-24-2005, 10:25 PM

Oh man you´re good!.

I can´t wait to see this one go.

BigToke68 · 06-25-2005, 09:22 PM

WOW way to go daltron ~ you’ve already taken the first steps in that you have studied you ass off that is the first place and best place to start so cutting through the chase let me say great job in your documentation; instead of making one big comment on every thing I’ll be commenting as I go through it that way that way I can keep my topics fresh and up to date ~ so let me begin by critiquing the one pic that you posted (what’s up with that?) I will truly be able to help yea much better if I could get more then one pic to look at like an over view of the whole system or in parts like the reservoir and the pump, but what ever ~ thus far every thing that I can see looks good, I personally have never used those types of nutrients before but I’m sure they’ll do just fine…………..looking forward to seeing this thread a success, what every I can do to help I’m hear for ya bro….

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