Using A 2-bucket System

[Stonersteve]

Just planted two blue og seedlings using two homedepot 5 gal buckets, with the bottom bucket serving as a reservoir. Just curious if anyone else is using a similar setup and would like to engulf this threadwith knowledge. Thanks! This is my first grow. using a 300w full spectrum light in a tin shed in the middle of far west Texas. Using AN GMB hobbyist level nutrients.

 

[greenthumb89]

not too sure what type of system your trying to do. is it suppose to wick up the moisture from the reservoir kinda like passive hydro? or

 

[h4ppyf4rmer]

not too sure what type of system your trying to do. is it suppose to wick up the moisture from the reservoir kinda like passive hydro? or

Yeah, that's what I thought it was too, a wicking type system.

 

[greenthumb89]

one tip for next time i'd say is it's better to start your seedlings in small containers rather your final pot. It's just easier for watering prevents underwatering/overwatering.

 

[Stonersteve]

one tip for next time i'd say is it's better to start your seedlings in small containers rather your final pot. It's just easier for watering prevents underwatering/overwatering.

I actually thought about doing that but just skipped that step. Will definitely try that next time! Thanks

 

[Stonersteve]

not too sure what type of system your trying to do. is it suppose to wick up the moisture from the reservoir kinda like passive hydro? or

Yes it's supposed to wick up from the cup I "installed" on the bottom of the bucket that holds soil. I read some things on capillary action so I hope I don't have to worry too much about the plant getting fed properly. I am using a hobbyists level nutrient bundle from AN. Do you think nutrients will be lost in the reservoir?

 

[greenthumb89]

so the nutrients will be sitting in a reservoir of water underneath the soil bucket correct? it won't be lost in thte reservoir so long as you aerate the water you're going to wanna put an airstone in the res if it's going to have nutrients in it because it could go bad quicker and you'd wanna change it out every 2 weeks preferably a week. One thing you can look into is hempys their bad ass. It's a one bucket system and y ou have a hole about 2 inches from the bottom so you have some water collecting at the bottom of the bucket and you fill the bottom 2 inches with perlite or hydroton so it doesn't get caked with soil or coco coir and the roots just grow into the reservoir so you kinda get the best of both worlds. also hempys dont require an airstone

 

[Tat2420]

I think your gonna run into nutrient build up issues. Water is still gonna be lost through evaporation and wicking. Meaning nutes are concentrate in the bottom bucket. ppm and ph are gonna be issues. Constantly changing and checking water.


I could be wrong...its not a system I'm familiar with. It's just what I thought when I read your post.

Your better off in my opinion. Hand watering and getting that seedling into a smaller container.
You'll see better growth all around.

 

[Stonersteve]

I think your gonna run into nutrient build up issues. Water is still gonna be lost through evaporation and wicking. Meaning nutes are concentrate in the bottom bucket. ppm and ph are gonna be issues. Constantly changing and checking water.


I could be wrong...its not a system I'm familiar with. It's just what I thought when I read your post.

Your better off in my opinion. Hand watering and getting that seedling into a smaller container.
You'll see better growth all around.

I have some Fabric pots that I could transfer them but they are still kinda big. Maybe I'll transfer to solo cups.

As far as ppm and ph, I'm still trying to figure out exactly what and how to measure ppm.
I think my ph is taken care of through the nutrients I use. Advanced Nutrients GMB says it balances ph for you.
I have cheesecloth inside the bucket as you can see as a wicking agent so I'm sure some nutes will be lost in that. I thought about hand watering and just having the reservoir for runoff. Really wanna see these buckets thru. Damnit haha

 

[greenthumb89]

you measure ppm with the tds meter just take the reading is all. not to say yuo didn't already know that basically if your ph is going up and your ppm is going down it means your plant eating more nutrients than it is drinking water (hungry up the ppm) and if the ppm is going up and the ph is going down than the plant is drinking more water and not eating as much causing the nute solution to become more concentrated. Everyones goal is to find that sweet spot where you lose the same amount of each

 

[Tat2420]

You should consider blacking out those buckets.
Don't really want light hitting your roots or resevoir.

I have some Fabric pots that I could transfer them but they are still kinda big. Maybe I'll transfer to solo cups.

As far as ppm and ph, I'm still trying to figure out exactly what and how to measure ppm.
I think my ph is taken care of through the nutrients I use. Advanced Nutrients GMB says it balances ph for you.
I have cheesecloth inside the bucket as you can see as a wicking agent so I'm sure some nutes will be lost in that. I thought about hand watering and just having the reservoir for runoff. Really wanna see these buckets thru. Damnit haha

 

[Stonersteve]

I transplanted one of my blue ogs and shocked it I'm assuming. I'm Down to one blue og. And it's not growing at the rate I think it should be. I have been tempted to transplant this one but Im scared of the same outcome... water is wicking up towards the top but leaving top of the soil dry. I fed her the second time this whole grow so far on Saturday (w2d1) 2ml g+m+b & 2ml of b-52, voodoo, and piranha.

Through this 2 bucket system almost 1/4 of the water was still left in the reservoir when I fed her the second day.









Week 2 day 3

 

[Tat2420]

Could be building a root system. That's one of the issues with starting in such a large container. The plant will seem to have slow growth while it's going crazy underneath

 

[greenthumb89]

Hooold up I'd hold off on the nutes atleast until the cotelydon leaves fall off (the little round ones) the cotelydons supply the growing leaves with enough energy to grow. once they start getting yellow (the cotelydons) than you can start feeding but right now you're just overfeeding her and can run into nute toxicity fast and in the seedling stage that's life n death. Seedling stage is always slow

 

[EventHorizan]

I transplanted one of my blue ogs and shocked it I'm assuming. I'm Down to one blue og. And it's not growing at the rate I think it should be. I have been tempted to transplant this one but Im scared of the same outcome... water is wicking up towards the top but leaving top of the soil dry. I fed her the second time this whole grow so far on Saturday (w2d1) 2ml g+m+b & 2ml of b-52, voodoo, and piranha.

Through this 2 bucket system almost 1/4 of the water was still left in the reservoir when I fed her the second day.









Week 2 day 3

germ some more seeds and get you a couple net pot lids for your buckets, and some hydroton, and rapid rooters.
Germ the seeds in the rapid rooters, trans into the hydroton, fill the bucket with water to the bottom of net pot,and top water once a day for a week. After that its easy peasy... Use that bucket for what it was meant to be used for...

 

[EventHorizan]

germ some more seeds and get you a couple net pot lids for your buckets, and some hydroton, and rapid rooters.
Germ the seeds in the rapid rooters, trans into the hydroton, fill the bucket with water to the bottom of net pot,and top water once a day for a week. After that its easy peasy... Use that bucket for what it was meant to be used for...

oh put a air stone in there and use hydrogaurd.. You will really like that!

 

[Stonersteve]

germ some more seeds and get you a couple net pot lids for your buckets, and some hydroton, and rapid rooters.
Germ the seeds in the rapid rooters, trans into the hydroton, fill the bucket with water to the bottom of net pot,and top water once a day for a week. After that its easy peasy... Use that bucket for what it was meant to be used for...

So just go full hydroponic grow? No soil?

 

[EventHorizan]

So just go full hydroponic grow? No soil?

yes. You will love hydro. Its so easy a caveman could do it :) easier than using the old wick system.

 

[Tat2420]

So just go full hydroponic grow? No soil?

It's your best bet...alot less headache.
Black out them buckets though.
Hydroguard will be a must as @EventHorizan said

 

[Stonersteve]

yes. You will love hydro. Its so easy a caveman could do it :) easier than using the old wick system.

If I just buy the lids and an air stone do I still need to use ro water or can I use water from tap? How much will ph fluctuate with AN PH PERFECT stuff? That's what I'm using.