New RDWC (Under Current) build

[Tstat]

Well, my final parts will not be here until Monday. Damn UPS... they are right down the street, yet I can't pick them up! Anyway, here is the pump I bought, it's a 700:

And here are some cool airstones:

And finally, here is shot of the other side of the room. It's starting to fill up nicely:

 

[Tstat]

Just a quick update. I got my final (or so I thought) package yesterday in the mail. Unfortunately, they sent me just the mesh filter and not the filter assembly. So, they are going to have it here by tomorrow night. I'll take Thursday to set the whole thing up and get the plants in there. Finally.

Do I need to install the float valve if I'm not using a reservoir? I'm not sure I understand how that works. I also bought the drain kit, but found out I didn't really need it. The T and assorted fittings all came from Lowes for about $2.00. More to come!

 

[NWElite89]

You don't need to install the float valve if your not using a reservoir, but I would recommend it doing because once you get the UC dialed in the plants will be drinking a lot of water, especially in the flower stages. Once fully assembled, you want to figure out where the water line will be when your in veg and have the float adjusted to that height. Farther along in the grow cycle you may want to adjust float valve lower for flower to finish the ladies up.

 

[Tstat]

Yep, makes sense! Thanks so much. My filter will be here tomorrow and the system will be finished sometime Thursday. I'll post photos when I'm done.

 

[NWElite89]

Cant wait to see them girls in the system. What nutrient line do you plan on using?

 

[Tstat]

I picked up some Ionic. I also grabbed some root stuff they recommended.

I have Big Bud/Widow and Critical+ in veg. In fact, they are getting huge at 3 plus weeks and ready to go!

Any tips for when it gets going? Nutrient changeout, etc?

 

[ttystikk]

Nice build, I'm interested to see how well it works for you. Meantime, I thought I'd share a similar build, using 27 gallon tuffboxes. I used one inch threaded bulkhead fittings and one inch flexible hose for connections, a 633 gph waterpump, and I have an eco 5 diaphragm style air pump running several airstones per tub. My chiller coil goes in the headbucket and the pump sits in the tail bucket on the far end. The 27 gallon tubs all have foil wrapped foam insulation board covers to block light and heat. Each bulkhead fitting cost $3, the tubs were $10, hose runs $1.50 a foot retail- much less used, copper cooling coil was under $20, waterpump was $45, air pump $75 used, airstones a couple bucks each... miscellaneous fittings a dollar or two each... no way all this adds up to much more than $350 or so- and all my spare parts are in a drawer ready and waiting.

I've just pulled my first run of mini trees, and it is clear that I need to let them get larger in veg before I flip next time, especially with this strain. It did well, but yield isn't where I want it to be as yet. I had an initial problem with slime, but a flush with h2o2 and refill with fresh water and Cap's bennies tea- plus the tub covers- did away with the problem immediately and apparently permanently, because it's never reappeared in any of the multiple of these I've built recently. Pics;

 

[Tstat]

Wow, so this thing kicked my ass all day. It went together just fine and started leaking like a bastard. Every time I stopped one leak, another popped up. I got it down to a slow trickle right now, but WTF?

I'm using bulkheads. I had to go buy a pipe wrench to tighten them up. It worked on some, others are still dripping. Anybody have any suggestions?

Now I know why so many people say to just buy a system!

 

[NWElite89]

Hope it all works out for ya Tstat! Have not used the bulkheads before, but my uni-seals are still going strong.

 

[ttystikk]

My 1" bulkheads hold water at finger tight. Be sure the rubber gasket is on the inside of the tub, not the outside? I use flexible 1" hose, it pushes onto the barbed fittings and holds water fine. After all, it's a whole whopping few inches of head pressure!

 

[Tstat]

So, I got the leaks to stop and everything is looking good!

Here is the air pump. It's a 6 outlet. I have one in each grow module and 2 in the controller.

Here is the filter:

400 watt HPS:

The one on the right is a 600 watt HPS:

The lids are hinged, so you can check on things:

The controler:

The water pump 700:

The fans:

The mess on the other side. This is what I'm trying to avoid by going with larger plants:

The cloner. Got roots?


The veg table:

The end results:


In the end it cost less than $500 to set this up. It was a pain in the ass to get the leaks to stop, however. I would suggest getting the 13 gallon CC buckets if you want to try it.

So, I don't know if anyone is following this thread, but I still intend to update it. We will see how it goes, but if you want to see more, let me know.

Edit: I don't know why some of my pics don't show up!

 

[NWElite89]

Looking good and glad you got the leaks stopped. . May want to get a larger pump as TK suggested. I have AP60 for my rubbermaid 14-gallon 4 plants with two air discs in each except my epi-center and its it hasperfect. Might not be bad step up to the AP100 in case you want to add another set of modules down the road to the system.

 

[ttystikk]

Nice setup, let's see it grow some plants!

 

[Tstat]

Well, ran into my first problem. White gunky root slime:

I emptied everything and cleaned it with bleach, let the whole system dry out and refilled. At least now I know exactly how much liquid I'm running. Hopefully the correct amount of H2O2 will fix this going forward.

 

[twist1]

Tstat.. Looks good. I will be building my system soon, and I like what you have done with the two openings in your totes. I was thinking of doing something like your system for the veg stage (2 pots in each tote).
My question (to anyone) would be if it would be difficult to transfer the 8" pot into a new tote (one tote for one basket) for the flower stage? Would the roots be entangled? And if so... I guess cutting them is out, correct?

 

[ttystikk]

Well, ran into my first problem. White gunky root slime:

I emptied everything and cleaned it with bleach, let the whole system dry out and refilled. At least now I know exactly how much liquid I'm running. Hopefully the correct amount of H2O2 will fix this going forward.

I fought the snot with sterilizers and never got ahead of it. YMMV, but what did the job for me was covering four bases;
1. Adequate aeration, with stones or waterfall
2. Temperature management, maintained below 66F
3. Making certain root zones and nutrient water is in the dark
4. Inoculation with beneficial microbe tea, at least initially

That's my winning formula, and it works very reliably for me.

 

[Tstat]

I have all that except for the microbial tea. I have been reading about it and maybe should give it a try.

Twist1, I think it would work fine. All depends on how big the plants get. I veg mine in an ebb and flow tray.

 

[Tstat]

Ok, the H2o2 is working great. I didnt really know how to use it, but now I'm adding it every few days and my roots look great. These plants won't yield a ton due to that root problem, but I'm learning.
In fact, I'm now using H2O2 in all of my trays. I think my roots were fucked before I put the plants in the new system. I can't believe I haven't been using it all along. My roots always looked like shit, and now I know why.

 

[NWElite89]

Glad you got the root problem all figured out. Cant wait to see the next batch of pictures.

 

[Tstat]

Week 4:

Roots are looking great at week 4. Obviously, I didn't get great growth in the beginning, but it's picking up:

Now, the problem I have is the leaves are discoloring. It's kind of like a rust look to them. I have no mites, etc so I'm not sure what to make out of it. Any ideas?

Here is the Ebb/Flow on the other side. Mad growth with the H2O2: