Chrome's mpb

[mrdizzle]

after seeing how fast the plant grows it makes me feel like a clown for growing in coco. When I used to run vert lights with coco i would veg between 2-3wks. plants would end up around 30 inch, but thats after going into the room at about 15-20inch. I put some 20inch cuts in the buckets, three weeks later they are 3.5ft tall and 4ft wide

 

[Lost]

amazing isn't it?

 

[chrometrichs]

ok.. update pics coming in a few hours...

plus my latest innovative mpb design advancement, guaranteed to brighten the life of any mpb'er at no extra cost to you!!!! Thats right mpb'ers get this must have new advancement free of charge(*)


*just pay a small shipping, handling, processing, billing, and intellectual property right fee, and a one time patent licensing fee. Other fees and charges may still apply.

 

[chrometrichs]

Its been a few weeks since my last photo update and as you can see I'm still slacking on putting up the rest of my lights. The growth is still pretty amazing in this system even with just 2/8 of the lights I have planned on. I can't even imagine how ridiculous these would look if I had Co2 and full lighting. The only problem I'm having is with a few fungus gnats, whats the best way to rid yourself of this nuisance in a mpb?

Heres some pics of my girls, reservoir, tubs, flexible tubing and trap door lids. This system is using 1" tubing for feed and drains lines to maximize the flow of the 2 danner 1800gph pumps. One being run to the 4 outer plants and the other being run to the 3 inner plants. The amount of water flow with the 1" tubing is impressive but I'm kinda wishing there was more pressure. I might scale down to 3/4 at the tubs to see if this creates more pressure and greater agitation in the tubs. Both pumps have check valves, only one has a bypass which I found unnecessary when using flexible tubing for the feed lines. The flexible tubing is very easy to remove and replace from the check valve's barbed connections. Instead of building a bulky check valve bypass, I just remove the check valve when I'm draining the system.

The other thing I wanted to note was there are 2 different types of 27gal Home Depot tubs. One is the tough box, the other is the strong box. The strong box isn't as good as the tough box, IMO. I have a strong box being used as a stand and its beginning to buckle, so watch your back, collapsing stands not cool.

And my favorite mpb innovation yet...trap door access lids. This idea and the ease of its implementation still gives me a woody. I used a regular utility knife to cut a 'U' in the lid and fold back the square. Which creates instant access to the drains and the rest of the tub without having to touch the cage, netpot or remove the lid. When I'm done with my inspection the little lid just snaps right back into place, when I need to come back, a push of the thumb and the trap door pops right up...

 

[chrometrichs]

Ok a couple more pics..

 

[mrdizzle]

im seriously feeling that flex 1in tubing, im going to change out to that. the return to the res, I would angle that elbow to one side or the other to get a real deal sloshy waterfall. have you added all the lights yet? the whole lumen shock thing really only seems to adjust within a couple days or so. those roots look insane bro good job

 

[chrometrichs]

That flexible tubing is a godsend, its better for drains than feed lines though. The feed lines tend to sag in places a little. That elbow is my silencer...lol, the sound of 7 tubs with 2 1800gph pumps emptying in that res closet is pretty intense. But your right angling the elbow does help create better flow and more air. Lights are going up this weekend, and flowering starts shortly thereafter.

 

[easypleasie]

It sounds like I have a waterfall in my place...quite relaxing though. I hear the splashing sound over everything else lol. Looks like you're girls are ready to flip! They have grown a lot since your last update. I'm right behind ya and will be flipping shortly after you.

I dig your little access hatch :) Quite clever homie

You're running 1" feed into the tubs? That probably eliminates a lot of back pressure. I'm debating on 1/2" or 3/4" right now - T'ing off of 1 1/4" main feed. I should be able to get it running in a few days so i'll run some tests to see what works better. Let us know your results if you drop down to 3/4". Keep it up, bro!

 

[burnalot420]

I love the innovation from all the guys in mpb...I love it!!!every time i check the,either you(chrome) dizzle,easy,boss,etc. comes up wit something new/tweaked/useful as fuck..i will be jumpig on board the ship here soon..gathering up all the info and innovative idea and trying to form some of my own...hey chrome what are you using to attach the flex tubing?..Burn

 

[chrometrichs]

hey chrome what are you using to attach the flex tubing?..Burn

Hey burn thanks for the kind words, the flexible tubing just twists on/off from the ebb&flow or barbed fittings, a few places where the tubing is handling some pressure I threw on hose clamps.

 

[thefabman]

Ended up adding a 3rd 1" drain to my tubs to allow the pump to run wide open with no valvling down backpressure. Conciderable amount of heat drop from the pump. Now i think i will add a 4th for security of one getting clogged.

 

[chrometrichs]

Ended up adding a 3rd 1" drain to my tubs to allow the pump to run wide open with no valvling down backpressure. Conciderable amount of heat drop from the pump. Now i think i will add a 4th for security of one getting clogged.

I was thinking about adding another drain also. The 1800gph pump still only pumps 720gph* through 3/4 tubing. This creates excess pump heat and can shorten the life of your pump. So to really get the full power and flow rate of your pump, you would need to upgrade the tubing diameter. I would love to hear dds take on using larger diameter tubing like 1" or 1 1/4" for your feed lines....Does his system require or better utilize higher flow rates or higher pressure?

*if I remember correctly!

 

[chrometrichs]

I am currently using 1" feed lines all around. Great amount of flow, Im averaging 400-600gph per tub. But the lack of pressure doesn't fire the nutrient solution into the tub with as much force as I would prefer. I'm going to test running 1" feed lines and then tee off 3/4" to the tubs. I'll let you know how it works out.

 

[crossouttheiis]

you the man chrome!! where did you get that flex tubing from? I am in the process of setting up a 5 plant as well as have the ones for my ten plant one vegging already :). Ill get around to pictures sometime soon though

 

[chrometrichs]

hey cross, I got the flexible tubing at a local landscape store, but I recently found it for sale on amazon, just search for danner tubing. ;)

 

[crossouttheiis]

So it just slid over the ebb and flow fittings with no clamps? are you just using this for the feed lines and drain lines then? I hate dealing with the poly tube shit anyhow... especially when I used to use botanicare in other hydro systems... lol. That was the biggest nightmare.

 

[chrometrichs]

Yep this tubing twists, more than slides onto the ebb/flow fittings. I would recommend hose clamps on your feed lines if you choose to use it, the drains don't have enough pressure to create leaks. I used a mix of poly, vinyl and flexible in this system. Each has its advantages for certain spots and applications, though the flexible is my favorite of them all.

 

[burnalot420]

cool cool chrome, so you haven't had any leaks whatsoever with the flex?if so that is a great choice..btw where do you recommend using certain tubing as far as advantages/disadvantages...thanx Burn

 

[easypleasie]

Thanks for posting, north! Nice and fat looking :) What happened to your thread? I don't wanna thread jack by asking you questions here.

I'm really liking the flexible tubing, chrome. I wonder how flexible the 1.5" tubing is...just wondering if you got a chance to mess around with that size at the landscape store.

I remember DD using a 3600 gph pump and running it through 1/2" lines lol. Talk about a fire hose in each mini res! I'm gonna run 1/2" off my 1.25 lines in hopes of getting more jet action/circulation in the tubs. I'd try 3/4" but my 3/4" valves won't be here for another week and I need the buckets done yesterday lol

 

[chrometrichs]

cool cool chrome, so you haven't had any leaks whatsoever with the flex?if so that is a great choice..btw where do you recommend using certain tubing as far as advantages/disadvantages...thanx Burn

Initially the feed lines I ran with the flexible tubing and it leaked where I teed off from the tubs. I went with a mix of vinyl and the flex tubing for the feed lines but had to use hose clamps to create a tighter seal with the flex tubing. Since the feed lines are stationary, like the 4" drain tubes, I recommend using poly or vinyl. The flex tubing has a tendency to sag and its harder to create seals with the pressure. The flex tubing is awesome for drains, its easy to remove, and replace.

Thanks for posting, north! Nice and fat looking :) What happened to your thread? I don't wanna thread jack by asking you questions here.

I'm really liking the flexible tubing, chrome. I wonder how flexible the 1.5" tubing is...just wondering if you got a chance to mess around with that size at the landscape store.

I remember DD using a 3600 gph pump and running it through 1/2" lines lol. Talk about a fire hose in each mini res! I'm gonna run 1/2" off my 1.25 lines in hopes of getting more jet action/circulation in the tubs. I'd try 3/4" but my 3/4" valves won't be here for another week and I need the buckets done yesterday lol

Anyone is more than welcome to post pics or ask questions in here, no worries guys.

Those are some phat colas, north they def look ready bro, enjoy the best part of the cycle!!:harvest:

I haven't had a chance to see the 1.5" tubing easy, but I'm sure its just as flexible as the 1" The info I got regarding magdrive pumps is they lose power if you try to squeeze lets say 2400gph thru a 1/2 tube, the pump slows down to accommodate the size of tubing being used. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the different concepts of force and pressure in relation to pump size and tubing size and whether flow or pressure is more desirable in your mpb.... thoughts gang?