My journey to the MPB Universe!

[easypleasie]

Thanks JK, i'm just trying to get a grasp of how these individual components work and how they contribute to the overall success. I'm a thinker and like to know the how and why behind things. I'm stoked to even have your input, bro. I know you say it like it is and you always ask the hard questions. If it's not too much a waste of your time, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the differences. I'm all eyes! I may not get the principles right away, but it usually comes to me with a little thought.

DDS's view of the drip line has had me thinking a lot. And especially with all the new advice about sticking to the original plans. lol i've been persuaded! I'm gonna change things up to closely match the original plan as much as possible. Otherwise, my thread doesn't really even belong in this forum as it's not a true mpb system.

All suggestions, comments and criticisms are welcomed here! It could only benefit those that might be following along. Knowledge is power! lol

 

[Boots Sugarleaf]

DDS's view of the drip line has had me thinking a lot. And especially with all the new advice about sticking to the original plans. lol i've been persuaded! I'm gonna change things up to closely match the original plan as much as possible. Otherwise, my thread doesn't really even belong in this forum as it's not a true mpb system.

All suggestions, comments and criticisms are welcomed here! It could only benefit those that might be following along. Knowledge is power! lol

funny, I was just thinking the same kinda thing about what mine will really end up being...if it isn't an exact copy maybe there should be a sub-forum titled:
"DD"S Inspired RCDW ssytems"

just a thought

 

[easypleasie]

I'm with ya if we have to move :) I was feeling guilty about not following the plans and being in the forum.

My thoughts on possible improvements are just that, thoughts. I enjoy the discussions and have learned more in the last week than I have in the last year! I'm a believer in anything can be improved. I hope you don't take any offense in us trying, brother dds.

 

[Lost]

Honestly I think all of these Hybrid systems are very close to what the MPD's are. If we each have a system that is a little different but provides the plants the same things, it will show us how each part of the system affects the yield. I honestly see my rcdwc system as an unskillful copy of MPD's stuff before these forums and discussions were about.. Running my system for 2 full runs now has really helped me see the why of DD's system. I will be changing things based on my own personal experience, so my up coming "copy" of DD's system next run will still be largely his with my tweaks for my environment, floorplan, plant number, budget, etc..

Nah, I think its all good. :)

 

[doubleds]

I'm confused with this statement. Also, what are these design flaws you speak of? This is based off DDS's mpb system.

I do appreciate your input, JK but I'm not sure how you relate mine to KBS. There's almost 6 gallons (22.7 liters) of solution for the roots to swim in. DDS runs about 5 gallons (18.9 liters) in his tubs. The water level is about 7 inches at the drains (1.5" above bottom of net pot) and the surface area is twice as wide as it is tall. The only difference is my tubs are round. Maybe the photos are misleading? These things can't be compared to a 5 gallon bucket.

I've read up on the KBS system before. Lots of different opinions and seems like a lot of attitudes over what is best. Totally turned me off as it was annoying as hell! I can care less to get involved in silly online battles over things that aren't that important to me. Growing isn't my life so that could be a factor.

I like Doubleds mpb system as there are fully laid out plans with pictures and test grows to boot. Probably something we'll never see of your system, though you love to brag about it :) lol

From my readings, it would make no sense for me to go the kbs route. That seems like going backwards. It's a system that has many so-called flaws but still works fine for the tons of people that are using it.

I'm gonna run these round tubs first go and see what happens. I'm not gonna lose sleep over the decision lol! Plenty of time for refinements. If it doesn't come out so great, i'll change things up. I've got plenty of time to experiment. My income doesn't rely on my grows so I can do it for fun. Who knows, it might surprise us...but what do I know, i've never done hydro before and i'm still a relatively new obsessed grower :)

Thanks for chiming in, Boots! Much appreciated, bro :)

Yo sky high, good to have ya over here! Thanks for the screen idea. Originally, I wanted to keep coco from falling into the res. I have some girls in coco pots that I wanted to run in the system. I found a simpler solution and that was just to put the girls in little coco baskets. I'm holding off now as i'm not gonna be running those plants. Waiting for my mom to get big enough to pull enough clones.

Stick around, bro. I hope to put on a good show or completely bomb lol

your very correct bro
kbs was a good system back in its day but today we know of a much better way. A very very easy way of doing 3 times as good as the kbs with out all the complications.

your doing well bro and its an honor to have you in my section and thanks for the help with everyone else here. First time i have had time to vistit the farm in a few days. Have a harvest every friday til late january and they are all 3 - 5 day harvests so i will pop my head in when i can.

dds

 

[easypleasie]

Thanks for the encouragement, bro. I'm stoked to be a part of it all :)

I'll try my best to help out. It wasn't that long ago that I starting growing and I remember how tough it was sorting through the vast amount of info available online. Hopefully, all of these threads will make things simpler for those thinking about the mpb system. I'm really excited about being here and calling the farm my online home. Some really cool people hang out here :)

 

[easypleasie]

prototype

After doing a little thinking about dds' bigger mini-res, I decided to construct my own :)

Here's my latest prototype that I threw together from a 35 gallon res with a custom plastic top, hole is for a 10" netpot. Inside dimensions are 30" x 24" x 12".

By suggestion, I might try a few different mini-res sizes to see what the differences are. I have to agree with Lost about having some differences so we can see what affects the yield. I'll have a couple of my round tubs, a couple home depot tubs and the one big tub in the middle. This may be a little more accurate if it was on a bigger scale, but for now, it's just gonna be 5 plants and 4k light in a diamond shape.

My question is, how should the flow be going through 3 different size mini-res's. I have the valves to control the flow but wondered if there's a certain way that they should all fill up. With the same size res, I can just look at it and see they are filling up the same...not sure how it should be with the different sizes.

It will be a little while before I can test anything so there's time for improvements.

 

[mrdizzle]

that is bad ass, do you own a cutting board factor or what

 

[Lost]

Wow, thats nice!!

 

[easypleasie]

Nah, but I should start one! lol My buddy works in an industrial park where there's all kinds of good crap being thrown away daily. Recycle! Amazing how much is wasted.

If the big res works, i'll make more :) Not sure how to gauge it's success though. Maybe I can see how big the root mass is in comparison to the size of the res? I have no idea lol! Out of that plastic material so i'm kinda at the mercy of trash day. And don't have any spare res's laying around lol

Found a hiccup with my round tubs. They aren't wide enough for the cage to sit on! Gotta add supports for it to work.

 

[mrdizzle]

oooh shit yea you cant put cages on them. you have to have those cages, i couldnt even imagen one without. you know those 35gal res are like$50, but those 27gal tubs are $12. i dunno if those extra 8gals are worth it the $$

 

[Lost]

Ahhh! I started making my cages last night. Bolt cutters and cement reinforcement, the 4 x 4 stuff, is what i used. I think mine are too tall but they rest on my tubs perfect. I'll probablly start my own thread in the MPD forum since I prety much have all my stuff and am just slowly ptting it together while I wait for my current flower cycle to end.. Got my res, 100 gallon, as well as my 4 in pipe.. Its just elbow grease now :)

 

[Lost]

Here is an idea, make your cage fit around your tub! The plant is going to be wider than your tub so you should be good right?

 

[easypleasie]

It's a pricey item and only gonna be worth it if they are significantly better. Hell if it's better, I won't hesitate to smack down a couple hundred bones to make 4 more. It's gotta prove itself first. Besides, $200 is chump change compared to how much i've had to shell out already! lol kinda scary. I might have an addiction :)

It might be a better test if I used the big tub with one of the outside plants so there are others to compare it with. Only difference would be more air stones and bigger res.

Good idea lost! If I use the 6ft tall fencing, i can get away with doing that. I just need to make a wide base for the tubs and cage to sit on. If I can only get the 5ft fence, i'll need to add some braces on the top of the tub for the cage to sit on. I'm not sure how stable that would be, though. I'll just get the 6 ft. fencing and I should be able to use that for all of them. Comes in a big ass roll. Haven't found the 6'x6' sheets yet.

 

[easypleasie]

Yeah DHF, thanks buddy...this is pretty cool tinkering with this stuff. Makes the growing aspect a whole lot more interesting when you start learning the science behind it all. It would be a whole lot simpler if I just followed everything to a tee and didn't ask questions lol

I have a bad habit of getting ahead of myself...I gotta relax a bit and let things fall into place. Very true about patience...one day at a time...one day at a time :)

Stop by anytime, bro. I'm diggin your input on everything. much respect!

 

[easypleasie]

Hyped is an understatement lol. I'm pumped to the max on this setup! That must have been one hell of an experience being part of the early kbs days. I'm hoping we're going through something similar now :) Without the attitudes, of course lol

I went through a whole set of steak knives cutting those damn holes out...lol, nah, just messin witcha...just a simple ol' jigsaw with a fresh blade. Cuts like butter :) I'd make my own custom res's out of that plastic if money was no object :)

Ya, I like those UC systems...I have a crazy setup similar to that in mind...think mote :) I might try to build it one day to see if it would work. Need some experience with hydro first before I go designing/improving any systems lol! Ok, so what's an air pump for? lol

If you're feeling the itch, join the party, bro! Would love to be learning with/from ya on our dds adventure.

I'm feeling pretty confident we'll have a little success with the runs...especially with all the great help we have here from folks like DDS and yourself :) haha i'm a kiss ass lol. For real though, we're much better off with the knowledge ya'll can pass on than not. Great having ya on board!

 

[easypleasie]

Oh yeah, the Logic hammer will come crashing down real quick! Homie doesn't play that lol. This place is good at sifting through the proverbial garbage. Makes for a killer place to learn...oh and get good genetics from breeders willing to help.

Good stuff on the kbs history. I wonder if he's laughing his ass off these days or if he's still bent lol.

I would hope dds straightens my ass out if i'm going in the wrong direction. I'd appreciate it!

One more post buddy.

 

[easypleasie]

Just a little update on my progress. My last harvest was just completed and i'm cleaning the room up for the next run. Took me a week just to trim everything...lol really considering if I really want to do a bunch more trimming! I'm more than happy with my yields, just wanna try hydro so I don't have to veg so long to get good yields like I have to in coco. And it's fun to experiment :)

I'll be taking clones from my favorite mom in a few days. Here are pics of my supposed Matanuska tundra :) If anyone has grown her, i'd love to hear your descriptions of her.

Happy New Year to all!

 

[mrdizzle]

i love it dude, did u have problems with that semi ridged ducting, i fucked around with it but its like butter, if you pull it too hard or grab it too tight it falls apart.

 

[easypleasie]

Thanks bro, it's gonna be a true experiment running her in hydro.

Only problem I had with the rigid flex tubing was knocking it a little off vertical if I bumped into it too hard. I would do a body lock on it when I needed to adjust it. Otherwise, it dents and gets out of shape. And you gotta be careful not to hit it with anything sharp. Punctures pretty easily. For the most part, the rigidness kept the tubes vertical and the airflow was much better than the typical flexible stuff I used before. This was good to use as I got a chance to experiment with different placements. I'll switch to full rigid here soon.