my single, multiple bucket RDWC Maui Blue Dream grow journal

[ken dog]

before I invest a lot of money on a recirculating deep water culture system, I want to try one out for myself.

So, I came up with this system myself for $27 and materials and equipment I already had... all I needed was the 7 gallon bucket, the 10 inch net pot, and a small air pump to replace the larger air pump I used for this project.

I drilled an 1 1/2 hole in the side of the bucket near the bottom, and installed a 3/4 inch bulkhead for the intake for the chilled water... then I drilled an 1 1/2 hole in the side of the bucket, so that the water exits just below where the bottom of the net pot sits. The water then pours out into the reservoir again, and then is pumped back into the chiller.

I put an 8 inch glass air stone in the bucket, and 3 regular aquarium air stones in the reservoir.
the pump is rated at 250 gallons per hour, and the chiller is 1/4 horse power, and keep the temperature of the nutrient solution is between 63 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
I am using the Current Culture line for this one.


I put it all together on the 5th of September, and transplanted a Maui Blue Dream clone with a two foot long tail into the net pot... I cut a one inch hole in the bottom of the net pot, for the tail of the clone to slide through, so that it would sit in the nutrient solution right away. I filled the net pot with hydroton.

following are 3 pictures... One on the 5th, one of the roots taken 3 days later (also the day I topped it in 3 places) ,and one taken this morning.

 

[ken dog]

I plan on vegging it for another week and a half, and I'm planning to get one more topping out of it.
I plan on cropping it at the same time, and then giving it another week or so before introducing it into flower.

I will use the same light that I am using now... It is an LED 240-watt super veg booster. from HTG Supply.
I have already had good results using this light in both veg and bloom.

here are pictures of the inside of the bucket and reservoir before I covered it.

 

[ken dog]

day 12...

 

[PaperStreet]

Nice and healthy

 

[ken dog]

2 weeks along...

 

[reloader]

Cool, nice thread. I'm a soil guy, but I have been tinkering with the idea of doing just one plant hydro like you, so I can learn how its done.

 

[ken dog]

thanks reloader... this is a trial run for me as well.
I am an ebb and flow guy with hydroton.

I think it's ready to flower.

 

[ken dog]

18 days... I will flip it tonight.

 

[reloader]

Dang, she is coming along, nice & bushy. Looks ready to flower, lets see what happens!
I am also curious how that led light does for you.

 

[ken dog]

today I added 7 gallons of water, and added bloom nutrients to the water.

The nutrient level in the reservoir had gone way down... almost to the pump, and I barely added water before it ran dry.
the EC was .6, the same as when I started, so the plant drank in both water and nutrients equally... the pH had gone up from 6.1 to 6.4...I added 5 milliliters of pH down to get the pH to 6.0.

I raised the EC to .9, with a .3 base from the water I use... the pH is between 7.0 and 7.2

I can easily see that with multiple buckets, one would need an additional reservoir with a fill valve, to make sure that the main reservoir was always topped off.

I went on a 12/12 cycle last night.

took this pic 1 minute ago...

 

[Thelbsnowman]

i see a net! Are you planning on scroging this single plant? I also see your lines running out of the tent. I am really interested in doing this technique because i recently obtained two 5 gallon buckets with the net pot tops. i see in one photo you had the pump connected to your 5 gallon bucket, and in another photo all lines are running outside the tent; why is that? Can i ask how you set this up? Maybe some photos of this set-up so i could replicate your method? Very nice Lady by the way.

 

[ken dog]

not sure yet, I will see how the plant develops ... if it starts growing helter skelter, I will consider it.
The net is there in the tent from previous grows, to help the taller plants to stand up without falling over.

my actual plan is to remove this plant from the tent in a week or so, and let it grow freely into a bush... and see how many dried grams this 240 watt LED can produce.

 

[Thelbsnowman]

That's a interesting plan you have with the plant, but will i get an answer to my two questions? and i'm not sure what you mean by

not sure yet, I will see how the plant develops ... if it starts growing helter skelter, I will consider it.

 

[ken dog]

the initial picture with the empty net pot, shows the direction of the water flow.

the rest of the pictures show the tubes leaving the reservoir, because they are going through a chiller and then directly back into the bucket with the net pot.

the water then leaves the net pot bucket, through another hole drilled in the net pot bucket, just below the bottom of the net pot... and back into the reservoir... where the pump picks it up again and pumps it through the chiller and back into the net pot bucket.

 

[ken dog]

That's a interesting plan you have with the plant, but will i get an answer to my two questions? and i'm not sure what you mean by

what I mean by helter skelter, is that if the plant loses its bush shape,, and starts to grow some uneven tops towards the light.

if I have to manually control the canopy, I will

 

[ken dog]

here's some pics that might help... let me know if you have any more questions, I will be happy to answer them as best I can.

in the picture of the empty net pot, you can see a little bit of light that is coming through the 1 1/2 hole that is drilled in the other side of the bucket from the intake hole

the other picture shows the 3/4 inch chiller hose exiting the reservoir via the pump, and the 1/2 inch chiller hose entering the bucket through a hole drilled in the bottom side.

 

[Thelbsnowman]

Thank you for answering. It was a chiller outside the tent that the lines were connect too. And all of your power too. If I didn't have a chiller could I still use this set-up? What could be the
Cons if I don't use one?

Thanks,
Snowman

 

[ken dog]

I am using Current Culture solutions... Which is totally synthetic... no organics at all.
with organics, you can get slime, and root problems if the temperature is too high.
root problems generally do not occur below 65 degrees Fahrenheit, and with synthetis, slime is not an issue.

if the temperatures are below 70 degrees without a chiller, I think I would attempt it with the Current Culture lineup of nutrients

 

[ttystikk]

I've been slimed with synthetic nutrient salts.

 

[ken dog]

I've been slimed with synthetic nutrient salts.

I believe you... I think the roots exfoliator gives a fighting chance with the Current Culture system... As well as having the water chilled below 65 degrees Fahrenheit