single plant trash can grow

that was the second thing on my mind. i'm going to home to the farm this weekend so i'll have the wood and the tools on hand. i also have a second trash can but it is more square in shape with rounded edges. i'm thinking of cutting it around the middle and turning it so the bottom is the top, then cutting my res shape out so it'll slide in there....

wood would probably be more long term. and sturdier...

hm...

oh im sorry you guys,i forgot to mention that its a 30 gallon rubbermaid tub,i dont know why i left that part out lol


and church i forgot to ask you,do you have something other than the hydroton to cover the roots with?
the reason i ask is because i was always having issues with algae until i covered the hydroton,the roots were getting some light and it caused my plant to almost die

i was reading last night and noticed this problem too nikk. if i convert my system to flood and drain and ensure that the flood doesn't come within an inch of the top of my res i think that i should be ok. tom can you confirm? do you have experience with this type of thing? if i don't subject the hydroton to moisture then i guess that the algae can't grow. either that or i'll have a cover of plastic or something to stop the light from reaching the grow rocks

nikk,

what did you use to cover your rocks and roots?

well it really all depends on if your water is oxygenated enuff,if you use 2 airstones instead of one it wouldnt matter if the water is a lil high,but the problem really lies in the light seeping thru the hydroton itself,what i recommend is getting a sheet of black plastic(almost like Plexiglas but black) and shaping it to fit snug over the hydroton and putting a hole in the middle about the width of a silver dollar(them big ass quarters)and putting the plant thu it so that the hydroton is completely covered

if you cant get thick black plastic then use a thick ass garbage bag and poke a hole thru it-put your plant thru the hole and cover the hydroton,if the light IS hitting the roots you'll notice a smell(kinda like the smell of fresh dirt)and that my friend means you got algae,but you can fix that problem by covering the roots with something completely black and adding some peroxide to the water(about a cup and a half to three gallons of water)and letting it heal,the peroxide kills off the algae while feeding the roots micro oxygen bubbles

the church man said:

i was reading last night and noticed this problem too nikk. if i convert my system to flood and drain and ensure that the flood doesn't come within an inch of the top of my res i think that i should be ok. tom can you confirm? do you have experience with this type of thing? if i don't subject the hydroton to moisture then i guess that the algae can't grow. either that or i'll have a cover of plastic or something to stop the light from reaching the grow rocks

nikk,

what did you use to cover your rocks and roots?

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As long as you have the overflow drain low enough for the water to not hit your lights than you will be good
The hydroton should dry out enough on top in between waterings to keep algae from growing
In my small 3 liter bottle ebb and flow I don't have any issues with algae on the top layer

i personally used a black plastic sheet that came with one of my kids's toys,i retro fitted it so that ZERO light hit the hydroton

nikk said:

if you cant get thick black plastic then use a thick ass garbage bag and poke a hole thru it-put your plant thru the hole and cover the hydroton,if the light IS hitting the roots you'll notice a smell(kinda like the smell of fresh dirt)and that my friend means you got algae,but you can fix that problem by covering the roots with something completely black and adding some peroxide to the water(about a cup and a half to three gallons of water)and letting it heal,the peroxide kills off the algae while feeding the roots micro oxygen bubbles

Click to expand...

I would advise against using black plastic, black absorbs light so it will heat up and cause the roots to get too warm
Go with some white plastic like b&w poly plastic, the white side is very reflective

tom__420 said:

I would advise against using black plastic, black absorbs light so it will heat up and cause the roots to get too warm
Go with some white plastic like b&w poly plastic, the white side is very reflective

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oh,you see,you learn something new everyday,thanks tom

i had to make something asap and i was just thinking about pure darkness for the roots
it was initially a quick fix that turned into a project...lol,it worked soo good i decided to leave it on..lol,but i totally understand what youre saying tho,about absorbing light,it was getting a lil warm when i first put it on but i just pointed the fan up at the lights and it fixed the problem for me,but thank you most definitely,i'll change it for my next grow

as of now i haven't had any issues with this. i have one 35 lpm airpump on full blast in my res. i'm watering every three hours for nine minutes.

to do list:

build/purchase something to put my can on so that the res will come out nicely.

after that is done i will covert my system to flood and drain. my watering period will be around six minutes and the water levels do not exceed the top of the rock. i would have already done the flood and drain but i've been waiting for a fixed location for the can.

if all else fails i'll stay with what i have and cover the rocks to prevent any future problems.



on another note, my fan up top is something around 50 cfm's. for now this does well and i believe that the plant is getting enough air circulation. what i'm a little worried about is the air flow through the canopy once the plant bushes out a lil bit. should i upgrade to more airflow? the fan on there now can deal with light temps no problem but really doesn't move that much air.

Sounds good on the ebb and flow, can't wait to see the upgrades
Is there anyway that you could add a circulation fan in there?
Maybe hang one from some chains or bungee cords or somethin

tom,

for your 3 liter ebb and flow, how high along the side of the container does the water level get to? how deep is the growing medium? can you see that the top layer of rocks gets moist or anything? thanks

i have a blower that is insanely powerful. i got it off craigslist for twenty bucks. its the blower that inflates the bounce house's for little kid's parties. this thing is powerful!! easily a thousand cfm. i put a fan speed controller on it and its dialed down enough so that i could use if need be.

ebb and flow and flood and drain are synonymous? or am i just interchanging them incorrectly? so many questions so little time....

nikk,

afro caribbean? where are you from man? my parents are from puerto rico and cuba so that makes me the first generation of my family to live in the states. interestingly enough, i can't wait to get out of the states haha. i like the rest of the world better

the church man said:

nikk,

afro caribbean? where are you from man? my parents are from puerto rico and cuba so that makes me the first generation of my family to live in the states. interestingly enough, i can't wait to get out of the states haha. i like the rest of the world better

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yo soy dominicano mi pana,que lo que ay?

thats what the fuck im talkin about baby,thats why me and you had a connection from the start,much love boy boy

oh and im first generation as well,my parents still live in D.R

the church man said:

tom,

for your 3 liter ebb and flow, how high along the side of the container does the water level get to? how deep is the growing medium? can you see that the top layer of rocks gets moist or anything? thanks

Click to expand...

Well my ebb and flow is a little different than the one you are using. Mine is using an air pump and an air tight seal to push water up through a tube via the pressure the air pump makes. Here is a link, it will explain it a little better haha: http://herbsandhydroponics.blogspot.com/2009/09/worlds-simplest-ebb-flow.html

You can click on the pics to make them bigger

the church man said:

ebb and flow and flood and drain are synonymous? or am i just interchanging them incorrectly? so many questions so little time....

Click to expand...

Yup same thing, I just always called it ebb and flow lol

nikk,

my padres went to grad school in the dominican. i've been there once. good shit bro...


tom,


do you think if i put the bigger blower on there and drilled one or two more passive air intakes that this would solve the problem? when the little plant was small i didn't want to have too much air movement in there because the seedling was tossing like crazy in the wind. but now i see that as it gets older it will easily be able to stand up straight.

only problem is that the bigger one is kinda loud, even on the controller. but i'll deal with it if need be.

Yeah that would def allow for more to enter the box, it should greatly increase the air circulation. Here check out these threads, it is how to quiet down your fan:

https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/143513-diy-noise-controll-canfan-squirrelfan.html
https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/122532-quiet-neighbors-can-hear-you.html