Here's the bato bucket, you can see the reservoir. Two elbows are combined for one drain fitting. This way, the water always siphons out from the bottom and never leaves stale water in the bucket. The next pisture shows how the bato drain-plug fits into the PVC pipe. The buckets are the same just a different color.



Here's the layout, assembled in the room. Since in this set-up, the reservoir is 2' lower than the system, it's easy to drain. I just put a slight angle on it by raising the long side of the pipes about 2" and the downward pipe that leads to the reservoir about 1". If your reservoir is in the same room, you'll have raise the buckets so gravity can do it's thing. I've seen PVC structures, tables and the common "sawhorse" set-up.

You will of course have to figure out how many T-fittings and elbows you'll need to construct the drain pipe. ($0.50 - $2 a piece) It's really very easy to piece this together an Erector set would be way more complicated. Make sure you get PVC Primer and PVC Cement to make sure they are leak-proof.

One more important point about the PVC pipes: They are dirty when you buy them. Take the time to wash them with a bleach solution to sterilize everything. I scrubbed them on the outside, and used a long stick to shove a big sponge with bleach-water through them. Rinse very well and let them be for at least a day before using. After all, your girls' food will run through those pipes.


Constructing the Feeding System:

Now that the drain system is established we have to worry abut the feeding of the plants.

I use a MAG-drive pump with a rate of 250gph (Gallons per Hour) The pump is placed in the reservoir (or outside if you want to use the pump in-line). A 1' riser is connected to the output via a female/female adapter. (Risers only come male/male and the pump's output is also always male). I screwed a T- piece to the top to split the output. One side goes back to the res for mixing and pressure adjustment via a shut-off valve, the other side goes to the feed-line, also with a shut-off valve in between.






I placed two lines between the 4 rows of buckets (1 line for 2 rows) via one t and one elbow connector. The feed line comes rolled up and is very hard to straighten. It rolls right back up when straightend which is a pain in the ass. I got some fasteners to nail it to the floor. Both lines end with an end-cap. The T's and Elbows are totally drip-proof. I was worried at first but I ran some tests, actually trying very hard to rip apart the connections but to no availe...




Now you'll need a hole-punch. This one in the pic is a little more expensive and easier to use but they're available for about $3. Figure out how many drippers you need and punch holes into the feedline at an even distance.







You put your 1/4" connectors into the holes of the feed line, in this case they came with the drippers. Again, these plugs are tight and a perfect fit. If you punch a hole at a wrong position you can get a "goof-plug" to fix it. I use these, from 0-10gph adjustable drippers, available at Home Depot Or Lowes. Connect your drip-line to the 1/4" connector and then to the dripper. Use 2 drippers per bucket.


Here's what the set-up looks like without the buckets.



And now with the buckets for a test-run. I let it run for an hour or so, double check all the connections before filling the buckets. I run the pump for 5 minutes every 3 hours and have the drippers set at about 3gph. I forgot to time the res-cycle time but I guess at this flow rate it would be around 8-10 minutes.

The batos run well with all kinds of media: coco coir, clay, lava rocks, granulated rockwool but perlite is the most common medium. It's relatively cheap, provides stability and keeps light from the roots. A 24 lbs. bag will fill about 10 buckets.

First you fill the buckets just to the top of the little 1/2" ledge they have. Now the perlite has to be thoroughly watered. Water it till the bucket starts to drain and go a minute longer (you want to make sure it's pretty dirt free so you don't clog your connectors). Now drain the entire bucket since you don't want plain, unadjusted water remaining in the bucket's reservoir.


The Outcome:

Here are my clones. Next shot is a week later. Followed by the final product!