im in the process of making 2 bubble buckets, and i have a few things i was wondering about. how much water do i put in it? almost to the top? to the bottom of the net pot or what? also how frequently are you supposed to change the water, and also is a water level indicator necessary?
a couple bubble bucket questions
- Thread starter nightshd
- Start date
Roseman
Elite Rolling Society
You leave a 1-1/2 to 2 inch AIR pocket inbetween the water line and the bottom of the grow cups. Mark the water line with a black marker so you know where to re-fill it back to.
The VERY FIRST TIME, at set-up, put water in the tank, and adjust the water's PH, in the tank then. (you will never adjust the pH in the tank again) Take a black magic marker and mark a line inside the tank at the water line level.
Start the seeds in the cubes or in a wet papertowel or introduce the sprout or clone t o the bucket..
Then, a day or two later, you pH test it, and add pH UP or DOWN to a quart of water and add that half of gallon of water to the tank. Then remove a quart, leaving the water at the water line.
When your seeds have germinated or sprouted or cracked, or been added to the tank,
then about a week later, 6 to 7 days, you will have your first node of leaves.
Add 1/4 dose of nutes (Grow and Micro nutes) to a quart of water, pH adjust that one quart and add it to the tank. If you are over the water line you marked, remove some water. Babies are hungry, but not ready for a full meal deal so start nutes gradually.
Once a day, every day, you check the water level and pH. It will be 2, maybe 3 weeks before they start drinking a 1/4 to half gallon a day, that needs to be replaced.
As they grow, about every other day to every 2 or 3 days, you add another 1/4 does nutes, gradually adding nutes, until you have used a full dose or full packet of nutes.
After ten to 14 days, drain it, and add one gallon at a time, that is pH balanced, adding water back to the water line. After 2 or 3 weeks, they will start drinking 1/2 to one gallon a day.
Every 7 to ten days, you DRAIN AND REPLINISH.
FEEDING IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A PPM METER.
You will daily add 1/2 to one gallon of pHed water TO REPLACE THE 1/2 to ONE GALLON MISSING. If the water in the tank tests a pH of 7.0 (too high for example) and you know you want it lower, make one quart of 5.0 water, (or 5.6, or 5.7, or 5.8,) and it will make the tank about 6.0pH or in that neighborhood. ALSO, in that one quart of water added daily, add a fractional dose of new nutes.
If they drank 1/5 of the bucket's water, they ate 1/5 of the nutes, so you need to replace that 1/5 that was consumed.
IF the grow area is VERY HOT, add back a little less than 1/5 nutes, the plant is just drinking and needing lots of water.
If the grow room is cool, or NOT VERY HOT, use the full 1/6 dose.
DRAINING AND REPLINISHING
Let me add here, that Roots love the AIR BATH they
get during a Drain and Replinish. This is a very important step. The more often you can do it, the faster the plants will grow.
Remember what I am telling you here.
Pot plants sprout with two round leaves, called
cotyledons . Do NOT count those as leaves, they are really the inside of the seed.
AFTER 4 full leaves appear, use 1/4 dose of nutes.
When you start a new grow, and AFTER the seeds have sprouted, and you have done one feeding, you do a Drain and Replinish at 10 to 14 days, then every 7 to 10 days.
AFTER the first week, the water is still fresh, and you may have only added 1/4 dose of nutes, to the tank at the end of the first week IF you saw two full leaves, besides those FIRST two round ones,
During the 2nd week, you probably added 1/4 DOSE OF NUTES 2 more times 3 or 4 days apart.
AFTER 14 days from germination, you do the first DRAIN AND REPLINISH. Then, again, every 7 to ten days you DRAIN AND REPLINISH. I do a complete DRAIN AND REPLINISH every Saturday afternoon.
BUT, every Wednesday, half way through the week, I drain the bucket into a larger bucket, pH test the bucket and adjust it, and then, after ten minutes of having an empty tank AND LETTING THE ROOTS GET AN AIR BATH, I add it right back to the tank. That way I did not use ANY extra NUTES OR too many nutes, but I did give the roots an air bath.
You will see a RAPID GROWTH SPURT the very next day.
IF you do not have a ppm meter...........
and you do a DRAIN and REPLINISH........Try to think in fractional terms. You got 2 plants, and 4 gallons of water in the tank. AFTER ABOUT the first two weeks, you are going to come home from work one day and find the plants drank half a gallon of water, and need to add half a gallon of water back. Half a gallon is 1/8 of 4 gallons, so add back 1/8 dose of nutes back and half gallon of pH adjusted water.
Later, AFTER about three or 4 weeks, checking daily, you will check the plants and they will have drank one whole gallon of water in one day. ONE gallon is 1/4 of the tank's water, and if 1/4 of the water is gone, then 1/4 of the nutes are gone, so add back one gallon of pH adjusted water and 1/4 dose of nutes.
AFTER 3 or 4 weeks, you will find they drank two gallons in one day. Then add two gallons of water, (1/2 of the tank's water) so also add 1/2 packet of nutes.
if THE ROOM IS VERY HOT, USE A LITTLE LESS NUTES WHEN REPLINISHNG NUTES.
I'm often asked do I drain it out 100%? NO, I don't, I always leave about 1 inch of water to half a gallon. I'm too lazy to get it all, and it doesn't seem to matter.
I'm often ask do I clean the tank when I drain it?
No, I don't let it get dirty to start with. I do not use nutes that color the water or roots, until about the last few weeks, i do use some Liquid Karma. But I still do not let trash or any thing foreign into the tank to clean out.
pH CONTROL
I've done a lot of research on pH Control and I 'd like to offer some advice and my opinion.
NEW growers worry about it too too much, and the biggest mistake they make is trying for a perfect contstant same pH.
You will do better, to just try to keep it between 5.6 and 6.8 without changing it often. Plants eat more nitrogen at 5.7 to 5.9 than at 6.7 to 6.9. But they eat more iron and magnisum at 6.5 to 6.8. You need a flucuating pH level for your plants to absorb different nutes at different levels.
When you get your water, add nutes and pH test it, no matter what the results, if it is between 5.6 and 6.4, leave it alone or only adjsut it by .1 to .2 down.
DO NOT PLAY the pH Game.
Do NOT ride the pH Roller Coaster.
Drastic or FAST adjustments really mess up the entire system.
Adjust gradually, and slowly.
The VERY FIRST TIME, at set-up, put water in the tank, and adjust the water's PH, in the tank then. (you will never adjust the pH in the tank again) Take a black magic marker and mark a line inside the tank at the water line level.
Start the seeds in the cubes or in a wet papertowel or introduce the sprout or clone t o the bucket..
Then, a day or two later, you pH test it, and add pH UP or DOWN to a quart of water and add that half of gallon of water to the tank. Then remove a quart, leaving the water at the water line.
When your seeds have germinated or sprouted or cracked, or been added to the tank,
then about a week later, 6 to 7 days, you will have your first node of leaves.
Add 1/4 dose of nutes (Grow and Micro nutes) to a quart of water, pH adjust that one quart and add it to the tank. If you are over the water line you marked, remove some water. Babies are hungry, but not ready for a full meal deal so start nutes gradually.
Once a day, every day, you check the water level and pH. It will be 2, maybe 3 weeks before they start drinking a 1/4 to half gallon a day, that needs to be replaced.
As they grow, about every other day to every 2 or 3 days, you add another 1/4 does nutes, gradually adding nutes, until you have used a full dose or full packet of nutes.
After ten to 14 days, drain it, and add one gallon at a time, that is pH balanced, adding water back to the water line. After 2 or 3 weeks, they will start drinking 1/2 to one gallon a day.
Every 7 to ten days, you DRAIN AND REPLINISH.
FEEDING IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A PPM METER.
You will daily add 1/2 to one gallon of pHed water TO REPLACE THE 1/2 to ONE GALLON MISSING. If the water in the tank tests a pH of 7.0 (too high for example) and you know you want it lower, make one quart of 5.0 water, (or 5.6, or 5.7, or 5.8,) and it will make the tank about 6.0pH or in that neighborhood. ALSO, in that one quart of water added daily, add a fractional dose of new nutes.
If they drank 1/5 of the bucket's water, they ate 1/5 of the nutes, so you need to replace that 1/5 that was consumed.
IF the grow area is VERY HOT, add back a little less than 1/5 nutes, the plant is just drinking and needing lots of water.
If the grow room is cool, or NOT VERY HOT, use the full 1/6 dose.
DRAINING AND REPLINISHING
Let me add here, that Roots love the AIR BATH they
get during a Drain and Replinish. This is a very important step. The more often you can do it, the faster the plants will grow.
Remember what I am telling you here.
Pot plants sprout with two round leaves, called
cotyledons . Do NOT count those as leaves, they are really the inside of the seed.
AFTER 4 full leaves appear, use 1/4 dose of nutes.
When you start a new grow, and AFTER the seeds have sprouted, and you have done one feeding, you do a Drain and Replinish at 10 to 14 days, then every 7 to 10 days.
AFTER the first week, the water is still fresh, and you may have only added 1/4 dose of nutes, to the tank at the end of the first week IF you saw two full leaves, besides those FIRST two round ones,
During the 2nd week, you probably added 1/4 DOSE OF NUTES 2 more times 3 or 4 days apart.
AFTER 14 days from germination, you do the first DRAIN AND REPLINISH. Then, again, every 7 to ten days you DRAIN AND REPLINISH. I do a complete DRAIN AND REPLINISH every Saturday afternoon.
BUT, every Wednesday, half way through the week, I drain the bucket into a larger bucket, pH test the bucket and adjust it, and then, after ten minutes of having an empty tank AND LETTING THE ROOTS GET AN AIR BATH, I add it right back to the tank. That way I did not use ANY extra NUTES OR too many nutes, but I did give the roots an air bath.
You will see a RAPID GROWTH SPURT the very next day.
IF you do not have a ppm meter...........
and you do a DRAIN and REPLINISH........Try to think in fractional terms. You got 2 plants, and 4 gallons of water in the tank. AFTER ABOUT the first two weeks, you are going to come home from work one day and find the plants drank half a gallon of water, and need to add half a gallon of water back. Half a gallon is 1/8 of 4 gallons, so add back 1/8 dose of nutes back and half gallon of pH adjusted water.
Later, AFTER about three or 4 weeks, checking daily, you will check the plants and they will have drank one whole gallon of water in one day. ONE gallon is 1/4 of the tank's water, and if 1/4 of the water is gone, then 1/4 of the nutes are gone, so add back one gallon of pH adjusted water and 1/4 dose of nutes.
AFTER 3 or 4 weeks, you will find they drank two gallons in one day. Then add two gallons of water, (1/2 of the tank's water) so also add 1/2 packet of nutes.
if THE ROOM IS VERY HOT, USE A LITTLE LESS NUTES WHEN REPLINISHNG NUTES.
I'm often asked do I drain it out 100%? NO, I don't, I always leave about 1 inch of water to half a gallon. I'm too lazy to get it all, and it doesn't seem to matter.
I'm often ask do I clean the tank when I drain it?
No, I don't let it get dirty to start with. I do not use nutes that color the water or roots, until about the last few weeks, i do use some Liquid Karma. But I still do not let trash or any thing foreign into the tank to clean out.
pH CONTROL
I've done a lot of research on pH Control and I 'd like to offer some advice and my opinion.
NEW growers worry about it too too much, and the biggest mistake they make is trying for a perfect contstant same pH.
You will do better, to just try to keep it between 5.6 and 6.8 without changing it often. Plants eat more nitrogen at 5.7 to 5.9 than at 6.7 to 6.9. But they eat more iron and magnisum at 6.5 to 6.8. You need a flucuating pH level for your plants to absorb different nutes at different levels.
When you get your water, add nutes and pH test it, no matter what the results, if it is between 5.6 and 6.4, leave it alone or only adjsut it by .1 to .2 down.
DO NOT PLAY the pH Game.
Do NOT ride the pH Roller Coaster.
Drastic or FAST adjustments really mess up the entire system.
Adjust gradually, and slowly.