Dirt Bag Nube wants to try bubble

Hey everyone ive been lurking and reading off this site for some time now. About a month ago i started some bag seeds some were unknown and i got the other beans all from the same bag of buds and they are supposedly lemon skunk. right now im running 2 4ft t5 6500k (i think their agrosun. Its the company that also make the shitty incandescent grow lights) running on a cheap home depot fixture. (i didnt know anything about HO when i bought it) and than i went out and bought 2 24" pieces of that metal ducting they use for wood stove exhausts (i think) and bent them to create a reflector that looks a little dome around them. so i think im not even getting the max out of my bulbs but most of the plants seem to be doing fine atm. I also have 2 27w 65k cfls on a y socket on the side of the fixture to light up 3 plants that couldnt fit under it. my plan is to take these babies outside soon. ive been preparing a couple spots with ffof and happy frog and i mixed up some nice soil myself a mixture of basic dollar general potting soil with a little bit of jiffy manure some sphagnum moss vermiculite, perlite, i also mixed in a little bit of peace of mind starter and according to my cheap burpee ph meter and what ive read all is well. i also plan on lugging some containers around too since alot of the soil around here is full of rocks and has alot of clay. i live in the green mountain state and its still pretty cold up here at night. but i think i should be able to bring them out in the next couple of weeks. a couple weeks ago i burnt the shit out of a couple of them using a cheap organic fertilizer 5-5-5 i got from dollar general as well. but i flushed them and lately most of them have been looking good (now im giving them ff grow big a teaspoon per gallon and most of them look pretty healthy. oh and i forgot to mention i started some of them in a jiffy greenhouse and some of them in solo cups with nutrapeat seed starter mix (its a local company). i now have them all in solo cups and alot of the ones started in the jiffy thing are doing the best now that ive transplanted them. So anyways im on a pretty tight budget and i dont know how i should go about the bagseeds i just ordered 5 barneys lsd and 5 barneys bluecheese all fem + all the freebies they kicked in and i want to do them roseman bubble style im a dyi type of guy so i went out and got a wisp 30-60 gallon air pump an 8 gallon rubbermaid action packer tote from walmart and i have the rest of the materials in my shopping cart on amazon. i went shopping locally and its pretty limited around here our home depot is tiny our walmart is tiny the gardening store is way overpriced. so i decided to pick up a couple amazon gift cards to get a 185 gph water pump and the 6 outlet raindrip manifold and the rest of the hydro supplys i need right now, i think i also need a new light i want to get a 400w htg convertable but the show is in my 2x6x6-8 slanted ceiling closet and im worried about heat and ventilation. ill try to take some pictures later on so u can see what i got going on right now. i wanted to ask some questions like how far should i go with these bag seeds with the stress ive put some of them through. i dont know if its worth it to go all out and spend the money on good soil just to harvest a bunch of males, and also the tote thing its different quite a bit different than the stealth hydro tote but its the only one that comes in 8 gallons has anyone here made it work? or should i go get a cheap 10 gallon sterilite tote and modify from there? id love to get some help from the bubblegang but as this is my first grow after reading tons of info from here and reading the cervantes grow bible any input would help... thanks

I'm a newb to bubbles but have been growing in soil for some time now so I have that figured out, now I'm just figuring out my bubbles.

With the growth rate you get in DWC vs soil - I'd get those plants outside and in the ground (seems like where you planned on sending those seeds) asap and start your bubbles. If I were you - I would skip the whole water pump with manifold crap. Make sure you have a good strong air pump and a couple bubble wands to toss in that tote. Light proof the tote - and get growing. While the plants are growing their roots out of the net pots, just keep the water level closer to the bottom of the pot. Do not have it touching though - you want the roots to go searching. Hand water once a day (I skipped this after a couple days as it wasn't needed if you have enough bubble action) and within 7-14 days you will be staring at your pearly white roots.

Make sure you have a good and reliable pH/EC/TDS pen too.

I wish I would have never messed with soil. My plants amaze me everyday I look at them.

DivinePower said:

I'm a newb to bubbles but have been growing in soil for some time now so I have that figured out, now I'm just figuring out my bubbles.

With the growth rate you get in DWC vs soil - I'd get those plants outside and in the ground (seems like where you planned on sending those seeds) asap and start your bubbles. If I were you - I would skip the whole water pump with manifold crap. Make sure you have a good strong air pump and a couple bubble wands to toss in that tote. Light proof the tote - and get growing. While the plants are growing their roots out of the net pots, just keep the water level closer to the bottom of the pot. Do not have it touching though - you want the roots to go searching. Hand water once a day (I skipped this after a couple days as it wasn't needed if you have enough bubble action) and within 7-14 days you will be staring at your pearly white roots.

Make sure you have a good and reliable pH/EC/TDS pen too.

I wish I would have never messed with soil. My plants amaze me everyday I look at them.

Click to expand...

Hey thanks for the advice man. ive been thinking about just doing dwc for now, i just see alot of hype over the whole bubbleponics thing and it looks good for beginners but i think i might just start doing the dwc thing and see how well it works for me.(they r pretty similiar). ill probably just be using ph strips till i can scrape up the cash for a good all in one pen like u suggested instead of getting a cheap shitty one now. how big of an airpump r we talking for 6 3.75 cups in my 8Gallon tote?

Its kind of up to you. I was getting by fine using two $11 pumps from walmart - but I recently upgraded to the General Hydroponics dual diaphram pump and my plants have been growing even faster with the extra oxygen. So if I was you I'd scrap that water pump and use that $$$ to buy that GH pump.

I run 3 net pots in my 18 gallon tote filled with 8-9 gallons of water. I have two 18 inch bubble wands running off of that GH pump. The nice part is when you expand - you can still use that GH pump. (to a point)

yea im thinkin about just getting everything started with just a simple DWC unit. oh and i checked out my air pump this its a tetra whisper 10-30 gallon airpump with only one output do u think thats enough for one unit with some walmart airstones and a bubble wand or two. this my first go at hydro and i dont really have much experience with soil but im gonna bring my babies out soon as i dont have to worry about frost. i dont have much money for lights right now but i really want to get 400w hps with a metal halide convert from htg. ive heard the hps bulbs are shit but if it craps out on me they stock 400w hps phillips brand at my local home depot. my real goal is to expand as i go and take some of veggies and and turn them into mothers. its the got to be the best way if im going to keep going perpetually which is the plan. Start small and start trying to see what works for me. but i gotta definitely get a bubbleponics unit and give it a try. i have plenty of totes kicking around the house i could use do u think my 8 gallon is a good choice? or would i be better off with a 10 gallon or even a few 5 gallon buckets as ive only got 5 seeds of each strain and the (even though they have similar charteristics). im no expert by any means but i would think that different strains would require different amounts of nutes its seems to be the case with my soil bagseeds. IDK thanks for helpin me out man all input is much appreciated +rep. heres a link to my pump and a link to my tote in question. The other thing that sux is their isnt a hydro shop within 45 miles of where i live so i think im going to get all my net pots, and hydroton, and rockwool cubes, (ph strips for now) and nutes online from either amazon or ebay. ( i dont have a credit or debit card right now i just lost my wallet the other day . The only nutes i have right now r for soil im thinkin about just getting the simple gh maxi-grow and bloom powders. any u guys have any advice on sizes my plans etc? first priority is getting mothers setup, im in no hurry. but i also would like to take some all the way to flowering like i said i plan to expand as i go. alright its gettin late time for a before bed heres a link to my airpump so u can check it out and another to my tote and if u didnt see it at the bottom what my seeds were yet im getting 5 barneys lsd, and 5 blue cheese plus the freebies which were kick ass vanilla kush, flower power, pineapple chunk, rocklock, sharksbreath, and lemon skunk. a pretty lineup for my first order.




http://www.shopwiki.com/_Whisper+10-30+Gallon+Air+Pump?o=275272261&s=748432&

http://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-1170-ActionPacker-Storage-8-Gallon/dp/B00002N9F9

Goodnight Everybody

I just ran into matagrows forum and its really helping me out. im gonna bring back the tote and get an $8 10 gallon one and save myself 15$. and start a bubbleponics journal i already have some money on my account on amazon (coinstar) and ive been saving some here and there. so im gonna start with the pump and manifold i just need a decent light and a few other supplies and ill be bubblin but times are tough right now which is one of many reasons on y ive started this project plus being laid off and having free time. i really want to get an hps/mh any of u guys have any advice in buying one? ive thought about htg, but ive read some posts that make me a little skeptical. theres also bunch on ebay used ive seeing latley. Theres also Advanced Garden idk, i might even just get a high bay fixture for now and save some dough for a nice hps down the line. idk im sharing the rep+ for all input relevant. thanks everyone and thanks matagrow your doing an awesome job on the journal. For nutes im thinking maxi grow and bloom.

Save your money! Skip the pump and manifold unless your talking about air pumps!