Setting up a recirculated hydroponic system

[SukonmiSkunk]

ok.. this is a little tutorial on how to put together the most basic recirculating hydroponics system...

 

 

ok, we are doing 8 pots here so lets rundown the shit you need to get...

3, 100 liter bags of course grade perlite

1, 50-60litre poly tub.. for the resi

16, 25-30litre black poly pots... pretty standard item at any hydro shop

20, 13mm poly pipe straight connectors

16, 13mm poly pipe T pieces

1, 19-13mm straight reducer connector

1, 19-13mm T piece

1, 19mm elbow

1, 13mm poly pipe tap

air rating hose and a small to medium aerator

about 20-30meters of black triple kink poly pipe

1 bag of 13mm push in grommets

it doesnt hurt to get few extra.. as they do come in handy later on down the track...

submersible fish pond pump... this one is an 8500l

also some shade cloth I use 2 grades, a course and a fine, about 2 meters of each.. if they are 3m wide.. just get 1 meter they to go into the bottom of the pot so you'll need 8 circles of each one...

 

everything has to be UV proof of course, and you should be able to get everything from the hydro shop...shade cloth you might have to goto a hardware store.. a hydro shop will most likely have pot socks.. which are a pretty good idea too..

 

ok, now a few simple tools to make things a shit load easier

 

a battery drill

a knife

a 16mm hole saw bit and or a deburring bit..

3-4mm drill bit

Ive also got a pair of conduit cutters I use for cutting the hose.. most people wouldn't have these, so just a plain cardboard knife like Ive got here is fine.

 

 

 

when you drill a hole there is sometimes a tiny burr.. it needs to be removed carefully.. I use the steak knife in the pic.. for the burs on the pots.. so its done extra carefully.. when it comes to drilling the holes in the top pot for the drainage i use the de burring bit.. its a lot faster and it works really well..

 

THE POTS

 

the top pot,

needs a series of holes drilled in the bottom for drainage... also needs one drilled in the top just above the top ridge for the watering hose

 

the bottom pot just needs a hole drilled at the bottom for the return hose.. this goes back to the reservoir/heart. Dont drill this hole too low.. it needs to be 3-5mm above the inside of the pot or the grommet wont seal properly and it will leak

 

here you can see how they go, one inside the other.. you can also see the the hole for the positioning of the feeding hose

 

shade cloth, cut into rounds and into the bottom of the pots.. ready to wash perlite

[SukonmiSkunk]

ok once you've got the perlite washed you can start to fill the pots... one bag does roughly 4 pots... you still need a little more just to top them off... if you've got the 30liter pots you will definitely need the 3rd bag...

 

set the pot up so the perlite can drain

 

using a kitchen sieve scoop the perlite and fill the pot... just make sure the shade cloth is pressed right to the edges.. you don't want perlite getting through... if you've bought the pot sox then you don't have to worry .. just fill...

 

fill all 4 pots.. its usually only the last one that needs draining, they will all continue to drain though.. so put them somewhere so the water wont ruin anything... i use pot with out any holes drilled in it to sit them in.. repeat until all 8 pots are done and draining... this is a good time for cone/bong/bowl/spliff/doobie/blunt I reckon then into the room to put the rest of the system together...

 

here you can see 4 pots filled.. and then 8 pots filled.. also you can see the feed rings.. these are simple to make.. just take a T piece and make a round of hose, then taking a 3-4mm drill bit drill a series of holes on one side.. this will become the bottom of the ring where the water will flow into the pots..

[SukonmiSkunk]

ok... just a few pics of the room ill be using.. its a pretty simple design made up of 10 panels all the same size then just bolted together.. each panel is 1200mmwide X 1350 high.. 2 panels bolt together on top of each other to make 1 big panel... then the 5 big panels bolt together to make the room.. with just a strip of panda fiml for the doors.. simple and quick to knock together..

 

the outside..

 

here you can see the exhaust holes.. they get ducted through the ceiling and through an ozone generator to nutralize the smell.. the last pic above shows the extraction ductwork..

the inside

 

these are just a set of old draws i had from an old wardrobe.. they make great pot stands.. these are essential for ensuring that all the water flows back to the resi..

the pot stands

 

the pullies are an essential part of the lighting set up.. this definately makes it easier to raise and lower the lights.. only cost a few dollars to set up..

the pullies

[SukonmiSkunk]

ok.. now its time to put the system together .. and its best to do this as symmetrically as you can...

first lets do the reservoir.. you'll need a series of holes along the very bottom.. again make them about 2-3mm above the inside.. its important for these not to leak of course.. here ive got 9 holes drilled along the bottom with 2 drilled about midway for the watering lines.. the last hole acts as a drainage for flushing.. so ive just connected a small piece of hose with a tap on it in the end hole makes life a little easier..

the resi

 

the bottom pots need the grommets and hose connections in place ...this is easy.. take the grommet, place it in the hole.. and taking the connector just push it through.. do the same with the resi.. you can use a little spit on it to make it slide in easier.. or.. if you have heaps to do.. you can make up a solution of 50% dish washing liquid and 50% water.. this will also help preserve the rubber.. a little trick i learned while working in a hydro shop.. would be a good idea to check these for leaks right about now.. just fit a piece of hose to the fitting and fill with water.. you'll know soon enough if it leaks.. check all grommets for leaks.. if done right you shouldn't have any issues at all and in the future all you'll need to to every 12 months or so is replace the grommets..

the fittings

 

 

now place the pots in the room on the pot stands.. place the resi in place.. somewhere in the middle of the pots.. and cut the hose to length.. as both sides will be exactly the same you only need to measure out one side and cut 2 hoses of each length.. always cut your hoses a little longer than needed, they can always be trimmed properly later at the resi...

the return hose lines

 

now just make sure everything is set right as you want it.. and connect the hoses to the resi

 

now for the water delivery system.. or feed lines.. here Ive arranged 3 T pieces to make a 4 way split to deliver to the pots.. youll need to make 2 of these.. it should look something like this.. here its important to make all 4 lines to the pots even.. this will ensure each pot will get around the same amount of water.. about 50cm will be long enough.. so cut all 8 lines the same..

water distribution

 

the pump will need to broken down to 2 lines.. should look something like this..

the pump

[SukonmiSkunk]

ok so now the room is pretty much set up.. all we need now are the top pots and to fit the watering system

 

place the top pots in the room

 

now arrange the feed lines ready for connecting.. wait until you pot the plants before connecting

 

now lets plant the plants and connect all the feed lines

 

now just connect the feed lines to the resi..

 

ok.. ready for nutrients.. i use DucthMaster nutrients.. but what ever you like really.. they are pretty much the same thing.. i use DM for a base hydro nutrient using monsta bud for the first half of flowering and Ozitonic for the second half.. sometimes.. most times ill ad organic Rock Juice at the start of the 4th week.. about 80-100ml.. you dont need a real lot.. and its only a one time thing.. then flush about 2-3 weeks later

 

so good luck with it all..

 

SSkunk

[SukonmiSkunk]

this grow is done and dusted so thought id throw up the pics

these start from the 2nd day of flowering.. i gave the plants a week on veg just to settle in from the transplanting.. they had been vegging in my wardrobe for a few weeks.. they've been kinked down from the day they were planted.. ill keep doing this right up till around the end of week 3 in flowering.. by then the room should be full enough to let go.. the strain is White Heaven

 

day 2 flowering

door1

 

door2

[SukonmiSkunk]

at day 9 flowering

door 1

 

door 2

[SukonmiSkunk]

at day 14 flowering

 

door 1

 

door 2

[SukonmiSkunk]

at 20 days flowering

 

door 1

 

door 2

[SukonmiSkunk]

at 28 days flowering

 

door 1

 

door 2

 

some bud shots