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DIY LED Hydro System

G

Guillo1

So I am going to try and grow some peppers with a DIY hydro system and LEDs. I have a back bathroom in my shop that I will be using. The space available for the hydro is gonna be around 24x48 inches.I want to get some suggestions as to what would be the best hydro system. I will be building this system myself so before I start I want to hear what is the best system I can built for a limited space that I have.

I have zero experience in hydroponics but I have some reef tanks going and the systems are kinda similar. I know about TDS, PH and all that stuff. I want a recirculating system since it makes it easier to get to and replace nutes. If you guys can post some links or pictures to some DIY systems I would appreciate it.

I will be building an LED fixture with 48 3w LEDs. Going to use mainly red leds 635~645mm and Royal blues 450~460nm. I posted some pictures on another thread of a DIY LED fixture that I made a few weeks ago for my reef tank.
 
ebb and flow is pretty easy. you can buy a cement mixing tub from lowes for 14 bucks, and some 1 1/4" pvc to make a stand. ebay a fountain pump... and some fittings and a timer. like 60-80 bucks total id guess.
 
1st off I am a complete newbie. I started growing ~2 years ago and started hydro 2 months ago.

+1 for ebb and flow. It is cheap, simple and if you have any leaks they go straight into your resevior. I went to lowes bought a timer, shallow tub and two deep tubs. Went to the hydro store and bought hydroton, fittings, tubing and a pump. The guys drilled the holes for me and put the fittings in. The pump was the cheapest they had and is more than adequate. I have heard that DWC is the fastest but I was blown away by the health and growth of the plants.

I can't find the site that inspired me but here is one example.
http://www.diy-guides.com/building-ebb-and-flow-hydroponic-system/

I put the shallow tub, where the plants are, on a frame and the reservior under it. I only flood the plants when the lights are on. The pump runs for 15 minutes every ~3-4 hours for 16 hours starting at 9 pm to keep everything warm. I bought two deep tubs so I can get the nutes right and then switch reserviors. This is easy because I put the shallow tub on a stand. The only medium I use is hydroton. I don't use baskets or anything else. I do keep the water constantly aerated.

The few tips I have:
1.Get started. Hydroponics is easier and faster than other growing techniques. I thought it was complicated and had very little room for error. The opposite is true.
2. I bought cheap dry nutes (maxi-gro?) and hygrozyme and innoculant. I don't know if I need the hygrozyme or the innoculant but I feel better and haven't had any problems.
3. Watch PH. For me, after 3 days it gets too high. I am trying 20% miracle grow and it seems to slow down the drift.

I have had two problems:
1. my plants got bigger than expected and I had to move two to dirt and have to trim the other two.
2. I now want to build and try other systems.
 
I'm not so sure about your homebrew LED's as i grow with large HID lighting. sorry... But i do think that DWC (Deep Water Culture)is as simple as hydroponics gets.But you need to raise the DWC system enough to drain into buckets/trays from a drain valve in your system. because it wouldnt be recirculating with a seperate reservoir (which you could do to complicate things)

basically: 1. AirPump& airstones
2. reservoir,drain valve& netpots
3. Hydroton, nutrients,seeds

i have several DWC setups, let me know if you have any questions about it. Ive never tried Ebb&Flow, but it would be fairly simple as well.... but a little more expensive to build i would imagine. an extra pump and timer would be required, as well as another container for your reservoir. both well known systems with large amounts of info around on them which is a plus ++.
 
thanx for your advice, I'm moving forward with my DWC LED system. Last night I ordered the LEDs and I also bought a tote. The tote measures 35" X 16 3/4 X 12 7/8. What would be the best size netpots for this tote? I'm going to spray paint to prevent light from penetrating the sides. I already have a bulkhead that I will use as a drain to the reservoir. Since I'm an aquarium guy I already have pumps laying around. I have also received some seeds from some generous people from this forum.
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here is a simple ebb and flow/ flood and drain we posted in grow tech
it is about 2ft x 3ft

flood and drain


here is a grow we are doing with led using simple deep water culture/ bucket systems also posted in grow tech

dwc under led

Guillo1 said:
thanx for your advice, I'm moving forward with my DWC LED system. Last night I ordered the LEDs and I also bought a tote. The tote measures 35" X 16 3/4 X 12 7/8. What would be the best size netpots for this tote? I'm going to spray paint to prevent light from penetrating the sides. I already have a bulkhead that I will use as a drain to the reservoir. Since I'm an aquarium guy I already have pumps laying around. I have also received some seeds from some generous people from this forum.
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Click to expand...


You can probably use 3.75" net pots for that size container
 
Guillo1 said:
How many net pots should I put? Is a net pot of 3.75" big enough for chilli plants? How far apart should they be placed? Lots of ???'s here. Is hydroton ok to use?
Click to expand...
I depends on several variables.
If you are growing them to maturity you will need more space, less pots, (fewer larger pots).
You can find all kind of sized net pots on our site (link from our profile page)
Just a few healthy plants will fill your grow area quickly.
Look at our grow under led, the grow on the left is a 10" pot about a foot tall. The grow on the right is 2 plants in a 6" pot.
They leaned over and sprawled out more because they are top heavy.
If you are starting them with the intent of moving them to a larger system, then you can grow more in a small space to start and then move them.

Overall, less is more.
Start with a few plants, say 3 or 4, until you dial in your system.
Don't go crazy on the nutrients.
Hydroton or grow rocks have always worked well for me.
Experiment and have fun, thats what its all about! Good Luck!

BTW, next time you buy the tupperware tote style container, look for ones that are opaque and have opaque lids to prevent light penetration. The spray paint thing can get kinda messy with plastic.
 
Nice setup. I like the less is more idea. gives your roots more room, gives a more stable nutrient reservoir. and will make things a lot less congested. i was going to suggest 4x 4".... but you're your 3x 6" looks like a nice layout.

as far as the air setup goes, i'll make a suggestion. in advance:
-the more air bubbling the better they'll do
-and make it so the the air stones can be removed and or untangled from roots easier. Ex. dont glue any connection or secure things to well. I found every airstone i use to eventually clog and stop working, and at first had my setups very well routed/secured airlines and stones. Only to have to cut it all out while not being able to lift the lid much without tearing roots out.

hope that helps. if your stones move around or float too much, you can add some sort of weight to it.
Cheers. hope that helps
 
I scored a metal rack from my neighbors shop that will work perfect for my hydro.
I also started some seeds in plastic cups. I didn't have any lids for them so I just used some plastic and rubber bands
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got the LEDs all soldered up
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Guillo1 said:
I scored a metal rack from my neighbors shop that will work perfect for my hydro.
I also started some seeds in plastic cups. I didn't have any lids for them so I just used some plastic and rubber bands
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20111216_185025.jpg
Click to expand...
the cup thing was not working for me so I had to get a dome tray and I have some babies
20120107_162153.jpg

I also made another 5 gal DWC with a extra bucket and 6" net pot. I ordered a commercial air pump that does 70L / min
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these bad boys are going into the hydro today
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I'm also going to grow some plants on pots. I'm going to use Fox Farm soil. Can I move my baby plants to this? each bin is 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 and its 4 1/2" high.
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WooT!... a bucket of IO!...

looks great... did you do a 50/50 red/blue on that setup...?


how deep did you put the seeds in the rockwool cubes...?
 
gumbii said:
WooT!... a bucket of IO!...

looks great... did you do a 50/50 red/blue on that setup...?


how deep did you put the seeds in the rockwool cubes...?
Click to expand...
yea I got a bunch of empty salt buckets laying around. No I did 15 blue and the rest red. I had the seeds germinate on top of a paper towel then I just stuck the little plant in the rockwool hole.
 
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