hydroponic Going to Hydroponicw

LawrenceJ2007

LawrenceJ2007

So I have been studying up on different systems to go to for hydroponics, i'll be growing superhots over the winter in the greenhouse. So I only have to worry about this for right now so I need some help! You guys know a ton more than I do so I come to you all. 
 
Here is one I have been looking at to see if it's a viable option to go for. So please let me know if you think it's a good setup!
 
http://monstergardens.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=42_44_530&product_id=861
 
I know several people here in Ca. that after the 60's went from organic to commercial grows using Hydroponics.
I guess they aren't organic anymore tech speaking but don't use stuff like poisons etc.
Most grow in the Mohave desert in greenhouses.
Solor power etc.

They got the land for nothing at the time and scrounged for the stuff to use for their grow.

I can't see paying that kind of $ for that setup.

Most of it's components you can get for free.

The people I know scrounged most of their stuff from the Edwards military base.

When the guys at the base saw what they were trying to do they actually helped them set up stuff and saved stuff they thought they might be able to use.

I've heard similar stories about small town junk yards doing the same thing.
The promise of fresh veggies in winter goes a long way.

I guess it depends on what time you are willing to spend collecting and assembling your setup.

That setup looks like a bunch of free 5 gal. sized planters with a plastic drum.
Pumps and timers would be cheap in general.

I'd think you could build your own for $200.00 +/-.
BUT you have to do the hole drilling/setup/assembly/scrounging etc.

5 gal. buckets are free at several scarf and barfs.
A 50 gal drum that is metal with a plastic insert are free from some places that get their products in them.
Make sure they aren't from nasty stuff.
We got the plastic ones mostly from a food supplier that made their own sauces(some were from Soy sauce or wistershire sauce etc.).
Pure plastic ones they tossed out,metal ones with plastic lining were cheap,paid their deposite($10.00)or were free too.

Before paying for a setup I'd do some calls to local places for 5 Gal. buckets etc.
You probably will be suprised about the people that don't have 55 gal. drums.Theirs are 100+ gal.(for free).
The square ones with metal cages are sold at high prices though,even used.

Either way,check out your options before buying something you can make.
I don't know your situation so it might be in fact better to buy that setup...
 
yeah as smokemaster said you can get a lot of that for free or cheap, I would never spend that much on a system like that for that reason. all you would actually need to buy is the 50 gallon because I always see them for 6-10$ on craigslist and local places, the hoses, pump, nutrients and net pots. You can get all that for >200. Just my .2cents think about it.
 
Alright thanks you guys! I'm always up for building things on my own and if it can be done then I will do it. Could anyone just give me a general list of supplies I would need for a set up. I want to grow around 20 plants over the winter in the greenhouse. Even during the winter it stays around 75-80 degrees with the heaters I have. 
 
Any help is great!
 
That system is going to be extremely difficult to build on your own. It is not as simple as it looks. The main thing you are spending money on in that system is the control box which regulates the drain cycle and fill cycle. Then each site has 2 buckets one for the clay pellets that is suspended in a larger fill bucket. 
 
It is basically a flood and drain in buckets instead of a table. That being said making a traditional flood and drain system is not to difficult to build and will work great for about a fraction of the price. 
 
TXCG said:
You should look into a recirculating Dutch Bucket setup. They are easy to construct & do well with large, long term plants. You can see the small scale one I built back in 2009 starting on this page: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/7681-2009-grow-log/?p=166045
 
Also check your PM, sent you a link to a book on DIY systems.
Click to expand...
+100
I have 10 dutch buckets going now and it is the way to go for outdoor (or in your case greenhouse) growing. There are some details in my glog this year. It isn't hard to construct.
 
This guy got me interested in the concept, but I did many things differently than he did, most notably, I just have standard 8 and 10 inch net pots on top of the 5 gal buckets filled with hydroton or rock. Worked great all year and I'll be doing it next year too.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXy32Dr4Z4A
 
I've come to the conclusion to go with a DWC system. I can get everything for growing 8 plants for under $130 and have room for expanding. So if anyone has good ideas for this type of growing that would be great. Or tips, what not to do, and what to do, I would love to hear it!
 
Lawrence 
www.paperlanternphoto.com
 
DWC is a good choice, but you should look at making the system recirculating or at least hooking all of the buckets together so they can be filled and drained at one time. Filling and draining 8 buckets individually will get real old, real quick. Been there, done that.
 
Thanks Jeff, I've looked at the recirculating systems and they seem better in the long run to have running. I'll have to find a way to chill the air pump it seems but I'm sure some fans can help that. I build enough computer towers to understand cooling!
 
Whats up Lawrence,
Just some notes about hydroponics in the winter.  I started 100 plants and gave away a bunch.  20 plants is a lot for your first hydroponic grow in my opinion.  Hydroponics, for a first timer takes a lot a lot alot of maintenance.  Peppers are not the easiest to deal with inside, and in hydroponic systems.  I use NFT trays and rock wool, and got super great results with 400 Watt HPS and some fluorescent bulbs. 
The things I noticed were that peppers uptake A lot of water, and they like higher and higher nutrient solutions as they mature.  They hate the cold and dry atmosphere of inside grows, and root temperature has to be higher than average.  At least 75 F.  The roots of pepper plants are thick, and they drown easy, and if they lack water, they will wilt very quickly.  You have to be able to be there every day to keep an eye out.  I recommend big pots of premixed soil with a low pete moss content in 5 or 10 gallon buckets for a winter greenhouse grow and not hydroponics.  Soil is much much easier to manage and regulate.  Unless you are wanting to sell product and you absolutely need to use hydroponics to get the volume and output of plants necessary to pay some bills, you may want to use soil for the majority, and try 1 or 2 in a hydroponic set up of your choice.  As for the choice of system, like everyone has pointed out, that is a very expensive barrel and bucket system when just the simplest dripper system is necessary, or even an air pump dripper system like the traditional GH pots....What ever you decide, I can say that growing peppers is addictive, as well as the recipes and cuisine that you can develop!!! Lots of fun, and lots of luck there in region 7a.
Hotty
 
I know a guy who used a small bar type fridge to cool his water.
Filled the fridge with coils of plastic tubing and ran all his water through the fridge to his plants.
He grew in the desert so his water was 90 degrees+ at times in the summer.
The first few years were hard.
Back then it was all trial and error.No internet back then.

In the winter he put the fridge on a swimming pool timer so it only ran part of the time.
I guess you could run it on a thermostat in your resevior instead but it takes a while to get the fridge cool...
Maybe to a valve thing hooked to the fridge.It opens when temps get high and bypasses the fridge when cool enough.
These guys scrounged 99% of the stuff they used for their first greenhouses etc. at first,until they had an income.
Last I heard they were buying a couple more large greenhouses and doing well growing specialty stuff for high end hotels and restaurants.
 
Thanks Hotty and smoke! Sorry I was out of town with some friends and had no internet. But Hotty thanks for the opinion, the more I look at it the more I do not want to do 20. I bought a small seup to try out on a Moruga and some lighting. But I'm afraid the moruga was cross pollinated with another pepper, maybe a bhut. 

Heres a photo for reference...kind of mad at it to be honest. Paid $20.00 for it. 
9535525926_e924087235_b.jpg
 
Nope none of them have ripened yet so, I have to see what the other ones turn into. I e-mailed the grower, Midwest Chilis. So I do not know if they have an account on here or not, but yeah.
 
I grew in 115+ weather outside without a chiller. The plants did stellar. Here is why I think it worked:
1. Flood and drain with coir and perlite. The flood and drain let the roots cool and didn't depend on dissolved oxygen. The coir supports good bacteria.
2. frequently inoculated with good bacteria.
3. used enzymes

Before I got tired of it. I was putting 7+ gallons of water in the res everyday. I had put the plants on my patio roof. Just too much work.

Anyway, I think if you go with flood and drain you don't need a chiller.
 
frosty said:
I grew in 115+ weather outside without a chiller. The plants did stellar. Here is why I think it worked:
1. Flood and drain with coir and perlite. The flood and drain let the roots cool and didn't depend on dissolved oxygen. The coir supports good bacteria.
2. frequently inoculated with good bacteria.
3. used enzymes

Before I got tired of it. I was putting 7+ gallons of water in the res everyday. I had put the plants on my patio roof. Just too much work.

Anyway, I think if you go with flood and drain you don't need a chiller.
Click to expand...
 
I followed your old thread where you did this and did it myself (I am in the same area -- it gets hot).
 
I took five 5-gallon buckets, cut them to about 2/3 of their height, dropped 2 gallon fabric grow pots in each one (which leaves around 3/4 of an inch on each side for breathing room), then I have a 27 gal. reservoir pump water/nutrients into each bucket via 1/2" pvc pipe. The water drains back into the reservoir via gravity (the buckets are elevated). It makes for efficient use of the water since it doesn't take much to fill up the plant buckets. It looks something like this
 
                    |  |      |  |      |  |      |  |      |  |
____________________|__|______|__|______|__|______|__|______|__|
\             /
 \-----------/
               res                     bucket        bucket         ...             ...
 
For "soil" I used 50 / 50 sphagnum peat moss and perlite with 1 tablespoon of lime per gallon. I actually only need to fill up the res about once per week, even during the summer, but my plants only get direct sun til about noon and my reservoir doesn't get much direct sun. The pump runs once per day for 2 minutes to water the plants. The buckets get about 3/4 of the way full and then the pump shuts off and the water drains out in about 2 minutes.
 
It has worked really well, although I only got one good wave of peppers before the summer heat came on. I'm hoping some fruit set as it starts to cool off over the next few months. I only have habaneros growing in them and they don't seem to tolerate the summer heat well.
 
The only problems have been the "elements"..... bugs, heat, storms. But that goes with any outside setup.
 
I also tried DWC with 5 gal buckets and while that worked fine, I didn't have much luck getting pods on there. I don't know if it had to do with the heat or what. Anyway, it was too much maintenance refilling them so I gave up on those.
 
The flood and drain method above is low maintenance, which I love (duh). It is also VERY quiet, unlike DWC.
 
Thanks btw. :cool:
 
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