Heisenbubbles Do it yourself RDWC build

[inthetrees]

84f? Wowzers I was panicking at 80. THats good info though. I was paranoid about root rot big time. I found my plants were lagging at the higher temps but that could have been a number of other factors. The thing with bubble buckets is that they are only using an air stone though right? You don't have a pump heating the water... Isn't pH drop a sign of nutes being too high? I'm rocking the 1.5" too. Bulkheads werent cheap here in Canada.

 

[Skunkle Justin]

Made three 8 sites and they’re going strong,only thing I did was space centers to 25in to cover a 4x8 for each system . I’m only using a 350gph pump which is plenty imo, I’ve tried 750gph and made no difference at all and cost double. Only thing I was having issues with later in flower is p.h dropping like crazy so had to install some blue lab ph dosers. I’ve got multiple buddies running current culture systems and these perform just as good as them while using wayyy less water. just use 3/16 line from the reservoir to the epi, no need for anything bigger..also there’s absolutely no need to run bigger than 1.5in pvc unless you want to spend more on bulkheads. Also never ran a chiller and have never had any issues, perfectly healthy white roots and plants running anywhere from 72-84f, i really don’t think they’re necessary People don’t chill their water doing bubble buckets..

Yeah, shit will go crazy in flower sometimes because the plants start feeding very heavy. That causes the ppm and pH to adjust as the nutes get pulled from the water. I enjoy tinkering with the reservoir and troubleshooting so it works good for me

 

[happybanana89]

Hey dude... Welcome to the UC world. These are by far the best system plans, as well as the rest of the fam here is amazing for helping with any issues you will run into...

Run 1/4" line for your top off to epi bucket float. I use the green Floraflex line on everything. It's softer than the black shit so if I disconenct a line from a PEX fitting then I cut off a half inch prior to hooking back up otherwise they will leak. You may be using different line though... IDK about those fittings there... Mine all came as one piece you thread apart... I'll have to look but I can't remember if I put an O-ring in mine or not. I don't think I did..

ZAOJIAO 1/4" Tube Bulkhead Connector Push Fit Quick Connect for RO Water Reverse Osmosis System (Pack of 5), Pipe Fittings - Amazon Canada

ZAOJIAO 1/4" Tube Bulkhead Connector Push Fit Quick Connect for RO Water Reverse Osmosis System (Pack of 5) in Pipe Fittings.

www.amazon.ca

Your also fine running a "T" out of the epi bucket. I asked the same question to Heisenbeans since I was dealing with space restraints from being in tents as well. I even made my connecting pipes between the buckets shorter than what was in the videos but ran into issues when I went to assemble. Edibles and building aren't a good combo for me. I was also going to put my epi outside of the tent, but ended up just staggering it back a bit as you can see in the pic below.

The systems are insane dude.... Looking forward to seeing your build.

View attachment 72496

That looks great man! Thank you for your advice. I'll check out the floraflex line.

Only other thing I noticed is the build instructions say use a regular 3/4" garden hose for part of it but most garden hoses are 5/8" here in the US, guess I can figure it out from here though! Thanks

 

[Supashiddygrower]

Yeah, shit will go crazy in flower sometimes because the plants start feeding very heavy. That causes the ppm and pH to adjust as the nutes get pulled from the water. I enjoy tinkering with the reservoir and troubleshooting so it works good for me

Having to stay up till 6 am in late flower adjusting PH 10 times a day was not fun, money well spent on the dosers lol. Even if I set my reservoir at like 4 it was still dropping like a mofo and didn’t like the idea of going any lower so the tinkering wasn’t for me, hose dozers really are nice to have in rdwc. Blue labs are what I have but to anyone interested Hanna is coming out with one soon, I love their meters a lot more than all the blue labs I’ve owned

 

[Supashiddygrower]

That looks great man! Thank you for your advice. I'll check out the floraflex line.

Only other thing I noticed is the build instructions say use a regular 3/4" garden hose for part of it but most garden hoses are 5/8" here in the US, guess I can figure it out from here though! Thanks

I couldn’t find this hose at my local lowes or Home Depot But didn’t look too hard. They always carry it at the hydro stores I go to though

 

[inthetrees]

Having to stay up till 6 am in late flower adjusting PH 10 times a day was not fun, money well spent on the dosers lol. Even if I set my reservoir at like 4 it was still dropping like a mofo and didn’t like the idea of going any lower so the tinkering wasn’t for me, hose dozers really are nice to have in rdwc. Blue labs are what I have but to anyone interested Hanna is coming out with one soon, I love their meters a lot more than all the blue labs I’ve owned

Now you have me worried about hahahah. How much did your dosers cost to setup?

 

[Supashiddygrower]

Now you have me worried about hahahah. How much did your dosers cost to setup?

I mean everyone’s set upis different so don’t let it worry you much. I’m almost week 4 in flower and haven’t had my doser set up and just been making small adjustments or steering it with the reservoir. Really it was towards the end of flower I got them so prevent any ph issues. They were around 420 each I think but Hanna will be coming out with a cheaper one.

 

[Armdog]

I mean everyone’s set upis different so don’t let it worry you much. I’m almost week 4 in flower and haven’t had my doser set up and just been making small adjustments or steering it with the reservoir. Really it was towards the end of flower I got them so prevent any ph issues. They were around 420 each I think but Hanna will be coming out with a cheaper one.

I made this automated ph doser for around $250
Works great runs ph up and down at the same time

 

[inthetrees]

My plants are eating and drinking too much for me to get a chance to steer. These pigs are sucking back 4 -5 gallons every 24 hours in each system and my top off's only hold about 23ish gallons... Even thats buckling the shelving they sit on.

My topoff's are empty within 4 days and my systems drift perfectly from 5.5 to 6.2. I'll correct the systems, fill up the top offs, and they good for 4 more days. No dickin around in between. If I was monocropping and had the ppm data along with 55 gallon drums for top offs then yeah I could get more steering action, but this works for me. Granted I'm just ending week 2 of flower...

I've also got the flux capacitor engaged with this room. My enviro is dialed af, and I can't give them anymore light or co2. Now its up to the genetics and me not f****ng it up. I also noticed that once I dropped my room to 80F/60% the plants took right off. Trying to follow the VPD chart exactly didn't work for me personally. Chiller lines sweating, condensation in every corner there wasn't a fan... Plants have responded much better with a slight drop in the enviro.

 

[treefarmercharlie]

I made this automated ph doser for around $250
Works great runs ph up and down at the same time

This brings me back to when I was into salt water reef tanks. I bought a used IV pump to use to dose the tank at specific rates and it worked awesome.

 

[happybanana89]

Trying to follow the VPD chart exactly didn't work for me personally. Chiller lines sweating, condensation in every corner there wasn't a fan... Plants have responded much better with a slight drop in the enviro.

I'm glad to hear this from somebody else. The numbers in those charts for the 75-85F range seem insanely high. I'd be scared of Bud Rot and other issues at those levels. But I'm only a beginner... so just going off what I'm reading online.

Still working on putting my system together. I have about three months before I can do a run so taking my time getting it all and putting it together.

It's possible to disassemble most of the system and move it, right? Just unscrew the bulkheads? I guess a few pieces like the ends might be mostly glued together but those should be possible to move easily through doors and whatnot. I was hoping to build it and test it in my garage and then move it to the tent for final assembly.

 

[inthetrees]

Hey dude...

Yeah you can disassemble everything no problem. Some guys were bitching about having a hard time with leaks... Idk wtf they were doing but its a no brainer so long as your gasket is on the outside of the bucket. Just do everything hand tight and then start filling. I have a pair or channel locks to give a small snug to any bulkhead that leaks and Ive had zero leaks on either of my systems since setup.

One tidbit that will help as well is when you drill the holes for the bulkheads in each bucket use a dremel with a sanding head on it and lightly do a few circular passes over it. I wasn't a fan of trying to shave off a bit with an exacto knife. My hole saw would cut the hole but then the bulkeads would bind and not flush up to the bucket properly. I'd do a couple "round the worlds" on em with the dremel and they fit and look like they were manufacturer made.

The only thing that could fuck a guy over is if you drill the hole too close to the bottom of the bucket and then the shoulder of the bulkhead or the retainer nut doesn't have enough space to flush up properly.

As for the VPD yeah I hear ya... I found a post that from a survey that was done amongst larger producers somewhere down in the states that asked what temps and humidity people were running in veg, early flower, and late flower. There was only like 3% of facilities running the true vpd humidity range of 85F/70% in flower. To play the devil's advocate, mold can only grow when there is no air circulation regardless of humidity. That being said, I don't believe that running my room 10% higher than what a chart says I should is worse the risk and bullshit associated with it. Wiping up the floor and corners of the room from condensation gets old fast. I've also noticed that my trich production and smell lacks severely when trying to keep the humidity too high in flower regardless of air circulation. Seen some post by other that both support and contradict this.

 

[happybanana89]

Hey dude...

Yeah you can disassemble everything no problem. Some guys were bitching about having a hard time with leaks... Idk wtf they were doing but its a no brainer so long as your gasket is on the outside of the bucket. Just do everything hand tight and then start filling. I have a pair or channel locks to give a small snug to any bulkhead that leaks and Ive had zero leaks on either of my systems since setup.

One tidbit that will help as well is when you drill the holes for the bulkheads in each bucket use a dremel with a sanding head on it and lightly do a few circular passes over it. I wasn't a fan of trying to shave off a bit with an exacto knife. My hole saw would cut the hole but then the bulkeads would bind and not flush up to the bucket properly. I'd do a couple "round the worlds" on em with the dremel and they fit and look like they were manufacturer made.

Thanks again. I don't have a dremel but I got one of those swivel/deburring tools that is really a lot cooler than I expected, haha.

I'll let y'all know how it goes

 

[inthetrees]

Please do man! This thread is gold. Heisenbeans did a top notch job explaining everything in detail from start to finish.

I'm going to throw together a 3rd one here in a month. These systems are pure gold compared to everything else I've run. Once you get the kinks worked out the speed is mindblowing. I love that I can see exactly how much the plants are eating and drinking and any adjustments you make happen immediately.

Post up some pics all let the whole fam see what you got on the go once its done..

 

[Skunkle Justin]

Hey dude...

Yeah you can disassemble everything no problem. Some guys were bitching about having a hard time with leaks... Idk wtf they were doing but its a no brainer so long as your gasket is on the outside of the bucket. Just do everything hand tight and then start filling. I have a pair or channel locks to give a small snug to any bulkhead that leaks and Ive had zero leaks on either of my systems since setup.

One tidbit that will help as well is when you drill the holes for the bulkheads in each bucket use a dremel with a sanding head on it and lightly do a few circular passes over it. I wasn't a fan of trying to shave off a bit with an exacto knife. My hole saw would cut the hole but then the bulkeads would bind and not flush up to the bucket properly. I'd do a couple "round the worlds" on em with the dremel and they fit and look like they were manufacturer made.

The only thing that could fuck a guy over is if you drill the hole too close to the bottom of the bucket and then the shoulder of the bulkhead or the retainer nut doesn't have enough space to flush up properly.

As for the VPD yeah I hear ya... I found a post that from a survey that was done amongst larger producers somewhere down in the states that asked what temps and humidity people were running in veg, early flower, and late flower. There was only like 3% of facilities running the true vpd humidity range of 85F/70% in flower. To play the devil's advocate, mold can only grow when there is no air circulation regardless of humidity. That being said, I don't believe that running my room 10% higher than what a chart says I should is worse the risk and bullshit associated with it. Wiping up the floor and corners of the room from condensation gets old fast. I've also noticed that my trich production and smell lacks severely when trying to keep the humidity too high in flower regardless of air circulation. Seen some post by other that both support and contradict this.

Also, an oil filter wrench works wwaaaayyyyy better than channel locks

 

[inthetrees]

Also, an oil filter wrench works wwaaaayyyyy better than channel locks

Where were you with this info 2 months ago lol

 

[happybanana89]

Hey guys, before I cut my pipes I wanted to check and see what y'all think I should do about this setup in a 4'x4' tent (approx 46"x46", actually).

I planned to keep the chiller and control bucket right outside the left tent wall. Only problem is the vents aren't centered. Would it be better to cut a hole in the window (pink line) and run the plumbing through that wall, sealing the holes with some duct tape (not sure how well that would work), or plumb everything out of the T through the vent on the left? Or forego that entirely and just run the control bucket inside the tent on the left side, and the only lines running outside would be to/from the chiller?

And then my last question is the center-to-center spacing, should I stick with 20" centers and is it preferred to have more bucket-to-wall distance or more bucket-to-bucket distance?

FYI, these are the 2" CCh20 bulkheads - that's why they look different. And using 2" PVC everywhere, the reducer line to the chiller does go down to 3/4" just like the original plans.

Thanks, know I'm probably overanalyzing but figured somebody here knows better than me.

 

[inthetrees]

If it were me I would keep your buckets center but I have some situation-specific OCD. You can train your plants regardless but it's about what works for you.

I ran a single bulkhead out of my Epicenter to a "T" VS a bulkhead out of either side as I ran into spacing issues. Since your only in a 4x4 you could easily put the epi bucket right in the center if you wanted and negate cutting holes in the tent. Access to the epi wouldn't be a big thing given your tent size, especially once the plants are bigger and lollipopped. Run your supply/return to chiller through the venting hole as you have it.

IMO you don't need to spread your chiller lines out so much either. It's a recirculating system so it doesn't matter if you have the supply/return right beside one another.

To explain, I got my chillers well after I already had plants in the systems. I didn't want to drain the systems to install 3/4" bulkheads to plumb in the chiller lines correctly and run the risk of having a leak that I couldn't fix. Chillers came with mag drive pumps that can also run as submersibles so I threw the chiller pump into my Epi and plumbed my supply/return lines to the chiller through the top cover of my epi. It works for now but honestly it's an access nightmare. I now have x3 3/4" lines coming out of each of my epi-bucket lids. I ended up using a 3/4" hole saw to cut a 4th hole in each of the lids just so I could add in fluid to pH correct the systems without having to take the lids off. It works, but far from ideal. Yes the pump adds some heat to the system with it being a submersible but the chillers deal with that no problem. I run 66F to 68F and they barely come on at all.

Once I crop out I'll setup the right way lol.

 

[happybanana89]

If it were me I would keep your buckets center but I have some situation-specific OCD. You can train your plants regardless but it's about what works for you.

I ran a single bulkhead out of my Epicenter to a "T" VS a bulkhead out of either side as I ran into spacing issues. Since your only in a 4x4 you could easily put the epi bucket right in the center if you wanted and negate cutting holes in the tent. Access to the epi wouldn't be a big thing given your tent size, especially once the plants are bigger and lollipopped. Run your supply/return to chiller through the venting hole as you have it.

IMO you don't need to spread your chiller lines out so much either. It's a recirculating system so it doesn't matter if you have the supply/return right beside one another.

To explain, I got my chillers well after I already had plants in the systems. I didn't want to drain the systems to install 3/4" bulkheads to plumb in the chiller lines correctly and run the risk of having a leak that I couldn't fix. Chillers came with mag drive pumps that can also run as submersibles so I threw the chiller pump into my Epi and plumbed my supply/return lines to the chiller through the top cover of my epi. It works for now but honestly it's an access nightmare. I now have x3 3/4" lines coming out of each of my epi-bucket lids. I ended up using a 3/4" hole saw to cut a 4th hole in each of the lids just so I could add in fluid to pH correct the systems without having to take the lids off. It works, but far from ideal. Yes the pump adds some heat to the system with it being a submersible but the chillers deal with that no problem. I run 66F to 68F and they barely come on at all.

Once I crop out I'll setup the right way lol.

Thanks for the advice

do you mean you have your chilling line separate, and there is also a pump pulling water through the buckets and dumping into the epibucket, as usual?

I suppose you could always stick the chiller between the epi bucket and your T... reduce your epi outputs and install a hose onto that pipe out of the epi, connect that to your chiller and then output the chiller to the T

I’m not sure how effective that would be and if the out pressure would be high enough to drive the system.

 

[Bnbgrow]

Loving ours