A Guide to Building and Operating Bubblers

[YourDrooganLeader]

get this mate, this is no shit

i put the seeds into the bubblers in rock wool cubes and it is that which has rescues them. they all had 2-3 ml tap roots showing so i kept the water level low so only the bottom 10ml or so of the net pot was in the res, but, the splahes from the bubbles were splashing the bottom of the rock wool. i had 1/10 strength root complex in the res.

unfortunately out of the 9 i had i am down to six. guess how they died,? their rockwool cubes didnt get splashed so they dried out. luckyly i had some in a prop.

i now have 4 seedlings and 2 sprouted ones, cotyloydon showing but root twisting 360 degrees around it like its growing the wrong way or summat.

they are all in the temp bubbler at mo, i need to move up bubbler to prevent stretch.

i think i will invest in another strain as i wanted 4 female and if i only end up with 4 aks i may only get 1or 2 .any strain you think might complement ak47 which i can start next week (if i start 4 or 5 using your method i should get 2-4 females). i was thinking about white russian, i have never grown a white strain before.

i have aircooled (its a standard dutch barn cunningly adapted by me:-) 600w hps and a stack load of flos so am sorted for light, i wanted 100w/plant but might just stick with 3 plants to get 200w/plant .

what do you recommend?

cheers for all your help so far, it is certainly coming in handy ;-)

respect

DrP

ps, the pic is of 1 of the seedling put into the bubbler to save it after it had been in prop for 5 days and done nowt. Now look at it 2 days later! the only explaination i can think of is that the water in the rockwool is water saturated with air from airstone and splashing onto rwool?

mad eh?

DrP

[Guest Peppi]

guess how they died,? their rockwool cubes didnt get splashed so they dried out. l

400396[/snapback]

shit man !

i always keep a little nutes aside to wet them for a couple of days till the roots develop a bit !im using a diy bubbler myself

peppi

[YourDrooganLeader]

hi peppi, you cant beat homemade bubblers, the one i have at the mo has 6 plants in it (it is a 30ltr black b&q storage bos, £5 for 5 :-)

4 have deffo survived, and 2 are alive but do not seem to be sprouting much, the tap root is growing upwards, the same way as the cotyloydon shoot, i think they are growing up side down. i will leave them for a few days to see if they improve.

if they are not prouting within a week they will be as good as dead. i have just ordered XXX bubblegum (£22, absolute bargain:-)

I am going to follow the instuctions mu gave me regarding rockwool so should not have any probs this time ;-)

i wanted between 4 and 6 females so if i end up with only 4 ak's i can start 6 bubblegums.

that should give me about 5 females :-)

its better this way as i get to grow 2 top strains :-)

mu, do you deffo think that topping the ak47s is the way to go then?

what about bubblegum? have you any experience with that strain? i know you should not crop chronic but i have never even smoked bublegum (and i lived in amsterdam for 6 months a few year back!).

i and going to grow the 4 BGs dwc and 2 of them in my own hydro invention. it worked a treat for my first hydro grow so now with imrovements derived from my experiences, it should work a1 (touch wood :-).

it is basically a storage tub witha drainage hole, stood on stilts in a storage/res tub. the tub is filled with claypebs and has nutes sprayed onto the roots 24/7. i'll post a pic as a pic speaks a 1000 words

anyways gotta get off, my offspring are givin me grief. bloody summer holidays

cheers, DrP

[MU]

hi mate

sorry to hear some of your seedlings didnt make it...

i know serious seeds recommend against topping chronic, but i topped the ones i had in my last grow and they responded really well, same as the ak47 and the bubblegum, altho all my BG's were male...

as for topping, its just how i would do it, in an attempt to keep the height under control. you could scrog but it would be a pain to remove the males, or you could use LST/tying down, but thats a lot of work per plant and half the work is a waste of effort on the males. you could also FIM, but the results from it tend to be hit and miss and usually result in a topping anyway.

its up to you and how much height you have and what method of height control you feel comfortable using.

im lazy, so like topping but it doesnt always work well, altho it does most of the time.

the other thing you could do is just flower really early and not train them at all.

Edited August 4, 2005 by MU

[YourDrooganLeader]

i have just got 15 XXX bubblegum beans. with the 4 good ak's i have (there are 6 altogether but 2 seem to be growing upside down???i'll leave them till they either die or sort themselves out)

i have to hurry now as i am supposed to be working

i want about 5 females so if i germ 6 Bgum beans i should end up with about 5 girls. i'll be following your rockwool germination advice so should not kill any this time.

thanx for your help mate, you are a star. do you like blunts? if you send me your adress (or any address where you could pick up a letter from me) i'll send you some blunts a thankyou. i sell blunts on my market stall so have loads

cheers once again for all you advice, this thread is the best thing i have ever read regarding DWC. i still think dwc is the most efficient way to grow.

one more question, how many 6" airstones can i run from my hailia aco308. it is 30w and i think it is 60 l/min but am not sure, there s a guide on the box but it is in japanese and chinese

anyhow, i'll write later when my missus stops griefing me to do some work. THIS IS WORK, GROWING IS AN OCCUPATION. its about time she understood that

taraa

drpierre

[Guest justagrower]

I was not patient enough with my cloner experiment and it is now somewhere, I know not!

I did try the bubbler bucket last time and learned a good few lessons whihc is just as well since I got very little bud (about an ounce out of two plants). I must remember this thread since I plan to do another bubber but don't know when.

The biggest mistake I made was to put a water heater in there with the roots at nearly 70 degrees - PD told me to take it out which saved one plant . That plant could have been big considering the battering it took.

Good thread MU. Very helpful, whish it was up a couple of months back.

[MU]

i have just got 15 XXX bubblegum beans. with the 4 good ak's i have (there are 6 altogether but 2 seem to be growing upside down???i'll leave them till they either die or sort themselves out)

i have to hurry now as i am supposed to be working

i want about 5 females so if i germ 6 Bgum beans i should end up with about 5 girls. i'll be following your rockwool germination advice so should not kill any this time.

thanx for your help mate, you are a star. do you like blunts? if you send me your adress (or any address where you could pick up a letter from me) i'll send you some blunts a  thankyou. i sell blunts on my market stall so have loads

cheers once again for all you advice, this thread is the best thing i have ever read regarding DWC. i still think dwc is the most efficient way to grow.

one more question, how many 6" airstones can i run from my hailia aco308. it is 30w and i think it is 60 l/min but am not sure, there s a guide on the box but it is in japanese and chinese

anyhow, i'll write later when my missus stops griefing me to do some work. THIS IS WORK, GROWING IS AN OCCUPATION. its about time she understood that

taraa

drpierre

401054[/snapback]

hi mate,

with a bit of googling, i found that your hailea ACO 308 is 55 L/min, and my Hailea ACO 328 is 75L/min, so mine is is a bit more powerful, but yours will still perform well.

heres some sums for you, which might help.

my pump is the 328, 75L/min, which is 4500L/hour. in practice this can run 47 x 12" toblerone airstones with all of them working. at 48, one airstone fails by more than 50%. this means that it takes the pressure of 95L/hour (4500 / 47) to drive 1 x 12" airstone. further back in this thread i said it was 75L p/hour, but i hadnt done the sums then, it was just a rough figure, but not too far out... also, a 150L/hour pump will just drive 2 airstones, so this is not meant to be exact figures, the airstones no doubt work at a range of airpressures, performing better with more air pressure.

but anyway if we apply the same logic to your aco 308, which is 55L/min, or 3300L/hour, 3300/95=34 (rounded down to the nearest decimal points), so that would suggest your pump should be able to run 34 * 12" toblerone airstones.

as the 6" airstones are half that length, then as you can see, you should be able to run nigh on 70 of the 6" jobbies, if all the above sums are right, and i feel theyre close enough for this excercise to be useful.

this is assuming ofcourse that a 6" airstone functions with 50% less pressure than a 12" airstone, which may not be the case, im not sure... also, my figures are based on the aqua fizz 12" toblerone airstones, your stones may be different.

roughly 30 x 12" or 60+ x 6" airstones aint too bad, i reckon, from just the one pump... can run a fair few bubblers with that compressor youve got. but if youre looking to max out the pump, you'll get even more mileage if you dont bother with airstones at all, and use soaker hose instead.

edit: and another way you could look at it. mines 75L p/m and runs 47 airstones. yours is 50L /min, which is a third less powerful, so it would run a third less airstones, 1/3 of 47 = 15 (roughly), 47 - 15 = 32! add a couple on cos its a 55L and not 50L and you get 34!

as to your other question, how many females you will get from 10 plants, thats impossible to say... in my last grow i got 3 out of 5 aks female, 4 out of 4 BGs MALE , 1 out of 1 chronic female, so make of that what you will... its anyones guess, you could get 9, you could get 2, if you want a definite 5 females, i would personally plant about 13 seeds, but then youve got to be prepared to be able to cope with perhaps 10 females out of 13...

know one can say how many females you'll get, mate.

edit: thanks for the offer of blunts, but all im trying to do is help other growers with the little knowledge i have , its how we all learn to grow, innit!... im far too paranoid to ever release my address to anyone on the net anyway, but thanks for the kind offer...

Edited August 5, 2005 by MU

[YourDrooganLeader]

cant thank you enuf,

just short note as i have to be up at 3.30, how do you silence your air pump?

respect, drp

[MU]

hi dr.p,

when i was last using it, i just had it hung from the wooden beams in the ceiling on bungees. but next time i fire it up for a hydro grow, im going to stick it in an insulated box with the air inlet tube coming out of it and hang the box from bungees, want to try and silence much more than i was last tiime and putting in a box with loads of polystyrene bits in it, im hoping that will reduce the noise signifantly.. fingers crossed because ive still to try it.

if you give it a go, post up the results, id be interested to know how well it works.

[YourDrooganLeader]

if you give it a go, post up the results, id be interested to know how well it works.

401362[/snapback]

eyup

i'll deffo be trying to concoct some kind of silencing device, i was thinking on the lines of an insulated box hung on bungees.

what about this? a pump hung on bungees inside and insulted box which is in turn hung on bungess?

alot of feckkin around but might make a diff.

i was listening (just break to skin up....fuck, went for skinz and came back wiv cuppa???

i was listening to the actual noise hat the bubbler made and it seemed to me that at least 50% oif the noise was coming frm the contact between the toblerone air stone and the bottom of the res. i suppose you could insulte the bottom with thick rubber or insulate underneath it with rbber but i think a better way would be to put the airstones into sponges

get a sponge big enuf to hold a 6" and cut a slit in the middleto sit the air sone in so that is coverered. for 12" airstones you could simply use 2. are ordinary sponges inert? do you think that the sponges wouldimprove the bubbles or fuck them up?

i reackon it could be a good idea but i have had many wonderful ideas in the past which have amounted to nowt

i started 7 of the XXXBgum seeds last night in my video case/germination box.

i intend to follow your intructions as soon as they are showing a tap root.

tat will give me 11; 4 x ak's and 7 x bg.

i will have them two per bubbler and flower them early to sex them and then revert them back to veg so i can concentrate and maximise my space for whatever amount of females i end up with.

what 600w hps bulb would you recommend. i have the full spec sylvania at the mo which has been running 3500hrs. will this light be ok?, the manufacturer says 6000 (i think) so i think it should be ok. i have oppertunity to buy a sunblaster for a tennr, is that worth it?

which bulb do you think is best?

shit sorry man for bombarding you wiv questions.

oh, and sorry bout the offer of blunts, i just felt like i ought to giv you something in exchange for the info you gave me. i'll make it up by giving you the data from my grow, i am bound to do summat wrong, summat we can all learn from

gotta get off, gotta be up at 4.30 for work and only got 3 hours kip last night as the washer sprung a leak

later, DrP

[MU]

hi mate

eyup 

i'll deffo be trying to concoct some kind of silencing device, i was thinking on the lines of an insulated box hung on bungees.

what about this? a pump hung on bungees inside and insulted box which is in turn hung on bungess?

alot of feckkin around but might make a diff.

i think putting the compressor in a box full of polystyrene and then hang the box from bungees would be enough to do the job.

i was listening (just break to skin up....fuck, went for skinz and came back wiv cuppa???

i was listening to the actual noise hat the bubbler made and it seemed to me that at least 50% oif the noise was coming frm the contact between the toblerone air stone and the bottom of the res. i suppose you could insulte the bottom with thick rubber or insulate underneath it with rbber but i think a better way would be to put the airstones into sponges

get a sponge big enuf to hold a 6" and cut a slit in the middleto sit the air sone in so that is coverered. for 12" airstones you could simply use 2. are ordinary sponges inert? do you think that the sponges wouldimprove the bubbles or fuck them up?

i reackon it could be a good idea but i have had many wonderful ideas in the past which have amounted to nowt

i sit my bubblers on 4" of polystyrene and this works well to silence the noise of the bubblers themselves.

i will have them two per bubbler and flower them early to sex them and then revert them back to veg so i can concentrate and maximise my space for whatever amount of females i end up with.

i would advise against doing this. ive had problems doing this with serious strains, that wouldnt go back into veg after being in flower (to ident sex) for a few days.

what 600w hps bulb would you recommend. i have the full spec sylvania at the mo which has been running 3500hrs. will this light be ok?, the manufacturer says 6000 (i think) so i think it should be  ok. i have oppertunity to buy a sunblaster for a tennr, is that worth it?

which bulb do you think is best?

im not clued up on what are the best bulbs, i just use what my growshop sells. you'll get better answers putting these questions in the lighting forum, mate.

[YourDrooganLeader]

fuck me, i hope i can do your advice justice

good call on the polystyrene, still, do you think bath sponges would work?

i shall bow to your previous experience with regards to sexing them and then revegging them. i will wait till each bubgum has at least 4 internodes and flower the lot.

i am goiing to stick with my full spectrum sylvania, purely as it is full spec. i have loads of flos to supplyment it with too, they make the difference in veg, short as fek internodes.

i started germining the bgum last night and to day all have cracked, 2 have tap roots aboujt 4-5 ml long and one has a tap root 9ml long! i will put those three into my prop following your instructions so i should get it right this time.

will keep you posted.

ps, my ec is 0.4 and ph 5.2 for the 25 ltr dwc ki have my 4 seedlings in.

thats ok innnit?

cheers again

Edited August 7, 2005 by dr.pierre

[MU]

ps, my ec is 0.4 and ph 5.2 for the 25 ltr dwc ki have my 4 seedlings in.

thats ok innnit?

cheers again

401977[/snapback]

youre not going to need the bubbler for a little while... grow the seedlings in the RW cubes until theyre ready to go in the bubblers..

the way i would do it, is to grow the seedling in the 1" cube until a few roots are through the bottom of the cube. then i would move to 3" RW cubes (you put the 1" cube in a hole in a new 3" cube), and grow it in that until you have a few roots of several cm's coming out of the 3" cube.

then the seedlings will be ready to go in the bubbler.

whats your background ec?

as for ph, i think 5.2 is on the low side. aim for a ph for 5.8.

what nutes are you planning on using?

Edited August 7, 2005 by MU

[YourDrooganLeader]

the way i would do it, is to grow the seedling in the 1" cube until a few roots are through the bottom of the cube. then i would move to 3" RW cubes (you put the 1" cube in a hole in a new 3" cube), and grow it in that until you have a few roots of several cm's coming out of the 3" cube.

then the seedlings will be ready to go in the bubbler.

401986[/snapback]

my net pots are not bib enuf for a 3" cube, they are only 3" in diameter . i could cut the 3"rock wool to fit but i was going to sit the starter cube in clay pebs. the water level will be a bout 1" below the starter cub in the netpot but will be blasted with bubbler so is roots are shwoing through the strter thay should get nice and sprayed. i have to watch the water lkevel though to get maximum.

Or , do you think i need to get the big ney pots? i have 1 which is about 5 or 6" in diametr which came with a dwc kit i got for next2nowt on ebay. it is roung though and i only have on and i want to maximise my space. might see what kind of area 5 or six of them take up.

where you get those good netspots from, the sort with the small holes not the ones with holes too big for claypebs. i have looked all over, bv&q have some but they are massive.

need to have a think

am now going to put those bgum beans into the rkwool i have had soaking and attempt to sprout them.

wish me luck cos i am as clumsy as fuck, even more so as my mate gave me 4 diazis a couple of hour since

[MU]

hi mate

not sure what to recommend tbh. if you stick with the netpots you have, you'll have to put the seedling into the bubbler earlier than you would if you could grow it in 3" cubes...

i havent done this myself, so cant really offer advice, but here's what i think anyway... ...

the seedlings shouldnt need nutes for the first week or two, so you might need to run the bubbler with just ph balanced water for the first few days, but im not sure about this, see how they grow and put nutes in bubbler when they start looking hungry is what i would do.

also, when you put the 1" RW cubes in the netpots and into the bubbler, make sure theres a good few roots coming out of the bottom of the cube, especially if the RW cube is being saturated when the bubbler is running.

what you could also do is when you put the 1" cubes in the net pots, once you see roots through the bottom of the cube, dont put it in the bubbler for 2-3 days (handwatering the RW cube if necessary) to give the seedling some time to grow roots into the clay balls. then put it in to the bubbler making sure the water level is just into the netpot but not high enough to saturate the RW cube.

the other thing you will need to be careful of is your use of lighting. no big lights until theyre strong little plants.

good luck,

mu

Edited August 8, 2005 by MU