Mr.Sparkle's 34w Arduino Controlled 5 Gal Bucket Micro Grow *Round 3 Done*

[Mr.Sparkle]

Thought i should share my last bucket run with everyone here to show a bit of Micro Growing and whats possible.

This was a relatively new 5gal Bucket build on its 3rd run which is currently being scraped for a new one with some changes.

Anyways as the title says its 34watts but running 32w (4x8w) of dismantled Philips Screw in led light bulbs, and is Arduino controlled which takes care of light on off schedules with a real time clock, and takes soil moisture senor readings for automatic watering control that is done with a small pump that is located in a 3gal bucket that is its reservoir, that allows me to go up to two weeks without having to do anything, it also shows temperature and humidity on a small lcd built into the bucket not that its needed.

This Run i was testing some Mephisto Genetics from limited edition sale back in July, so ended up running a Sour Crinkle, Gold Blue, and Blue Tooth, also had an Auto Blues in there as well initially but it had a tap root issue and lagged behind so it gto moved to my one PC case.

Oh Pots were 500ml fabric pots i made myself running coco coir with maxigro and maxibloom nutrients for feed.

I yielded 33.5gram this run consuming 36.5kWh over 59day total from popping soil to being cut, and was running an 18/6 schedule.

[99PerCent]

Where is the flux capacitor? Hehehe

[2tokejoke]

Im 100% amazed…rite up my winter ally.love it

[2tokejoke]

So how do you dismantle those phillips bulbs?,.can you show us another picture of the inside of the light lid? Edit…sorry i saw picture…forgive me

[99PerCent]

check this @Morgwar

[ReikoX]

it’s like the re-run episodes on TV!

[Jellypowered]

@ReikoX

it’s like the re-run episodes on TV!

Only these are actually worth watching lol.

I always worry about inviting people away from their chosen forums, I don’t wanna piss anyone off but if I think they are gonna be a valuable addition to the OG fam, I send them a private message.

[Mr.Sparkle]

There is nothing to worry about by just letting people know that OG exists like you did with me is more than enough for people to then decide on their own what they want to do, no one should get offended over that, like myself yeah i’m on icmag and also the autoflowernetwork and a tiny bit over on reddit in the spacebucket sub reddit but honestly icmag is aging and i didn’t realize how much till i went over to the AFN as with how things are going as far as mobile use and influence goes such as being able to like posts or tag people into threads.

I will say icmag does have a good micro section but its not like back in the dr.budgreegenes, thundurkle, and ScrubNinja days of a lot of users and pushing of boundaries, not that we don’t do that today it was just a bit different back then, and as far as reddit i have mixed opinions on it as its just more or less an image slap site that you can sometimes have meaningful conversations or get to see the odd neat idea but then they quickly get buried and downvoted just due to time and it resorts back to just basic new grower stuff with a sense that a lot of good stuff or thigns that have be explained or shown well in a post is just being washed away without any sense of at least some short term permanence.

AFN is good though just small but that’s actually where i spend most of my time, but i’ll definitely be giving OG a go as i can already tell by threads, posts and layouts that its more up my alley and will probably dial back or stop posting all together on icmag and reddit as i don’t need or want to be everywhere, and it helps build community when you can create some dedicated content that is only in one or two places.

oh and @2tokejoke heres an imgur album of breaking down a bulb https://imgur.com/a/KklNG

[2tokejoke]

Thank you very much for the breakdown…realy have made my day…thanks for coming here…and thanks og for having me here

[Jellypowered]

ICMag is full of awesome knowledge, but it’s software is dated, it’s filled with lots of shitposts and finding the hidden gems is sometimes hard to do, I suppose over enough time any site gets that way but with as long as it’s been around, there needs to be some pruning lol.

Reddit has become dead to me, it’s too mainstream now.

RIU constantly has site issues, their pics get downsized and god forbid you try to bring an affordable product to the masses without paying to be an “Advertiser” as @Baudelaire well knows first hand how that goes.

I was a member of OG a long time ago, and while I didn’t participate much back then, I was never treated like a “dumb noob”

This is home.

[GumbyBuds]

So glad you posted this. Was just talking about these with @Morgwar…

Going to be building a few to make seeds in so i don’t have to worry about impregnating my other ladies…

Well done and clean… Welcome to OG

[2tokejoke]

Tons of questions sent your way.

[Mr.Sparkle]

@GumbyBuds if not in a rush maybe hold off a tiny bit on the build till i get my next one built as there are a couple things that i’ll be changing that should be an easy bonus to anyone building a bucket, its mainly new intake ports and really simplified design.

But it would be excellent for making seeds in, for myself and the pot size i use with the new build i could fit 5-6 plants in a bucket if i wanted too but that or running one bigger plant you typically run into having to do a lot of excess training for not really a difference in yield due to space limitations, but it allow you to run many different types while hunting for genetics of choice.

[GumbyBuds]

Good to know, I do have some time I can wait… I’m in the process of setting up a larger room and that demands all the time right now… Ill be looking for it - holding you to it lol

[Kalgrae]

Got my ticket for this one. It’s gonna be a full theater in no time.

Your progress shots and lights in the lid are amazing.

[casperdeigh]

well thats different

[legalcanada]

thats an interesting idea for a breeding chamber, i’m actively seeking designs and ideas for one

[Mr.Sparkle]

all comes down to how many plant you want to run and how many seeds you want, my PC case with my older pots i could fit 15+ plants in there if i wanted to, still allowing me to see genetic expression even with occasional heavy pruning.

As example here an old shot of my one PC case that acted as my veg/mother/autoflower case at the time, i had another case that was strictly for flowering, but in this pciture i had a couple of mothers in the back left, a chopped down plant that i was letting some seeds ripen on the lower buds, a bunch of C99 Clones and a few various seedlings about to be transferred over to the other case, and a couple Dark Devils Autos in the back that were only partially pollinated “lowers” and finishing out, think i got around 300-400 seeds just from the 2.5 plants and they were no where near fully pollinated.

Now a days though i dont run my cases this dense pots wise, i just run up a max of 8 plants now in 500ml pots instead of the 14 max i could fit in at the time, lets just say you had to have your training and pruning techniques on point to keep it under control,

[GumbyBuds]

Very happy to see some Micro on OG! Glad you made it

[legalcanada]

wow 14 pots in a PC case ?!? that’s incredible i’m going to have to get in on these micro grows for seeding. thanks for sharing!