My aquaponic adventures

[crunkyeah]

@luxton

vaping weed from my aquaponics system and I can tell you, it’s better than what I’m ordering online

well to be fair, everything you produce yourself will be better than something someone else produced for you. think about it… if you build a table for someone else do you care if it’s level? if you build the table for yourself you definitely want it to be level just one of those things… “better done myself”

@luxton

In an aquaponics system the plant only pulls out what it needs and unless there’s a really MAJOR overload, the plant lives happily.

see this is what i’m a tad concerned with. if the plants aren’t capable of removing the nitrates quickly enough, there will be a point where the system becomes overloaded. for example let’s say you’re averaging 100ppm of nitrates at week 8 of flower. if you remove those mature plants and put in clones, the clones might only take up 20mg/gal/day, meanwhile the fish are still wasting and still providing nutrition. how fast will a system become too toxic if you don’t have enough plants to absorb the nitrates? that’s what i’m concerned about.

wouldn’t mind seeing some aquaponic retail cannabis setups if you have some links handy!!

@luxton

Do you not have 3 separate places already? With aquaponics it just has to be connected, which granted, is a PITA for the plumbing. […] You’re honestly really overthinking it.

2 grow areas outdoors and 2 indoors; plumbing isn’t a possibility. an all-in-one system sounds nice but isn’t feasible. my cannabis growing is a bit more in depth than most peoples’ so i need specialized solutions. since i’m into breeding, cloning, and testing, i need a modular system where components can be removed periodically. additionally i also keep veg plants, which adds to the complexity. veg plants, flower plants, and clones all need separate lighting requirements. this makes an ‘all-in-one’ literally impossible unless you build light isolating chambers for each ‘mode’. this is just theoretical design, notwithstanding any potential errors or mistakes that might occur.

@luxton

I’m not far from pulling down my current grow and starting some new ones… I’ll post some of the pics my app takes as it goes, so you can see how quickly everything grows and it’ll be in a system that just budded plants ()

actually seeing this would aid a lot in my decision making. please do this!!!

@luxton

The fish still don’t look super happy, so I took out 2 more 5g buckets of water today and added 2 of fresh.

keep us posted!!

[luxton]

@crunkyeah

just one of those things… “better done myself”

For sure, but what I should (in theory, lol) be getting when ordered is testing in the 25-32% THC, that’s pretty damn tasty bud . I don’t k ow that I could produce that, especially with the grows I’ve had lately, lol. Don’t get me wrong, I’m with you on home grown will always be better, but there’s a big step in there .

@crunkyeah

wouldn’t mind seeing some aquaponic retail cannabis setups if you have some links handy!!

For sure…

The one I was talking about in BC is:

First aquaponics cannabis facility to use coho salmon - Greenhouse Canada

The big one in Ontario is Green Relief, but it looks like they’ve gone out of business, like so many other LPs. Happily, YouTube is forever, and their walkthrough is still there:

Green Relief Medical Cannabis Facility Tour

@crunkyeah

this makes an ‘all-in-one’ literally impossible unless you build light isolating chambers for each ‘mode’

What do you do now for each? Don’t you already have different areas for each??

As for modular, I’ve actually been building something in my head for that… In setting up seedling grow bed, take a 6" piece of pvc pipe, the same height as your grow bed depth. Drill a bunch of small holes in the pipe, small enough hydroton won’t fall through but so water can pass through, then hot glue it to the bottom of the bed. Repeat in a grid pattern however far apart you want your seedlings and fill the grow bed (not the pipes) with hydroton. Now, take 5" pipe, drill the same hole pattern, hot glue window screen to the bottom and fill with hydroton.

Repeat that in your Veg bed and budding bed, but with 12" or 14" pipe, and build the same kind of pipe to fit inside each. Now, your seedlings grow up in the seedling bed, when they’re ready to move, transplant them into a bigger pipe and pop them into a different spot in the bed. If lighting is an issue in one spot in a bed, rotate the plant, or move all the plants around… It’s the closet I’ve been able to build, in my head, that would replicate what you can do with planters.

I definitely haven’t flushed out any potential issues with this yet, and I’m sure there are some, but it’s an idea. Like I said though, building that and having it go through different areas for lighting zones, it’d be a nightmare, and you’d need a TON of space.

@crunkyeah

actually seeing this would aid a lot in my decision making. please do this!!!

Yeah, for sure! I’m almost done a new version of the app, I’m hoping to be able to control the final output a little more… Hopefully with some rgb/brightness/contrast control I can get a better image on the grow bed

I have 1 little seedling going, it just got its second leaves… And I have another 4-5 seeds that have tap roots growing and will be catching up soon. So a new grow will be happening in a few weeks

[luxton]

Oh, and a change to fish today… I took the big monster gold fish out, I’m pretty sure the other new fish I put in that I thought were dying from the water were actually dying from being eaten 🤦. So, he’s out and 15 new fish went in, for a total of 17 at the moment… But, with all comet goldfish, I anticipate a 30% loss.

[luxton]

Well, I got the big goldfish out and into my monster tank…

15 lil dudes have been swimming along happily, all is looking good!

I increased the humidity in the tent the other day from 55% to 65%. I was finding all the fan leaves were drying out and crumbling up. The plants look a lot happier, the leaves are feeling better, there’s just one problem, the plant is now a lot softer and the top branches are falling over 🤦.

Notice a couple days ago the fan leaf is between the date and time…

Not so much today 🤦

Also, the pure kush bonsai’d plant came down yesterday (the 1st)… The fan leaves left on it were starting to turn brown, it was time . She’s been in the wine fridge drying since for almost 24 hours now… I’ll check her in a bit and she’ll most likely be ready to go into a jar and start the cure

[crunkyeah]

@luxton

For sure, but what I should (in theory, lol) be getting when ordered is testing in the 25-32% THC,

when it comes to labels, they do everything in their power to have the best numbers. i can smoke you up with lower thc stuff which you would swear is stronger than every kind of legal bud you’ve ever tried. it’s one of those things… “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”

i think a lot of it comes down to genetics and selections by good breeders. there’s a lot of stuff out there that looks amazing but there’s no substance behind it. empty boring highs.

@luxton

but it looks like they’ve gone out of business, like so many other LPs

thanks for the link!! cool to see. unfortunately i think with politics and everything involved, it’s very difficult for a corporation to sustain itself both in the fish market, cannabis market, and possibly even food crops. too many different entities are going to ‘mandate’ the thing to death, notwithstanding taxes.

here i think it stands as a testament that hobbyists have more potential not having authoritative oversight. we have flexibility, as long as we have resources. in terms of the big picture, any kind of setup isn’t super cost prohibitive - it’s not like we’re building rockets.

@luxton

What do you do now for each? Don’t you already have different areas for each??

i have several tents which allows for the concurrent growing of veg plants and flower plants. additionally i have a clone box which i use for clones and germination of seedlings. at some point i’ll upgrade from tents but that day is a ways off yet

@luxton

As for modular, I’ve actually been building something in my head for that…

what you describe sounds exactly like a sub irrigated planter (SIP). i think i would need a diagram to understand your thoughts about moving the plants between systems. mother plants should be in dirt imo. you have sooo much more risk of damage from rough handling when they’re not in dirt. rooted clones should be placed into the system and left until chopped and removed, my two cents.

my idea for a modular system is basically like this:

• some place i will have 50g of fish tank (gold fish) gravity feeding water into a do-myself bead filter which feeds into a 25w airlift pump. every 2 days i will flush the solids from the bead filter.
• use liquid fish waste for continuous compost generation. would like to be at a place where i’m generating about 50gal of compost in addition to what i use every year. long term compost goal.
• all compost will be used for a ‘super soil’ blend which should hopefully provide the best results i could ever expect from my canna plants (without changing what i’m already doing, mind you). at some future date, get bigger into composting.
• at some future date, have several stock tanks for table fish. all of them separate, but linked by siphon so that all water is shared. the largest tank would have a 40w airlift pump, going into probably 10-15 biobeds and then another 20 or so deep beds.
• at some future date, throw up a small chicken coop and a small section for quail. poo goes into compost cycle, eggs get eaten, and birbs get fed 1/3 of their diet with duckweed/azolla (supplied by aquaponic system).
• at some future date, build a pen and small pole barn for a few pigs, and possibly a small corral for a few goats or possibly a single heifer (girl cow).
• at some future date, install a geothermal greenhouse with a pond set up for multiple aquaponic breeding animals… a nice long term goal.

the end goal is complete self sufficiency and being able to create more than i could ever consume. not only will i be well fed but i’ll also be able to sell my excess if i want some fun money. ^^ i hope i can inspire others with my actions.

@luxton

Well, I got the big goldfish out and into my monster tank…

love your tank man! that thing is a monster. 55g? 70g? that goldfish looks like a chunky one too! makes me want to get my act in gear and get some goldfish already. is it completely necessary to cycle a tank before you put new fish in? aside from setting out some water to dechlorinate i’m not sure what i could do to setup a home for some goldfish.\

@luxton

The plants look a lot happier, the leaves are feeling better, there’s just one problem, the plant is now a lot softer and the top branches are falling over .

probably a good sign! when they’re falling over that means they’re putting on weight. excellent thing

@luxton

She’s been in the wine fridge drying since for almost 24 hours now… I’ll check her in a bit and she’ll most likely be ready to go into a jar and start the cure

what kind of environment does a wine fridge have? 24 hours doesn’t seem long enough to dry imo. even when it’s super warm and dry (which i can’t imagine a fridge being) it takes a few days for all the moisture to leave. if you can snap stems easily and they break off cleanly, that’s a good sign they’re dry - my experiences.

thanks for sharing!

[luxton]

K, I’m kinda baked, so let’s see how badly I can respond

@crunkyeah

i can smoke you up with lower thc stuff which you would swear is stronger than every kind of legal bud you’ve ever tried

Haha, don’t threaten me with a good time . You’re totally right tho, home grown is always better.

@crunkyeah

unfortunately i think with politics and everything involved, it’s very difficult for a corporation to sustain itself both in the fish market, cannabis market, and possibly even food crops. too many different entities are going to ‘mandate’ the thing to death, notwithstanding taxes.

For sure. Plus, sooo many people jumped into it as soon as it was legal, trying to be an lp that supply was through the roof. Because of that, investors got nervous in the ebb and flow of it and dumped a TON of stock, so a ton of the smaller guys were swallowed up by bigger guys, and then the bigger guys couldn’t sustain what they had and fell apart. I watched a ton of companies follow the same path, it was like watching a bunch of cars running into the same brick wall .

@crunkyeah

i have several tents which allows for the concurrent growing of veg plants and flower plants. additionally i have a clone box which i use for clones and germination of seedlings

OK, so you already had separate areas like I was siggesting, it would just be the nightmare of plumbing them all together.

@crunkyeah

my idea for a modular system is basically like this

That’d be a hell of a system!! . I’d love to see it up and running

@crunkyeah

that goldfish looks like a chunky one too! makes me want to get my act in gear and get some goldfish already. is it completely necessary to cycle a tank before you put new fish in

The goldfish is about 8" without tail, it’s freakin huge! I’m even more convinced that’s where all my small oelnes went, lol. The tank is a little bigger, 170g…its 7’ long. When I piss her off, the Mrs tells me I’ll be sleeping with the fishes… This is the tank I’d be in, she’s said she doesn’t know what else she’d do with it after I’m gone .

Do you really need to cycle a new tank… Yes and no. If you don’t, you’ll end up with an ammonia spike shortly after you put the fish in because the beneficial bacteria hasn’t built up yet. If you know anyone with a tank that’s been running for a while, see if you can grab a cup or two of the gravel from their tank, that’ll get ya going really quickly.

@crunkyeah

what kind of environment does a wine fridge have

It keeps a higher humidity while keeping the temp at 16C, so it helps create the ideal environment… I don’t have anywhere I can dry my plants without the kids running into it, so I chucked a wine fridge in my office, with my grow Tent, and that big ass tank and its good to go, lol.

I let the plant go on a bucket lid for a day and then put it into a jar with the top off. You have to remember, this thing had tiny little buds, it was a bonsai’d plant that maxed at about 8" tall, lol.

Actually, here’s a pic of the root ball. When I pulled it out, one big monster worms was hanging out on the edge and vanished within a few seconds of being on the clay

Its not as broken up as I expected, but I may just need go add more worms, I’ll see how the other 2 look when they come down.

Here’s some bud shots of the pure power plant

And a couple of xtreme haze

[Magu]

@luxton @crunkyeah . Im still following this thread but I am always out of . This is very interesting but you guys are way above my head with the equipment. @crunkyeah I agree completely about plants being safer in soil. I have never grown hydroponicaly because I was afraid that things could go bad very quickly.

[luxton]

Ahh, when you started growing in soil there was a learning curve, how much water, when to water, etc… It’s the same deal with growing in water

[crunkyeah]

@luxton

I watched a ton of companies follow the same path, it was like watching a bunch of cars running into the same brick wall .

sounds like society as we know it

@luxton

OK, so you already had separate areas like I was siggesting, it would just be the nightmare of plumbing them all together.

nightmare would be an understatement. even with siphons and airlifts i don’t think it’s practical to attempt something so crazy. impossible no, but definitely impractical.

@luxton

That’d be a hell of a system!! . I’d love to see it up and running

give me a year or so i’ll get there.

yeah that chunky goldfish probably ate the little ones lol. your tank is awesome btw. no wonder why you have that massive filter. unfortunately it’s a large enough tank where you could almost ‘sleep with the fishes’ just don’t piss the mrs off

@luxton

Do you really need to cycle a new tank… Yes

ok got it. nobody i know has any fish. starting from scratch. i know once my current plant agenda is complete the next agenda is getting a tank going. i’m thinking for starters a 30gal tank with probably 12-15 goldfish to start. need to clear a place for it though lol

@luxton

Actually, here’s a pic of the root ball. When I pulled it out, one big monster worms was hanging out on the edge and vanished within a few seconds of being on the clay

it’s tough to tell with the blurple leds but it looks like a healthy root mass! the worm stuff is good too. glad those seem to be working out well!

if i have any advice for next time… veg for at least 4-5 weeks before flipping. you’ll have a lot more work in training and maintaining the plants, but you should see 4 or 5 times the yield. food for thought!

your plants look fantastic! i hope the goldfish are doing well now without the goliath in there.

@Magu - when it comes to equipment i’m trying to get started for as little as possible. i’ll post in this thread what i’m able to achieve and what it costs me. i’m hoping to get started for around $100 in total. i do already have the most expensive part of the system - the airlift contraption and air pump. as far as hydroponics goes, it’s basically like luxton says: once you get used to it there isn’t much to worry about. in my own experience i find hydro/nft/dwc to be infinitely easier. soil is messy, hydro is clean. both have pros and cons. something to consider is that hydro is scalable and soil well… it’s a labor of love. imagine hand watering 100 plants twice a day or filling a 55 gal drum with a hose once every couple days. which would you prefer?

i should mention that any automated system for watering in my eyes is a irrigated (hydroponic) system, regardless of medium used. irrigation is irrigation. soil = hand fed/watered, hydro = everything else. just me though!

[luxton]

@crunkyeah

impossible no, but definitely impractical.

Aquaponics definitely requires more planning than growing in dirt, and retrofitting is almost always brutal… But I think once it’s built, it’s a lot less to maintain… I dunno, maybe that’s just me, I’ve always screwed up dirt, lol.

@crunkyeah

give me a year or so i’ll get there.

Looking forward to it . And to help however I can, if you want it

@crunkyeah

where you could almost ‘sleep with the fishes’ just don’t piss the mrs off

Lol, we’ve laughed about it! It’s 7’x2’x2’, I’m a big guy, but I’d even fit

@crunkyeah

i know once my current plant agenda is complete the next agenda is getting a tank going

Its tough… It’s kind of like trying to figure out when to pop new beans in your rotation, when should you start the tank… The difference is, you can never start a tank too soon, you can however have to wait for a tank to cycle. If you’re looking at an actual aquarium, I’d probably go to a 55g with that many fish. I’m running a 36g bow front in my tent and I’d like a bit more water to buffer changes a little more, unfortunately a 55g doesn’t fit in my tent. One thing that REALLY helped when I was starting, boil egg shells for a 10ish minutes to give them a good clean, then breaking them up, toss them in a washed stocking and hang that in your water, it’ll buffer the pH so changes happen a lot more slowly.

@crunkyeah

it’s tough to tell with the blurple leds

Yeah, I’m tossing around a new light, but I just had a UPS that kept my servers going crap out and take one of my servers… So I’ve had an expensive month already and it just started. It might have to wait until this one dies… I’ll have to get better at using the flash on my phone, lol.

@crunkyeah

veg for at least 4-5 weeks before flipping

Believe it or not, all three I grew this time had about 4 weeks, but I was a moron and pruned them back to nothing several times . But yeah, I’m planning a month in Veg without pruning anything, then a big prune and flip them a week later and start the vertical training for the one and tying up the others.

@crunkyeah

your plants look fantastic! i hope the goldfish are doing well now without the goliath in there

Thanks man, I appreciate that… The new lil guys seem to be pretty happy

@Magu really, it’s a lot easier to do once you jump into it… It sounds complicated, and you can definitely make it as complicated as you want it to be, but it can also be dead simple . The long and short of it is, fish poop, then you push that poopy water through some plant roots, add complexity where you want . I’ve heard about a guy who had a little goldfish in a glass bowl on his desk with a little pump… The water went up and into the backside of an empty computer case and flowed out the bottom… The grower had a single little pot in the computer case with 1 plant and some led strip lighting, being fed by the goldfish water… Super simple, easy to setup and a perfect start .

[luxton]

To keep everything together…

@crunkyeah was the final straw… I bought the foam inserts for a rooter.

I’m going to try and build one with an old aquarium pump and some irrigation tubing… I’ll document the build as I go

[luxton]

Quick update… The new lil ones are coming along nicely. 1 xtreme haze on the left and 2 oatz x rolling Thunder from @MikeyMeteor

I also got a better pic of the root ball, now that it’s all drier out reclaiming the clay should be pretty easy

And a couple bud shots of xtreme haze

[crunkyeah]

@luxton

But I think once it’s built, it’s a lot less to maintain

dirt is the same way. build a good soil and it’s just watering with decent water and that’s it. it’s really no different than everything else. the trick of it is knowing how much your plants drink and how frequent to water. after a couple of cycles of germination through to flower it’s pretty easy to understand. the rest is all genetic variation.

@luxton

One thing that REALLY helped when I was starting, boil egg shells for a 10ish minutes to give them a good clean, then breaking them up, toss them in a washed stocking and hang that in your water, it’ll buffer the pH so changes happen a lot more slowly.

i read this in the Olomana Gardens manual as well. the calcium in the egg shells helps neutralize the ph when it starts to drift with excess ammonia. glad to see this confirmed!! quite reassuring, and all the more reason to incorporate birds into the final system. unlimited calcium and protein

@luxton

So I’ve had an expensive month already and it just started. It might have to wait until this one dies… I’ll have to get better at using the flash on my phone, lol.

yikes! well honestly the way i feel about lights is… use them until they diminish so much that you need a new one. obviously it’s producing some excellent results coupled with your aquaponic system! “if it ain’t broke…”

@luxton

I’m planning a month in Veg without pruning anything, then a big prune and flip them a week later and start the vertical training for the one and tying up the others.

if i could offer advice, more veg time than a month even. i’ll send you a message privately more on the matter.

@luxton

The new lil guys seem to be pretty happy

they sure do!! rock on little ladies!

glad i could convince you to get a do-yourself cloner going. you certainly won’t regret it. fortunately you have some time before those seedlings will even be ready for cloning so you don’t have to worry about it this month.

the extreme haze looks excellent! i’m sure you’ll be absolutely delighted with smoking her! next time you’ll have lots more i’m sure. you’ll see it only gets better from here!

[luxton]

@crunkyeah

dirt is the same way. build a good soil and it’s just watering with decent water and that’s it

True, but even with great soil, you’re still watering each one by hand, right? That’s where I love aquaponics, that step is removed

@crunkyeah

all the more reason to incorporate birds

You just need to be careful, bird poop can carry lots of diseases that can really hurt fish health and over all production. But I can absolutely confirm, egg shells work . Unfortunately those were the days before I had a pH sensor recording to a database, so I can’t back it up with data, lol .

@crunkyeah

use them until they diminish so much that you need a new one.

You’re totally right… I’m worried this one might actually be too strong. It’s up as far as I can get it without blocking the fans off, but leaves are still drying out. I might have to throw some wax paper in front of it to diffuse it a bit .

@crunkyeah

if i could offer advice, more veg time than a month even

I really need to get my grow bed lower… It’s about 30" off the ground in a 7’ tent. I’m hoping the vertical training is going to help with grow space

@crunkyeah

get a do-yourself cloner going. you certainly won’t regret it

I just need to figure out a few more things to make it all work, but this is the fun part!!

Thanks for the support man, it’s appreciated

[Rogue]

@luxton

2200+ comments

and no conclusion or consensus

it really depends on circumstances and genetics

[luxton]

I started seeing some signs of bad light stress, so I added a diffuser to the light…

The xtreme haze also came down on Wednesday and is drying in the wine fridge.

Not counting my chickens before they hatch, but out of this grower-is-dumb grow, I think I should get a couple ounces, if I’m lucky.

I may have to move my tent in the house in the next week or so, the joys of being a step parent, the kids don’t think I should have any privacy and one was looking into my tent and dry fridge this last week… So, it may be moving into a room with a lock on the door. The bonus is, new design coming up!

I’m going to swap the fish into a double stacked plastic bin, the garbage can is going to be retired and a half height plastic bin will be taking its place. I’m going to glue the air stones to the bottom and organize it all while dry. I’m also going to be able to lower my grow bed, I figure by 12-18", so lots more grow height!!

I’m trying to get this move to happen quickly so the three lil babies I have going will have a home to grow into!

[crunkyeah]

@luxton

True, but even with great soil, you’re still watering each one by hand, right? That’s where I love aquaponics, that step is removed

yeah still watering by hand on each one. it really isn’t too big of a deal unless you have tons of huge plants which drink a lot. one thing which can be a con in a breeding sense is you have no idea how thirsty or hungry plants are in relation to each other. in that way, for me, watering by hand has worked well so far. NFT and hydro have done well for me too so it comes down to what a man/woman desires.

@luxton

You just need to be careful, bird poop can carry lots of diseases that can really hurt fish health and over all production. But I can absolutely confirm, egg shells work . Unfortunately those were the days before I had a pH sensor recording to a database, so I can’t back it up with data, lol .

actually seen a chicken aquaponics thing on the YT. you’d be surprised. anyhow i was thinking bird poo into the vermi-compost system i want to do, separate from the fish system. egg shells is a nice trick too for sure.

@luxton

You’re totally right… I’m worried this one might actually be too strong. It’s up as far as I can get it without blocking the fans off, but leaves are still drying out. I might have to throw some wax paper in front of it to diffuse it a bit .

yeah i’m finding out my obsession with high intensity leds hasn’t really paid off. they like strong light, but not as strong as i’ve pushed them. these modern leds are very strong if you have them too close.

@luxton

So, it may be moving into a room with a lock on the door. The bonus is, new design coming up!

probably a good call there! the reason for engineering has always been necessity.

real eager to see what you can come up with! enjoying watching this ride you’re on. it only gets better as we learn and grow you got this! rock on!

[luxton]

Well, no-go on the tent move, instead I now have locks on my tent and fridge 🤷. Hopefully none of my weed goes missing .

No tent move doesn’t mean no reconfig though, I need my grow bed to drop. So, as soon as my final plant comes down, the work begins. I’ll be pulling out the stand the grow bed is on, remove the downspout, swapping the garbage can out for the new bin. I don’t like going down in overall water quantity, but the garbage can is looking like it’s starting to leak and I found about 1/2" of water in places in the tent.

For my next grow, I’m going to do it all in pots. I’ll have a column of rockwool up the center of the pot to wick water up, and filled with hydroton. I figure I should be able to get 5-6 pots in the bed, and the plants will ned up with a deeper bed for more stability. My next trip into town I’ll be picking up a container of worms for each pot I have a plant in too (not sure I’ll fill all the pots, depending on how it looks for room, I still have my strawberries to think of ). The water in this setup is going to run freely from one end of the bed to the other, passing through the pots as it goes. Because there will be some open areas, I’ll need to pull out the aluminum foil to cover them up and stop and algae growth.

I’m still trying to figure out the best layout to keep the grow bed as low as possible without the fish being the lowest part, and ideally having the biofilter in the middle somewhere… I love this part though, it’s like putting together your own Lego “thing” as a kid, but the outcome now is soooo much cooler

[luxton]

I’ve been tossing around ideas about how to keep everything in my tent, from popping seeds to bringing up the seedlings, right out to budding. It can’t all happen in the same place, so the plants are going to have to move. I just ordered a bunch of 3 gallon fabric bags, the idea being ill drop them in the grow bed instead of hard plastic ones and they’ll hopefully help wick some water up. If these work the way I’m hoping, I think I’ll be able to drop seedlings right into their 3 gallon bag and grow them up in the top half of the front 1’ section of the tent, then move the whole bag into a spot in the big tent grow bed(s). Below the seedlings, I’m thinking of a row of sip boxes, connected in series, with mom’s.

Now the fun part of all of this, I want it all plumbed so my fish water is moving everywhere. So, I have about 50’ of 1/2" tubing and I hope the ton of irrigation elbows and connectors I have will fit, so getting the water to the plants won’t be overly difficult (although I think I need a few valves to control water flow), but I’m going to need 1" pipe to return the water (always double output line size to calculate return line size, I’ve found). Ideally, I also have a line dropping down from the seedling area to the moms in sip’s… I’d like to be able to connect them in series with each having an overflow line dropping into a common reservoir, so I can fill at one end until all buckets are draining, then I know they’re all fill.

Anyone tried that before??

Lots to look into, lots to build right now, I’m super excited

[luxton]

Some interesting differences between these two in how they’re growing… One is definitely taking off while the other is getting bushy

And the xtreme haze is looking very happy

The last plant came down in the tent today. I ordered a few things that should arrive this week, I’m hoping to get some cool plumbing things happening soonish here