# Hydroponic Garden DONE!



## Sasquatch (Dec 12, 2014)

So I was looking to build a hydroponic garden and had a hard time finding good instructions. So in my usual style I just said F' it and built it myself with the plans in my head. So I guess this makes it DIY. Just went from pictures I had seen and couple YouTube videos. This one is quite small and only has room for 12 plants. If this one works out like I hope it will I'll be building a bigger one.

It's basically wood, PVC pipe and a water pump. The whole thing cost me about $80.


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## oddapple (Dec 9, 2013)

Bravo! Enjoy!


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

Nice! I wish you luck and success.


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

Isn't that where 'The Thing' grew his vegetable babies?


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Nice, don't forget to make monthly reports on progress of the plants.


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## Prepadoodle (May 28, 2013)

Very nice!


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Excellent work. Enjoy.


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## SDF880 (Mar 28, 2013)

Excellent! Good job!


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## oddapple (Dec 9, 2013)

sideKahr said:


> Isn't that where 'The Thing' grew his vegetable babies?


Yes and if you run an led/hps over that you could grow a carrot monster too. On full Ra power, you can deadhead and trim and 48 hours later have recovery and growth.
The rules change and you control the conditions. (*HPS makes heat - use that for stuff like wine fermenting and mushroom spawn running)
Also, since you made a oasis of joy indoors, you kind of watch because giganamous spiders love to find hideouts and burrows in your grows. Hard to blame them and if you are less surprised and looking for them, less likely to sheet, scream and squash anybody. Twice over the years I have put my hand down within 2 inches of a widow and some big wolf looking booger but just picked it right up carefully again. Life loves living scenes.
Flourescents are cheapest and most widely used and they do fine. Led or hps alone is fine too. But put pots and other stuff everywhere the light falls because you are buying every bit of it.
Looking forward


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## BagLady (Feb 3, 2014)

That's great Squatch, but, I thought part of Hydroponics was to contain the moisture. As in "Hot House" style.?
I saw a contained Hydroponics unit recently on TV, that grew wheat sprouts to feed pigs. The sprouts grew in 3 days for feeding.
I'm interested in this too.


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## Sasquatch (Dec 12, 2014)

BagLady said:


> That's great Squatch, but, I thought part of Hydroponics was to contain the moisture. As in "Hot House" style.?
> I saw a contained Hydroponics unit recently on TV, that grew wheat sprouts to feed pigs. The sprouts grew in 3 days for feeding.
> I'm interested in this too.


You may be right. What I made may be classified as Aquaponics, not sure. I'm new to all this stuff myself. The store where I bought the pump and clay pellets was a "hydroponics" store. Next time I go in I will have to ask the guy about some of the terminology.


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## oddapple (Dec 9, 2013)

I do it and a little unclear myself. I thought it was defined by the growing media and a flow table is a flow table?
I have a couple things in a rock wool cube, some in a 5 gal bucket with baskets and stones - I guess which is which is a secondary consideration. I got a book.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Very cool. Which is the Big Island Skunk?


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## Sasquatch (Dec 12, 2014)

bigwheel said:


> Very cool. Which is the Big Island Skunk?


I do not partake myself so none in the mix. I have no issue with it except it just makes me tired. I did think maybe I should try to grow some just for the knowledge.


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## oddapple (Dec 9, 2013)

Maybe as a big example of foliage vs bloom phase, like the tomato.
If you get into specialty things like herbs or seed, bloom or fruit bearers where how you handle directly affects the quality or potency of your yield and down line use. So, growing some things where you are harvesting different plant parts gives you a baseline idea of what you get to compare if your enhancements were beneficial and how,much so.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Sativas wake a person and makes them unlock the keys of the universe. Indicas make folks tired..makes them get locked down on the couch..lol.
Indica vs. Sativa: Understanding The Differences


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

Very cool. Let us know how it's going.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Well i aint trying to run your bidness here but it you want to grow some reasonable vegitation try what is called Hempy Buckets. Hydroponics is for lettuce or something.

Guide to Hempy Buckets


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

Sasquatch said:


> You may be right. What I made may be classified as Aquaponics, not sure. I'm new to all this stuff myself. The store where I bought the pump and clay pellets was a "hydroponics" store. Next time I go in I will have to ask the guy about some of the terminology.


Aquaponics is the combination of hydroponics (what you're doing) with aquaculture (the raising of food such as fish).

What kind of lights are you burning?


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## Sasquatch (Dec 12, 2014)

sideKahr said:


> Aquaponics is the combination of hydroponics (what you're doing) with aquaculture (the raising of food such as fish).
> 
> What kind of lights are you burning?


No lights as of now. Just using sun. I live in Southern California so I have no worries of frost.


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## BagLady (Feb 3, 2014)

Sasquatch said:


> You may be right. What I made may be classified as Aquaponics, not sure. I'm new to all this stuff myself. The store where I bought the pump and clay pellets was a "hydroponics" store. Next time I go in I will have to ask the guy about some of the terminology.


Let us know what you find out about Hydroponics, ok?


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

http://theaquaponicsource.com/2011/04/25/12-ways-aquaponics-differs-from-hydroponics/


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## Sasquatch (Dec 12, 2014)

Think HuntingHawk hit the nail on the head with this one ^^^^^^^^

Thanks for the post. It confirmed what I thought but with a ton more info than I knew.


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## Sarahwalker (Mar 3, 2015)

Wow that's amazing wtg! Not the usual one but I hope it works just as well. I've been prepping my aquaponics system too. My family and I had to do it for months, but it was a success


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## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

Looks like a great start, something to wring out and learn a ton of stuff. My system is down right now as I focus on a June 1 release date (or face penalties from Amazon).
I really wanna try aquaponics, but I am still working on mastering basic hydroponics. Mebbe I should have a clue before I add Tilapia to the mix, eh?

Do you think your baskets are big enough? Or do you plan to transplant?


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## Sasquatch (Dec 12, 2014)

I figured I would have to transplant after they get big.


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## ARDon (Feb 27, 2015)

very nice, well thought out too.


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## Sarahwalker (Mar 3, 2015)

Ralph Rotten, 

It's really great that you start with the basics first :> having the fishes will take too much effort and energy for someone who's just starting. You can expand once you've built your aquaponic grow bed or the overall system, and also when you get the hang of things.


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## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

My pump burnt out and the last crop died because I wasn;t paying attention closely enough.
I have wanted to try the floating garden style of hydroponics, then I just need a bubbler, but everything I read says that this technique is best for lettuce and high-water content plants, but not so great for tomatoes n such. 

Sarah, do you have a pref for which style of hydroponics, or do you vary based on the plant?


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## Charles Martel (Mar 10, 2014)

Well done, Squach! Posts like this are why I cant stay away from this freaking site! :bow:


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Yall need to discover Hempy Buckets one these days. Forget the exotic stuff. Use Turface for the growing medium.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=98419
Turface MVP


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## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

Hydroponics is attractive to me as a prepper because I can easily stockpile bottles of nutrients and grow solution. It all has a great shelf life.
But fertilizer and soil don't store so well. They will get mold, things will grow in them (crawly things) and the bags break down. Also, they are bulky. Besides, if the event includes acid rain, then you will have to compost your soil to counter the effects of hydrochloric rain. Kind of a PITA to use real dirt indoors too (stinks).

My problem is that I was raised on a livestock farm. My family were ranchers. Dirt farming was never something we did much. I've raised all sorts of animals, bottle fed everything from mice to goats to pigs to kittens n puppies, but farming green stuff I am still learning about. 

As soon as I'm not working like a madman (on June 2nd) I am going to fire up the growbox again. My first creation was pretty good, but turned out to be too small and the tomatoes took over. I think I may go with an open air system, but then I lose the added reflectivity of the white walls I used in the box. Since I am using flourescents every photon counts. I would love to try HPS lighting, but as a prepper I have a hard time with the power they require.


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