Bucket System

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High Performance Bucket System

Grow plants faster with a bigger yield, build this system, you won't be sorry. This is a great system that is easy to make. This system works on the drip method of hydroponics. I like using the expanded clay balls but you can use Perlite, lava rocks, pea gravel, coco fiber anything that drains well and offers the roots plenty of space for oxygen.
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All the parts, except for the clay balls, were purchased from Home Depot, and Walmart. You can get the clay balls at a hydroponic store or online. Pea gravel is very cheap and works very well, giving good support to hold up the plant. You can get gravel at any rock quarry.
What you will need to build:
5 Gal Bucket Any general 5 gal bucket will work but stay away from clear buckets that let in light. This bucket will hold your nutrient solution so Please Get a New Bucket that hasn't had paint or toxic chemicals in it! This one pictured on the left is from Home Depot is only $4.99
1/2 Gal Bucket or Flower Pot I used this plastic flower pot from Walmart. You can use any container that will fit snuggly inside the 5 gal bucket but shorter leaving room to hold nutrient solution. This flower pot works nicely it is 13.5 inches across the top. 10 inches from top to bottom. 7 inches across the bottom.
inch inside diameter rubber grommets You only need one grommet for each system you make. You can get these at any hardware store, Home depot etc. They will be in the electrical section. This is used to seal the inch elbow that goes through the bottom side of the 5 gal bucket.
inch barbed elbow This is used to go through the side of the bucket into the rubber grommet. It must be inch outside dimension to fit snug into the barbed elbow connector. You can get these at any hardware store in the irrigation sprinkler section. During assembly the grommet goes into bucket first then the elbow goes into the grommet. Soapy water will help you push the elbow into the grommet. Notice the grommet goes between the 2 ridges on the barbed elbow.
inch barbed T Connector The T connector is used for the drip ring that supplies the nutrient solution to the plant. You need 1 for every system you build. You can get these in any hardware store in the sprinkler section.
3/8 inch Outside Diameter Tubing The important measurement is the outside diameter. It needs to be able to fit inside of the inch T connector. You can get at any hardware store in the plumbing section. The tubing is white . Important dimensions are below: Inside diameter is inch Outside diameter is 3/8 inch You need at least 2 feet per system. I got 25 feet at Home Depot for about $5
inch PVC pipe You need about 16 inches for each system you make. It can be purchased at most hardware stores. It isn't expensive, but you may have to buy a minimum amount of 10 feet.
Aquarium sealant 100% silicone You don't have to have this but you should use it to glue the air tubing in the pump assembly. Always use non toxic adhesives when possible as you are growing plants that will probably be consumed. I got this at Freidman brothers home improvement about $3.50
Aquarium air pump This air pump shown is a dual outlet pump from Walmart. You can run a couple of your hydroponic buckets with this pump. You don't have to get the dual model get what your budget allows. Make sure you get air tubing also.
Hydroton Clay Balls OR I like the clay balls for this but you can use other products that are less expensive. Pea gravel works great, gives good plant support, and is real cheap! Perlite works good, less plant support. Lava rock works fine and gives good support for plants.
Well that is the list of parts you need to build the high performance bucket system. You will need a power drill and some drill bits. Pipe cutters or a hack saw and thats it. Ready to start building? Lets go and remember if you are having problems contact me, I will be happy to answer any questions for you.
The first thing we need to do is drill a hole in the side of the 5 gallon bucket for the inch grommet to go into. Look at the picture on the left. Notice that the inch hole is at the bottom of the bucket. You need to go as low as possible without breaking out of the bottom. Drill the hole 1 and inches up from the bottom. Drill slowly so you don't make the hole bigger than inches. The grommet needs to go into the hole and provide a water tight seal after the inch elbow is inserted.
Next put the grommet into the inch hole in the bucket. After the grommet is in the bucket take the inch elbow and put a little soapy water on it to ease the installation into the grommet. You need to be patient and use a bit of force for it to go in. The picture on the left shows the elbow properly installed into the side of the bucket.
The picture on the bottom left shows the inside of the bucket. Notice the grommet is even all the way around. Set the bucket aside as you are done with the 5 gallon bucket portion of the assembly.
This is the pot that holds the plant. Notice the hole in bottom of the pot. It is as close as possible to the edge. The hole needs to be approx 7/8 inches. The inch PVC pipe needs to go through this hole and be semi snug. Measure your outside dimensions of your PVC pipe and drill accordantly.
In this picture you can see the pipe is in the hole and standing on its own. Remember measure twice and drill once. You can always make a hole bigger but you can't make it smaller. Now that the hole is drilled for the pump assembly we need to drill drainage holes. Look on the next page for the details.
Here you can see the pot upside down. Now there is no perfect spacing for your holes. Drill the holes with a drill bit that is approx 1/8 of an inch. The size depends on what kind of material you are using in the bucket. The purpose of the holes is for drainage. It is very important that you have excellent drainage. Also if you use the bigger aggregate for your system there is more air available in the immediate root zone. Your plant will grow and the roots will end up going out of the bottom of the pot and grow inside of the main bucket. That is normal. Now you can put the pot aside and we will start the pump assembly.
Now cut a piece of the white tubing approx 17 inches long, that is not the final length just a starting point. Next measure the outside of your air tubing and drill a hole 1 inch up from the end of the tube. This hole will be used to insert your air tubing into. Look at the picture on the left to get a better idea. Next we will get the air tubing ready to insert into your pump column.
Take a piece of your air tubing and heat the tip of an inch with a match or lighter to make it soft enough to bend. You need to keep the fire moving as not to melt the plastic. When it is soft bend the end at a 45 degree angle and keep it there while it cools.
Be careful not to burn yourself.

After it cools cut the tip parallel to the tubing. Look at the upper left picture. Now we can insert the end of the air tubing into the white tubing. Look at upper right picture. Now glue it with a dab of aquarium sealant. Tape the air tubing to the white tubing while the sealant dries. Set that aside and lets go to the next step.
This is the inch PVC pipe that gives support to the pump assembly. Cut the pipe to 14 and inches. Then cut a 45 degree angle on one end of the pipe. Look at the picture on the top left. Be careful cutting the pipe as not to cut yourself. You can use a hacksaw or PVC pipe cutters. Then push the white tubing with the air tubing on it into the PVC pipe. The tubing will go all the way into the pipe until it reaches the end. Look at the picture to the left. You can see the tip of the white tubing almost to the tip of the 45 degree cut in the PVC pipe. That is how far you want it to go in. Now set the pump assembly aside and lets build the drip ring. We are almost finished.
Now take the in barbed T connector and cut it on the last ring like in the upper right picture. You can use pipe cutters like in the picture or a hacksaw blade. Make sure to cut both sides of the T connector. Now cut a piece of the white tubing 18 to 19 inches. Stick the tubing into both sides of the T connector until it looks like the picture below left. Then mark the tubing with a permanent marker for the holes like in the picture on the bottom right. Then dill the 7 holes with a small drill bit 1/16 inch. The T connector should easily move on the white tubing and go 90 degrees (perpendicular) to the tubing for the correct position
Now we need to put the pieces together and finish the system. The drip ring can be installed onto the pump assembly. Then we can put the pump assembly with drip ring into the growing pot. Then put the pot into the 5 gallon bucket. Look at the pictures below to see it more clearly.
Drill a hole in the top of the pot just big enough for the air tubing to pass through. Then stick the air tubing through the hole. The end of this tubing will hook to your air pump.
Now we need to cut a piece of clear inch tubing 14 inches long to attach to the inch elbow connector in the side of the 5 gallon bucket. Put a little aquarium sealant on the outside of the barbed elbow to keep it water tight. Then drill a hole on the top of the pot just big enough for a 4 inch piece of white tubing to go through. This will serve to keep the clear inch tubing upright until you want to drain it. The clear tubing does two things. First it allows us to see the level of the nutrient solution in the 5 gallon bucket. Second it can be swung down to drain the 5 gallon bucket when changing the nutrient solution. Look at the following pictures.
Top left picture shows the hole for the 4 inch piece of white tubing. The picture above right shows the white tubing through the hole in the pot and into the clear tubing to hold it upright. Picture on right below shows barbed elbow swiveled down to the draining position.
Now the assembly is completed. You are ready to add the growing medium and fill up the nutrient solution and start growing. Whatever you use for the growing chamber (pot) you must first rinse it thoroughly. It is important that you start off with clean medium.
I put the clay balls in a strainer pot so I could rinse it before use. You can see in the upper right picture the red coming off of the clay balls. We don't want that in our nutrient solution .Fill it up partway and position your pump assembly then fill it the rest of the way.
Thats it you now have a completed high performance bucket system and you are ready to add plants and start growing. When you pick a plant to grow you need to rinse off the roots with tepid water to get out most of the dirt. Be gentle otherwise you could kill or shock the plant. When you first introduce a plant into your system don't worry about nutrient solution for the first few days. Just use water in your system with B1 in it to help with stress and shock. When the plant is looking happy in 4 to 5 days you can drain the water out and mix up some hydroponic nutrient solution. If you don't have it yet use some miracle grow for tomatoes mixed at the same ratio for fruits and vegetables the same size as the plant in your system. I hope you can assemble this unit without any problems. Remember if you have any questions make sure you contact us by clicking on the link at the bottom of any page. Thank you again for buying plans from us and check out our other hydroponic system plans at our store Laura and Tip Owners www.hydro-plans.com

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Thank you for buying hydroponic system plans from us. We appreciate your business.

High Performance Bucket System

What you will need to build:

Be careful not to burn yourself.

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