¤ swAmp Hydroponics ¤

Welcome to the swAmp!

For those who don't know me, I'm .Smoke.
You may have seen me in one of my previous Hempy growing adventures.
Classics like, "The .Smoke Shack", "Is this potassium deficiency or nutrient burn?", "The Primate Sanctuary (Gorilla Glue Crosses)", or one of my personal favorites, the low budget blockbuster success..."$10 DIY High CFM Kit and Clip Fan Hack".

Continuing on with the antics, I've now created "swAmp Hydroponics" (trademark application submitted 11/30/2020) with one sole purpose in mind....to make growing easier, and therefore a more enjoyable experience for us all by creating a more "user friendly" style of hydroponics growing.

I have a system I've been brainstorming, developing and testing for the last few months called the "swAmp Bucket". The intent was to take the best of DWC/DTW/E&F, while eliminating each "problem" the individual systems are prone to.

The swAmp system, utilities a 100% L.E.C.A media in a normal hydroponic feed solution typical of DWC/RDWC systems, but requires no recirculating of the water or added air pumps/stones. In fact, besides the few minutes a day your feed pump is running, the system is 100% silent, passive and requires no electricity. It features quick connect fittings for the 1/4" od feed and 3/8" od drain lines. An "easy feed" clone/seedling planting process, and individual portable sites that can be run as a single site or multi-site system, capable of being "plugged in" to your current DTW system, or used as a standalone/multi-site "swAmp System". All while avoiding the clogs or "nutrient leeching" issues typical of current DTW systems.

That's the great thing. There are many different ways the system can be controlled, connected and used. Giving each grower the ability to modify and adjust the system to their own personal needs.

I will contine to further develop and test the swAmp system and method, along with other gadgets and gizmos here in the thread.
When I'm 100% satisfied with the quality and development of the system (soon), I would like to offer to send a few out to any growers who might be interested in helping to test and critique the sites for me by journaling a grow of their own.

Anyone willing to help here @ swAmp Hydroponics, will automatically have their "Grower Name" added to a special "Shout Out" section of the packaging or manual of the finished products they helped to test!

My purpose is simple. Try and make growing easier for us all. So, along with my crazy ideas, I'd love to hear yours.
Like, what's that one pet peeve you have that if you, "just had the right thing" your problems would be solved?
The kind of little things that you never knew were bothering you until they were gone or fixed? (Clip fans. :mad: You all know what I'm talking about... I have something in the works to keep them "in place" atm too.)

If you have any ideas, issues, problems you need a "fix" for, or are ever interested in being a "Guinea Pig" and want to test an item you see, please reach out here or @ swamphydroponics@gmail.com
And we'll make it happen.

Enough for now.
I'll be introducing the swAmp Bucket with a detailed explanation hopefully in the next few days.
In the mean time, here's a glimpse of a couple monster cropped clones that have been in some S1 prototype buckets for a little over a month...
20201201_231440.jpg
Another plant was culled so the root system could be inspected for signs of rot.
Happy to say all is healthy.
20201129_121146.jpg
More to come soon @swamphydroponics!

.Smoke
 
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Before I proceed any further, I forgot to mention....

"Huge thanks to @jaguarlax and all the Admins here @ phenohunter.org for this opportunity, and to all members here for your past and continued support!"

You all are awesome and without your support I don't believe this idea would have ever made it past my frontal lobe...
Truly, thank you all. :superhappydance:
.Smoke
 
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jaguarlax

Tactical Gardener
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Before I proceed any further, I forgot to mention....

"Huge thanks to @jaguarlax and all the Admins here @ phenohunter.org for this opportunity, and to all members here for your past and continued support!"

You all are awesome and without your support I don't believe this idea would have ever made it past my frontal lobe...
Truly, thank you all. :superhappydance:
.Smoke

you’re very welcome. This is the sole reason I spend so much time here. To help build a platform to put these wonderful things we all do on display. I wish you nothing but the most success in your endeavor. We’re here to help if you need us. I’ll be following along!
 
I wanted to show a quick rundown of how easy it is to prepare a swAmp bucket and transplant clones.

Here we have a site filled to 1" under the top lip with the LECA media.
20201201_231747.jpg
With the lid snapped in place, you'll be ready to "charge" the system with the provided 2" "Nest" pot.
20201201_231841.jpg
You simply place the nest pot in the hole, and apply slight downward pressure until the nest sits flush against the lid.
20201201_231912.jpg
As you can see, this causes the media around the nest pot to "nestle" into place inside the bucket.
20201201_231940.jpg
To ensure you have the correct amount of media, you should feel a slight "upward push" on the bucket lid from the media inside once the nest sits flush.
If you find you have too much/little media in your bucket, simply remove the nest pot and add or remove the appropriate amounts.

Once your bucket is "charged", you place your clone in the nest at your desired height, while filling it with a final handful of media.
20201201_234641.jpg
20201201_232851.jpg
Connect your 1/4" feed line and 3/8" drain, and you're now "swAmp" growing!

As with all "net pot" designs, I recommend hand feeding the center of the buckets for the first week or two until you're sure the root system has reached the "swAmp" water level.
 
Planting from seed is as simple as a clone in the "swAmp" system.
20201202_202138.jpg
20201202_202131.jpg
Just place a 1.5" rockwool cube directly into the nest pot. Then soak and prepare them as you usually do. Your method of rockwool seed germination will work! No changes required.

One you feel your seedling is ready for it's bucket, simply use a spare "nest pot" to "charge" the site, remove and gently replace it with your germinated nest. Make sure to add a final layer of LECA on top of the cube.

All finished!
Go have a smoke. You deserve it. ;)

(I'll have pics of loading a germinated seedling once I have one ready. This will be done using a 75 day harvest bell pepper seed to show there is more than just cannabis in a "swAmp"...)
 
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Maybe one day...
Following along
This is definitely far from a finished product. More of an "idea" at the moment that definitely needs more testing and refining.
Which is why I'm glad to have the opportunity to hopefully share it here, get feedback and make adjustments accordingly for the people it matters to most.
You guys. The grower.

So I'm sure there will be many changes and updates, and "if" it's something that people would be interested in, that's when the process of looking for a manufacturing facility would commence.

Hopefully, that would be someone else's baby to deal with. I just want to keep tinkering around. :)
.Smoke
 

coste

In Bloom
Really excited to watch this unfold.... it's been a long time since I ran any true hydro but you've definitely got my attention... the noise was a big part of why I moved away from it
I'm into my first hydro run, and wound up building a couple venturis for my reservoirs because the air pump was too much to take anymore. Cut noise down by 99%. Now it's just the fans that are the issue. But this system looks like it might be onto something.
 
could I do above the res perlite so maybe leca in the bottom with the rez and then perlite up top
Absolutely.
Perlite, coco, or even dirt I guess could be substituted for the LECA in the nest pot if a grower so desired. The only issue I could envision is the possibility of some of the material falling through the nesting pot if the bucket is moved or jarred, but should be very minimal.
With the design of the feed and drainage systems and location of the emitter head on the bucket lid, the water never touches the media located inside the nest pot, and with a 800gph pump running 100% into a free flow 8 port manifold to only 1 bucket, the drainage line is able to remove all the runoff with no rise in the bucket's intended water level.
Aka, I have not been able to make the water level reach the nest pot, nor overflow the bucket using my feeding system.
The only time I have "successfully" flooded a bucket was by feeding it from my city line @ 80psi.

I'm trying to get more info together so I can give a full release of all the details, but I'm still waiting on a few items to show up and have a couple more ducks to get in a row.
So, I apologize to you all for the "feet dragging" atm on the info...and hope to get more out to you soon.
.Smoke

Edit,
Wanted to make this clear....
I DO NOT recommend substituting ANY LECA for another material inside the bucket. ONLY in the nest pot.
The LECA was chosen for quite a few reasons, one of which is to ensure a "no clog" drainage system.
Any introduction into the bucket of other media will negate that aspect of the system, which is one of it's major advantages over others.
On that note, I will mention the LECA you select can make a difference! I have soley used and tested with the Hydrocrunch 8mm single size LECA.
I cannot promise a "clog free" drain design if a smaller sized media is used. That's why a bag of the correct amount and type of LECA would be included along with every site.
Sorry for the confusion.
 
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kovidkough

In Bloom
Absolutely.
Perlite, coco, or even dirt I guess could be substituted for the LECA in the nest pot if a grower so desired. The only issue I could envision is the possibility of some of the material falling through the nesting pot if the bucket is moved or jarred, but should be very minimal.
With the design of the feed and drainage systems and location of the emitter head on the bucket lid, the water never touches the media located inside the nest pot, and with a 800gph pump running 100% into a free flow 8 port manifold to only 1 bucket, the drainage line is able to remove all the runoff with no rise in the bucket's intended water level.
Aka, I have not been able to make the water level reach the nest pot, nor overflow the bucket using my feeding system.
The only time I have "successfully" flooded a bucket was by feeding it from my city line @ 80psi.

I'm trying to get more info together so I can give a full release of all the details, but I'm still waiting on a few items to show up and have a couple more ducks to get in a row.
So, I apologize to you all for the "feet dragging" atm on the info...and hope to get more out to you soon.
.Smoke

Edit,
Wanted to make this clear....
I DO NOT recommend substituting ANY LECA for another material inside the bucket. ONLY in the nest pot.
The LECA was chosen for quite a few reasons, one of which is to ensure a "no clog" drainage system.
Any introduction into the bucket of other media will negate that aspect of the system, which is one of it's major advantages over others.

Sorry for the confusion.
that makes alot of sense thankz
 
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