Building a Dutch Bucket System

Also called Beto buckets, this is a small Dutch bucket setup that is being installed in our aquaponics system.
PATREON: / bigelowbrook
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TOP CONTRIBUTORS:
www.GlassBottleOutlet.com
www.TrueAquaponics.com/store
www.GroPockets.com
www.Aquaponics.ai
MORE ABOUT THE FARM
www.BigelowBrook.com
0:00 intro
0:45 Comparing purchased vs homemade
3:58 Design overview
5:54 Building the system
12:06 Adding tomato plants
13:35 Minor clogging problem
14:59 A few weeks later

[@ozzypunk1]

I really enjoy that you are always testing and experimenting on your system. Thanks for the video.

[@mauriceb77]

Thanks for the videos, keep them coming.

[@endthefed_1913]

Excellent video!

[@pa5zl]

paint strainers are great for the buckets prefenting roots getting in the pipes. ans also ammazed of your price for the buckets. i got mine (in the Netherlands for just under 3euro per piece. the are called mapito pot.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Nice one Rob. Makes sense just to spring for the purpose build buckets. 👍 What varieties of Tom's did you go with?

[@Bigelowbrook]

These are "Amish Paste" which are an heirloom variety. Makes great sauce and is wonderful on a sandwich. ;-)

[@middleway1885]

Boop! Great stuff! Cheers!

[@fouroakfarm]

Nice looking tomato plants! Will be checking back to see how you liked this system. Thanks for sharing

[@jaksmith6465]

looks nice. especially without extra electric

[@JebGardener]

I wonder how important it is to have the fitting to suck the water out. Will the extra standing water cause problems or is there some other reasoning behind it?

[@Bigelowbrook]

I'm not sure. I'm guessing that it was a space saving design so they could set these right on the ground? I guess we'll find out what happens when I take the plants out later in the year!

[@2001lextalionis]

I had some success putting in a removable filter system or two. Initially it was to improve the durability of the pump so I wanted to avoid solids getting caught in the pumping mechanism. Granted my setup wasn't on the scale done here...

[@TakeTheRide]

Is 5 gallon paint filters in your buckets. That'll stop stuff from going into your lines. You can also put one around your pump filter.

[@davidfuschino9255]

I purchased those buckets from the Wal-Mart bakery for a buck a piece. They sell two styles, 1 is a 2 gallon and the other is a five gallon.

[@jayadevantr2480]

Does the roots clog the outlet of the bucket? How does your added filter helped? or does it need at all? Please guide me.

[@graemepatterson6623]

What size piping did you use for the inlet and outlet? 20mm and 50mm?

[@jimginnyohio]

In your video intro, was the plant in the background a collard plant? If so, what is the variety? It looked incredible!

[@Bigelowbrook]

Swiss Chard

[@koningbolo4700]

Hey man, great to have stumbled onto your channel again after a couple of years. I was around watching when the geodesic dome went up. How is the dome doing please ?

[@Bigelowbrook]

It's still there, but I'm converting it into a workshop now.

[@pa5zl]

what type of fittings did you use for the short feeding tubes(black) to connect to the white pvc pipe. you probably mentioned it before but cant find them.

[@Bigelowbrook]

it's a 1/4" NPT to 1/4" barbed fitting. McMaster # 5372K112

[@thermalinsulation]

Nice

[@historynerd6630]

Nice Video as always 👍. Have you ever made a taste comparisson between tomatoes grown in earth and those in a hydroponic / aquaponic setup?

[@Bigelowbrook]

The first year I did tomatoes in here we also had the same variety in the garden. They tasted the same. However these plants produce more because it's easier to control the bugs and they don't get hammered by the winds and rain. Plus it's easier to tie them up!

[@k_froggy]

I wonder if you turn the valve that feeds the water upwards or even sideways if that would stop more solids??

[@Bigelowbrook]

It's possible. I would be concerned that the solids would accumulate in the low spot of the pipe.

[@rab9212]

Thanks as always for the video! Are you happy with your SolaWrap covering system? Would you use it again?

[@Bigelowbrook]

I do like it! I have one section that a bear ripped a hole into it so I need to replace it. There are a few pin holes in other spots but it doesn't seem to cause any problems except for some discoloration where the dirt got into the bubble.

[@rab9212]

@@Bigelowbrook Thank you for your update! I have been looking for a good distributor of Solawrap for my greenhouse. How were the pinholes made?

[@Bigelowbrook]

@@rab9212 Global Plastic Sheeting in California sells it.

[@Vaul_The_Merchant]

Neat

[@billprice2409]

Rob, Do you find that your DWCB supplies enough nutrient rich water to the plants in your Dutch Buckets?

[@Bigelowbrook]

They seem to get enough, but I'm finding that the same tomato and cucumber types grow better in the DWC once they are larger. It appears there is no more room for roots!

[@graemepatterson6623]

How often are you running the nutrients to your Dutch buckets? 24 hrs per day?

[@Bigelowbrook]

once an hour for about 5 minutes

[@emanovwevoke1913]

Is there any other nutrients you add to your aquaponic system before I can grow tomatoes or peppers?

[@Bigelowbrook]

Yes. I get the water tested about once a month and adjust as necessary

[@emanovwevoke1913]

@@Bigelowbrookhow do I adjust aquaponic water for example if it lacks potassium?

[@Bigelowbrook]

@@emanovwevoke1913 you would want to see what is available in your area. For potassium you would usually get potassium phosphate or potassium nitrate.

[@emanovwevoke1913]

Good setup. Can I use this setup for pepper plants?

[@Bigelowbrook]

Yes. I'm growing peppers this year in them!

[@emanovwevoke1913]

@@Bigelowbrookthanks for your reply. Pls help me on nutrition composition. If I don’t have Masterblend fertilizer what other NPK composition can I mix with calcium nitrate and Espom salt? For growing and fruiting pepper with the right EC readings.Thanks.

[@jonasstahl9826]

Would it be much cheaper to use regular cheap round buckets and put the outlet in the buttom, that way you wouldnt need the elbows. That would probably work with a simple hole or multiple and an open pipe like a raingutter to catch the water.

[@ismailrustubayrakal]

Hello. How often do you do the watering?

[@Bigelowbrook]

Every 15 minutes for 5 minutes.

[@ismailrustubayrakal]

Thank you

[@oob3826]

Is this drain to waste or recirculating system?

[@Bigelowbrook]

recirculating. It's an aquaponic system

[@thisjustin4787]

Does growing veggies with the hydroponics systems instead of dirt affect the flavor or texture at all? Your videos are great, very informative!

[@Bigelowbrook]

Everything tastes great! I have customers tell me that I have the best lettuce and tomatoes they have ever tasted. :)

[@thisjustin4787]

@@Bigelowbrook Fantastic! Thank you for the response! Going to start building this over the winter to be ready for spring.

[@khalidalghalayini2488]

Nice job ... just wondering , is it possible to do a clip on nutrient deficiency !! I notice your tomatoes did not reach potassium deficiency stage but surely it will ... !! Iam sure you are rectifying this and it would be great to have your input on this .thank you By the way ... massive size Swiss chard .. I wonder if its soft at this level ?

[@Bigelowbrook]

It's actually molybdenum that was the problem. Just got the test result back. ;-) I try to avoid the nutrient videos because of the huge number of complaints I get. Some people disagree that I shouldn't be adding other nutrients into the system and I don't feel like arguing with them. Swiss chard was leftover from last year and I just removed it all replaced it with new plants.

[@indica_dogo868]

If you want good basic how to videos Rob Bob talks about nutrients on his channel.

[@khalidalghalayini2488]

@@Bigelowbrook many thank for your reply ..."some people disagree and should not be adding nutrients !!! Iron is a must for example...!! How not to add !!! Any how if you going to get headaches from arguments ... then better not do the clips 😉

[@uniqarchidesign7421]

Ok one thing i dont understant is how dirty the water is and the huge amount of algea on all your material, can you explain why is there so much and the disadvantages? Because as you said they are cloging the feeding pipes

[@michaelbinder8208]

When growing hydroponically it is a must to add hydrogen peroxide to the reservoir, this will eliminate all algae growth.

[@TheRedneckprepper]

filter it before it go s to the bucket water er ?

[@Bigelowbrook]

I probably would have to clean out the filter all the time. Either way something has to get maintained.

[@mspuddin931]

I got my food grade buckets from my grocery store bakery for free!

[@antoniosanford4675]

Great video. You should check out a channel called hoocho's. He does a lot of custom hydroponic builds with something called the rain gutter grow system that I'd like to see you incorporate into your aquaponics system.

[@Bigelowbrook]

I've seen many of his videos. Thanks!

[@gymaddict7875]

It's that regular gravel?

[@Bigelowbrook]

expanded shale

[@ibuildstuffanddothings]

the spider. :)

[@drmosfet]

With the price of UV-C LED dropping after the pandemic, I'm wondering if a simple sand filter bucket and a UV-C LED on the output of the filter would make grow bucket feed line maintenance free? Not sure of any negative ramification of introducing UV sterilisation into a aquaponics system? PH is one of the other things I've been thinking about regarding aquaponics, if they was something similar to a heat exchanger but instead of heat conversation it would be PH? PH really cuts into the diversity of Aquaponics, I don't like the ideal of GM fish.

[@Ultrazaubererger]

There are systems for automatic pH correction. They just use a pH-Probe and some peristaltic pumps to feed pH+ oder pH- into the water. Using an ion exchanger of some sorts would probably not be worth it or even efficient as they usually need some chemicals to recharge. Do you have a dishwasher? Does it need salt tablets once in a while? They are for recharging the ion exchanger. It takes calcium ions out of the water and exchanges them for natrium ions so your dishes are shiny (no lime stains). To recharge it, it gets flooded with a concentrated salt solution which forces the calcium ions back out.

[@Bigelowbrook]

The pH tends to be fairly stable in my system. Partly because our well water is nearly perfect and not too hard. Also having a large system helps to keep the pH from swinging up and down too much. The nitrification in the system tends to drive the pH down a bit. This can be corrected by adding calcium (powdered limestone) or in drastic cases (which people criticize me about is adding potassium hydroxide, which it quite potent). Auto dosing for pH is risky too since the pH tends to cycle up and down during the day because of the DO levels changing a bit with the algae getting light/dark.

[@drmosfet]

My questions are based on trying to perceive possible future path that these types of agricultural food production might take. I've have always seen hydroponics with it wide ranging PH, singular concern for the plants as a bicycle analogue, while aquaponics with it complex nutrients more like a unicycle analogue, requiring great deal more of system balancing. With the advancement in different fields, like WareHouse farming, LED grow lighting and MSR(Molten Salt Reactor) preferably Thorium, emerging into the same decade, this could be used to resolved future food shortages, only time will tell, but I still can't help but wonder.

[@barthanes1]

Do you have freshwater shrimp in your system? I bet some aquarium shrimp would help process some of the solids in your system and give you another revenue stream.

[@Bigelowbrook]

you have to be very careful with shrimp....they will start going after the roots when their main food source is gone.