What you have is a deep water culture (DWC) system. it works well and is probably lower maintainance than aeroponics. all you need now are net pots and somekind of media to grow the plant in. I personally use two inch pots and landscape lave, but I'm sure there are many ways to go about it.

I understand the Bhut Jolokia plants can get rather large. Would a good 10" pot on the 5 gallon bucket work? What would you suggest for grow media? I'd like something i can pick up at lowes and not have to order off of the internet. Can i start from seed in a pot that big or should i just seed in a dirt pot then wash the roots when the plant is big enough? Do the roots have to hang out the bottom of the basket? Thanks for all the help.

I am not personally familiar with that variety, but from my google results it appears they grow to around 2 feet tall.
a 10" net pot strikes me as overkill. maybe I'd use a 3" pot if I really wanted some extra weight at the base of the plant.
Anywho, you decide. I suspect anything would work. with a 10" pot though you'll have more exposure to the air which might increase infestation and evaporation. Might not too. I'm just saying thats a possibility.
As for media, the landscape lava rock I mentioned is readily available from lowes. That's where I bought mine.
for one plant, a 5 gallon bucket should be fine. I've grown 6 ft tall tomatoes in a 5 gallon bucket, so if its smaller than that, I wouldn't think it'd be an issue. be aware, later in life that tomato plant consumed about 1/2 gallon per day.
If you're going to use a 10" pot, I would suggest starting the seeds in a 50/50 perlite vermiculite mixture with plain water or maybe a weak nutrient solution. It'll be completely sterile and, when the time comes, easy to clean off.

Thanks again. I "made" a net pot out of a 5" flower pot. I'll probably have to do a transplant if the plant gets big. I got some lava rock at walmart today. I'm in the process of washing it. I'm not sure if there are enough holes in the pot i made but we'll find out. I'm going to practice on one the habanero seedlings i have started. My only question now is...How full do i fill the bucket for this seedling? I'll put it in there when it's about 2" tall. It's in soil right now.

do you mean with nutrient? its easier with two buckets.
don't snap on the lid. simply set in the empty bucket while you're tending to the 'active' bucket.
If that's not what you mean, just clarify and I'll assist as I can.

I only have one bucket. I'm just wondering how much water to put in the bucket. Do the roots of the seedling need to be completely submerged in the solution?

you just need something to support the bucket lid on when you're changing things out. another bucket is not essential. two stick laying across some sawhorse are fine.
I would keep the solution at or just below the bottom of the net pot so moisture will wick up to the plant. make sure you've plenty of air in solution or lower the water level as the roots grow(they should grow out of the pot) so some of them get some air.

So the roots of the little plant do not have to touch the water and the solution will reach them by wicking through the lava rocks? And the air stone should rest on the bottom of the bucket correct?

rockOnman - I posted this in another thread, apologies if you have already read it.

DWC in a nutshell...
The system relies upon an air pump and an air stone to bubble air through the nutrient solution. In the beginning you need to generate spray, so as to get the clay pebble medium wet in order to establish the roots through the net pot.

The water has to be high enough to saturate the clay pebble medium by means of getting it wet or even moist via the actions of the bursting air bubbles.

Once the plant has established a good root system, then lower the level of water in the bucket so that some of the roots can be allowed to hang in the air between the net pot and the water level.

The air stone resides on the bottom of your bucket - just like you said. The roots don't have to touch the water, the lava rocks (or hydroton) will be made wet by the bursting water bubbles.

Thanks for all the clerification. I am completely new at this whole concept. What would be a good size seedling to start out with? Or should i attempt at a well established plant? I'm dealing with Habaneros.

I've always placed them in the media before any true leaves form, but I suppose a more robust plant might recover faster.

Well i just popped it in the bucket yesterday afternoon. I honestly believed that it would be dead when i got home from work today but to my suprise it was extactly how i left it. Which is good news in my case. I did fill the bucket up a little fuller than you all suggested due to lack of faith but it seems to be working. Eithter that or it's doing well because i flooded the roots with the solution while filling the bucket. The lava rocks around the plant seem to be moist so i guess it's working eh?

sounds good. post some pics if you get the chance.

That's the bucket. It's sittin outside right now cuz i really don't trust that HPS light in the house. It gets a little toasty and my only option would be to bolt it to a peice of 2x4. Don't want to burn my house down over an experament. It's raining outside but the bucket is sitting under a table.

You will find with time that one of the prime advantages of hydro is that chile plants don't need a big pot/root system to thrive.

Hydro brings water/nutrient to the roots so they don't have to spread out to be healthy.

So you're saying a 3" pot would have been fine. This thing hasn't grown a cell since i put it in the bucket. The others i had planted are twice the size...i'm curious as to why the growth has been stunted.

I may be that its putting a lot of energy into making roots to get through the media. That's just my initial thought on the matter.

Well that one failed miserably. I found a hydro store about an hour away and bought some of the real stuff. Hydroton, net pots, Dyna-gro, and some seed starting media. Now ... just need a light. Any suggestions? Lowes has some 2 and 4' t-5 fixtures. But the bulbs are only 3000k. They're not HO just regular. Any thoughts?

Cool white fluorescent lamps work fine and 48" ones are pretty standard. T5 lamps are new but work. T8 and T12 lamps also work well.

A mature cap chinense (bhut jalokia) plant covers 3-5 square feet at the crown and, if you're growing only with lights, you will need 30-50 watts/square foot at the plant crown.

400w metal halide eh? I figured i'd have to go with something like that. I found a guy about an hour away on craigslist selling 400w mh ballasts for $15 a pop. Just have to find some way to mount them.

hi, what you have is not a true aerophonic unit to be a true aerophonic unit you have to have a water pump and
spraying head to spray the net pot about every three or
four hours for about fifteen minutes, if you used grodan
mini cubes you would cycle every five or even six hours
you should have your fertilizer level about four or five inches below the net pot the roots will grow down and
into the reservoir. best wishes les matzek

Yeah i got that answer earlier in the thread. I would have changed the title but this forum will not let me. Thanks though. How high should the water be if the roots have not made it through the net pot yet. It'll be planted in hydroton.

Well i just went out and bought myself a 400w MH. My entire garage has been turned into a light source for the neighborhood. This had better be enough light for my little Bhuts.

Cool.
That is dedication.
I just stick mine out in the yard.

OK i'm not believing how fast this thing is growing.

25 APR 09 I'm seriously diggin this Hydroponics...(no pun intended)