Customer Reviews for Black Magic Grow Pail - Recirculating Hydroponic System, Grow One Large Plant or Up to Four Smaller Plants

I'm having a lot of fun with this hydroponic grow system. It is fairly easy to set up in an unused area of your utility room. I put it where I had access to an electrical outlet because the pump and the grow light need to be plugged in for it to work. To set it up, I filled it with about 5 gallons of water. I tested the ph of the water and found that mine is more alkaline than the recommended 6.5. After I added the part 1 and part 2 nutrients, I tested the ph again. I needed to add some ph down to get it to where it should be for hydroponic growing. After preparing the water, I put some seedlings into those little seed starters by cutting open on one side and rinsing off any dirt from the roots. I just laid the roots in there and let them hang out of the end. Then I put the seed starter into one of the plastic grow cups and put it into a hole to get sprayed with the nutrient water. The seedlings looked limp after the transplant but we're upright and perky in the morning. I'm anxious to see how fast they grow.

Very easy to put together. Clear, concise instructions with pictures. Would like to have more accessories available. Flimsy water level monitor, does the job. Strong constant pump, moderately noisy. 4 weeks and have been producing enough lettuce to feed two people every other day to dinner size plate of lettuce. Bought Orange Hat cherry tomatoes to grow since it’s a dwarf variety.

not easy to move so know where you want it or you are in trouble. Also though not necessary the item is geared toward their brand nutrients.

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

3 weeks later I. An say so far so good

A bit pricey compared to others in the market of similar function.But so far so good

Returned 2 days after purchase...... pump was garbage. New one works good. Otherwise love it

Easy set up and so far meeting all my expectations/)

Now this is a the new way to grow a garden inside the house . i am trying to start a spice garden. There is a trial and error. but if you look on you tube there is a lot of help you can get. The pay off is great to see and tasted something you grow en . in you place and one of the best part of indoor grading is . it don't mater what the temperature is out side you can make it grow any time of year.

This is the first time I have tried hydroponics. If you don't fully know what you are doing, you may be intimidated at first but this pail helps take some of the task away from that. The easy to use drop in screen trays help in getting things started as well as the flexibility of doing 1 to 4 plants in a single location. The motor makes a small hum but nothing that is majorly distracting. If you put it on a hard floor it will resonate more than on a rug or carpet. The available chemicals help in developing long and strong root systems that will survive a seasonal planting when the weather warms up or you may just keep the plant/herb growing in the house if you keep it fully clipped and don't allow it to grow too large. Great construction and design appeal.

A GREAT BLACK MAGIC PRODUCT - THIS IS A RECIRCULATING HYDROPONIC GROW PAIL SYSTEM - FOR EVERY EXPERIENCE LEVEL - GREAT FOR HOME OR SCHOOL - YOU CAN GROW A VARIETY OF PLANTS & VEGGIES - LARGE OR SMALL PLANTS - INDOOR OR OUTDOOR - GREAT TOOL TO TEACH YOUR KIDS OR GRANDKIDS THE FUN OF GROWING FLOWERS OR VEGGIES - GREAT GIFT TO GIVE TO A TEACHER FOR CHRISTMAS OR ANYTIME

I wanted to grow home grown tomatoes during the winter so I am using this hydroponic system to do it. I lovee my BLT’s! You can grow one large plant ( which is what I am doing ) or 4 small plants. You can grow indoors with grow lights. You actually get a faster growth rate than soil. This system gets more oxygen to the roots of the plant and your plants have more foliage.

We always wanted to try hydroponics and when I saw this grow pail I thought "what a good way to get started!" I had used Black Magic products in the past, however none of the Hydroponic products. When the pail arrived, I opened, examined and read the instructions. I found it wasn't as easy as "add water 1-2-3" so I did some additional research on the Black Magic Website. When visiting the BlackMagic website I found they has an extensive collection of information and videos to help you thru the set up and grow process. Since this was an "inside" experiement, I purchased the necessary ingredients for nutrients, a grow light set up and selected an area with power for the pump and grow light. The set up allows for placement of a larger plant or 4 smaller plantings. We chose to start with some green pepper plants for our "Test". After 2 weeks, the plants look great and are growing nicely. Very little maintenance after the set up - we have experienced very little evaporation of the water. Looking forward to some nice green peppers this winter - especially when the supermarket prices have skyrocketed!

The six gallon grow pail is light weight and easy to move around. I would pick out a fairly permanent place as once you put the water in the container it gets much heavier. Each gallon of water is about eight pounds. I would suggest this product if you like to grow your own veggies or if you like to grown your own herbs. Even though this product is light weight it is very sturdy.

This is great whether your a hobbyist or a serious indoor grower,, Makes for a great starting place to understand the concept of hydroponics,, comes with most everything you need to get started and what it doesn't come with you can get easily thru Home Depot,,,For starters if your new to hydro you can go to the BlackMagic website and they have a ton of information and videos to help you thru the process.. One thing I do is, I don't use the seed starter pots, I put my seeds in a piece of sponge and once they have rooted I cut away as much of the sponge as possible and put whats left in the grow pot. I have already had a giant "tomato" plant in the grow pail and it was incredible.. almost 5 -6 feet tall in no time, You can keep you plant in front of a good window that gets 6-8 hours of sunshine every day or you can use CFL's (compact fluorescent light) I used 4-75 watt bulbs on a timer,, You can do this pretty cheaply with this setup with great results,,,,

Best product in its market.

This is an interesting item. Maximum plants is 4. However, directions state that for larger plants such as tomatoes, only one plant can be maintained. I suspect the unit will work but it required several other items such as seed tray, A and B nutrients, up and down ph control, and a grow light. If course, you can get the whole kit for around $250. However, comparing the amount of tomatoes I can buy at the market vs. $250, I arrive at the conclusion that this is only a hobby. I did try to source the extra items and found them only available at Home Depot and even then most are not in stock. I'll like to try it out but will have to wait until products are available.

I love this thing! The Black Magic 6 Gallon Grow Pail is one well-designed, self-contained growing unit. The pale has smooth surfaces lending to easy cleaning. The design is such that the nutrient solution is protected from light lessening the chances of algae growth. The unit is pre-assembled and contains a prewired pump (Just plug the unit into the outlet). The pump is held in place by two screws and can be removed for cleaning. The pump is a commonly available unit if replacement becomes necessary. There's really not much that can go wrong. The lid has openings for four grow cups, five if you remove the water level indicator (Coincidentally, five grow cups are included). The grow pail can be used to grow small or large plants. All that you will need are growing supplies and seeds or plants. The Black Magic Grow Pail would work nicely in a home or educational setting located indoors in a bright room or under grow lights. The description reads that the container is compatible with standard tomato cages. That part of the design could easily provide a means for developing your own grow light support system. Although just about any brand hydroponic nutrient solution would work with the Grow Pail, Home Depot markets Black Magic A and B base nutrients and pH adjusters in small, manageable quantities ideal for the managing a grow container of this size. Personally, I see this unit as the perfect setup for growing lettuce. You’re going to be very happy with this simple hydroponic setup. Don’t forget to visit the Black Magic website. There is a lot of down to earth information including videos on growing hydroponically.

My wife loves the Black Magic 6-Gallon Grow Pail. It was easy to setup and we used their liquid fertilizer mixed with water to begin the process. The setup is actually in the basement and we are using a 45-watt grow light. While this is great for seedling, I would love to see an insert/top that allows for plants as they grow. The short power cord could be about 2' longer, but I am using a 6'-12 gauge extension cord to make the connection.