so i found a great hydroponics store not far away from where i live and needless to say i spent a while there and looked at a lot of cool stuff. but the main thing is i saw a hydroponic grow system and was thinking about making a custom hydroponic system. i am still doing research but i was just wondering what all of you think about hydroponics, is it harder to build and maintain than soil? is it worth it? can it be done in a small space ? just some general questions and was thinking about switching. let me know what you think.

Hydro is harder to build than soil, but easier to master if you don't have a green thumb. An EC meter and a PH meter will guide you through nutrient and water changes without having to know much about what your plants need. If you are after yeild only, then it is definatley worth it. Although many will argue that with the high yeild you lose flavor... Try it and see if its you.

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e2 to e4

its pretty damn easy to build your oen hydro setup... like dude said up ther its not as easy as throwin dirt and a plant in a pot :P
and hes pretty right on with his info ^
if you have all the needed meters and nutrients and other god stuff you should be able to be a hydro growing guy in no time

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http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/50648-just-another-smelly-journal-9.html#post1014397

i was thinking also that maybe i should keep my veg box and use my current sprouts as mother plants once i determine the sex. than just continue to take clones from the moms and than place those clones into a hydro system for cloning. what do you guys think about that?

sounds like a good plan to me

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http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/50648-just-another-smelly-journal-9.html#post1014397

How simple do you want to get? You can use a five-gallon paint bucket with a hole drilled in the lid to accommodate a 3" netpot. Drill a small hole in the side of the bucket near the top for an aquarium air-line. Put a 6" airstone in the bottom of the bucket. Run the air-line through the hole in the side of the bucket and connect it to the airstone. Connect the other end to a small air pump that is sitting on the floor. Fill the bucket with nutrient solution to about 1/4 inch from the bottom of the net pot. Put the plant into the netpot and fill with GroRocks. Start the pump, turn on the lights ... and watch the plant grow.

The air lines, air pump and airstones can be bought at WalMart in the aquarium section. The paint bucket and lid can be bought brand new at Home Depot. The net pot and GrowRocks can be bought at your local hydro store.

If you want more plants, just use more buckets. Air pumps can be ordered though your hydro store that can handle up to six airstones. There may be pumps that can handle more though.

Oh, you'll need the nutrients. Just buy some Pure Blend Pro ... a quart of "Grow" and a quart of "Bloom." If you're using RO water, get some Pure Blend "Cal-Mag" as well. Just follow the directions on the bottles.

Honestly, I've seen some beautiful, huge yielding plants grown this way.

Vi

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Damned right I'm an equal opportunity offender, I'm a Conservative!

wow thank you i think thats propbably the way to go for me ill have to do some more research and think of a way to fit a couple of buckets in my closet next to my veg box.

How do you move your plants from a veg room to a flower room in hydro ? I can not imagine running two setups, sounds like a lot of work... I also have limited height so I would need to find a way not only to pump water into the sytem but also pump it out to reservoir...

Hey Jake, how much space you got. I'm running an ebb & flow, and two drip
systems. I stand by both of these systems. They do not require much space
and are very reliable.

If you need some ideas let me know...

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Blue Widow... http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journal...dow-cross.html

i would take clones from the mothers i grew in soil. and place the clones into a hydro setup. than after vegging the clones for a little while begin flowering.