New to hydro, what system is good in a 2'X4'?

[beastbub]

Hi all, know nothing about hydros, what system would be good for a 2'X4’ tent?
would like to consider the follow conditions
1.yield obviously gonna be a big factor
2. low initial set up cost
3. number of plants

I want to shot for the best yield without having to purchase a really expensive system, by all means growing is to save money.

I was thinking of doing deep water 5 gallon buckets, each bucket setup would cost around 50 for me.
but thing is that if i do buckets i can only fit in 4 plants, at most 5.

Really looking for some help!
Any suggestions are well welcomed!

 

[beastbub]

some how this got posted twice
please delete this one and reply to the other thread
sorry...

 

[Hydroburn]

aero, multi site dwc, ebb n flow, soilless.

for aero and ebb n flo you need to buy a cycle timer.... 80 bucks.

 

[waterdawg]

aero, multi site dwc, ebb n flow, soilless.

for aero and ebb n flo you need to buy a cycle timer.... 80 bucks.

If talking low pressure areo why would you need a $80 cycle timer? Also to op a two tote system using sprayers, flood and drain or continuos recirc have all served me well. DWC has always proved a challenge for me but have seen some incredible results. It is very unforgiving re: temps and pump failure (power outage, etc) imo.

 

[Hydroburn]

So the pump doesn't run all the time.

 

[waterdawg]

So the pump doesn't run all the time.

$80 dollars seems kinda pricey? I run low pressure aero and in fact I have run the pump 24/7. Doing it now as a matter of fact to keep water a bit warmer. Not saying u dont need one but unlike true high pressure aero, IMO, the short cycles are not required and a cheap one works great for my setup. It was the cost I was questioning, not the pump itself.

 

[Logan Burke]

I am in a 3x3x7 and use a 4 site rdwc system. It's tight on space, so if I had a 2x4 I may go with a 2 site or just not veg for as long...but I'm sure you'll find what system you prefer. Do some research on the differences between hydro systems, the pros and the cons, and which ones fit your situation the best!

 

[Hydroburn]

$80 dollars seems kinda pricey? I run low pressure aero and in fact I have run the pump 24/7. Doing it now as a matter of fact to keep water a bit warmer. Not saying u dont need one but unlike true high pressure aero, IMO, the short cycles are not required and a cheap one works great for my setup. It was the cost I was questioning, not the pump itself.

Cycle timers are pricey.

 

[waterdawg]

^^^^ I know lol. Just not sure its required, well actually I know its not. Running a continuos spray now and typically this run I was15 on 15 off and plants are great. I think people get confused when talking areo, with high pressure being totally different due to droplet size. I have found nutrient uptake to be less efficient than the other systems I have ran, but still stellar results.

 

[Hydroburn]

Well you can completely flood the roots all the time and they will still grow but then you might as well run dwc. What is required for growth is one thing, what is optimal for growth is another. Most people run aero something like 1 on 5 off. 15 minutes off seems like a stretch, especially for seedlings.

 

[butterbudface]

I didn't read all the reply's, my first hydro setup cost me a truckload cause off noobness. Hydro can be very very cheap.

In my opinion the best you can go is with a very simple setup like this. A fish tank pump, a black bucket, hydro-ton and a net pot is all you need. no air-stones, just tie the pipe down in the center at the bottom.

See my paint illustration(2 year old). run the pipe through the side at the top though not through the lid so you can spin the lid around to rotate the plant.



My 2 cents hope it helps.

Everything cost me about $16 per pot including the pots.

 

[Logan Burke]

I wouldn't do DWC/RDWC without an air pump simply because I'm not experienced in DWC w/o using air pumps. However, I've heard great results from people not using them....your roots can still access oxygen because some of the roots aren't in the water...and even if they were, DO is still in water so long as it's at the right temp and is being agitated (when water moves it increases DO levels....). Sorry if it seems like I'm just spitting out random shit...just trying to give more input, the more dialogue the better.

 

[waterdawg]

Well you can completely flood the roots all the time and they will still grow but then you might as well run dwc. What is required for growth is one thing, what is optimal for growth is another. Most people run aero something like 1 on 5 off. 15 minutes off seems like a stretch, especially for seedlings.

Actually with the seedlings started in rockwool and until roots fully established I ran every 2 hours, any shorter and they suffered from being two wet. The plants are not flooded at all the water drains completely away even on cont. spray. My girls are doing very well with the flood times I use but I'm a newb with LPS also I did some reading (mostly veggies) and some growers recommended a continuos spray. High pressure was different using micro droplets, which used a much more controlled cycle. Are you running sprayers as well? What type of system, rails?

 

[waterdawg]

I wouldn't do DWC/RDWC without an air pump simply because I'm not experienced in DWC w/o using air pumps. However, I've heard great results from people not using them....your roots can still access oxygen because some of the roots aren't in the water...and even if they were, DO is still in water so long as it's at the right temp and is being agitated (when water moves it increases DO levels....). Sorry if it seems like I'm just spitting out random shit...just trying to give more input, the more dialogue the better.

I think without an air pump you would be setting yourself up for failure as well. I have seen it done but only with veggies and not great results. I dont run air pumps with any of my setups and rely on fluming and waterfall effect when running flooded systems. I believe low water temps are the key to success but again a newb.

 

[primedevine]

I think the GH Waterfarm is a great product which is super easy to use. An easy to drain and easy to maintain combination of drip and dwc. I never had an issue with any plant I grew in mine. Some of these homemade dwc things people are selling on the internet are not well thought out and a pain in the ass to maintain.

 

[waterdawg]

Yup dont forget the drain

 

[Logan Burke]

I think without an air pump you would be setting yourself up for failure as well. I have seen it done but only with veggies and not great results. I dont run air pumps with any of my setups and rely on fluming and waterfall effect when running flooded systems. I believe low water temps are the key to success but again a newb.

I second that about the water temps WaterDawg! Since I kept mine around 65F I've not had any pythium/brown algae/anything bad

 

[waterdawg]

Im having issues keeping mine above 60 but yes 65 would be nice lol.

 

[Clown Baby]

ebb & flow with hydrton. fool proof

 

[Logan Burke]

The only reason I didn't go with ebb n flow is that after a lot of reading, a lot of forums&guides said DWC produces larger plants, I think if you use SOG method then ebb n flow may be a good option.