Howdy!

Im a newbie to hydro, as well as these forums, but have been toking for quite some time. I recently purchased an Ebb& Flow system and was looking for some advice! The plants themselves are about 3"-4", and they are about 1 week old. My setup is as follows:

Lighting:
1 Sunsystem 150W HPS.
From what I have learned so far, this is more than enough for 1sq. foot of a growing table, its not large at all, but im hoping for at least two plants.... Perhaps I am wrong?
The lamp is about 16Inches above the tray. The timer is set to ON: 7AM; OFF: 1AM.

Irrigation:
I have a 132GPH submersable pump. Its set to run twice a day, at 7AM when the lights turn on and 7PM 5 hours before the lights go out. I have a thermometer on the inside of the resevoir and it is reading about 82degrees on a regular basis. I know thats not good, so I am going to try swapping frozen water bottles throughout the course of the day to try and bring the temp down.

Growing Medium:
I germinated the seeds (Random seeds I have been collecting for years) in a moist paper towel and got 10 seedlings so far (I figured the more I start out with the better of a chance I have to end up with at least two). I dropped the seeds in 1.5" Rockwool plugs. A few days later the roots were coming out the bottom so I decided to get some Hydroton and try it out. I soaked the crap out of the Hydroton until the water ran clean and placed the rockwool cubes directly in the tray about 1" under the top of the Hydroton.

Growing Environment:
Its a closet setup, and gets quite hot. I have not purchased a thermometer yet for the room, but its prob about 80-85 degrees in the evening. I'm not sure about humidity, but I havn't seen any issues with the seedlings yet.

Nutrient Solution:
Currently I am using the nutrients that came with the hydroponics system I purchased from Sunshine Hydro (very helpful staff btw) Its Dyna-Gro Liquid Grow Plant Food 7-9-5... Not sure if this is good fert for my budds.

I am also using Green Fuse Root Stimulator, I figured why not? I mix all of this with Wal-mart "Great Value" brand drinking water, balance the PH, and let the system do its thing, and so far so good.

Some Problems:
-The Water Temp... too high..
-The water seems to be slimy, and has a slight white tinge to it... (when the solution is fresh, its green)
-Room temp... maybe too hot?
-Too many seedlings for such a small bed? I will thin them out as they start to grow, and only keep the strongest... Seem like a good idea, or should I but another tray, and set up another system with the same pump? Or maybe buy another pump? I don't have a lot of money to spend though.

So anyway, take a look at my pictures and let me know if you think I am on the right track. I would greatly appreciate any input from the experts.
and be happy

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Sorry the Pics are a little dark, if you would like to see better ones, let me know! Thank you everyone for your knowledge, it has gotten me this far!

Oh Oh, and I forgot! I used Flora Clean to flush once, becuase I saw some crystal like stuffs on the outside of the Rockwool last week.

Also is it safe to Pre-Mix Nutrient Solution and leave in gallon jugs until needed? Or should it only be mixed right before adding it to the system? What exactly is an Air Stone, and should I use one? Or should I purchase an air pump?

An air pump with air stones is a must. Roots thrive on oxygenated water. Nutes can be left for a few days with a cap in a jug, wouldn't leave it for too long though and you should test the ppm and ph before you use it.

I'm confused tho, I wouldn't recommend growing all those plants in one flood table. For one you don't which are male and female. When you pull the males you will leave dead rotting material and that will cause disease. I suggest a drip system somewhere else to veg your plants under cfls and a place to determine sex, then move the ladies to the flood table.

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Hmm... I see, thanks for the reply! I will have to read up on the sexing aspect, I assumed it was too soon to even consider, but I see what your saying about the dead material left behind. I will also be purchasing an air pump today. Thanks again! Any other comments are always appreciated!

Frozen 2L bottles for the water and fans to control the temp.

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I choose the Mel Gibson defense.....

Oook, so I added a five inch air stone hooked up to an air pump. I also changed the solution because it was looking all cloudy form being stagnant.I have also been rotating the frozen water bottles and the temp of the water is generally between 60-75 depending on how often I change them out (almost 4 or 5 times a day). Also I picked up a thermometer/Hydrometer, and the Temp low (at night) is 79 degrees and the temp high (around 7pm) is 88 degrees. They seem to be doing really well. The solution looks to be a lot healthier now that it has an air pump. Thanks! Ill be posting new pics soon.

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My First Grow:
http://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-...ow-system.html
Advice is welcome

Some Problems:
-The Water Temp... too high.. sounds like you figured this one out... unless you have a water chiller you'll have to change out water bottles.. its a pain in the ass.. but temps above 80 will make for slow growth and can cook the roots

-The water seems to be slimy, and has a slight white tinge to it... (when the solution is fresh, its green) i dont know what you mean by the water is slimy.. but i can tell you temps you are running are ideal for algae growth... try to keep them down.. and make sure to change the reservoir out frequently to avoid issues... you may also want to put some hydrogen peroxide in the res to kill any bacteria/algae/fungus present

-Room temp... maybe too hot? the temps your running are a little high.. if you can get them down about 10 degrees that would be good.. but if res temps are ok, then its less of an issue...

-Too many seedlings for such a small bed? I will thin them out as they start to grow, and only keep the strongest... Seem like a good idea, or should I but another tray, and set up another system with the same pump? Or maybe buy another pump? I don't have a lot of money to spend though. you can run 2 trays off the 1 pump with no problem.. your biggest problem will come if the roots start growing together.. transplanting soon is a must... if the root systems do start tangling up with one another you'll have a hell of a time serperating them..


having the air stone will make a HUGE difference.. but it will also raise the temps of the res.. since it uses air around the res, the warmer the temps, the more it will warm the res... just a heads up there... but having a well aerated solution will do wonders...

as far as the white cloud it can be a simple nutrient cloud... i cant think off the top of my head which nutes do this, but if 2 specific nutes get mixed together without 1 being mixed right, or is added before the other, it can form a white cloud in your water.. its calcium something... fuck me... to early to think.. i'll post it later when i figure it out... just make sure if you are using a 3 part system to add the micro/boost formula first and mix well, then add the gro or bloom formula...

and lastly here is just a little list of things to remember

1) keep ph between 5.5 and 6.5... 5.8 to 6.2 ideal.. but dont try to adjust daily.. a little bit of a ph swing through the week is ok... if you need to adjust it just do a few points at a time.. anything over .5 at a time can cause issues..

2) make sure to watch your ppm... dont use to strong of a nute solution

3) make sure to keep the reservoir sealed from light... light coupled with the temps you have can grow algae easily...

4) just try to maintain a mid 60's to lower 70's res temp as best you can...


other wise things look and sound good.. keep me informed how they are going!

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Hey man, Thank you so much for your tips, I admire all of you with such knowledge. I'm heading out to my local hydro shop to pick up some fittings, then I'm going to Walmart to pick up some Tray like bins, and I'm going to bump my system up a notch... I'm worried though perhaps I will have to buy another 150W Lamp? Also How much room should I allow for the roots, If I'm shooting for a 3-4ft plant? I see people using pots and placing them in the tray table, as apposed to just plopping in hydroton and putting them in there. What method is best? If I were to use the pots, how big should they be, and what sort of drainage should be allowed? Simple Holes on the bottom or? Thanks for your help! Much appreciated, I can't wait till harvest

__________________
My First Grow:
http://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-...ow-system.html
Advice is welcome

Nice grow setup so far, Simpson basically told you everything... But seriously try to seperate those because if you leave them for another week or 2 they will have tangles roots and that is a pain in the a$$.
good luck SUB'D

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