Aero/nft --> NFT

Hey all,
So a whole ago I started into hydroponics, been lurking for a while but thought I would home in and see what kind if feedback I can get,

I constructed a veg and clones unit using stinksbuds tech, I altered the flower setup. I am using a 6' 4" blk abs for the pipe and a 5gal pail for the res.
I had a lot of trouble the first week with roots clogging the nozzles, after two cleans and a little root damage I decided to run a straight 1/2 pip three quarters into the 6' length, it pushes water all the way to the end which then flows back to the res.
I'm running a 24/7 time on the pump since the swap,
There are 6 plants in the setup,
Running a 400w mh for now until I get my 1kw,
How safe is the picture posting process??
Lookin for input, suggestions, new to hydro so go easy please....
Btw using Sensi bloom and veg 2 pt nutes, with a pinch of Epsom salts, and enzymes...

The 5gal res and 24\7 pump will be major problems.

You definitely need a bigger reservoir. As far as the timing you can run a stinkie setup and just cycle the pumps with a cheap 15 minute interval timer from a hardware store. The 1 on 5 off cycle timer is pretty expensive and I believe an unnecessary expense.

If you want to get the most from your plants and have control of your room then it is necessary expense. But how much is the $60 compared to dialing in your grow? Finding the right timing worked wonders in my grow

I really didnt see much difference side by side. Coulda been other factors I guess though.

5 weeks bubblegummer 15/15 Aeriated 66 degree res under 600w

Hopefully I will be running automated shortly, working in programming and wiring,
At that point I'll try out different timers, so far things have been smooth,

The pump is not in the water so the water stays around 67-68, and the stressyzyme keeps things under control nicely

superstoner1 said:

The 5gal res and 24\7 pump will be major problems.

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Which problems do you for see?, very broad statement...

superstoner1 said:

If you want to get the most from your plants and have control of your room then it is necessary expense. But how much is the $60 compared to dialing in your grow? Finding the right timing worked wonders in my grow

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Dealing with a programmable logic controller I should be able I try a couple of things, pump times is one for sure, but light times is also something I'm curious about, I've heard of everything from 16/12, 4/20, 14/12, etc..

Small reservoirs as such are harder to stabilize as far as ph and ppm. You can also still run into heat issues with a remote pump.

Running the pump 24/7 can reduce the life of the pump (mag drives are ok) but you also allow the roots a chance to breathe cycling the irrigation. The more oxygen the roots receive the better your nutrient uptake will be.

Disregarding power failure your biggest issue with aero is usually reservoir temps and people forgetting to refill (guilty). Also remember aero is highly nutrient efficient so your ppm should be around half of what it would usually be (depending on strain).

Superstoner is the shit tho so interested to see his input as well. I try to remain in a constant state of openmindedness and education.

5 gal is barely enough for one plant much less six. Anything under 25-30gal will work your ass off for more problems, try to go as big as possible on res size. Running a pump 24\7 wastes energy, doesn't allow for roots to breath, and creates lots of heat which leads to bad things.

superstoner1 said:

5 gal is barely enough for one plant much less six. Anything under 25-30gal will work your ass off for more problems, try to go as big as possible on res size. Running a pump 24\7 wastes energy, doesn't allow for roots to breath, and creates lots of heat which leads to bad things.

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First off thanks for the input, I like taking this approach..

AeroDonkey said:

Superstoner is the shit tho so interested to see his input as well. I try to remain in a constant state of openmindedness and education.

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So for starters can you explain why a bigger res is needed? Not trying to prove you wrong or what ever, just lookin for some theory behind it.. The plants see water on the pipe and it drains back into the pail,. Why does the amount I water in the pail matter? I have a tote I can swap to if need be, but since I cut stinksbuds system in half I thought a smaller res might work.
My pump Is auction cupped to the side of the pail and a down stem draws the water up, and pumps it down the pipe, so the pump isn't submersed which doesn't affect the water temps,

I just did a water swap last night so I'll see how the ph/ppm is doing then..

Also you mentioned nutes, in aero, this is more nft since I removed the nozzles, should I still cut my nutes back a bit? Running 1000, 2.0, approx, and the plants are a nice dark green with light green center where the new growth is...

I'll maybe throw some pics up tonight...

I've considered replacing my sprayers and just pump the solution in on one end, still might some day but I rather not change a working setup and have no probs with clogging sprayers (small iron ball in my sprayers that keeps them open).

I run the pump 24/7, never have root probs, don't use any bennies or h2o2/bleach or tea or whatever. 24/7 is the way to go, the continues circulation keeps the DO level high enough for the roots to breath, keeps the temp at root level stable and low too. No need for a timer in NFT/DFT, inheritely.

Sativied said:

I've considered replacing my sprayers and just pump the solution in on one end, still might some day but I rather not change a working setup and have no probs with clogging sprayers (small iron ball in my sprayers that keeps them open).

"I ran that way before I went to aero-----don't see any difference in yield----the buds in my avatar were produced with that method-----running smaller pumps 24/7. IMO, it's not necessary to run 24/7------if a chiller is required----timers may be necessary to give the nutes time to cool in the rez."

I run the pump 24/7, never have root probs, don't use any bennies or h2o2/bleach or tea or whatever. 24/7 is the way to go, the continues circulation keeps the DO level high enough for the roots to breath, keeps the temp at root level stable and low too. No need for a timer in NFT/DFT, inheritely.

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Always enjoy reading your posts,

A~~~

You will find that stinkbud changed his size and went up. You are not accounting for the nutes the plants will remove from the water which will be in a constant state of flux. General rule is 5gal per plant in res size or bigger. I won't say anything else about it, but you will have problems if you don't listen.

Here's what the Rez looks like, water is stayin below 68, 24/7 on the pump, plants are looking very happy, I have a large 30 gal tote ready to swap out I things get out of hand,

Sativied said:

I've considered replacing my sprayers and just pump the solution in on one end, still might some day but I rather not change a working setup and have no probs with clogging sprayers (small iron ball in my sprayers that keeps them open).

I run the pump 24/7, never have root probs, don't use any bennies or h2o2/bleach or tea or whatever. 24/7 is the way to go, the continues circulation keeps the DO level high enough for the roots to breath, keeps the temp at root level stable and low too. No need for a timer in NFT/DFT, inheritely.

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I'll keep you posted, tossing around a res change, what's your plant to gal ratio?

Has anyone tried spraying 24-7 with highly oxygenated solution? Thinking about trying it.

hammer21 said:

Has anyone tried spraying 24-7 with highly oxygenated solution? Thinking about trying it.

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There's something about going through the work of adding h2o2 to oxygenate the water when the roots fooat ontopand get lots of oxygen or if your further worried try different cycle times, to add something to your res athat can be supplied through nature seems redundant, but please enlighten me if I'm not seeing the whole picture

And water can only hold so much o2.

superstoner1 said:

You will find that stinkbud changed his size and went up. You are not accounting for the nutes the plants will remove from the water which will be in a constant state of flux. General rule is 5gal per plant in res size or bigger. I won't say anything else about it, but you will have problems if you don't listen.

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So I decided to use my tote for the second system and see how it works compared to the pail. The tote is 50l, should that suffice for 6 plants?? And with that Much water should I run a stone or rely on flow back to oxygenate te water?

I run 50gal for 9 plants and still will empty the res. You decide.