equpiment recommendations

hi all, im new to this forum; and do have minor experience in farmer from years ago. Im looking to start up a hydroponic setup but i never used water before; my prior experience was with soil and standard 600wMH(2) and 1000wHPS(2) in an approx 7x7 room.
Now i have the space (approx. 12x10...dont have to use all) and i want to put a budget together and pretty much make a list for a ideal effiecent set up.
I never dealt with the whole rockwood stuff or pumps but i do understand the concept.

your input would be greatly appreciated!

thanks.

also i plan on growing maybe 3 diff strains per cycle...if that makes any difference..

If you want to grow different strains that have different flowering times then you will need a seperate hydro system per strain.

Some strains have flowering times of 8-9weeks and others have 10+weeks.

Do you have an idea of what type of hydro system you want to try?

Ebb and Flo?
NFT?
DWC?
Drippers?

Any info that you are thinking of would help us to help you.

There are many MANY different hydro setups that require different types of equipment.


If you start by doing some research into the above mentioned systems then it will be alot easier to help you.



J

to tell the truth, i heard of most these methods but have no experience with them. im looking for the most effeicent..cost and maintainence effective method. i work almost 10hrs during the day, and i dont really trust the wife to care for the ladies.

and i dont really trust the wife to care for the ladies.

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Don't let her here you say that!!! You married her, would trust her with your kids, she probably has plants around the house and yard, but some how you don't trust her in your garden? Women typically do the gardening when it is outdoors, but when it comes inside we think they should stay the hell away. I think its kind of like reversed cooking, inside the woman does it, but take it outside and there is no way the man isn't getting a hand in on it.
Any how for ease i would look into NFT, ebb and flo or dwc, even your wife could help with those.

Mr.boy1der said:

to tell the truth, i heard of most these methods but have no experience with them. im looking for the most effeicent..cost and maintainence effective method. i work almost 10hrs during the day, and i dont really trust the wife to care for the ladies.

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Buy 3 Wilma 4 pot systems. 4 plants of 3 different strains, each system under a light. Probably about as simple as you can get.

Well with Hydro systems comes the need to monitor PPM/EC and pH effectively in order to keep control of whats happening to the plants.

It isnt just as simple as fill with water and nutes and forget about it.

AS plants grow and use nutes and water from your Reservoir your ppm/ec and pH will change. If this goes unnoticed then you could cause burning/salt build up etc.

I strongly suggest you really look into what is involved in a hydro system.


If you want ease of growing then you could always just choose soil. This would be the least amount of work for you as you can water your plants with plain pH'd water for 2 waterings and then feed them nutes on the 3rd watering then repeat.

Hydro needs daily checking to make sure perameters are in check and you also have to change your reservoir once every few weeks. That involves completely purging the water from your possibly 100+Litre tank. Do you have the facilities to remove and replenish this amount of water?


Seriously look into all the options available to you.



Personally the least work for you would be soil. You could be watering every 3days, whereas with hydro you could have to spend approx 2hours a day in your room correcting problems while you learn all the basics for hydro.



J

Growing different strains in one hydro system can be a pain as some strains are heavy feeders and some are finiky when it comes to PH also flowering times vary, its not impossible but at the same time it can add to your work load. Buckets like in DWC is an option but if your doing more than a few plants it can become a pain checking PH/EC also i wouldnt recommend if you have a bad back. I like NFT its super easy and gives excellent results also res changes are alot easier, but multiple strains could present problems in an NFT setup so you would have to be careful with what ones you choose. You could just buy 3 smaller NFT setups and grow one strain in each.

I have always grown in dirt and just this grow decided to try hydro. I chose DWC/Bubbleponics.I went with Roseman's Bubbleponics thread for instructions. Its been very easy to set up, materials are cheap. I didnt want to spend alot then decide it wasnt for me. Roseman has good instructions on how to build a system, listing exact items and places to get them. Im sure lots of others have good ideas too, but thats the one that worked best for me as a newbie to water.

great response with everyone who post, i really do appreciate it. sorry in advance for such newbie questions. I was leading towards the hydro method because of my available space and just convinence in the evironment. my spot is pretty much perfect for dro setup, with water and drainage close by, ventilation and temperature is very good as well. Also the me not trusting the wife, was a poor joke, but at the same time i do not want to be giving complex instructions.