Hydroponics

jsteezy1290 said:

does hydro make your plants more prone to have mold issues then soil?

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If you are talking about bud mold, It depends on the humidity in your grow space where your plants are flowering, and the size and density of your buds. When you get not much air circulation in those tight big buds and your rooms RH, is high about 50% you are prone to getting bud rot on the inside. It's always important to peel back those big buds to see if those are rotting unless your room is dialled in correctly. Goodluck,Oregon The Chron's State.

im growing 6plants in a gt 604 nft tank with the water pump on a timer but how long do feed for and how often ?

mmmmmmmmmmm no help as yet then

What type of medium are you using unlucky? gotta be more specific.

I feel very stumped by this whole hydroponic thing, how is that people use a reservoir and send nutrients through spaghetti tubing to their pots and how does this water get returned to the reservoir? It seems with hydroton the water would be flowing very fast but with coco their would be a slow drip of excess if I am not mistaken? most "tutorials" I see have overflow tubes in them and claim the nutrients just drop back down into the reservoir beneath the unit but this just seems very inefficient for a smaller grower.

I see a lot of people who just have their spaghetti tubing right over their pot I have put together this is coming from their reservoir via a water pump that I can accept. What I don't know for sure is do all of these systems need air pumps I am particularly interested in the drip system method because of the ability for the plant to be watered conveniently for a SCROG grow just simply having the water running from the reservoir going straight to the base of the pot allowing my screen to be placed at an ideal 6"(inches) or so above my pot.

However, I cannot seem to get into my head the basis of how the water returns to the reservoir as I mentioned above it scares me to have water running even a small distance if I don't know exactly how it is being controlled and the fact that its not going to leak all over my floor. A friend of mine has a buddy who's whole carpet developed black mold from a leak i'm guessing and the more I hear things like this the more I think I am going to be doomed to hand watering for quite some time, not that I am complaining I have actually gotten quite good at hand watering but I know for a fact if I had hydro down to a tee I could be experiencing faster growth periods and bigger yields.

I was told their are a lot of "nozzles" and other weird things you see in the plumbing isle at home depot but I know not everyone using these setups are good handy men, a coco grower hand watering wishing to finally make the jump to hydro!

Regards

-Dapio

potroast said:

This forum will be great, we can discuss anything hydro. No dirtbags here, We haul water!

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Damn straight.

It's really easy. You shouldn't have overflow if you set your watering timer's properly

The water returns to the reservoir through a drain tube in the tray. There are lots of diagrams out there. Most of it depends on how big your setup is going to be. Definitely going to need a submersible pump.

hi ev1, im new to growing , and was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction ,on nutrient managment, im using canna aqua vega, and it suggests a ph of 5.2 - 6.2 , which i have 5.8, lets say i got an ec of 1.2, and a few days later its raises to 1.3, do i just top up with ph'd water to bring it back down to ec 1.2 , or would this weaken the nutrient. any help would be appreciated

yep top it off with fresh water ,and yes that will dilute the mix which is what you want

mentalman said:

hi ev1, im new to growing , and was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction ,on nutrient managment, im using canna aqua vega, and it suggests a ph of 5.2 - 6.2 , which i have 5.8, lets say i got an ec of 1.2, and a few days later its raises to 1.3, do i just top up with ph'd water to bring it back down to ec 1.2 , or would this weaken the nutrient. any help would be appreciated

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Check out my journal. I use the Canna line and am coming up on being finished. Pretty much follow the instructions and it will lead you right. Canna will be really nice for you.

Are you doing a rez change or what? Maybe pm me so we don't jack FaRE's thread.

Mini Mortgage Lifter please help me out send me a message with the info or just post plleeeeeeez help
1st time grower and i need like all the help as posssible
so as soon as i have my seeds ready 2 plant what should i feed it to make sure it gets everything it needs at that stage?
is there a different temperature and humidity level that i need at that specific time?
what lights should i use during that stage and how far from the actual plants do i put the light?
what are the ppm and ph levels that i need to maintain a great grow thru the different stages?
should i keep the 2 400 watts for my vegitative stage or shud i upgrade?
do you think 2 600 watts hps are better than 2 1000 watts hps for flowering in my 4x4?
is there a difference between the brands of the lights if so what would be the best lights for my different stages as far as brand is concerned?
and what exactly would be the best purple strain you think i shud try 2 get for hydro?
im so sorry for all these question but i just dont wanna mess nothing up

Hi Everyone! I've had many gardens in the great outdoors. I am now going to try hydro growing. The posts and answers on this page have convinced me to forget about the hills of Cali and grow indoors. Besides, I have gotten old and sick and have a Card. Good luck to all in their various grow stages.

With good product, at night I don't...

Toss&Turn

gdpboi said:

Mini Mortgage Lifter please help me out send me a message with the info or just post plleeeeeeez help
1st time grower and i need like all the help as posssible
so as soon as i have my seeds ready 2 plant what should i feed it to make sure it gets everything it needs at that stage?
is there a different temperature and humidity level that i need at that specific time?
what lights should i use during that stage and how far from the actual plants do i put the light?
what are the ppm and ph levels that i need to maintain a great grow thru the different stages?
should i keep the 2 400 watts for my vegitative stage or shud i upgrade?
do you think 2 600 watts hps are better than 2 1000 watts hps for flowering in my 4x4?
is there a difference between the brands of the lights if so what would be the best lights for my different stages as far as brand is concerned?
and what exactly would be the best purple strain you think i shud try 2 get for hydro?
im so sorry for all these question but i just dont wanna mess nothing up

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Feed your seeds distilled water if u can
temps should be 72-79 (but up to 82 is ok) lights on 65-70 lights off , Humidity should be high early 60 -80rh for seedling and clones and low in flowering 30-45rh
U can use t5 , 8 or 12 or cfl's for your seedlings put them as close as poss ,u can use a mh/hps but they would have to be far away and gradually lowered
You can use what ever light you want the only worry is controlling the temps
2 600w are good and so are 2 1000w but imo I would say the 1000s if electricity is no prob u can control the temp and want to grow more
Im pretty sure there is a difference but I can not say for sure which ones are better but any good mh or hps should do the trick dont bust your brain pick one then in the future u can compare
There are some many good purp strains out there , this is one that I would say depends on your preference but i wouldnt advise any purp haze at first maybe after a few go's at it

I hope this helps you , and remember this is my opinion not fact im pretty sure someone with more exp will give there 2 cents and try and help you. Any questions feel free. Good Luck And Good Growing!

Hello good people....I have been growing hydro for almost 2 years and things are going ok for this novice. I finally got my act together as far as my grow room goes. I run a 600watt hps over a 3x3 ebb and flow table. room temp is 70 to 75 degrees and humidity is around 40% with plenty of air exchange. I use general hydroponics nutes, a 6 part mix......my water is 160ppm and flood cycles are 15 minutes every 1.5 hours. Now I have been told by the guy at the local grow shop that people run these nutes at 1000 to 1200 to 1500 ppm while flowering. My problem is I have never had a grow that didnt include leaf burn....while in veg the burn is very mild, just the very tip. As soon as you start flowering it becomes worse, and even more so when in agg flowering. I rum ppm at 400 to 500 ppm in veg and 800 to 900 in bloom, both ppm totals include ppm for water. I am told this is very low ppm for this nute line. How much more do I dare cut back nute ppm to avoid this problem and is there an organic hydro nute line out there, my guy tells me no. Sorry, my strains are white russian and pakistan valley.

anyone using the gh coco mat for table? im having thoughts about this! my res is 115g on a 4x8 temp at 68 and no higher than 75 and res change every 1 week and 3 days! with the mat im getting a build up in res and table! first grow with this setup without the coco matt no problems! anyone experiance this?

I'm fairly new to this also, but am already set up and have started my "winter" hydro growing experiment. Several variables to keep track of, but as I see it, nutrients is the most important piece to this puzzle. Getting water to the roots, regulating Ph, keeping the temp within range, lighting and all that are important, but having the right nutrients seems to be the major factor in hydro growing.

Any specific question / problem you're asking about?

One thing I have learned, don't overfeed.

Hydroponics is like an intravenous feeding system for the plants. Unlike soil, they will "notice" almost immediately if something isn't quite right. So, when mixing up your nute solution, follow the instructions exactly as recommended. Don't overfeed - believe me, the plants will be very happy with just the nutrient mixture as specified, nothing more.

For what this might be worth, after lots of Q&A with various folks, I decided to start with GH (General Hydroponics) setup & nutes as my first serious foray into hydroponics.

GH has been at this for a very long time (30+ years), so it seemed like a pretty safe bet to start off with their hardware and nutes. Also, they give very clear instructions about what (and what not) to do, and for me, I need all the help I can get.

I'll keep posting here from time to time as this progresses . . .

This is what I've learned, and other folks I've talked with tend to agree . . .
When the plants are still young and small, water only needs to be flushed once every 7 - 10 days, but, when they get larger, and start consuming more nutrients (this also depends on the type of nutes being used, temp & lighting intensity), the more often you flush, the better.

Some have even suggested every 2 - 3 days. That may seem like a lot of work, and it can be, depending on how your hydro system is set up, but the idea is that you want the plants to be as "happy" as possible, and they do like fresh, clean water with just the right nute mixture. You can tell pretty soon, within hours or a day at most, if they are thriving well, or are just sort of getting by.

I understand this also translates into providing nutrients more often, which may seem like a bit of an added expense, but here's the crucial detail that might be the most relevant - it's better to keep giving the plants fresh new water, with a fresh, but carefully measured nute mix (DON'T overfeed), as often as possible, rather than just giving them a big blast of nutes and fresh water less often.

My thought would be, if I'm going to go through with all this initial work, and money put into this project, then I don't mind being a little bit on the fanatical side when it comes to putting in the extra effort, to make these plants as happy as they can be.

This is what I've learned, and other folks I've talked with tend to agree . . .
When the plants are still young and small, water only needs to be flushed once every 7 - 10 days, but, when they get larger, and start consuming more nutrients (this also depends on the type of nutes being used, temp & lighting intensity), the more often you flush, the better.

Some have even suggested every 2 - 3 days. That may seem like a lot of work, and it can be, depending on how your hydro system is set up, but the idea is that you want the plants to be as "happy" as possible, and they do like fresh, clean water with just the right nute mixture. You can tell pretty soon, within hours or a day at most, if they are thriving well, or are just sort of getting by.

I understand this also translates into providing nutrients more often, which may seem like a bit of an added expense, but here's the crucial detail that might be the most relevant - it's better to keep giving the plants fresh new water, with a fresh, but carefully measured nute mix (DON'T overfeed), as often as possible, rather than just giving them a big blast of nutes and fresh water less often.

My thought would be, if I'm going to go through with all this initial work, and money put into this project, then I don't mind being a little bit on the fanatical side when it comes to putting in the extra effort, to make these plants as happy as they can be.

Yo guys love the read...question for you: I had to go from seeds this time and its my first attempt at going hydro. Any problem with transplanting from soil to hydro at a few weeks old? Any special steps i should take? My grow sys is designed for a large root system and I wanted to develop the roots a bit before throwing the girls in. Thanks!

Okay so i just have a 400 w hps in a hydro set up that's bubbleponics and top feed. Growing two vanilla kush ladies in the 4 gal res. I pretty much follow the Techna Flora starter kit's guide, with a few tweeks here and there. Anyway, my leaves and buds and turning a deep purple color. the leaves that aren't purple are yellow and very crispy. Also, i'm getting these cattail like growths at the top of some of the buds with new white pistils. Will this fill in or what???? what's causing it???? any help would be much appreciated!!!!!! Love and Light