# so, how often do YOU water your hydro garden?



## chrome9k (Aug 11, 2008)

I have a hydro garden, but after doing alot of reading on the forums, i started to notice that alot of people were watering on once every 3-4 days... 

little did i notice, is that all these people were using soil!!

i use rockwool inside of a hydroponic tray with a reservoir underneath the stand, which isnt even filled with water because i have been hand feeding my plants every 3-4 days

now... i have some bronzy dried out ish rubbery roots on the bottom (semi healthy plants) and new thought on watering system

HOW OFTEN DO YOU GUYS HAVE YOUR TIMERS SET TO WATER?

im going to hook up the reservoir, fill her up, hook up the timers and have it set to water a bit more often because, duh, the rockwool dries out alot faster than soil which retains better.. 

i wanted to see other people's experiences with watering using hydro and maybe revolving my watering cycle to those of people with a bit more experience than i do . 

thanks everyone


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## grandpabear3 (Aug 11, 2008)

if your gonna stick with rw...then 1 maybe 2 times per lights on but if you ditch the rw and go w/pellets or perlite then 3 times or more! hope my ignorant ass helped


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## chrome9k (Aug 11, 2008)

that sounds about right... and is exactly what im going to start doing... thanks buddy!


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## NoDrama (Aug 11, 2008)

I use rockwool, my timer is set at 830 pm and 830 am both for 5 minutes. So 2x /day for 5 mins each time. But the actual roots pretty much sit in water their whole lives since i run a DWC/Flood setup sorta. Works for me.


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## ALuckyShot (Aug 11, 2008)

I use ebb and flow with just clay pellets, I flood about 16 times per day seems to be working very well.


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## chrome9k (Aug 11, 2008)

aha.... lol well theres my problem rofl... 

u guys water multiple times per day, my plants were seeing water every 3-4 days

im so stupid... i'm going to get the res filled tomorrow morning

whats temps and what ph's do you guys put your res at?

slightly acidic correct, because the rockwool is so alkaline?


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## grandpabear3 (Aug 11, 2008)

5.5-5.8 amd dont adjust it till it gets about 6.3.....if you soak the rockwool in 5.5 water first you needn't worry about alkalinety

i dont worry about res temps but they damn sure shouldn't be warm!
good luck


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## chrome9k (Aug 11, 2008)

thanks... i'm going to set the pump tomorrow morning and fill up the res with some 5.5


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## unity (Aug 11, 2008)

In used to have my drip on 24/7 when I was recirculating. Now I'm 'drain to waste' and water 30seconds every 60min.


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## chrome9k (Aug 12, 2008)

u really water that much... 

do you us and fungal control, or did you not have a problem with mold and mildew...

also... do you guys nute the res? or do you guys just ph water the plants and hand feed the nute once or twice a week?


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## grandpabear3 (Aug 12, 2008)

nute the res


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## Chumlie (Aug 12, 2008)

Man, three times a day for 15 min. If your using ebb and flow and have big rockwool blocks cover them in expanded clay pelets aswell. fill the tray up.


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## chrome9k (Aug 12, 2008)

im going to go get some rock pellets to protect the undersides of the rockwool and flood 3 times a day for 15 mins yea... thats the idea i was toying with for the past week 

thanks guys, ill post how the plants do


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## chrome9k (Aug 12, 2008)

cani get away with not using the rock pellets... i feel like they are dirty... 

i would def wash them first, but can i get away with not using them until the roots show on the outsides of the rockwool?


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## grandpabear3 (Aug 12, 2008)

yes, it won't be a problem for you.


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## chrome9k (Aug 12, 2008)

ok.... i'm going to post pics of the plants and the setup tomorrow morning....

took me a few hours, but i finally filled up the res with nute water and ph'd it....

what a pain 20 gallons! ph is at a nice 5.5-6.... 

one quick question.... how far up the plants does everyones water go?

i was wondering if my overflow valve was too low... the water comes up the sides of the plants about an inch or an inch and a half... 

i know due to capillarity , the water will flow to the upper sections of the rockwool.... buti just wanted to know how far up everyone elses plants the water goes at peak level


also... what type of aeration devices do you use to keep the water non-stagnant... i was going to get a little bubbler... but i dont know exactly what to get and whats a good price... i need something suitable for an 18 gal reservoir


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## stucklikechuck (Aug 12, 2008)

i fill up to about 1/2 or 1/3 way up my 6x6x6 RW slabs. and since i have a built in resevoir, i can only use a diffuser to aerate the water.


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## stucklikechuck (Aug 12, 2008)

Chumlie said:


> Man, three times a day for 15 min. If your using ebb and flow and have big rockwool blocks cover them in expanded clay pelets aswell. fill the tray up.


hey, what would filling the tray with the pellets do?


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## chrome9k (Aug 12, 2008)

so is it only coming up and inch and a half too little?

u think there is a way to increase the overflow valve?


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## Chumlie (Aug 13, 2008)

I really don't Know, but I watch a pro do it, and since he has being growing for 30 years or more... well you get the idea.


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## stucklikechuck (Aug 13, 2008)

Chumlie said:


> I really don't Know, but I watch a pro do it, and since he has being growing for 30 years or more... well you get the idea.


 
im kind of thinking its a way to conserve water/nutes??? you know like kind of adding a brick or whatever in your toilet resevoir so the water will fill higher? do you think that is what it could be? so, for example, instead of having to use 30 gallons, you would only need 20 or whatever...


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## Tehcliffy (Aug 14, 2008)

Well that probably is partially it, the water displacement from the clay pebbles takes away a lot of would be almost wasted water if the cubes weren't there. 

They also provide your roots room to grow in outside of the Rockwool where it is still Dark. 

Not to hijack the thread or anything but 3 times a day, with LIGHTS ON, right? You don't feed your plants at all when the lights are off?


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## platypusmann (Aug 14, 2008)

I use 3" rockwool cubes in a nursery pot of hydroton....I flood my table 3x daily for 15 mins during veg (lights on from 7am to 1am...flood at 8, 4 and  and 2x daily for 15 mins during flower (lights on 6 am to 6pm....flood at 6:30 and 5:30). Works for me, although many say I should flood less since rockwool holds moisture...I dunno....I am happy with my results and my roots are sick (in a good way).
I use 2 Wal-Mart dual outlet air pumps and 4 air stones to aerate my res (40 gallon size run with 25 gallons water...always kept full). Cost me 15 bucks for 2 pumps, air line and air stones.
My water comes up about 1/2 way on my nursery pots. I fill all the open space in my table with quart mason jars full of RO water. This fills in empty space so it take less water to fill the table and gives me a ready source of refill water when the level drops below the line. 
Hope this helps you with any ideas. Peace!!


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## chrome9k (Aug 14, 2008)

i have a 18 gal res, and 1 20 gal pump and one waterstone... do u think thats ok... 

whats RO?

and do you think i should try to raise the water level and have it hit 1/2 way up the rockwool?


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## stucklikechuck (Aug 15, 2008)

i dropped my veg feedings to 2x a day for 15 miuntes. im going to see how this works. i might change to 3x a day for 10 min


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## chrome9k (Aug 15, 2008)

im at 3x15 and im so far so good knock on wood


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## platypusmann (Aug 15, 2008)

chrome9k said:


> whats RO?
> 
> quote]
> 
> RO is water filtered through reverse osmosis......it seems to be the critic's choice of water to use, and I must say I see a difference (of course, my tap has a ppm of 485). My RO water when I used my tap and filtered it myself has a ppm of 020...the Culligan Man water I buy now has a ppm of 005. Here is a link to wikipedia on the RO process; Reverse osmosis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## chrome9k (Aug 15, 2008)

how should i mod the drain so that the water will come up halfway up the plants?


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## platypusmann (Aug 15, 2008)

chrome9k said:


> how should i mod the drain so that the water will come up halfway up the plants?


I bought a little plumbing fitting for 79 cents at Lowes. It is a cylindrical cap that fir the diameter of my drain. It goes up about three inches over the top of my drain. I then cut slits in the end of it for the water to drain through....this allows my table to fill more.
I hope this makes sense.
PM me and I will try to better explain.
I am terrible at word pictures.


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## chrome9k (Aug 15, 2008)

do you have any pics of your drain that you can post in the thread?


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## platypusmann (Aug 15, 2008)

no I do not....I am at work, and honestly I prefer not to post pics here. Although, I found this picture that kind of shows what I mean.......
http://www.allseasonsnashville.com/graphics/ebb%20and%20flow%20fittings.jpg 

The fourth and fifth ones are kind of what I mean. Stick it in the drain and it will plug it, and then you put the hole up on the plug where you want it, where you want your drain level to be. Simple as that. Always have a back up drain in case main drain gets plugged. I just have two drains and one stays capped unless needed (never have....hopefully never will).


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## wrench420 (Aug 19, 2008)

about your watering question. i water 3 times a day for 15 min. i'm a strain from Nirvana called ice and its doing great. i would start out with twice a day and see how your plants react and go from there.






https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/98704-growin-desert-2-a.html#post1201920


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## chrome9k (Aug 19, 2008)

3 times a day with 8 hrs between waterings with ph'd nuted water is working out nicely for now....

one of myplants is developing a strange bumpy stem thingyness... 

does anyone have a film on their tubing that sits in the water?

im assuming its from the nutes and they collect on the rubber... its making my tubing a tiny bit slimy....

my ph rose to a little over 7 this past few days so i finally lowered it to a 6 this morning


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## stucklikechuck (Aug 20, 2008)

that slime is algae


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## chrome9k (Aug 20, 2008)

how do i get rid of the algae.... 


i have a bubbler stone thing.... should i get more bubbler stones.... or put a chemical...


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## Chumlie (Aug 20, 2008)

How did you get algae? Is your tank clear?


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## chrome9k (Aug 20, 2008)

Here's what it looks like.... 

you can kinda see it ... its the light brown film on the hose

the plants like it tho! haha


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## Chumlie (Aug 20, 2008)

Is there light hiting the water. If no't t isn't that your nute's building up on the whose? really don't know


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## BCnative (Aug 20, 2008)

hey so i was just skimmin thru this (red the first page then said fuk it) an im wonderin how many times a day shud i be waterin if im usin a dwc with expanded clay under an air cooled 400 watter(so not much evap i assume)?


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## NoDrama (Aug 20, 2008)

BCnative said:


> hey so i was just skimmin thru this (red the first page then said fuk it) an im wonderin how many times a day shud i be waterin if im usin a dwc with expanded clay under an air cooled 400 watter(so not much evap i assume)?



If you read the whole thread your answer will be found.


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## BCnative (Aug 20, 2008)

ahhh cummon man idont have the patience for that gimme the quick fix aint too hard is it?


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## unity (Aug 20, 2008)

BCnative said:


> ahhh cummon man idont have the patience for that gimme the quick fix aint too hard is it?


lol, first page mate!


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## BCnative (Aug 20, 2008)

waaat k maybe i didnt reed the first page just the title


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## BCnative (Aug 20, 2008)

wait but isnt it different with DWc? like the roots are in water 24/7


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## chrome9k (Aug 20, 2008)

there is a very small amount of light getting into the res... but the hose is direct in the middle.... so i dont think they would be able to live ... i thought algae was green.... 

if you look at my pic its like a shade of brown :/


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## stucklikechuck (Aug 21, 2008)

brown algae is algae that is not developing anymore. were they green at any point?


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## chrome9k (Aug 21, 2008)

nope.... its been only a week and a half that i even have been using a res... but i cant remember green.... 

is it possible its mineral deposits or salts?


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## YOUR WEED SUCKS (Aug 21, 2008)

NoDrama said:


> If you read the whole thread your answer will be found.


no one cares what you think. If you cant post info then get off the thread.


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## chrome9k (Aug 21, 2008)

arite ladies calm down we gunna get more attraction to the disagreement than my algae problem


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## BCnative (Aug 21, 2008)

ya ya algae watever brown schmown scoop it out then answer me eh is DWC different for waterin or wat?


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## BCnative (Aug 21, 2008)

n ya shud black out ur res if thers algae growin in it then like put hydrogen peroxide in?


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## lorenzo08 (Aug 28, 2008)

I have my pump turn on for 4 minutes every hour. just long enough to completely fill the table to the right height, then slowly drain back out for another 4 minutes. no watering at night. I'm using 50lb of fish tank stone for my first grow. it's been working great. I could probably take it down to every 2 hours, but why try fixing something that's not broke?

I have a second set of plants on about week 2. I have a drip system ready for them, but I'm watering once every 2 days while they're young. I get the earth plugs damp then wait for them to dry before watering again. I don't water the plugs directly, or they get to wet. I pour water around the outside of them in the fish tank stone. this gives them the right amount of water. also, for now, just plain tab water until they get bigger. maybe in another week or 2 I'll switch to the automatic drip system with 1/4 strength nutes.


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## bigtittymilf (Aug 28, 2008)

in aeroflo2 we keep it running 24/7


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## kalisurfer2867 (Aug 28, 2008)

wow this is an active thread


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## chrome9k (Aug 29, 2008)

many people have different watering schemes. Im about to flower soon. Does anyone chance watering schedules for flowering from vegging


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## LordCody (Mar 27, 2009)

jeeze...i feed my girls 3 times a day ..every 8 hours...i just let the tray fill up about 75% then drain it..i cant find timers that only turn on for a few minuts...i need those....but u dont overwater watering them every hour??.


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## someone (Mar 27, 2009)

I flood 3x a day at 15 min. for veg. I flood 2x a day at 15 min. for flowering. I flood a half hour after the lights come on and a half hour before the lights turn off. I've never had any problems.


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## brad28b (Mar 31, 2009)

Hi,

I am on my first grow, seedlings are at 2 inchs and about to go in pots. Im using a recirculated reservoir drip system.

I was told by an experienced grower not to worry with Rock Wool because its trouble, just to use Hydroton by itself as a growing medium. The seedlings are in Rock Wool cubes, so im just going to put them into the Hydroton.

Question is given that the Hydrotron holds very little (if any) moisture, how many times a day should I water them? I imagine it would dry out fairly quickly?

At the moment I've got my pump set to come on 3 times a day (during light) for 30 mins each time.

Enough?


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## aussiepythons (Jan 24, 2012)

&#8203;how often should I water on clay balls.I currently water15 minutes out of every hour that lights are on.Butall my children have bad leaf cupping iguyin a hydro shop suggested this watering .But I think it's way to much can someone help with the right advice please


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