Hydroton is a proven rez medium, but IMO #4 perlite is the best rez medium. But I understand that with using a tapered bucket the smaller footprint on the bottom tends to make them less stable, and the hydroton will give you more weight.
Doesnt get any easier than a hempy!
I suggest you add vermiculite too. That will provide the anchoring you will need. I think you will find that your medium will wick and hold moisture better with verm in it, IMHO. Good luck on your grow!
I did #4 perlite 100% in one gallon water bottles last run and had no issues...they were small plants though.
Awesome tent shiva. That thing is huge! It looks like the hut they had ET inside.
i don't use perlite preferring coco in it's stead but i do use either hydroton or grorocks or gravel or lavarock in my res, depends on what i have handy. ...i like it because these all provide weight at the bottom of the pot for stability and all seem to provide a very happy environment for my roots.
Enjoy the space while you can, it's gotta be nice to zip the tent closed behind you and play with the plants. Once you get the wifey to let you purchase anonther $600 worth of lights you'll HAVE to fill er' up.
Amazing work bozo! Those are beautiful! Is that a 600 watt in there?
i've got a little seed starter routine for hempys that I got from one of the internet board giants, DocBud--mini-hempy cups for seed starting, particularly geared for low stress germination and easy transplant to hempys...take a solo cup and put a hole about 1/4 to 1/3 up from the bottom. Fill with 100% perlite just past the hole. Fill the rest of the way with a mix of 50:50 perlite: FoxFarm Ocean Forest. Top the mixture with 1 inch of straight FFOF (too keep the seed dark and moist). I soak my seeds for 24-36 hours then they go in the mini-hempys, 1/4 inch deep, under a dome, with some bright lights above (5")--right now i've got a 90w LED UFO and a 105w 65K cfl over 9 mini-hempys. In two days or so they'll spring to life, just keep the soil moist, the environs warm and humid, and you should have no problems. If all you've got right now is perlite, and you don't feel like picking up any FFOF, think about rapid rooters--they can hold a little more moisture, a little longer than straight perlite, and work well going into hempy. If you're dead-set on germ'ing in perlite, you might want to get a mist bottle to hit the top of the cup with moisture 3 or so times a day to make sure they don't dry out. Best of luck mate,
5 Sour Diesel crosses, 3 purple kush, and 1 northernberry for 36 hrs in RO H2O, then they went straight into moist, room temp mini hempys--solo cups with 100% perlite the first 1/4-1/3 passed the hole, 50:50 perlite:FFOF the rest of the way above the perlite, and then straight FFOF for the top 1" of the cup. The seed goes 1/4 to 1/2" in the FFOF to keep it dark and moist. all 9 are under a dome with a 90w LED and 105w 65K CFL about 5" above so when they break the surface they'll be greeted with bright light and humid warmth. No pics right now because, really, who wants to look at a solo cup with top soil?
Evo, all i can say is i envy you brah, that's some top-shelf work right there...you can be sure i'll be following your grows with that set-up--hempy+scrog = yield heaven! cheers matehere's a pic of the air pots in a 36x36 inch flood table that drains back into reservoir. Won't be using the flood table to long though. If i was going to veg in the air pots i would but i plan on making an aero super stoner double vegger so i can get my plants about 12-16in tall and just move from aero vegger to air pots in flower.
This was my first idea but this is a tree growing way and i'm not aiming for that so i re thought it and came up with just moving to air pots once. less work for the vertical rather than only 3 5 gal plants per shelf.
this is what the air pots will be moving to for flowering each shelf will have a 10inx45inx3in flood tray draining into the tray underneath until the last tray drains back into the res.
Also going to be switching to those top feed halos that are new so its less lines and a mess every where.
...i feed Jack's Pro which i switched to from MaxiBloom and i like them both because neither is a time-released formula so my 2 week, pre-harvest flush seems to be enough to flush out any residual nutrients, ...i actually won't pull my harvest until my plants start to yellow so i've sometimes gone past a 2 week flush.
...yeah buddy! lol, i haven't used any of my pumps in more than a year! ...hempy's and KISS have made my grow EASY, ...it almost feels like i'm cheating!
thanks for the props man and you are correct, ...in fact that is a brandy new Eye Hortiluxe 600, ...i finally broke down and bought me a high-end bulb and i believe i'm glad i did, ...the jury is still out but this current grow has had that new 600 almost from the beginning and they are looking amazing! ...i love me my coco hempy's and my Jack's Pro, ...so phuckin' easy! ...lol.
