Hydro for dummies?

AndrewDeeKing

AndrewDeeKing

Active Member
Hi...I think I've got soil down pretty good but to be honest...hydro seems to produce more and better bud in general but is labor intensive. I'm willing to sacrifice some time and enerhy as long as I get some killa buds :)

How would I begin? Any good info out there easy to read?


Also...how do plants not get overwatered in hydro?lol...
 
cannabineer

cannabineer

Ursus marijanus
There are two fairly easy entries into (common-reservoir) hydro: ebb&flood, and NFT. I would consider ebb&flood a good starting place.

Equipment that you absolutely need for hydro that you might not need in soil is a pH meter and a TDS/EC meter, and very probably an RO unit to give you reliable water.

As for overwatering, that is usually a symptom of underaeration. Plants in a well-run DWC don't look overwatered because the medium is kept briskly oxygenated. With NFT and e&f, you have the advantage of airflow through the root region. I've done both and liked'em. cn
 
AndrewDeeKing

AndrewDeeKing

Active Member
Yaaa Im a lil slow XD I need some diagrams lol. And Im guessing thats why people get a pump? To keep oxygen pumping to prevent overwatering?
 
DeeTee

DeeTee

Well-Known Member
AndrewDeeKing said:
Yaaa Im a lil slow XD I need some diagrams lol. And Im guessing thats why people get a pump? To keep oxygen pumping to prevent overwatering?
Click to expand...
That's only used in DWC systems, the easiest is ebb and flow, basically is you fill pots or a tray table with soiless medium ( hydroton pebbles ) or the like, you fill the container holding your plants with a mixture of water and nutes fill the container to feed the plants and let it drain out to you reservoir, you can do it manually or use a pump, the clay pebbles will hold some moisture 'till the next feeding, ( I feed mine 3 times a day ) that's where the TDS and PH meters is important, you must keep track of your ppm and ph....hope this helps, at least it gives you an idea how it's done.
 
cannabineer

cannabineer

Ursus marijanus
AndrewDeeKing said:
Yaaa Im a lil slow XD I need some diagrams lol. And Im guessing thats why people get a pump? To keep oxygen pumping to prevent overwatering?
Click to expand...
I'm no good with diagrams.

Hydro requires at least two pumps. One to shift the nutrient, and one to aerate it.

For a newer approach to an rDWC (recirculating deep-water culture)-type system, I suggest you read up on Undercurrent. It's pretty cool imo, and well-suited to the amateur scale and style of a few large plants. cn
 
AndrewDeeKing

AndrewDeeKing

Active Member
ManishWayz said:
[video=youtube;DZwQlItvZ-A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZwQlItvZ-A[/video]
Click to expand...

Wow now that IS easy! Those lil ball thinngs the plant sits in...what are they? The soltion...what is it made of? And like...when you germ a seed...you just kinda jam it inbetwen those lil clay balls and it comes up? (this is all amazing to me lol)
 
DeeTee

DeeTee

Well-Known Member
ManishWayz said:
[video=youtube;DZwQlItvZ-A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZwQlItvZ-A[/video]
Click to expand...
Was thinking of trying that system myself but ran in to two snags, One: I hear you must maintain your nutes withing a given temp, which means you have to run a cooling and/or heating system for you reservoir ( I may be wrong ). Two: should you lose power or the air pumps dies you plant will not last long, I doubt not even a half hr( I believe ). To answer your question Andrew, the solution is a mix of water and nutes at proper ph and ppm, that's called a net pot and you can buy one at any hydro store or on line. The system looks easy but I don't know, I gave up on the idea. They make it sound and look so easy but I'd advise you seriously look into it first.
 
AndrewDeeKing

AndrewDeeKing

Active Member
What are the nutes I put in there? And do I use nutes the WHOEL time like even from seed-verysmall? Wouldn't that nute burn?
 
DeeTee

DeeTee

Well-Known Member
You mix your nutes according to the ppm your looking for. I use the General Hydroponics Flora series consisting of Grow, Micro, and Bloom. Mixed according to the instructions gives you a ppm of nearly 1200 or more, ( I can't remember right now ) which is too much, I cut in half or add water 'till I get the reading I'm looking for. notice that you should always add the Micro first, here's a chart I use, it will give you a starting point. each strains has different tolerences, you learn as you use them. The GH nute series is fairly inexpensive and I've been using it for some time now and quite happy with it. I don't use additives 'cause I feel that's all the plants need ( just my opinion ). hope this helps... good luck, feel free to ask should you need more info.

Seedlings, Early Sprouts ..100 to 250
Early Vegging ......................300 to 400
Full Vegetation ....................450 to 700
Early Blooming ...................750 to 950
Full Mature Blooms ...........1000 to 1600
 
AndrewDeeKing

AndrewDeeKing

Active Member
DeeTee said:
You mix your nutes according to the ppm your looking for. I use the General Hydroponics Flora series consisting of Grow, Micro, and Bloom. Mixed according to the instructions gives you a ppm of nearly 1200 or more, ( I can't remember right now ) which is too much, I cut in half or add water 'till I get the reading I'm looking for. notice that you should always add the Micro first, here's a chart I use, it will give you a starting point. each strains has different tolerences, you learn as you use them. The GH nute series is fairly inexpensive and I've been using it for some time now and quite happy with it. I don't use additives 'cause I feel that's all the plants need ( just my opinion ). hope this helps... good luck, feel free to ask should you need more info.

Seedlings, Early Sprouts ..100 to 250
Early Vegging ......................300 to 400
Full Vegetation ....................450 to 700
Early Blooming ...................750 to 950
Full Mature Blooms ...........1000 to 1600
Click to expand...

What does PPM stand for?
CaliMackdaddy said:
Found this a while back when i first started hydro, cheers.

http://www.stealthgrower.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/
Click to expand...

Thanks!
 
DeeTee

DeeTee

Well-Known Member
PPM: ( Parts Per Million ), it's the amount of solids in a solution. plants can only take up so many ppm's of nutes to feed, too little and they'll be underfed, too much and you may run in to nute lock or nute burn. you measure ppm's using a TDS meter, you can purchase on ebay for $10 to $20 or more if you want one more acurate. that's my understanding.
 
AndrewDeeKing

AndrewDeeKing

Active Member
DeeTee said:
PPM: ( Parts Per Million ), it's the amount of solids in a solution. plants can only take up so many ppm's of nutes to feed, too little and they'll be underfed, too much and you may run in to nute lock or nute burn. you measure ppm's using a TDS meter, you can purchase on ebay for $10 to $20 or more if you want one more acurate. that's my understanding.
Click to expand...
What happends during a nute lock out? And btw Ima send a +rep your way...great help!
 
DeeTee

DeeTee

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the rep my friend, nute lock would be similar to underfed only worse, the plant can't take up nutes and could die. you would then have to flush with ph'd water to remove the excess nutes and then re-feed gradually.
 
hellraizer30

hellraizer30

Rebel From The North
If your in a hot area or a chiller is a no go i would pass on dwc, and go with ebb&flow tables!
theres no easyer system to run and you can grow alot more on a table connected to one res!
than you can a complex dwc setup
 
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