Hydroponics

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slowburn55

Active Member
I have a 10 gal , drip irrigation hydro system, I use R/O water, how often should I change the water? Also, I have 5 plants growing under fan cooled 400W HPS lights, they are all uniform at 16 inches, should I try a trelis net at this point or let them go naturally, I`ve trimmed the under branches and leaves plus I have a fan on the lower plant stems. Everything looks really good and healthy. What should I do?
 
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Jtoth3ustin

Well-Known Member
rochester88 said:
watsup, been growin in soil, finally movin over to hydro. im settin up a ebb & flow setup, and i got just a 2 ft by 6ft by 8 inch deep plastic flood table. i got a few questions:

1) i plan to put them in rockwool cubes, starting seeds in 1.5 x 1.5 x 1.5 in cubes, then moving them up to 4 x 4 x 4 in cubes when they are larger. does that sizing seem wise? and more importantly, im kind of wondering does it matter if i put some other medium in my flood table besides rockwool cubes? i know i've seen some people using pebbles filling up the flood table and then rockwool cubes kinda buried in the pebbles, does it matter if i just put cubes right on the table with nothing securing them in place? will they slide around a lot when the table fills up, particularly in the seedling stages when im usng smaller cubes?

2) As they get larger and the roots begin to come out the bottom of the cube, do i want to raise the cubes up so as to keep the roots off the table, like dangling in the air? i was thinking about running a dowel rod or something through the cubes to raise them up like a half inch above the bottom of the table? wise? necessary? opinion? I don't know that much about what I want to do with the roots in my hydro set up...i just want best advice as far as how to avoid root rot and how to make sure they get maximum o2.

3) how often is good to flood my table? ive read that it doesnt make much of a difference how often there flooded so long as its least 1 time a day for a decent time period, opinions?

4) How important is it to keep my resevoir covered? and also, how do you best recommend maintaining a constant temperature within my resevoir? does the water need to just stay between 70-80 F?

5) and finally ph! im getting a ph buffered dry nutrient solution, and my plan is to just flush them every 7-10 days and make a new nutrient batch, will that be good enough to avoid any problems with ph? im not trying to buy an expensive ph tester, i was thinking about maybe just some litmus paper just to identify if the ph is the problem and make a new batch if thats the case...opinions?

thanks for the help and sorry for the long ass post, i am just gettin into hydro so i had a few unknowns...preciate it
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sounds about right. i dont run hydro. but what ik from my buddies. your on track. but for the rockwool.. it never hurts to go bigger. lol Pe@ce..
 
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fresnogrown

Member
does drying/curing for hydro buds take longer? With a constant water supply, I would imagine they have a higher water content. But then again, what do I know.
 
mightyboogie

mightyboogie

Active Member
hi guys
can anyone help with this one pls
i m using an aeroflo system with RO water and nutrients from GH.(soft water micro).water ec=0.do you think i need a calcium supplement or just the fact that im using soft water micro will do it???
thanks
 
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southtxheadtrip

Member
i am doing my first grow in a 5gallon bucket, and i want to know about the lighting. from begining to end. what should i start out with and what should i end with? or does it change at all? also if the seed is a medium grow, should i still add the suggested amount or.. dammit i just need help...lol.. any info would be greatful..
 
motoracer110

motoracer110

Well-Known Member
southtxheadtrip said:
i am doing my first grow in a 5gallon bucket, and i want to know about the lighting. from begining to end. what should i start out with and what should i end with? or does it change at all? also if the seed is a medium grow, should i still add the suggested amount or.. dammit i just need help...lol.. any info would be greatful..
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save up the money and get a Metal halide bulb for veg, and High Pressure Sodium for Flower and you will love it.
 
PetFlora

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
aubud said:
Hey, im not gonna act like I know everything about this stuff cause its my first grow... but i am fairly certain that if you use the trio from AN (Mico/grow/bloom) you should be fine. The other stuff would be icing on the cake. As for the cloning of clones, theoretically you should be fine since each plant is a genetic fully functioning copy. Just make sure they wont be too small that cutting a clone will over stress them....

Now onto my original reason for coming to this thread lol...
What are some good PH buffers? Im using the FoxFarm Nute trio and im experiencing some pretty rapid PH jumps (right now they were at 6.68 when 12 hours ago i just lowered them down to 6.5 from 6.7 last night!! I know the PH is supposed to be ( in a perfect world) around 5.9-5.3 but I am hing an downright impossible time trying to keep it there! What do i do Please help! + rep for help!!!kiss-ass
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You may be onto something. I ran out of Botanicare, so I used FF Grow Big, everything else the same. Set pH at 5.8 yesterday morning. This morning it was 7.4, and I am D2W so it's not from recirculation contamination. That said my btl of Grow Big is a couple years old, and may have turned.

Why don't they put use by dates on the labels?
 
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GR0W M0DE

Member
hey, this is my first post on here and im i first time grower. i was just wondering if i need to use nutrients as soon as i start using my bubbleponics?
 
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IamRipped

Member
I remember my first venture into hydroponics. Before I had only done some ninja planting at forest reserves around my area. YET once I got into using a water based / soil less system I found it to be rather easy.

plus dwc systems are probably the easiest to setup to start because you only need really 3 things to start, bucket, air stone and air pump.
 
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RiaDia

Member
I just started growing my first baby & am thinking about going hydro. Any pro's & cons I ahould consider before hand? I'm new at this! & what do you put around the roots in a hydro set up?
 
Joker209

Joker209

Well-Known Member
To grow hydroponically all you need are these few items. I threw together a general idea for you to build on. Do your research everyone because the more you know the more you grow. Here is a list of materials you will need for a very easy very cheap hydroponic system. This particular system is called DWC (Deep Water Culture / Cultivator)

A tote for the res (reservoir) *Anything that holds water and is light tight will work. I have grown in a gallon milk jug *

An air pump

Air stones (not the cheap ass blue Wal-Mart brand ones)
THESE ARE MY FAVORITE BY FAR

Nutrients (you can check out Horticulture source also)
General Hydroponics' Flora Series is one of the most common nutrients.
http://www.generalhydroponics.com/genhydro_US/floraseries.html

Net pots (hard as hell to find outside a hydrostore or online)

If you can't find net pots or can't afford net pots then I would suggest using a soldering iron and put some holes in some plastic dixie cups and use the "holy cup" for your plants and media (soil replacement if any)

Hydroton (grow rocks) FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW THIS IS THE REPLACEMENT FOR SOIL IN A HYDRO SYSTEM. THEY HOLD THE PLANT AND IT'S ROOTS IN PLACE DURING GROWTH.
http://www.amazon.com/Hydroton-10-Liter-Bag-2-2/dp/B000FCPDFA

**NOT NEEDED BUT A GREAT TOOL TO HAVE** TDS (Total Dissolved Solubles) Meter to measure your PPM (Parts Per Million)
http://www.amazon.com/Digital-TDS-4-Pocket-Size-Meter/dp/B0027NOWMU

Instead of typing out everything on how to build 1 here is a link to a thread already dedicated to building your very own DWC.
https://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-aeroponics/272015-how-build-easy-dwc-reservoir.html
As far as his technique of "perfect nutrients" just follow the directions and remember always start with half strength.

If I left anything out please feel free to write.
 
stescugeorge

stescugeorge

Member
OK, I know I should have read the whole thread, but 100+ pages, that's a bit much for me. Can anyone tell me if an AeroFlo 20, which of course can house 20 plants, would yield more than 20 plants grown in soil, 11 Liter (2.5 gallons) pots same amount of space, same lighting, same everything. Now, from all that I read, you won't get the same taste and aroma, but I couldn't find anything concrete about the yield. I keep hearing a lot of talk, but no results. Most of the Aeroponic grows I've seen till now look and end up yielding shit. Even one that started of looking pretty nice ended up with a yield of less than half a pound, in a 36 site Aeroflo!! So if anyone can help me with this, I'd be really greatful. I'm not interested in how hard it is, how much more time consuming it is, all that, just the yield, I pretty much read about the rest. Thanks! Peace!
 
thecream0fthecr0p

thecream0fthecr0p

Member
stescugeorge said:
OK, I know I should have read the whole thread, but 100+ pages, that's a bit much for me. Can anyone tell me if an AeroFlo 20, which of course can house 20 plants, would yield more than 20 plants grown in soil, 11 Liter (2.5 gallons) pots same amount of space, same lighting, same everything. Now, from all that I read, you won't get the same taste and aroma, but I couldn't find anything concrete about the yield. I keep hearing a lot of talk, but no results. Most of the Aeroponic grows I've seen till now look and end up yielding shit. Even one that started of looking pretty nice ended up with a yield of less than half a pound, in a 36 site Aeroflo!! So if anyone can help me with this, I'd be really greatful. I'm not interested in how hard it is, how much more time consuming it is, all that, just the yield, I pretty much read about the rest. Thanks! Peace!
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I agree w/ the fact this thread has gotten pretty long and is tedious to go through but it's well worth it I'm sure..I actually find myself going thru a few pages at a time as I go back and fourth through other but much shorter threads that are related to these topics.

Other than that from what I've read and inquired there is much work to be accomplished when it comes to "aeroponic" grows..I know for a fact those over expensive aerogardens aren't good for yielding anything other than about 15 grams and that's if your lucky lol.

If your friend only managed to get half a pound from a 36 site cloner he still should consider himself lucky I've really only heard of people getting 1 0z per plant kind of results in EZ-Cloners which run about the same price as anonymous 36 site cloners.. if you do Aeroponics in a rubbermaid tote or what not the chances of you getting a yield with a 4 or 6 site (however many u wish really) tub is probably 3-4 oz per plant, DEPENDING ON THE GALLONS OF THE TOTE AND THE NUTRIENTS YOU USE.


Hope that helped at least somewhat..I still think aeroponics is a work in progress and something that can always be improved upon..it deserves far more attention than the subject of insufficient LEDS I know that much. bongsmilie
 
D

DaPurjn1

Member
Lamafia ck said:
i got a ph problem i'll check the ph every night and every night is around 7 i always bring it down to 5.2 but it wont stay at 5.2 i checkd it this morning and its already 7
the bottom leaves r yellowing and i have no idea wat to do ???
i use around 4 gallon of poland spring water i never used tap water i sterelize my system every week and i have no clue wats making the ph go up
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Dont Worry, be happy. The Ph wont stay still if youre using any kind of "recycycling" system simply due to the salt deposits formed and left behind by the constant wet/dry process. Advanced Nutes are said to buffer themself.
 
Joker209

Joker209

Well-Known Member
In regards to the soil to hydro conversion.
I do it all the time guys it's no big deal as long as the roots aren't too crazy. I spent over 2 hours on 2 days (4 hours total) washing soil out of roots until there was no soil left in the roots. Now they all have new roots and the old roots have dried up and fallen off.

To remove a plant from soil and prep it for hydro:
Take your pot and soak the soil with water, after making "soil soup" just slowly remove the plant from the soil being as delicate with the root system (if you break some roots no worries they grow new) as not to break too much of the root ball away. You then hold the plant by the stalk and wash the roots in a strainer until all soil, sticks, wood chips, rocks, perlite.... Whatever there is remove it til you only have roots. Take a net cup and feed the roots through the holes to allow them to dangle into the res (if using a 1 container hydro system) and just monitor them for the next 48 hours.
 
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