Preparing for first hydro grow any advice?

Tokindaily37

Tokindaily37

Well-Known Member
Im guna be doing one plant under 2 400 watt lights from in a 20-30 gallon rope tub,

http://www.amazon.com/Hydroton-Grow...=UTF8&qid=1374451021&sr=8-5&keywords=hydroton

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-10-...qid=1374451291&sr=1-7&keywords=net+basket+lid

http://www.amazon.com/FoxFarm-Grow-...&sr=8-5&keywords=fox+farm+hydroponic+grow+big

http://www.amazon.com/WaterFarm-Hyd...1374451533&sr=8-1&keywords=hydrofarm+farm+kit

Now ive never grown weed like a kid with cfls or no nutrients i always wanted to grow since the 10th grade of high school and just obtained knowledge and when it came time i had my own place i had a good mount of knowledge so im curious what other nutrients should I use i was thinking cal mag but anything else?

and side question is keep the water temps in a standalone dwc hard i hear people having a problem with that/ but i didnt know if it was just a environment thing my reservoirs in the basement stay cold
 
Tokindaily37 said:
Im guna be doing one plant under 2 400 watt lights from in a 20-30 gallon rope tub,

http://www.amazon.com/Hydroton-Grow...=UTF8&qid=1374451021&sr=8-5&keywords=hydroton

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-10-...qid=1374451291&sr=1-7&keywords=net+basket+lid

http://www.amazon.com/FoxFarm-Grow-...&sr=8-5&keywords=fox+farm+hydroponic+grow+big

http://www.amazon.com/WaterFarm-Hyd...1374451533&sr=8-1&keywords=hydrofarm+farm+kit

Now ive never grown weed like a kid with cfls or no nutrients i always wanted to grow since the 10th grade of high school and just obtained knowledge and when it came time i had my own place i had a good mount of knowledge so im curious what other nutrients should I use i was thinking cal mag but anything else?

and side question is keep the water temps in a standalone dwc hard i hear people having a problem with that/ but i didnt know if it was just a environment thing my reservoirs in the basement stay cold
Click to expand...
Sounds like you have a lot of reading to do. Cal/mg yes, you need base nutrients 3 part system or 2part system, then additives. In vegging focus on roots, and plant structure, in flower focus on roots, sweeteners, bloom enhancers.

I would buy a cheap base nutrient line like general hydroponics flora series and spend money on additives like great white big bud moab and a good sweetener
you need cal/mg throughout the grow but thats just the a small percentage to what you need know to feed properly.. GL and get a good ph/PPM meter it'll be ur best friend
 
oh and for resevoir temps, its ok to feed water at 65* if its 90* out, but keep around 70* plants like to be comfy like we do, average room temp 70* is usually what makes them happy. If floor temps are too cold just lift them off the floor put wood or something under the res. if the water is too hard, then get reverse osmosis it'll bring your ppm down to about 5-10ppm which gives more room to feed your girls with the right nutes.
 
this is also not my first grow ive done a year in a half with soil grows and did really well just wanna try something new
 
Grown ups said:
I would buy a cheap base nutrient line like general hydroponics flora series and spend money on additives like great white big bud moab and a good sweetener
you need cal/mg throughout the grow but thats just the a small percentage to what you need know to feed properly.. GL and get a good ph/PPM meter it'll be ur best friend
Click to expand...
I would do the opposite, buying a decent quality nutrient will eliminate a lot of issues right off the bat. Additives should be used when you find a deficiency or are looking to tweak something you already understand. Adding stuff with little to no knowledge will leave you scratching your head wondering what happened? When you ask here you will get "snakeoil" from the idiots on here. Good luck
 
My suggestions, if you're going organic for hydro don't use fox farm. Use iguana juice instead, if you don't mind growing non-organic then it depends on how into your grow you are. If you want something easy and simple go with a one part solution. I prefer House and Garden's 2 part aquaflakes (and basically their entire line) Or Botanicare's 3part KIND formula (with their entire line) Molasses is a no no for hydro, there are other additives you can give your plants for taste and resin that won't fuck you over in hydro. Look into those instead, things like Botanicare's sweet Raw, Citrus, or Originalberry. All of the flavor, none of the problems. Molasses has lots of sugar that all the bad bacteria are gonna eat up and trash your plants.

For H&G and Botanicare in particular I've run both full lines many times with amazing results. I checked PH and PPM once in the morning once at night. With H&G I adjusted the PH once and it stayed between 5.9 and 6.1 for the entire grow Botanicare I had to fiddle with a few more times but no real issue.
 
You must start with good clean water. Spend the money on a RO setup, good PH and PPM meters. Next would be feeding. You dont have to spend a lot of money on every nute, just start with a good quality line-up.

As said earlier, start basic then expand sd your knowledge and understanding of your strains grows.

Best of luck to you!
Geo
 
To all that, I will add a few words. On my second year of dwc, uc, in buckets.

- First. We always do harm.
- The babies are fragile. Be gentle, patient, and kind.
- It is a weed.
- It will grow by itself, beyond almost unbelievable mistreatment, and will still flower.
- The more mistreatment is reduced the better the yield.
- Any environment we create is a vast mistreatment.
- Your water is already too hot.
- Hydro 101. It is always your fault.
- Less is more.
- Nothing on earth can be forced to grow.
- If you can't grow roots, give up. The rest is easy.
- Just about anything will grow just fine without us.
- It takes a human to screw this up.

I just got my Veg tent and 6 more going.

Have fun!
 
From my point of view 'other nutrients' is a gimmick. A good fertilizer should have adequate calcium and magnesium levels, as well as all nutrients the plant needs to be successful. There's probably a little room in any formula for improvement, water quality can sometimes be an issue, and different strains have different requirements, but just throwing in some cal/mag or root buster, bud enhancer, etc. isn't guaranteed to make any difference and can often be detrimental. Keep it simple. I have a friend that's been growing for years using all types of supplements and I talked him into using only his 3 part formula. His yields have gone up. I personally use Maxigrow and Maxibloom. All it takes to measure out is a table spoon as they're both 1 part dry formulas. They're also about half the price of most liquid ferts. Once you have your PPMs dialed in over a grow or two you won't need to check it any more, just put in the relevant number of scoops and forget about it. I would also recommend adding some microbe tea. Brew a gallon each week, keep it in the fridge, add a cup or two every day. The other thing is PH up and PH down. Buy a decent PH meter and adjust the PH every day to 5.5. --- As far as water temps, you will have to run some tests and see what your temps are going to be. If you're running a synthetic solution with microbe tea you can allow the temp to be as high as 75F with no problems (though I like to keep my water @ 68F). If you have water temp issues you might consider using an isolated reservoir -w- a water pump, or a water chiller -w- a water pump. The water chiller might seem extreme but any water temp issues would be a thing of the past. If you have adequate ventilation and insulate the grow containers the chiller can even be placed inside the grow room with no issues. In either case, using a water pump can oxygenate your water and replace the air pump if the return hose drops water into the grow container/s from above.
 
Well, what he said. And nothing worked for me until I got the chiller in. Of all the money wasted, the $400 for a 1/4 hp chiller is nothing and will pay for itself. Don't even consider
a 1/10 hp. A waste of money and no chill.

I think one of my main problems was trying for too much automation, but didn't even have a chiller.

On Nutes, I think one of my main problems was building out a system without understanding nutes. We all have different learning curves and twists.

It is best to begin with near Zero EC/PPM. So, tap water was good to experiment with. It pumps the same. But, nothing worked for me until I got an RO unit and a 30 gal food grade storage barrel.

I am also transitioning from liquid nutes. GM needs supplements It seriously lacks Cal - Mag. Not stable with pH. Lately using Dutch Masters One and getting good stability and growth.

Will likely go dry feed, when this is out.
 
My problem is trying to run a decent personal grow op on a single 15A breaker. That leaves no room for chillers, a/c, dehumidifiers.
 
No doubt. You need to get access to another 15A or forget about it.

I am on the raw edge of 30A, now. I can run only 2 of 3, for the ultrasonic foggers. I'm maxed.

But, it is possible to have more you know....even in some rentals. For another thread.
 
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