Thinking about Hydro

So, I've successfully built my first hydroponic bubble cloner and after spending 3 hours repotting my plants in 5 gallon pots with 100 liters of soil.. I thought maybe I could move to growing in hydro as well.

I've been doing some research on the subject and this is what I've figured out.

Growing in hydro is the same as cloning except that you need some sort of medium (I use no medium for my bubble cloner), like those coco balls and/or rockwool, and you need to scale the amount to grow bigger plants just like you would in soil. Is that right?

Now, you need a reservoir or a tank which will either pump the water to the top of the plants or spray the water under the plant while the plant is slightly submerged.

So, in all, is hydro better because it allows the root system to extent beyond the airpot and because it makes it easier to feed the plant with nutrients without the buffer of soil?

In which case, what is the difference between hydro and just leaving a plant in a pot full of water? Is it the air that is being pumped inside via the air stone? That would cause root rot, wouldn't it? So, how does hydro prevent this if the roots will inevitably become drenched in the water as they grow?

Thanks for the input!

Trackr said:

Is it the air that is being pumped inside via the air stone?

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Yes. And/or circulation or just disturbing the water surface will aerate it. Specifically it will increase the Dissolved Oxygen level. Plants need very little oxygen though, it's a plant's main waste product and an acceptable DO level is easy to achieve with an airpump+stones, sprayers, recirculating (with return waterfall splashing in the reservoir) if the temps are controlled and acceptable (68 or lower). So the difference with just a pot of water is that the solution is never stagnant (although some clowns here....) and is kept below a certain temp to keep it fresh.

And as for your other questions, yes that's the general idea.

How does the plant keep up when it's in coco, perlite or with no medium at all?

If my water is above 70F, I need a water chiller of some sort?

Trackr said:

If my water is above 70F, I need a water chiller of some sort?

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Yes. Well, wise anyway. Higher temps can be doable with the right ingredients of the soup (bennies). Not my thing, chiller works great as a preventive of several root problems.

Not sure what you mean by "how does the plant keep up". Do you mean physical support? as in stay up and not fall over? That's an issue to consider with mediumless indeed but easily overcome by providing some additional support (wires or small tomato cages for example).

As Sat. said keeping the water cool and oxygenated is the key to success imo. I do not run air pumps and all DO is achieved by flooming and waterfall return. My temps do get a bit higher in the warmer months but still no real issues. You will need a couple of meters to get started (ph and tds/ec) but everything else can be made if your half handy.

you can use 2" net pots with no medium from clone to harvest. Foam puck holds the stalk in the center of the net pot and scrog the canopy for support and light coverage. run beneficial microbes for root health.

hydro is fast growth because there is always an endless supply of food, water, and oxygen for the roots. bubbles keep oxygen in the water so the roots don't get water logged, but if the water gets close to 78+ degrees it won't be able to hold enough oxygen.

You can also correct problems instantly simply by changing the res. In soil the water and oxygen changes as you water the soil and it dries out... and ph and food issues can be harder to correct and take time... but of course experienced soil growers get fast growth rates too.

Plant support has not been an issue for my setup. The massive root ball holds everything in place . What caught me way off guard on my very first run was the height of the plants! I quickly ran out of room with the plants getting to the 5' range. Never had that issue with soil but also a newb doing indoor anything. I do have to shut down the grow in the warmest months but have no mechanical cooling. I would highly recommend the change to hydro, I think it takes a bit of the guess work out for newbs like me lol.