ThaMagnificent
Well-Known Member
Do you have to flush hydroton before using?
How difficult is hydro?
- Thread starter papa canna
- Start date
papa canna
Well-Known Member
Igloo coolers eh? Sounds expensive. Is it common to run less plants in hydro than non? I have 9 plants under a single 600watt and im pushing it a little bit as it is.
edit: also, does anyone know of a good website for a simple DWC setup so I can check it out. sifting through google links and haven't found anything too good yet.
edit: also, does anyone know of a good website for a simple DWC setup so I can check it out. sifting through google links and haven't found anything too good yet.
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Flagg420
Well-Known Member
Exactly so.... Rinse the fuck out of it.... then rinse it some more, lol.
Keeps the clay dust from cloggin ur air stones, and cluttering up ur water/roots....
papa canna
Well-Known Member
So i've been doing a bit more googling, this stuff is tough to find good info about. but everything says to change out your reservoir water once per week. How do you do that without disturbing the plant? Keep a spare bucket and just swap it over and clean it? I suppose you need a good ppm meter to make sure your nutrient solution is at the proper strength?
papa canna
Well-Known Member
Can anyone tell me if something like this would be good to start? https://www.monstergardens.com/Hydroponic-Supplies/Hydroponic-Systems/Deep-Water-Culture-DWC/Root-Spa-5-Gal-4-Bucket-system seems like a good price if i didn't feel like doing a DIY
The bottom line is......hydro is considered a "hot" system, which means everything reacts quickly. Soil is forgiving, hydro is not. Hydro requires lots of monitoring, especially until you have the system down pat.
I started out in hydro many, many years ago and it was definitely harder, especially on a large scale. pH monitoring and swings, pump problems, water temp issues, floods, humidity, fertilizer issues, etc. are common place but the plants normally grow faster and yield better. Start up costs are usually way more too.
I'll switch back to hydro when I'm too old to screw with dirt and carrying water.......Until then, no way.
I started out in hydro many, many years ago and it was definitely harder, especially on a large scale. pH monitoring and swings, pump problems, water temp issues, floods, humidity, fertilizer issues, etc. are common place but the plants normally grow faster and yield better. Start up costs are usually way more too.
I'll switch back to hydro when I'm too old to screw with dirt and carrying water.......Until then, no way.
churchhaze
Well-Known Member
DWC is a lot easier than soil. Keep it simple at first. Get some totes, 3 inch netcups, some hydroton, and a 3 part like GH flora. If you have hard water, get some pH down. Just get some air pumps , hose and air stones and don't worry about chillers, beneficial bacteria, or sterilization stuff.
fandango
Well-Known Member
Look right here on RIU...the best grower on the planet is here...AlphaPhase
papa canna
Well-Known Member
Can I ask what makes you say that its easier? from everything ive read its more complicated. plants react harsher, mistakes are more dire and develop faster. Chillers i can get past by using coolers. but i would need to keep up on sterilization otherwise im sure i would have root issues. But I don't quite understand how to do maintenance on the reservoirs without disturbing the plants. How do you clean them without stressing the plants? do you just keep a spare reservoir and swap them to clean? Same thing with adding water, how do you do that without shocking the plants? does the added water have to be the same ph and ppm? do I have to have a ppm meter?
Gregor Eisenhorn
Well-Known Member
Ppm meters make your life so much easier. Just have a spare bucket, preferably the same size and jut swap them and then clean the first one. Roots love that 15min of air.
When you top up you can either fix the pH of the top up water straight away or do that once you pour the water into the reservoir. This is when a ppm meter comes in handy, lets say that before your top up the ppm is 700 and you have 3 gal in a 5 gal container, you add back the water and suddenly your ppm drops to 300, then you just add back enough nutrients to get back to 700.
When you top up you can either fix the pH of the top up water straight away or do that once you pour the water into the reservoir. This is when a ppm meter comes in handy, lets say that before your top up the ppm is 700 and you have 3 gal in a 5 gal container, you add back the water and suddenly your ppm drops to 300, then you just add back enough nutrients to get back to 700.
AKGrowAreo
Well-Known Member
Soil is easier in some ways, however hydro/aero offers more control. So if you want to be able to have better control over all elements of your grow, its easier to do so in hydro/aero IMO.
papa canna
Well-Known Member
Thanks for all the info. Another thing I couldn't find is people talk about letting the water sit an inch below the roots when they are small, at what point do you let the roots grow into the water?
PerfectGrower
Well-Known Member
In hydroponics your most important factors are:
-Maintaining a nutrient solution of 5.8-6.2 if possible
-Never let your nutrient solution heat up. Keep it 75F or below. Add a water chiller if you can't keep it low.
-Try to keep organic things (kelp, humic etc) out. If you do use them be 100% sure your water temps will not spike.
-Check your EC or PPM. RDWC doesn't need to be fed as heavy as substrates like peat moss or coco. The roots are in constant contact with nutrients. You can feed on the lighter side.
Any questions let me know
-Maintaining a nutrient solution of 5.8-6.2 if possible
-Never let your nutrient solution heat up. Keep it 75F or below. Add a water chiller if you can't keep it low.
-Try to keep organic things (kelp, humic etc) out. If you do use them be 100% sure your water temps will not spike.
-Check your EC or PPM. RDWC doesn't need to be fed as heavy as substrates like peat moss or coco. The roots are in constant contact with nutrients. You can feed on the lighter side.
Any questions let me know
papa canna
Well-Known Member
Actually yeah. Check my post right above yours for a couple of questions. Also, does a chiller help If I'm not recirculating? If so, how would that work? I think I'm going to go with water coolers and add a bottle of frozen if necessaryIn hydroponics your most important factors are:
-Maintaining a nutrient solution of 5.8-6.2 if possible
-Never let your nutrient solution heat up. Keep it 75F or below. Add a water chiller if you can't keep it low.
-Try to keep organic things (kelp, humic etc) out. If you do use them be 100% sure your water temps will not spike.
-Check your EC or PPM. RDWC doesn't need to be fed as heavy as substrates like peat moss or coco. The roots are in constant contact with nutrients. You can feed on the lighter side.
Any questions let me know
edit: also, can anyone suggest a number of plants? I've got a single 600 watt open hood, but im not trying to veg forever
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mytwhyt
Well-Known Member
In a 10-12 gal ice chest, an Ice Probe could keep the temps down under 70*f.... http://www.shop.mediabaskets.com/CoolWorks-IceProbe-Chiller-with-Power-Supply-CW1111.htm?categoryId=-1 ... my 5 gal igloo, using frozen water bottles, ran 67*, rising to 70*F at water bottle change out time...... Cool Works advertise a 6*- 8*f degree drop under ambient air temp in a 10 gal glass aquarium... An insulated ice chest will do a lot better keeping the water temps down....... There's a 5 gal bucket dwc grow on 420 that kept temps down using a timer to turn the ice probe on/off.... Once a timer failure dropped the temps into the mid 50s*f overnight... It costs to keep the temps down..... You either spend your time changing frozen water bottles, or you spend your money.... I found my time was worth more than my money, so i bought a small chiller...
The only problem i see is the thicker walls in an ice chest.. Thickness at the drain holes may be a thinner is some chests... Or maybe a ten gal plastic container that could be insulated.... ,that's about all i've got for ideas...
The only problem i see is the thicker walls in an ice chest.. Thickness at the drain holes may be a thinner is some chests... Or maybe a ten gal plastic container that could be insulated.... ,that's about all i've got for ideas...
PerfectGrower
Well-Known Member
A chiller will help you circulate the water. You actually pump your nutrient solution "through" the chiller and back into your reservoir. Chillers are a must if you can not keep your nutrient solution below 75F.
Expect your plants to double or triple in size when they are introduced into flowering. If they ever get too big, you will want to prune and thin your plants regularly to ensure they're not over-crowded.
Any questions let us know! Good luck
kmog33
Well-Known Member
I only use them when it's hot out and never had a problem. Since I swapped to all led haven't really used them at all. My temps stay pretty cool everywhere. In actually more worried about my leaf temps not being high enough more than anything else, but my growth rates tell me I'm ok there lol.
easy just watch out for overwatering... all my fuck ups were from overwatering
blackforest
Well-Known Member
I have a mom in soil and her clones in hydro. The clones are massive compared to their mom and they were only vegged for 2 weeks vs 2 months for the mom. Soil seems finicky. I never know if they are getting everything they need, seems like I'm watering her every other day. Hydro system, change out the rez once a week (could go longer) fill up the top off rez and never really have to do anything during the week. Once you figure out the recipe, it's pretty much auto pilot.