Opinions please on which hydro system to go for?

S

switch

Well-Known Member
Yeah youre probably right mate but to be honest tho im trying to keep away from hydro if i can as its a bitch if it goes wrong and i dont want any humming or noise from the system really. The coco just seems like a good balance of hydro benefits with soil ease?
 
coreywebster

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
switch said:
Also can you coco guys advise me on which coir to get for my 11 litre pots and what nute range to go for. Ive never done coco before.
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Something that come ready to use out of the bag which is pre washed and pre buffered.
Canna
cocoloco
Tupur

Many others depending on where you are in the world.

You can get dehydrated blocks cheap. But is often not buffered nor washed properly and its not a nice job washing it. Then you have to buffer it by running more calcium through it. I have done it but out of the bag is easier although more expensive..
You can recycle it for awhile although its advised to only use it 3 times. This is likely because it degrades and becomes dusty and because of the K and calcium issues the coco range nutrients are tweaked to account for all that K and the fact it can hold onto Calcium. So after too much recycling you may find your coco nutrients are not providing enough K and the extra Cal will be more than is needed and lead to further issues.
 
coreywebster

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
switch said:
Yeah youre probably right mate but to be honest tho im trying to keep away from hydro if i can as its a bitch if it goes wrong and i dont want any humming or noise from the system really. The coco just seems like a good balance of hydro benefits with soil ease?
Click to expand...
Noise was the reason I didn't continue with hydro. I have sensitive hearing I think.
You could use something like an Autopot system which is gravity fed, I have heard of people using pure perlite in them which should work well. Most folks use hydroton with coco though.

I have to say ebb and flow or flood and drain are really good. But I built my own and had underpowered pumps so the noise was unbearable. If its possible to get an external pump which is quiet then that's worth doing.
 
rkymtnman

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
Johnei said:
I am interested in this auto feed part. Do you have water pump with lines pumping through tube at the top to the bottom, and water pours out the bottom hole on flood table? or something like this? or directly on pot top surface into the rocks? Can you give some details. And what do you mean growstones, you mean hydroton right? Thanks a lot man.
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yep, it's a water pump with a 6 outlet manifold. one line per hempy bucket. i think they make a 12 outlet manifold too. one feed per day in veg, 2 in bloom.
and growstone.com are what i use. expanded recycled glass.
 
S

switch

Well-Known Member
xtsho said:
Yes that would be the kit if you decide to go with the Blumats.
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So do the blumats delivery tubes just sit in any size reservoir of my own choice? Dont you have to keep the tank/resevoir aerated with air stones to stop the mix from going stagnant??
 
D

DonnyDee

Well-Known Member
Dr. Who said:
You need to know that Coco brings in a whole new set of problems and things it needs.
It holds/has K in it. So it needs more Ca as it's limited by the K. I've seen it want more Mg, but feel that was the growers problem..

Builds up salts and needs to be leeched from time to time..

That is all more cost and time......

Flood and drain. Simpler and less problems...
Click to expand...
I've been having some major grey hair with nutrient buildup in rockwool at the moment. I'm considering switching over to coco/perlite in fabric pots and then sticking that in a flood and drain system. Do you think I'd still see those issues with coco if I head in this direction? My local hydro shop sells a cool mix containing coco peat, perlite, turbo grow, dolomite lime, rock phosphate, powdered kelp, mycoroot, diatomaceous earth, trichoderma & worm castings. I'm hoping it's the easy way out.
 
xtsho

xtsho

Well-Known Member
switch said:
So do the blumats delivery tubes just sit in any size reservoir of my own choice? Dont you have to keep the tank/resevoir aerated with air stones to stop the mix from going stagnant??
Click to expand...
You can use any size reservoir you want. The kit comes with a through hole nozzle that connects to the main watering line. I just got an 18 gallon rubbermaid tub, drilled a hole and put the nozzle in. It has gaskets so there is no leak. I put a small pond pump in the bottom to keep the solution stirred up. It's better than air stones.

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Dr. Who

Dr. Who

Well-Known Member
DonnyDee said:
I've been having some major grey hair with nutrient buildup in rockwool at the moment. I'm considering switching over to coco/perlite in fabric pots and then sticking that in a flood and drain system. Do you think I'd still see those issues with coco if I head in this direction? My local hydro shop sells a cool mix containing coco peat, perlite, turbo grow, dolomite lime, rock phosphate, powdered kelp, mycoroot, diatomaceous earth, trichoderma & worm castings. I'm hoping it's the easy way out.
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Interesting mix. I wonder what the ratio's are....Sounds like a soil build with some Coco for moisture retention....They should have used something else for the Dolo. The mix has enough Mg already - Then again is the Coco is 30% of the mix. It maybe just the thing....

If your getting build up in rockwool, did you ever consider your overfeeding? I have to ask what your using and how much per gallon?
How many cycles a lighting period?
How long is the cycle?
What size blocks, and are they on sheets of rockwool?

Exactly what are the plants doing and if you have a picture of that - post it.....I suspect it may not be what you think. Answering blind is hard to say what your problem is......

Lastly, if it is build up. Simply put the drain line in a bucket and leech clear water through the blocks.

See, what concerns me is that if your getting build up in rockwool. I suspect you would in whatever media you would use, and Coco is more susceptible to the problem.
 
chemphlegm

chemphlegm

Well-Known Member
switch said:
What flood and drain system can you recommend me? Im not ruling it out.
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what? the kind that floods your tray with your plants in it and then drains completely back into a reservoir when the timer stops running the pump, that would do it perfectly. they all fit that bill btw. the design is purely up to you and your gardening habits, space, skills, money.

res on bottom with nutrient
timed little pond pump raises the water to a predetermined height for a predetermined amount of time, then drains back down to repeat with the use of a timer.

coolest one I used was the Big Foot low profile
 
PetFlora

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
Dr. Who said:
You need to know that Coco brings in a whole new set of problems and things it needs.
It holds/has K in it. So it needs more Ca as it's limited by the K. I've seen it want more Mg, but feel that was the growers problem..

Builds up salts and needs to be leeched from time to time..

That is all more cost and time......

Flood and drain. Simpler and less problems...
Click to expand...
Yep simple F & D or low pressure aero on a deep cycle timer (~ 3/10) for the win

Pics are my DIY set up. I replaced air stones with a second pump for flooming. In a small rez it needs to be on a separate timer as running 24/7 will overheat the water. I run mine ~ 4 minuteIMG_3920.JPG IMG_3902.JPG IMG_3898.JPG s/30

Hail Hydro
 
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ISK

ISK

Well-Known Member
switch said:
Only trouble with this method is it will require tons of hand watering wont it??

I work 10 hours a day so am not around to keep watering the coco which ive been told will dry out very quickly compared to soil.
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I typically use 75% perlite 25% vermiculite in my hempy buckets.

I only have to water/feed them about every 5 days when I use 3 gallon buckets

I believe hempy is the most simplistic method of hydro, thus is a great way to learn the fundamentals without spending much money/time to setup
 
mackdx

mackdx

Well-Known Member
Are you running drain to waste or recirc?
What timings?
Media?

Inquiring minds want to know! :weed:
 
ANC

ANC

Well-Known Member
Coco peat buffered with calmag and pHed, it can be a lot like soil, meaning you could use just teas and kelp and things like this, microbes can actually live on and in it. Alternatively, you can start using salts and dry ferts like many of us do. But yeah, if you are going this route, buffer 1ST. It is important step to drive off excess P and Na.

Drain to waste is easiest to learn with, you are just trying to keep plants healthy, not doing reservoir management at the same time.
 
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