Hello friends, I have been growing in soil for a little while now using the fox farm nutrient line and getting great results but have recently decided to switch to DWC after seeing a few setups in person & watching several videos on it. For nutrients I plan on using the fox farm hydro line I also have MOAB & terpinator I can throw in the mix but I have never mixed either with the fox farm so any advice on that would be greatly appreciated, also any help with where my water temps, ppm, ph & EC should be at starting out would be awesome! Thanks in advance
Advice for 1st DWC
- Thread starter Growguy97
- Start date
I would strongly recommend you not use Fox Farm nutes, or any nute that has any organic components in it, in hydro .
Im not talking organic as in health food. I mean anything derived or made from anything plant or animal based. That includes things like kelp, worm castings, enzymes etc etc.
Also, check any additives carefully. Some calmag mixes have organic components as do some bloom boosters, PK additives, and all the rest. Im not a big fan of additives, bloom boosters, etc anyway. They are mostly snake oil intended to bleed insecure growers out of their $$, but thats just my opinion.
The problem is bad bacteria, algae, etc just love the crap out of anything organically based and will grow like mad in a hydro enviroment with organic nutes.
There are several choices for pure mineral based nutes, but I happen to like Jacks 312 hydro. Its pretty much the cheapest nute out there, easy to mix up, and its been around forever - including being one of the leading commercial nutes used world wide. Its well proven in and out of pot growing. Jacks is a 3 part powder mix, but there are also concentrated pre-mixed liquid nutes that are safe. General Hydroponics has some, but you will find all the liquid versions are far far more expensive to use. They are essentially taking the same ingredients in jacks, putting it in a bottle and charging you 20 times as much per gallon of rez you need to mix up.
Possibly the single biggest key to successful DWC - or any form of hydro actually - is water temperature control. Bacteria grow like mad in warmer water. If at all possible, try to keep your water temps below 70F. If you cant, then you need to run a sterile rez. Some people have success with benificial bacteria, but not when the temps get too hi. I personally have had zero success with bennies.
Best hydro PH is in the range of 5.5-6.1. It will vary some with the strain, but I shoot for an average of 5.8. I actually start my rez around 5.6 and let it drift slowly up to 6 then go back down when I do a rez re-fill. How that works for you will depend to a large degree on your water and it's calcium hardness. In addition to calcium hardness, bacterial load will also drive up PH. Things like root exhudates and to some degree the type of nutes you are using can drive the PH either way.
Proper EC levels will vary depending on the strain and the age of the plants. There is no best EC. You need to let the plants tell you what they want. I recommend you start out low with new seedlings. Maybe 100-200 PPM (500 scale) or 0.2 - 0.4 EC over what ever your water starts out at. If your water starts at 0.3 EC, then add nutes till its at 0.4 EC, or what ever your target is. Then just watch the leaves. If they are too pale, increase the EC in slow steps. If they are too dark or the tips are burning, drop it a bit. Every strain is different.
If you are growing several different strains in the same system, then you may have to split the difference.
Welcome to the joys of hydro growing! I hope your grow are fantastic
Im not talking organic as in health food. I mean anything derived or made from anything plant or animal based. That includes things like kelp, worm castings, enzymes etc etc.
Also, check any additives carefully. Some calmag mixes have organic components as do some bloom boosters, PK additives, and all the rest. Im not a big fan of additives, bloom boosters, etc anyway. They are mostly snake oil intended to bleed insecure growers out of their $$, but thats just my opinion.
The problem is bad bacteria, algae, etc just love the crap out of anything organically based and will grow like mad in a hydro enviroment with organic nutes.
There are several choices for pure mineral based nutes, but I happen to like Jacks 312 hydro. Its pretty much the cheapest nute out there, easy to mix up, and its been around forever - including being one of the leading commercial nutes used world wide. Its well proven in and out of pot growing. Jacks is a 3 part powder mix, but there are also concentrated pre-mixed liquid nutes that are safe. General Hydroponics has some, but you will find all the liquid versions are far far more expensive to use. They are essentially taking the same ingredients in jacks, putting it in a bottle and charging you 20 times as much per gallon of rez you need to mix up.
Possibly the single biggest key to successful DWC - or any form of hydro actually - is water temperature control. Bacteria grow like mad in warmer water. If at all possible, try to keep your water temps below 70F. If you cant, then you need to run a sterile rez. Some people have success with benificial bacteria, but not when the temps get too hi. I personally have had zero success with bennies.
Best hydro PH is in the range of 5.5-6.1. It will vary some with the strain, but I shoot for an average of 5.8. I actually start my rez around 5.6 and let it drift slowly up to 6 then go back down when I do a rez re-fill. How that works for you will depend to a large degree on your water and it's calcium hardness. In addition to calcium hardness, bacterial load will also drive up PH. Things like root exhudates and to some degree the type of nutes you are using can drive the PH either way.
Proper EC levels will vary depending on the strain and the age of the plants. There is no best EC. You need to let the plants tell you what they want. I recommend you start out low with new seedlings. Maybe 100-200 PPM (500 scale) or 0.2 - 0.4 EC over what ever your water starts out at. If your water starts at 0.3 EC, then add nutes till its at 0.4 EC, or what ever your target is. Then just watch the leaves. If they are too pale, increase the EC in slow steps. If they are too dark or the tips are burning, drop it a bit. Every strain is different.
If you are growing several different strains in the same system, then you may have to split the difference.
Welcome to the joys of hydro growing! I hope your grow are fantastic
Wait. Im confused. First you say not to use organic nutes, then you say you are going to try comfrey liquid - which is about as organic as you can get?
go go kid
Well-Known Member
i didnt say dont use organics, i just said its a bit complex with everything going on with organix
this may help you
www.royalqueenseeds.com
this may help you
Is It Possible To Grow Organic Cannabis With Hydroponics? - RQS Blog
Is it possible to grow cannabis organically in a hydroponic setup? We take a look at what constitutes organic, and whether hydroponics can be sustainable.
No thanks. Im done with anything organic in my hydro grows.
Yeah, all of that stuff is known to work fine in soil. Not so much in hydro for some reason.
I would strongly recommend you not use Fox Farm nutes, or any nute that has any organic components in it, in hydro .
Im not talking organic as in health food. I mean anything derived or made from anything plant or animal based. That includes things like kelp, worm castings, enzymes etc etc.
Also, check any additives carefully. Some calmag mixes have organic components as do some bloom boosters, PK additives, and all the rest. Im not a big fan of additives, bloom boosters, etc anyway. They are mostly snake oil intended to bleed insecure growers out of their $$, but thats just my opinion.
The problem is bad bacteria, algae, etc just love the crap out of anything organically based and will grow like mad in a hydro enviroment with organic nutes.
There are several choices for pure mineral based nutes, but I happen to like Jacks 312 hydro. Its pretty much the cheapest nute out there, easy to mix up, and its been around forever - including being one of the leading commercial nutes used world wide. Its well proven in and out of pot growing. Jacks is a 3 part powder mix, but there are also concentrated pre-mixed liquid nutes that are safe. General Hydroponics has some, but you will find all the liquid versions are far far more expensive to use. They are essentially taking the same ingredients in jacks, putting it in a bottle and charging you 20 times as much per gallon of rez you need to mix up.
Possibly the single biggest key to successful DWC - or any form of hydro actually - is water temperature control. Bacteria grow like mad in warmer water. If at all possible, try to keep your water temps below 70F. If you cant, then you need to run a sterile rez. Some people have success with benificial bacteria, but not when the temps get too hi. I personally have had zero success with bennies.
Best hydro PH is in the range of 5.5-6.1. It will vary some with the strain, but I shoot for an average of 5.8. I actually start my rez around 5.6 and let it drift slowly up to 6 then go back down when I do a rez re-fill. How that works for you will depend to a large degree on your water and it's calcium hardness. In addition to calcium hardness, bacterial load will also drive up PH. Things like root exhudates and to some degree the type of nutes you are using can drive the PH either way.
Proper EC levels will vary depending on the strain and the age of the plants. There is no best EC. You need to let the plants tell you what they want. I recommend you start out low with new seedlings. Maybe 100-200 PPM (500 scale) or 0.2 - 0.4 EC over what ever your water starts out at. If your water starts at 0.3 EC, then add nutes till its at 0.4 EC, or what ever your target is. Then just watch the leaves. If they are too pale, increase the EC in slow steps. If they are too dark or the tips are burning, drop it a bit. Every strain is different.
If you are growing several different strains in the same system, then you may have to split the difference.
Welcome to the joys of hydro growing! I hope your grow are fantastic
Thank you for all the information My problem is I already have all the fox farm nutrients, MOAB & terpenator and don’t really have the money to change it up until my next grow so with that being said what do you think my best options are as far as beating the algae & getting the most out of this grow?? Also my water temps in the buckets are staying about 61F right now and ppm from the tap is 100-110 but I havnt transplanted anything to the buckets yet everything is still germinating in domes!I would strongly recommend you not use Fox Farm nutes, or any nute that has any organic components in it, in hydro .
Im not talking organic as in health food. I mean anything derived or made from anything plant or animal based. That includes things like kelp, worm castings, enzymes etc etc.
Also, check any additives carefully. Some calmag mixes have organic components as do some bloom boosters, PK additives, and all the rest. Im not a big fan of additives, bloom boosters, etc anyway. They are mostly snake oil intended to bleed insecure growers out of their $$, but thats just my opinion.
The problem is bad bacteria, algae, etc just love the crap out of anything organically based and will grow like mad in a hydro enviroment with organic nutes.
There are several choices for pure mineral based nutes, but I happen to like Jacks 312 hydro. Its pretty much the cheapest nute out there, easy to mix up, and its been around forever - including being one of the leading commercial nutes used world wide. Its well proven in and out of pot growing. Jacks is a 3 part powder mix, but there are also concentrated pre-mixed liquid nutes that are safe. General Hydroponics has some, but you will find all the liquid versions are far far more expensive to use. They are essentially taking the same ingredients in jacks, putting it in a bottle and charging you 20 times as much per gallon of rez you need to mix up.
Possibly the single biggest key to successful DWC - or any form of hydro actually - is water temperature control. Bacteria grow like mad in warmer water. If at all possible, try to keep your water temps below 70F. If you cant, then you need to run a sterile rez. Some people have success with benificial bacteria, but not when the temps get too hi. I personally have had zero success with bennies.
Best hydro PH is in the range of 5.5-6.1. It will vary some with the strain, but I shoot for an average of 5.8. I actually start my rez around 5.6 and let it drift slowly up to 6 then go back down when I do a rez re-fill. How that works for you will depend to a large degree on your water and it's calcium hardness. In addition to calcium hardness, bacterial load will also drive up PH. Things like root exhudates and to some degree the type of nutes you are using can drive the PH either way.
Proper EC levels will vary depending on the strain and the age of the plants. There is no best EC. You need to let the plants tell you what they want. I recommend you start out low with new seedlings. Maybe 100-200 PPM (500 scale) or 0.2 - 0.4 EC over what ever your water starts out at. If your water starts at 0.3 EC, then add nutes till its at 0.4 EC, or what ever your target is. Then just watch the leaves. If they are too pale, increase the EC in slow steps. If they are too dark or the tips are burning, drop it a bit. Every strain is different.
If you are growing several different strains in the same system, then you may have to split the difference.
Welcome to the joys of hydro growing! I hope your grow are fantastic
no more soil already have all the hydro stuff setup
That water temp is actually on the low side. Your plants will tend to grow slowly. 68-70F is ideal.
If your water i staying that cold, you will very likely be fine. Just check the roots every so often to be sure they are not turning dark brown, smelly. slimy. If things start to go south, remember that chlorine for a sterile rez is an option.
Im curious how you are keeping your water that cold? Are you growing in a tent, or spare room or? What kind and power lights?
As far as the Fox Farm - dont feed at the full label strength. Start out at 1/4 of the label amounts absolute max. Then only increase it if the leaves look pale.
If your water i staying that cold, you will very likely be fine. Just check the roots every so often to be sure they are not turning dark brown, smelly. slimy. If things start to go south, remember that chlorine for a sterile rez is an option.
Im curious how you are keeping your water that cold? Are you growing in a tent, or spare room or? What kind and power lights?
As far as the Fox Farm - dont feed at the full label strength. Start out at 1/4 of the label amounts absolute max. Then only increase it if the leaves look pale.
I am growing in a basement & all my buckets are sitting on the concrete floor and where I live is extremely cold anyway this time of year! Again thank you so much for all the information, will be transplanting soon and I’ll let you know how things are going!
Here are a few plants from my most recent grow, Strawberry pie from Fastbuds & Frostbite from someone on IG but would like to get these results on hydro!
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For lights I am running Viparspectra XS 2000s this is my first time using this model I just upgraded from the viparspectra pro 2000s & I was having great results with them and not killing my power bill lol!
Can anyone help me figure out what’s wrong with these ladies? They are getting fox farm nutrients at a quarter strength & mixing great white in at quarter strength, PH at 5.9 ppms at 330 ppms are staying pretty consistent over the last few days ph goes up about .1 everyday
