what percentage of roots should be in water? what % exposed to air

[vandula]

i had a plant go through veg. stages in soil and transfered to a homemade hydroponic setup.

my plant is about 20" tall and the stem growth is about 15" long.

i want to know how much of roots do i place into nuted water and how much exposed to air/oxygen?

i did this tonight so help on this ASAP would be great.

 

[Teknique70]

Well, I heard once before that there are like 3 different sections of roots...

The lowest section needs to be in the water all the time
the middle section can be under water or exposed to air
and the top section near the bae of the plant should be exposed to dark moist/humid air

It's pretty much how I do mine in the aerogarden...makes sense to me...but I only heard this once or twice and don't know much...

Good Luck
Peace
-Tek

 

[vandula]

thx, this really helps a lot. i have my setup in those proportions and have put black tape around the clear bottle im using so as to cover the top 1/3 of the root system.

another question? should i have a significant amount of air pass thru the bottle onto the mid section of the roots? is still air enough?

how often should i replace the water. i do not have any pumps. i heard that water sitting out allows things like chlorine to evaporate...

 

[patjack]

you should check this thread out, someone on this board said it in a post and it has been the most informative read for me.
Start at the beginning read the whole thing, it is awesome

Ask Lucas - Cannabis-World

good luck

 

[vandula]

where does it talk about a hydroponic setup? can u copy and paste the portion and reply back since you're familiar w. the thread. i glanced thru it and could not find it, it seems a bit technical and i just wanting to know how much of the roots should be in water.

also, i dont have an O2 pump, so i wanted to know how often i should replace the water in the reservoir.

 

[Mr Green Man]

Mate.

I think you need to do some reading up.

What sort of hydroponic system are trying to use?

If you don't start pumping air into that water you plant is not going to like it atle and you will end up with rot and die. Esspecly as you have transfered from soil to water.

you said that you put black tape around the top part of a plastic bottle? does that mean that the rest of the bottle is clear? You don't want any light getting to your roots or Nutes!

Here is a good starting piont. CC Hydro 101 by Earl - Cannabis Culture Forums

There is also some good info here DWC, Bubblin' Buckets, What's Needed And How To - Cannabis Culture Forums

But that is only a starting piont.
In futer I highly recomend reading up on what you are doing befor you do it, It's kinda like jumping into the driving seat of a speeding car and then asking the passernger "How do I drive".

 

[vandula]

cool thx man for the info. i was trying to learn w. my first plant that i just grew a mecc seed, not chronic.

also, what sold me on the idea is that the plant will grow faster and have a higher yield w. a hydroponic system bc the plant has to use less resources to search for water and get O2 to the roots.

yes the bottle is clear. ill tape up immediately. btw, what is wrong w. light hitting the roots and/or nutes?

 

[White Widow Woman]

This guy says that the top 1/3 of the plant seeks out nutrients and the bottom 2/3 searches water. Check it out...

International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums - Hempy Bucket Basic Questions



WWW

 

[vandula]

thx for link. i will try to implement this, but im not sure how to get nute medium he's talking about w. my setup. i figure the water drawn up by the lower roots will bring up the nutes. ive only had this new setup for 2day and things are fine. ive had new growth that was yellowish and the leaves curved down, now everything is perky, but this was a repetitive cycle of seen w. all my new growth and all the rest of the plant is healthy.

 

[White Widow Woman]

thx for link. i will try to implement this, but im not sure how to get nute medium he's talking about w. my setup. i figure the water drawn up by the lower roots will bring up the nutes. ive only had this new setup for 2day and things are fine. ive had new growth that was yellowish and the leaves curved down, now everything is perky, but this was a repetitive cycle of seen w. all my new growth and all the rest of the plant is healthy.

Oh no Vandula, I didn't mean copy his system. I only posted the link cause it mentioned the amount/percentage of the roots that should be in the water. It was a possible answer to the question that you are posting.

You'd be surprised how much you can learn here, reading and searching.


WWW

 

[vandula]

i do a good bit of reading b4 i post. that's why i ask very specific questions and try not to ask 50 like some ppl on this site love to do.

 

[Mr Green Man]

Hi I have wrote you a bit of info, I hope it helps. My spelling isn't great, sorry about that. I also posted a pic so you know I'm not just bull shitting you.

I'm really worried about your plant.

You don't seem to know what sort of hydroponic system you are even trying to use.
What is your PH? For a water system it should be around 5.6
What is your PPms?

Go to the Pet shop today and buy a Duel output Air pump (Around 250+ LPH (Liters per hour)), and two 6" air stones, pluss a little air line to connect it all up. Put both the air stones in the water.
Also get a Storage container, about 15 Liters or bigger, Dark plastic, and use that for your plant, water is easyer to stablise when its in large quantitys.

Then Quickly Decide what sort of hydroponic system you want to do.
Probably DWC would be the easest, but you may consider going airo.
I posted a you a guide to DWC and there are some good Airo guids on this sight.

You need to stop light getting to your REZ (Or nuted water) beacuse Light + Water + Nutes = Algue, which will eat the Oxegen and Nutrents out of the water.
You need to stop light getting to your roots, beacuse the fine hairs on them are extreammly sensitive to UV and will die if exposed for too long.

Water Temps are really important, if they drop bellow 14c your roots will start to die. If the temp goes over 21c you are going to have root rot issues. you need should be aiming for 19c.

You have transplanted from Soil, this is not good, your plants roots will be very unhappy with this change. pluse you would have brought over a lot of Fungi and Bactira with the change, and while many of them are good in small amounts, they could thrive in the water if it is not maintted properly and course no end of trubles for you. I would recommed using some H2o2 to kill off everything, then using an Enzyme to help eat any dead root matter quickly.
Make sure you research how to use these pruducts properly befor you add them to your Rez.

I hope this works out for you and if it doesn't, that it doesn't put you off Hydroponics. It's not that difficult, but it is a little unfigiving at times.

Read Hydro 101 agian. and then again.
Those two threads have tought me a lot.

Good Luck.

 

[vandula]

thx for the genuine reply bro. this helps a lot, knowing all this ill prob. not do this w. m next plant. i was a little bored one day and was also super tired of bringing my plant in and out of the house for the sleep cycle.

i used a kitchen trash can as a pot bc i knew that marijuana root systems grow like crazy and the larger the pot, the larger the plant.

i wanted to do a cheap at home system but i guess it's too complicated and needs to many other devices that i cannot afford. im still using CFLs+sunlight to grow.

 

[White Widow Woman]

thx, this really helps a lot. i have my setup in those proportions and have put black tape around the clear bottle im using so as to cover the top 1/3 of the root system.

another question? should i have a significant amount of air pass thru the bottle onto the mid section of the roots? is still air enough?

how often should i replace the water. i do not have any pumps. i heard that water sitting out allows things like chlorine to evaporate...

Hey Vandula - I was pretty stoned last night when I replied to your thread and only addressed the question to the title of your thread, my bad.

So now, after spending 20 mins looking for my stash...lol - (too lasy to open another mason jar, plus they are way down in the basement!) - I now have a doobie rolled and am ready to give you a good bit of advice. I understand that money is usually an issue when a grower first gets started, so I will help you out on doing a system on the cheap...

I've done a good bit of growing mostly with ebb&flo and some DWC, but I am gonna hip you to something that is AWESOME and low maintenance. I switched over less than a week ago and have had explosive growth!

Also, since you just switched your plant from soil; there will be no additional shock caused with moving it from the water-only environment to the perilite only base.


tape around the clear bottle
- go to dollar store and get a 3-gal black mop bucket - $1.00
- go to Walmart and get a bag of perilite - $2.78

should i have a significant amount of air pass thru the bottle onto the mid section of the roots?
-NO

Is still air enough?
- not important for roots, but your plant needs fresh air
- go to Walmart for a small oscillating fan = $4.87

how often should i replace the water.
- no need to replace

i do not have any pumps.
- no pump needed

i heard that water sitting out allows things like chlorine to evaporate
- You bet! - this is a good thing to do cause it allows the chlorine to evaporate, but the important minerals stay


Steps:
- Cut a small hole 2 inches up from the bottom of the bucket
- Fill the bucket about a third of the way up with perilite
- Position your plant in the middle of the bucket, but hold on to it so that the roots are just dangling
- Using your other hand, fill the rest of the bucket with the perilite slowly moving around the roots until all is covered with the light weight perilite and the top of your plant is anchored and secure
- Water your plant until run off starts to come out the small hole
- Your plant's roots will make their way to the bottom of the bucket within days and that will become its rez for nukes - everytime you water you are replenishing the rez - no need to change out
- Place your plant under you CFL lights
- No PH, EC or PPM issues to worry about!!!

So if you've got a few bucks to invest, you can make this system and have a fool-proof grow.

Now I would suggest you go check out this thread, it is on Hempy Buckets which is the modified hydro system I just described; that requires little maint and gives awesome results.

https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/59705-hempy-collective.html


Good luck with your grow and don't forget to post some pictures for us!

WWW

 

[White Widow Woman]

Oh yeah, an air pump is always good for your water - but you can always just shake it up in a bottle just before you feed your plants.

 

[vandula]

so it's ok for the plant to be in 100% perilite? i have some MG perilite, but it has plant food in it. ive heard that MG products make the bud taste harsh.

everything you listed i have at my house. u said your results were "explosive"....what does that mean? at what stage did you try this method? flowering? veg? are you saying this based off changes in height? new leaf growth?

 

[vandula]

does the perilite retain enough moisture for the roots? how do u stop the perilite from falling out the drainage holes?

i apprec. your help WWW, you're abs. the best!

 

[White Widow Woman]

so it's ok for the plant to be in 100% perilite? -Sure, they love it.

i have some MG perilite, but it has plant food in it. ive heard that MG products make the bud taste harsh. - I have some of it too, the pkg saids that it has:
Total nitrogen 0.04%
0.016% ammoniacal nitrogen
0.024% nitrate nitrogen
Availble phosphate 0.01%
Soluble potash 0.06%
Those are trace amounts and will not hinder/intefer with growth at all. Heck, I use the GH Flora Series and the amounts of nutrients from just one of my parts is:
Total nitrogen 2.0%
0.25% ammoniacal nitrogen
1.75% nitrate nitrogen
Availble phosphate 1.0%
Soluble potash 6.0
Magnesium 0.5%
And there are still 2 more parts to my system, so no; I don't believe that the ferts in the MG mix will impact on our grows at all.

everything you listed i have at my house. u said your results were "explosive"....what does that mean? at what stage did you try this method? flowering? veg? are you saying this based off changes in height? new leaf growth? - I'm glad you won't have to go out and buy anything and by explosive I mean I put 3 runt seedlings into 16oz styrofoam cups and they went from looking sad to vibrate! That is why I have been singing this method's praises all over the place. There were new leaves growing in the next day and it had already gained an inch in height. Now 5 days later, they look better than the other seedlings. I am currently moving every plant over to Hempy. I've already accomplished moving 4 vegging plants and 3 of my flowering plants to Hempy. Tonight I am moving the remaining seedings over. I just germinated new seeds the other day and they will be going directly to Hempy! All of the rest of my plants will get the move this weekend.

does the perilite retain enough moisture for the roots? - Yes, it does a perfect job. Just water every day for the first few days or so, then everyother day or so. You will have to learn to tell when the little rez at the bottom of the bucket is low or just lift it everyday to see if it feels light and needs more water. However you can add 1 part vermiculite to 3 parts perilite if you'd like.

how do u stop the perilite from falling out the drainage holes? - just use a small piece of screen. I cut a 4X4 inch square and held it to the side with the hole while I filled the bucket up to about 1/3 high, it will just stay there once the bucket is full.

i apprec. your help WWW, you're abs. the best! - you are very welcome, just glad to help. You'll be doing the same for me soon...

You're gonna love growing this way! Def check out this thread for lots more info... https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/59705-hempy-collective.html


WWW

 

[vandula]

hi WWW, where do u reccomend buying an air/o2 pump? id like to buy from ebay but i dont know what search terms to use to get a gardening pump, not something used for yardwork u know...

 

[White Widow Woman]

Hey Vandula - you can get them cheap at Walmart, only like $5.00 and since you only need it to aerate your water/nukes just before watering - the cheapest one will do just fine.


WWW