Looking to do a hydro in my 250w hps cabinet any suggestions?

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coolguy14788

Active Member
Ok now before we begin I want to give the link to my cab grow so you can visualize it if need be https://www.rollitup.org/stealth-micro-cab-growing/576195-250-w-hps-stealth-grow.html. ok now that, that is done I want to also say I was looking to do NFT now if ppl think this is not a good idea please tell me why.

This is the setup I was thinking of doing 4 inch pvc do three tubes with four plants per tube so I still end up with 12 plants. I want to use a 10 gallon tote like I have under my plants as the res so about 8 gallons of water all together maybe 7 will have to measure.

i want to use the lucas formula with general hydroponics nutes. i have or had dunno if i can find it but anyways i had a tds and ph meter have to look around. should i use 2" net pots or 3" also i will just use the fish tank air pump originally made for hydro and hook a stone up in the res for oxygen does this all sound good? also what kind of pump setup is needed in a NFT system
 
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RoughGrows

Well-Known Member
coolguy14788 said:
Ok now before we begin I want to give the link to my cab grow so you can visualize it if need be https://www.rollitup.org/stealth-micro-cab-growing/576195-250-w-hps-stealth-grow.html. ok now that, that is done I want to also say I was looking to do NFT now if ppl think this is not a good idea please tell me why.

This is the setup I was thinking of doing 4 inch pvc do three tubes with four plants per tube so I still end up with 12 plants. I want to use a 10 gallon tote like I have under my plants as the res so about 8 gallons of water all together maybe 7 will have to measure.

i want to use the lucas formula with general hydroponics nutes. i have or had dunno if i can find it but anyways i had a tds and ph meter have to look around. should i use 2" net pots or 3" also i will just use the fish tank air pump originally made for hydro and hook a stone up in the res for oxygen does this all sound good? also what kind of pump setup is needed in a NFT system
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I am in support of the NFT system. A friend of mine uses that exact system and has a few top feed drippers so he can do the whole thing, from clone to flower, in the same place. You need the top feeding to support the roots while they work their way down through the medium into the nutrient solution. 4 inch PVC is fine, but I'd go 6 inch; its going to cost nearly the same price and you'll just have more room for expansion for your root mass. Drop down to 4 inches if you have to for space. Again, use the larger net pots, as this will support more root mass.

Since you have a TDS and PH meter I'd start making notes in a book about what nutrients you are adding to how much water, what your feeding pumps schedule is, and what the TDS of the nutrient solution was at feeding so you can start optimizing growth ASAP. (Since you have everything needed to do so.) Supply as much O2(from your air pump) as you can to the water and root system because thats what they breathe. Goodluck!
 
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RoughGrows

Well-Known Member
Virtually all waterpumps are the same and the only thing you'd need to be concerned with is the GPH. Gallons per hour. Just make sure it doesn't take more then 2-3 minutes to get your roots water from the time your pump turns on, and if it does, you need a bigger pump. Higher volume of PVC pipes=Need bigger pump.
 
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coolguy14788

Active Member
ok this is good to know. yes i went with the 4 inch pvc for space reasons i could fit 4 tubes in there but i dont want to crowd so 12 plants is fine in my cab would use 5 inch pvc if they made it regularly but havnt looked yet plus never heard of 5in pvc either. also i thought NFT is always running so i dont have to worry about how long it takes for nutes to run through the lines
 
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coolguy14788

Active Member
ok so i went through my things today and found some goodies for going hydro i found my tds meter and calibration solution. i found my ph solution but not my meter i think i broke it long time ago and forgot to get a new one. I found my submersible pump 290GPH and i have a half inch pvc connector connected so i can put in my 1/8in or 1/4 in tubes into the pvc i have to get a end cap to cap off the pvc though or i could use this valve i have and shut it ya i might do that just to save a buck lol. well off to a good start! found some airstones too i had kickin around
 
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coolguy14788

Active Member
so i did some thinking and did some testing and now i think i have changed my mind on what technique im going to use i think im going with DWC as the 18 gallon tote fits perfectly in the cab now the only problem i for see is changing water as the tote has to be crammed into the spot and with it full of water this may not be to good but i think i can manage if that is all i need to worry about! only solutions here NO problems! DWC would be cheaper for me as i already have stones pumps and some netpots that are 2in i believe so i think this is my route to go
 
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coolguy14788

Active Member
ok so i took a pic of my bubble cloner is this enough bubbles? can i use just one stone? i have never made a bubble cloner so this is new to me
 

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coolguy14788

Active Member
so no one has any say on the bubble cloner? well i hope is will work with one stone but can use both if need be i will buy another air pump as the one i have now i made for hydro but i use it for my fishtank right now can use two of the four hoses on that pump for hydro but that is just the cloner or DWC not both so ill prob get another 4 manifold airpump for just the dwc since we really need LOTS of air in the DWC
 
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coolguy14788

Active Member
Ok update on what i plan on doing for this whole project as i have tossed ideas around in my mind i will go dwc 18 gallon tote with chiller/waterfall return + air pump i use this nutrient lucas formula and i will add hygrozyme to keep root rot and pytheium i believe it is called away. i want to keep 12 plants but might have to go down to 9 i could start clones earlier and use bubble cloner to veg a bit before i put em in to flower like maybe a week veg then top them let them heal then move to flower box eventually it will get dialed in. also having a pump in the res will allow me to change out water without taking the tote out or plants out of the tote
 
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cannamandan

Member
Hi. I will be watching.
I use 250 Watt for a 3x3 tent.
I originally wanted to do 9. so that all plants had plenty of room.
my last grow I used 1 Plant and pulled off 4 oz. Dry.
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
coolguy14788 said:
Ok update on what i plan on doing for this whole project as i have tossed ideas around in my mind i will go dwc 18 gallon tote with chiller/waterfall return + air pump i use this nutrient lucas formula and i will add hygrozyme to keep root rot and pytheium i believe it is called away. i want to keep 12 plants but might have to go down to 9 i could start clones earlier and use bubble cloner to veg a bit before i put em in to flower like maybe a week veg then top them let them heal then move to flower box eventually it will get dialed in. also having a pump in the res will allow me to change out water without taking the tote out or plants out of the tote
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9 pot plants in a single 18-gallon tote? And considering 12? Good luck. Seriously for a first hydro a 5-gallon unit and a single plant is quite a learning experience.
 
cues

cues

Well-Known Member
Check out my 250w u-scrog. I have just changed from a single plant grow (6 oz plus) two a 2 plant grow. More plants does not equal more yield when we are playing with these mini-personal grows.
And 18 gallons? I use less than 10 (40 liters) and that only needs changing out every 7-14 days dependant upon growth stage.
 
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RoughGrows

Well-Known Member
Been busy working recently, sorry I haven't been able to reply! DWC requires tons of oxygen!! I've heard upwards of 25 liters per minute per gallon. I use an ebb and flow system on a 12-15 gallon reservoir running 50 liters per minute because ebb and flow supplies fresh oxygen to the roots on its own. The bubbler cloner looks great, looks almost identical to mine.
 
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coolguy14788

Active Member
hello everyone have been busy here are some pics of the soil i am doing now looking great at 4 weeks slight yellowing. also havnt decided what to do yet first off doing one plant will not work i want to harvest every 2 months and one plant will need to veg and blah blah blah i need to use the SOG method as i have a tiny mother chamber 1.5'x17.5"x17.5" thats tiny but big enough for bonsai mothers like i have so i know one plant better but i need no veg time maybe a week in a bubble cloner thats it though no more so let the ideas fly! also will flower my mothers when they are done providing me with clones and i start new momma, prob will put two of them in 3 gal containers and flower with no time to recover from transplant to flower so will do just a 2 plant flower they are lst for height reasons already so multiple tops are there
 
FilthyFletch

FilthyFletch

Mr I Can Do That For Half
Not really enough bubbles. You want th entire surface of the water splashing and bubbling. A good full rolling bubble like boiling water not just a few bubbles.
 
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