Is hydro that much Better than soil? Wanting the big yield in small numbers

m420p

Well-Known Member
"System depending"....there goes those magic words again....and the cost of one of those ebb & gro systems do not outweigh the benefits.

Shit happens.

  • A flood tray shouldn't leak..but it can overflow if the overflow drain or tube gets clogged.
  • All it takes is a pump, switch or timer to fail, and you'll have a mess on your hands.
  • Just because hydro is automatic doesn't mean that it's any easier or "worry-free" - you can still have multiple things go wrong...and there is a lot more that can go wrong in hydro than in soil.
  • Missing a feeding in soil OR hydro can be devastating. But mixing nutes in a bucket and hand-feeding is idiot-proof. It doesn't get much easier than that.

If hydro was so easy, then you would see n00b's jumping right in and doing well..but the fact that so many people start off in soil proves that soil is the absolute easiest way to grow.

So to answer the question of the thread - is hydro better than soil?

Outdoors - NO!
Indoors - That depends on which hydro system you grow with.
I just want to add something, I see you guys have been discussing leaks. Well I started in the attic so that was my number one concern. I'm not trying to start another research and experience argument again but I did the research on systems and created(not saying there aren't any like it out there) a rather simple RDWC system that the only way it could leak is if the flexible tubing coming from my pump was cut or I had a blockage and overflow in my buckets but is VERY highly improbable since it would have to plug not one but two of the 1 inch tubes at the same time on the same bucket. I will be making a Sannie's Jack Herer F7 journal in the journal section tmrw morning and I will have pics. of my system in case your interested. My point is that I spent under a hundred bucks on my system by making it myself so it doesn't take a lot of money to build a hydro system that prevents leaks.
 

doniawon

Well-Known Member
I just want to add something, I see you guys have been discussing leaks. Well I started in the attic so that was my number one concern. I'm not trying to start another research and experience argument again but I did the research on systems and created(not saying there aren't any like it out there) a rather simple RDWC system that the only way it could leak is if the flexible tubing coming from my pump was cut or I had a blockage and overflow in my buckets but is VERY highly improbable since it would have to plug not one but two of the 1 inch tubes at the same time on the same bucket. I will be making a Sannie's Jack Herer F7 journal in the journal section tmrw morning and I will have pics. of my system in case your interested. My point is that I spent under a hundred bucks on my system by making it myself so it doesn't take a lot of money to build a hydro system that prevents leaks.
Lol im grown the f7 jack too. Love it
 

m420p

Well-Known Member
Meh, unless you mix your own soil or use soil with nutes already in it you still should do a ppm check on your nute solution and regardless you should still ph it. With soil you have to tend to pests, deal with dirt and overwatering or underwatering, water them every few days, and have a much harder time fixing mistakes. With Hydro, with my system down the way it is, I only have to step in my room once a week to add water, nutes, adjust ph, and breath on them a bit... Can't do that with Soil... So starting in hydro with the wrong system(which would be your own darn mistake for not RESEARCHING different systems), yes you probably will be in your room more than starting in soil but that is a probably... but when you know what your doing, no offense, you'll be in a soil room twice as much as you would be in a hydro room...
 

Canibitual

Well-Known Member
http://www.greenhouseseeds.nl/shop/big-bang-grow-video-2011-hd.html

awesome side by side of hydro vs soil. Spare yourself 13 mins, hydro is the way to go imo. Yes its more expensive but your harvest will make up for all the expenses and then some.
That's not "soil vs hydro", that's "organic soil vs hydro"

it's a crappy test based on the fact that the clone they put in hydro was 2x the size of the other one right from the start... if you watch the video again you'll notice it...

a decent soil mix with a good nutrient mix (same as hydro) will do almost the same...

to be clear.... I'm not knocking hydro... I just think the differences are being way over exaggerated...
 

Spittn4cash

Well-Known Member
Meh, unless you mix your own soil or use soil with nutes already in it you still should do a ppm check on your nute solution and regardless you should still ph it. With soil you have to tend to pests, deal with dirt and overwatering or underwatering, water them every few days, and have a much harder time fixing mistakes. With Hydro, with my system down the way it is, I only have to step in my room once a week to add water, nutes, adjust ph, and breath on them a bit... Can't do that with Soil... So starting in hydro with the wrong system(which would be your own darn mistake for not RESEARCHING different systems), yes you probably will be in your room more than starting in soil but that is a probably... but when you know what your doing, no offense, you'll be in a soil room twice as much as you would be in a hydro room...
Most growers mix their own soil..they make their own mix either for aeration purposes, or for organic nutrients. And it's not always necessary to pH your water or check ppm before feeding, if you have buffers and organics in your soil.

You can still overwater and underwater in hydro, and you may still have a hard time fixing plant issues in hydro. It's not a 'piece of cake' like you make it out to be. Lol.

How could "researching different systems" prevent the spread of airborne and waterborne pathogens in my reservoir? It can happen in literally any hydro system. Even professional growers can have a pythium infection, and it's not nearly as easy to resolve as you make it out to be.
 

Domed

New Member
Hydroponic grow set ups yeild larger amounts by around 10-15% ( My estimation, if done properly ). But they will not be AS potent as the strain an get because the longer the plant takes to grow, the more THC it will produce.

There's a video on YT about this, just type in Soil VS Hydroonics.
 

m420p

Well-Known Member
Most growers mix their own soil..they make their own mix either for aeration purposes, or for organic nutrients. And it's not always necessary to pH your water or check ppm before feeding, if you have buffers and organics in your soil.

You can still overwater and underwater in hydro, and you may still have a hard time fixing plant issues in hydro. It's not a 'piece of cake' like you make it out to be. Lol.

How could "researching different systems" prevent the spread of airborne and waterborne pathogens in my reservoir? It can happen in literally any hydro system. Even professional growers can have a pythium infection, and it's not nearly as easy to resolve as you make it out to be.
What I wrote did not pertain to the spread of airborne and waterborne pathogens, mainly because in the two years I've grown hydro I haven't had either one. You guys were discussion leaks, that's why i got back in on the convo. And please explain to me how I can "Overwater" in hydro especially in a RDWC, my roots sit in solution two inches from the net pot CONSTANTLY at that level. The only way I could "underwater" is if I didn't add water for 2 weeks and that would just be pure laziness. It is cake to me... once a week and only adding water, nutes, ph my solution and say hello the the ladies. I change out solution completely twice, raise my light periodically, and idk twiddle my thumbs(lol, just kidding, pertaining to the cake comment)Of course I go in there more than once a week, Most the time I do it just to stare at them...
 

Samwell Seed Well

Well-Known Member
so is amended soil and potting soil

but in the end the transfer of nutrients is the same

and DWC and hydro are not different

a manual stick shift drives differnt then automatic but its still a car or truck or van . . .splitting hairs on definition is counter productive to learning
 

Spittn4cash

Well-Known Member
What I wrote did not pertain to the spread of airborne and waterborne pathogens, mainly because in the two years I've grown hydro I haven't had either one. You guys were discussion leaks, that's why i got back in on the convo. And please explain to me how I can "Overwater" in hydro especially in a RDWC, my roots sit in solution two inches from the net pot CONSTANTLY at that level. The only way I could "underwater" is if I didn't add water for 2 weeks and that would just be pure laziness. It is cake to me... once a week and only adding water, nutes, ph my solution and say hello the the ladies. I change out solution completely twice, raise my light periodically, and idk twiddle my thumbs(lol, just kidding, pertaining to the cake comment)Of course I go in there more than once a week, Most the time I do it just to stare at them...
Over watering is when the roots are deprived of oxygen, no?

What if your water temps rise? What if the humidity in your bucket rises? What if the roots get stressed/stunted/damaged or begin to rot? All of these situations will deprive the plant's roots of oxygen.
 

m420p

Well-Known Member
so is amended soil and potting soil

but in the end the transfer of nutrients is the same

and DWC and hydro are not different

a manual stick shift drives differnt then automatic but its still a car or truck or van . . .splitting hairs on definition is counter productive to learning
Ya, last I knew DWC is a classic hydro system... even if he was splitting hairs I don't see the purpose, how would that help his point at all. Your getting off subject here...
 

doniawon

Well-Known Member
Over watering is when the roots are deprived of oxygen, no?

What if your water temps rise? What if the humidity in your bucket rises? What if the roots get stressed/stunted/damaged or begin to rot? All of these situations will deprive the plant's roots of oxygen.
A lot more variables in dwc. And aero
 

Samwell Seed Well

Well-Known Member
to me its all the same, clean water, stable nutrients, clean rez/bucket/tube, 64-68 degree water, black lines and light restrictiveness tops, hydroton in net pots,

the few differences is one has roots submerged 100% of the time, one floods, one is being sprayed by a mist . but the transfer of nutrients across teh rhizo zone is the seam, water based soluble nutrient transfer through chelated nutrients, if you incorporate organic components in a water system all you asking is for more work

as foliage spray is just as efficient , and if im not mistaken , its more efficient
 

m420p

Well-Known Member
Over watering is when the roots are deprived of oxygen, no?

What if your water temps rise? What if the humidity in your bucket rises? What if the roots get stressed/stunted/damaged or begin to rot? All of these situations will deprive the plant's roots of oxygen.
Now your splitting hairs, Supplying too much oxygen to the H2O is not "Overwatering" which is what we were talking about, it's over oxygenating, remember water has 2 hydrogen atoms as well. I feel like your reaching now...

You can have any these problems and more including soil pests which you can't get in hydro in soil and YES it is much easier to fix in hydro no matter how you put it...
 

Samwell Seed Well

Well-Known Member
Ya, last I knew DWC is a classic hydro system... even if he was splitting hairs I don't see the purpose, how would that help his point at all. Your getting off subject here...
because the name of the game is not important

style of transfer of nutrients is key to learning how to master your set up and not fuck it all up

if you can see that all hydro is similar where it counts and to disregard that is to give excuses to not learning hwo to be better

how can we have a discussion that is on topic when arbitrary excuses of styles are the topic of discussion, splittign hairs only confuses the issue
 

doniawon

Well-Known Member
to me its all the same, clean water, stable nutrients, clean rez/bucket/tube, 64-68 degree water, black lines and light restrictiveness tops, hydroton in net pots,

the few differences is one has roots submerged 100% of the time, one floods, one is being sprayed by a mist . but the transfer of nutrients across teh rhizo zone is the seam, water based soluble nutrient transfer through chelated nutrients, if you incorporate organic components in a water system all you asking is for more work

How bout flood times, res temps, water depths, root zone sannies, light leaks, bacteria good and bad slime...etc.. each system is different
 

Samwell Seed Well

Well-Known Member
same temps to stop water born pathogens

depth has nothing to do with nutrient absorption, beanies in hydro the same for all tech

light leaks . .always a no no no matte what tech

and bacteria again all hydro worries about this

can you clue me into what you think is different about any of these from technique to tech

the trasnfer of macro micro nutrients is the same . . . . how you get there is unique to the style

if the end result your working toward is efficient nutrient absorption everything else is just conditional enviromental

some things are general some things are specific

nothing being discussed here is specific to one style of hydro styles
 
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