Aeroponic / hydro help please! +rep and me loving u long time!

socom3riot

socom3riot

Well-Known Member
Hey people. I probably coulda found all these answers, but my search button doesnt seem to work on the site, I get a database error.
Anyways heres the questions.

1- For the reservoir in a system , if the roots happen to go into the water(i guess this would be more aeroponic, but anyways..) if they happen to go into the water and the water is aerated with air stones, is it ok for the roots to just sit in the water? it wont down them?

2- When u place a mesh pot with hydroton medium in ur aeropnics system at the beginning of the grow, do u place the bottom of the mesh basket directly in the water? And what about as the plant gets older, keep the mesh basket submerged?

3- this kinda goes with the first 2 questions.. but if u have smaller pots, and TONS of roots grow out of the basket and just sit in the water, is it ok to leave that mass amount of root laying in the water if its aerated? (kinda like the first question, but those are really my major concerns.)

4- can u use 1 air pump to "T" off to several (say 6) different systems? if so, what size air pump should be used? (I seen one at walmart, think it was a 20 gallon air pump or w/e for fish tank, would that be sufficient to run like 6 airstones off for 6 different buckets?)

5- how many airstones are recommended to be used in a reservoir thats close to 5 gallons? (I plan on doing individual ones for each plant, / 5 gallon bucket for the res with the mesh basket sittin on top of the bucket OR 3 gallon bucket sittin inside the 5 gallon one, holes drilled in the 3 gallon.)
 
pelzroo

pelzroo

Well-Known Member
1- For the reservoir in a system , if the roots happen to go into the water(i guess this would be more aeroponic, but anyways..) if they happen to go into the water and the water is aerated with air stones, is it ok for the roots to just sit in the water? it wont down them?
-Yes it is, if there is air coming into the water, the roots can chill there indefinitely. They love it and soak up water and food.

2- When u place a mesh pot with hydroton medium in ur aeropnics system at the beginning of the grow, do u place the bottom of the mesh basket directly in the water? And what about as the plant gets older, keep the mesh basket submerged?

no, place the water line just below the net pot so the bubbles popping on the surface hit the net pot moisturizing the hydroton. Once roots hang into the water you can gradually lower the water level allowing some parts of the roots the hang in the air in between



3- this kinda goes with the first 2 questions.. but if u have smaller pots, and TONS of roots grow out of the basket and just sit in the water, is it ok to leave that mass amount of root laying in the water if its aerated? (kinda like the first question, but those are really my major concerns.)
yep it is fine, as log as there is air, no air roots drown, plants die
4- can u use 1 air pump to "T" off to several (say 6) different systems? if so, what size air pump should be used? (I seen one at walmart, think it was a 20 gallon air pump or w/e for fish tank, would that be sufficient to run like 6 airstones off for 6 different buckets?)

It will bubble, but I'd say you need more air than that. splitting multiple buckets on one pump is fine as long as you produce enough bubble action, the more air the better.

- how many airstones are recommended to be used in a reservoir thats close to 5 gallons? (I plan on doing individual ones for each plant, / 5 gallon bucket for the res with the mesh basket sittin on top of the bucket OR 3 gallon bucket sittin inside the 5 gallon one, holes drilled in the 3 gallon.)
eleventeen, stones each. You can get away with one stone and splitting 6 buckets off one pump, but you won't get the results you'd get with 2 stones per bucket and 2 buckets per pump. The more air the better. It is a good idea to have 2 stones in each bucket working off separate pumps so when one pump craps out the plant will still get some air.
 

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socom3riot

socom3riot

Well-Known Member
my computer crapped out on me and isnt reading my wireless, i had to drive to my bros house just to read this lol..

couple more questions.
-How many airstones do u have in that rubbermaid. And how many inches are the air stones (the size or w/e). (I seen some airstones at walmart that were tiny little balls, seen some that were like a long triangle about 14" and some around 21"/ also how often should these be replaced.
-how many full grown plants do u fit in one of those rubbermaids? I was thinking of 2 per rubbermaid.
-What size of rubbermaid bucket is that.
- How the heck do u change the water in there? Is it a 2 person job? lol

oh and +rep for the good answers to my many questions :)
 
socom3riot

socom3riot

Well-Known Member
socom3riot said:
my computer crapped out on me and isnt reading my wireless, i had to drive to my bros house just to read this lol..

couple more questions.
-How many airstones do u have in that rubbermaid. And how many inches are the air stones (the size or w/e). (I seen some airstones at walmart that were tiny little balls, seen some that were like a long triangle about 14" and some around 21"/ also how often should these be replaced.
-how many full grown plants do u fit in one of those rubbermaids? I was thinking of 2 per rubbermaid.
-What size of rubbermaid bucket is that.
- How the heck do u change the water in there? Is it a 2 person job? lol

oh and +rep for the good answers to my many questions :)
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anyone able to answer these since he didnt come back ? lol
 
pelzroo

pelzroo

Well-Known Member
socom3riot said:
my computer crapped out on me and isnt reading my wireless, i had to drive to my bros house just to read this lol..

couple more questions.
-How many airstones do u have in that rubbermaid. And how many inches are the air stones (the size or w/e). (I seen some airstones at walmart that were tiny little balls, seen some that were like a long triangle about 14" and some around 21"/ also how often should these be replaced.

-how many full grown plants do u fit in one of those rubbermaids? I was thinking of 2 per rubbermaid.
-What size of rubbermaid bucket is that.
- How the heck do u change the water in there? Is it a 2 person job? lol
1-That bucket has 2 12" airstones, the long triangle kind you mentioned. They should be replaced as soon as the bubble action starts to decrease or isolates to only one spot. They are only $2 a piece so have plenty on hand to replace the second you have doubts about a particular stone. Some nutrients leave more clogging gunk than others
2- that sized bucket I would put no more than two plants to flower, I usually use 1 plant per 18 or 24 gallon tote, 1-2 for bigger totes. The more plants the more crowded the roots get, the less they produce.
3- that is a 28 gallon tote I use in my veg box
4- I use an external inline pump to pull the water out every 2 weeks when i switch my water out. Is can be done solo. I design my buckets to allow me ti take off the lid, or turn it to access the water, without pulling out the stones. I have also straight siphoned the water out when my pump was broken, a bit messier but just as effective and all you need is a hose. Hope this helps, I'd be happy to try to answer any other questions if I can
cheers
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socom3riot

socom3riot

Well-Known Member
pelzroo said:
socom3riot said:
my computer crapped out on me and isnt reading my wireless, i had to drive to my bros house just to read this lol..

couple more questions.
-How many airstones do u have in that rubbermaid. And how many inches are the air stones (the size or w/e). (I seen some airstones at walmart that were tiny little balls, seen some that were like a long triangle about 14" and some around 21"/ also how often should these be replaced.

-how many full grown plants do u fit in one of those rubbermaids? I was thinking of 2 per rubbermaid.
-What size of rubbermaid bucket is that.
- How the heck do u change the water in there? Is it a 2 person job? lol
1-That bucket has 2 12" airstones, the long triangle kind you mentioned. They should be replaced as soon as the bubble action starts to decrease or isolates to only one spot. They are only $2 a piece so have plenty on hand to replace the second you have doubts about a particular stone. Some nutrients leave more clogging gunk than others
2- that sized bucket I would put no more than two plants to flower, I usually use 1 plant per 18 or 24 gallon tote, 1-2 for bigger totes. The more plants the more crowded the roots get, the less they produce.
3- that is a 28 gallon tote I use in my veg box
4- I use an external inline pump to pull the water out every 2 weeks when i switch my water out. Is can be done solo. I design my buckets to allow me ti take off the lid, or turn it to access the water, without pulling out the stones. I have also straight siphoned the water out when my pump was broken, a bit messier but just as effective and all you need is a hose. Hope this helps, I'd be happy to try to answer any other questions if I can
cheers
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thanks dude, u helped alot, id give u more rep but I cant it wont let me lol.

so u siphoned it out before? thatd suck to get some in ur mouth lolll.

what are those tubes for around ur plants? Co2 ?

oh and, what size/rating are those air pumps u have on the floor there (i imagine thats what they are in the first pic?)
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lagwag

lagwag

Active Member
awesome post dudes. i just finished an 18 gallon aeroponic tote that has 5 sprayers and a 264 gph pump with a 4' air diffuser. i'm gonna try 2 plants. can't wait to try it out. good luck to all.
 
socom3riot

socom3riot

Well-Known Member
How much did you guys pay for those rubbermaid totes ? I was looking online, they arent seriously 130 bux are they lol
 
pelzroo

pelzroo

Well-Known Member
8-13 bucks, I've been getting 18 gal black ones from home depot for 3.50, you cant beat that.
 
socom3riot

socom3riot

Well-Known Member
pelzroo said:
8-13 bucks, I've been getting 18 gal black ones from home depot for 3.50, you cant beat that.
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ya u def cant lol. Just checked walmart, they're like 7 bux for the 18 gallon ones, I dunno which ones I was looking at before, but for 130 bux, they musta been made out of gold.

Think I can fit 2 plants in the 18 gallon ones?

Also , I was thinking of buying a couple extra, so that when it comes time to clean the reservoir, I can simply fill the replacement one with new clean stuff, take out the old one, and put the new one in right away.. then just clean the old one and do the same with that later on.
 
pelzroo

pelzroo

Well-Known Member
you can do 2 in 18gal, but you will probably want to do some bending to minimize crowding. Once your roots get insane it will be tough to switch buckets as the roots grow around the air stones and hose. That is also why I stopped using mister systems in the flower room after all the spray heads and pump were completely penetrated by root growth and rendered useless. I Use a little h2o2 every couple of weeks to take care of anything funky that may be brewing inside my buckets.
 

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socom3riot

socom3riot

Well-Known Member
pelzroo said:
you can do 2 in 18gal, but you will probably want to do some bending to minimize crowding. Once your roots get insane it will be tough to switch buckets as the roots grow around the air stones and hose. That is also why I stopped using mister systems in the flower room after all the spray heads and pump were completely penetrated by root growth and rendered useless. I Use a little h2o2 every couple of weeks to take care of anything funky that may be brewing inside my buckets.
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damn thats alot of root..

I noticed ur using pretty small pots, so with this system u dnt really need huge pots because the roots r just gonna be down in the tub anyway right?

the h2o2 doesnt hurt the plants at all right
 
L

LimPShoT

Well-Known Member
I got a 33 Gallon Stearlite tub at a place called the container store for $25 or you can see if there is a storables store near you.
 
socom3riot

socom3riot

Well-Known Member
socom3riot said:
damn thats alot of root..

I noticed ur using pretty small pots, so with this system u dnt really need huge pots because the roots r just gonna be down in the tub anyway right?

the h2o2 doesnt hurt the plants at all right
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wanted to add something to this, forgot to ask.. where do u get the h2o2? hydroponics stores sell it? or?
 
jhershner11

jhershner11

Active Member
socom3riot....what you are doing is actually a dwc (deep water culture) system. not aeroponic. Go to a hydro store and pick up a high flow air pump. they will hook you up if you ask what to buy.Then get a gang valve to run multiple lines to your buckets. THE MORE AIR THE BETTER! you cannot overdo your air supply, but not enough will cause week plants and poor yeilds. don't cut corners on the air pump!
 
socom3riot

socom3riot

Well-Known Member
srry i keep thinking of more questions lol... ok so besides the stuff below...

-How do you start off seeds in this type of setup?


-I noticed ur using pretty small pots, so with this system u dnt really need huge pots because the roots r just gonna be down in the tub anyway right?

-the h2o2 doesnt hurt the plants at all right?

-wanted to add something to this, forgot to ask.. where do u get the h2o2? hydroponics stores sell it? or?

oh and how loud are those air pumps ur using?
 
socom3riot

socom3riot

Well-Known Member
jhershner11 said:
socom3riot....what you are doing is actually a dwc (deep water culture) system. not aeroponic. Go to a hydro store and pick up a high flow air pump. they will hook you up if you ask what to buy.Then get a gang valve to run multiple lines to your buckets. THE MORE AIR THE BETTER! you cannot overdo your air supply, but not enough will cause week plants and poor yeilds. don't cut corners on the air pump!
Click to expand...
ah ok.

Ya I plan on gettin a good pump for 2 totes. Prolly one like hes got, they're like $100 bux but worth it id imagine.
 
pelzroo

pelzroo

Well-Known Member
Yes large cups aren't necessary because all the action is below cup line
H2O2 can fuck up the plants if you use too much. get 35% at the hydro store and dilute it to 3% instead of buying 3% at walgreens. be careful it burns your skin when undiluted
The pumps do hum a bit, if you place them on a surface that can absorb some vibration the noise goes down.
I never fuck with seeds, or haven't had to for years, clones only. I'm not sure how you'd want to start em I'm sure somebody here knows how to though.
 
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