hydro setup questions

Hi again! So got some questions about a hydro setup... Im thinking my first grow will be a hydro one. I know how the basic hydro works, but then I read on the threads like "the plants don't like wet feet" and "dont soke the roots" but a hydro system got the roots emerged in water at all times? this got me a little confused. Allso how often should the water pump run to change the water in the pipes? And lastly when do I know the plants have finished the nutrients in water and its time to change the resovoir? Thanks guys!

Hydro is not constantly submerged unless you are using DWC. Most others flood to keep roots/medium damp.

all hydro systems are different and you can use all sorts of mediums.
choose a system...ebb and flow, ebb and grow, deep water culture, aeroponics
choose a medium...rockwool, coco, hydroton.

I'd suggest getting a small tray (4'x4') and putting a light (400w sodium minimum, 600/1000 better) and using 1-2 gallon mesh bottom pots filled with hydroton, add as many pots as your medical marijuana states laws allow. This is called EBB and FLOW. You would flood these about once for 15 min every about every 2-4 hours. If you use rockwool, you would flood less often. Change the reservoir about once every week. This is probably the easiest system to maintain for a beginner. Do a lot of reading before you attempt to set up.....ventilation, ph, nutrient ppm, as well as specific info to the system you are attempting to set up. An easy hydro nutrient mix is called Lucas formula, GH brand nutes at 8ml micro/16ml bloom per gallon the whole way from start to finish. Feed 1/4 strength to start and work up to full.

I agree alot with what samchesser said, however I think you should start with soil. Im a hydro guy that should have started with soil. Your going to spend a lot of money with hydro and from the looks of it have very little understanding of growing in general. I could be wrong and by no means trying to slam you. Just my 2 cents. Soil first until u have an understanding about how ph ppm deficiencies disease etc works. Read. Hang out here and read.

Soil is probably the best, that was just if you were set on doing hydro. That system above would probably run you 1k-1500 for everything...... lights, carbon filters, ducting, inline fans, trays etc. You can get some good soil, like foxfarm or mix it 50/50 with perlite. Grow out of 5 gal buckets and you'll turn out some good plants. The difference maker is the HPS light, not the hydro. Once you get everything set a few rounds, you can switch up to hydro so it can all be put on timers.

I started with soil glad I did, DWC and Hydro is a bit advanced.

Well I'm a pretty good builder so building this system I attached a photo of is no problem.. But this system should have the water at the level shown at all times?
thanks guys!

Cool system, looks like that would work better to flood to that level and drain. You keep it there and have air stones like a dwc?

rickyh said:

Well I'm a pretty good builder so building this system I attached a photo of is no problem.. But this system should have the water at the level shown at all times?
thanks guys!

Click to expand...

You must be an aquarium guy? The pic reminds me of a system I built once for a custom turtle setup with waterfalls and stuff. Im on my first grow and hydro seemed easier for me than dirt. But I did do a ton of research and asked even more questions about the things I did not understand m8.

Actully this picture is not my drawing but its what i will be building... so what you guys think, shouldn't the water be present at all times?

You would have to oxygenate the water somehow if you were gonna keep it stagnant underneath. You'd get root rot with no air stones or a constant addition of H2O2. I saw a system like that at a university where they had the water constantly flowing and that kept it oxygenated. It was a hybrid of aeroponics but it had water constantly flowing across the roots rather than a mister.

I ran that type of setup in a virticle "drainpipe" system but without the "misters". It was a lot of work, constant blockages from roots clogging up the thing, I ran it for one grow then ditched it.
If you are new to growing and want to learn about hydro, the easiest is DWC, it also happens to have incredible results, proven to be better than soil.
Hydro doesnt have to be complicated or expensive. A basic 5gal DWC setup will cost no more than £20 ($30) for the air pump, bucket & air stone. By comparison, a soil setup will be slightly cheaper for a bucket, soil & perlite but the results will not be as good if everything else is the same, lighting, ventilation etc.
The best advice I could give someone wishing to go hydro would be to keep it simple.
Peace W

well the the pipe would be slightly sloped so the water is constantly flowing from one end to the drain at the other end... no airstones though

I think if you have it flow constantly you'll be ok, I'd do a test run first before you invest too many plants in it though. I didn't notice the spray on the top, that'll mix the top up and add O2. Where does that drain lead to? A reservoir and a pump thats constantly on? Thats where you'd put a huge airstone. Saturate that mix before you pump it back in. can never have two much O2 in the mix. The system will also work better with colder solution obviously because colder water holds more O2. looks pretty sick, start a new thread up and post a link when you start building it out. love to see some pics. From what I read in that UC study, this type of system tops aeroponics in yields. Basically like a full dwc system, roots will go nuts. Your pipes are gonna have to be really wide.

rickyh said:

Hi again! So got some questions about a hydro setup... Im thinking my first grow will be a hydro one. I know how the basic hydro works, but then I read on the threads like "the plants don't like wet feet" and "dont soke the roots" but a hydro system got the roots emerged in water at all times? this got me a little confused. Allso how often should the water pump run to change the water in the pipes? And lastly when do I know the plants have finished the nutrients in water and its time to change the resovoir? Thanks guys!

Click to expand...

I wish I could try a hydro setup but I don't have the coin for it. I just put a seed in a pot water it and watch it grow. You all make this into something that is waaaaay to complicated. In the old days we used to just get a handful of seeds turn the soil a little and throw the seeds. Any way here is an outdoor grow done very simply by putting the seed into the pot and watering it once in a while PS had to cut the top off as it was growing over the fence. Of course all the males are removed and it is good quality sinsemilla homegrown.
View attachment 1714946

Once you have it set up, hydro is actually easy. Just change the water weekly. Everything is on timers. If you're growing indoor, its much easier than watering individual plants by hand..... and its clean. Its no different than putting a drip system on your soil, hydro just irrigates from the bottom up...generally.
If you wanna try for cheap, buy a DWC bucket online for 40 bucks (complete with everything)...figure out how they work and then build your own for half price. Put a good light on top of it and you'll get 2-3 oz a bucket. Cheaper to build a ebb and flow tray if you want large square footage but with the dwc, you can start with only one for forty bucks.