Apologies if this has been covered.
I'm looking at moving to a hydro setup of some kind due to a losing battle with gnats.
@driver77 recommended the Aircube system. It looks really nice;
AirCube Active Air Ebb and Flow Hydroponic Systems are the best soilless way to grow huge plants, flowers, and fruit indoors. They offer industry-leading features like the largest grow pots in its class, air pruning capabilities and more. Plus, they're fully scalable and compatible with any grow...
growace.com
I'm also considering the Vivosun DWC bucket system;
Complete DWC Hydroponic Kit:This hydroponics kit contains 8x 5-gallon PP plant buckets; 8x 8-inch baskets; 8x drip irrigation sets; 1x air pump; 8x air flow regulators; 12m air tubes ; 8x air stones; 1x divider; 8x clay pebbles packs; 8x visual water level indicators; 16x inline check valve; 1x...
vivosun.com
Those of you that are doing hydro, how do you start seeds? Do you start them in the buckets with peat plugs or rockwool cubes? Or, do you start them in in a tray with peat plugs are seed starting soil?
I'm trying not to use anything with organic material that could cause another infestation.
Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks!
I use Rapid Rooters in a grow dome and I've had excellent results with that approach.
My preference would be for RDWC, as is the GrowAce, but not with only a 5 gallon bucket for the plants.
RE. the GrowAce - no hands on experience and, after a quick review, the 5 gallons pots are a non-starter for me. I've been growing in a 2' x 4' tent with a res res that holds 28 gallons of nutrient solution and there are a lot of advantages to having a large volume of nutrient solution. It takes some time to swap a res but I only swap a res three or four times over the course of a 110 day grow.
A 5 gallon res hold, at most, 4 gallons and, as the plant grows and grows more roots, that 4 gallons will drop even more. That's OK in seedling and in veg but, as the plant matures, it will start taking up a lot of water, say a gallon per day. If you've got 4 buckets and have to refill them every day, as well as adjust pH and EC, that's a fair amount of work. Going to an RDWC system, where you adjust pH and EC in just the external res, you're only adjusting water in the res and, because there's a large mass of water, pH and EC will tend to be more stable.
One issue to watch out for in inexpensive RWDC systems is that the return line is very small, say 1", and will tend to clog with roots. The PA Hydro and Current systems use s 2" (or 3") return line to avoid that issue. To my way of thinking, I would not look to save $$ on this part of the grow setup. There are lots of vendors of small bucket systems and they're all very similar. When you move to an RDWC system, they're more expensive because they're systems that are designed rather than pieces that are put together as a "kit".
ve to a larger res, plant size increases dramatically.
I'd go with a setup from PA Hydro which uses 8 gallon or 13 gallon buckets. If you've got money to burn, Current Culture makes higher end equipment. This seller has
a gizmo to give more space to roots in a 5 gallon bucket system.
@curious2garden
it a little with some action.
now why would you go an buy a system, maybe the cops keep an eye on that place...or maybe he keeps a list ? even if you pay with cash...do you think he has a pen handy to write down your plate number? hmm i love the hardware store, plus you look prof. buying there too
