Just a few unanswered questions before I start my first grow!

endofwed

endofwed

Active Member
Hello!

I was wondering if you could help me answer a few more questions before I start my first micro 1 gallon bubbleponics systems. I've tried googling for the answers, but I can't seem to find them. (and if it helps, i will be growing the short rider strain)

1) when germinating the seed, will I need to use pH adjusted water to wet the paper towel, or will regular tap water be fine?
2) whats a better method of germinating, seeds between paper towels on a plate with a bowl over it... or seeds in paper towels in a zip lock bag (closed or open?) placed over my internet modem which warms up the seeds
3) I currently have a 3 inch net pot and im realizing if I put the 1.5" rockwool cube in it, I will only be able to place a few hydroton rocks on the bottom, and barely any one the sides since there isnt enough room. Will this be a problem?
4) Is it safe if the water level inside the bucket touches the netpot? or will It become acceptable to root rot? This aspect of the bubbleponic system really confuses me since if the water isnt* suppose to touch the bottom of the net pot, I'm suppose to expect the roots to just jump from the netpot all the way to the water? If the roots havnt reached the water yet, should I water the rockwool cube?
5) In the CFL thread, they said how 5000-6500K should be used for vegetation. WHats more ideal, buying only 6500K light bulbs, or buying only 5000K.
6) same as question 5, but for flowering. Should I only get 3000K light bulbs, or 2700k?
7) If i remember corretly, Roseman mentioned how even in the plants flowering stage (red) , I should still use some blue lights. Anyone know anymore information about this?
8 ) For this 1 gallon bucket, (which will probably only hold 7/10's of a gallon of water, how often do you think I'll need to change the water and nutes?
9) When people talk about replacing their water every 5-7 days, are these the times when they add new nutes as well? I never add nutes unless I want to replace the water?


ARGGG when I was writing this, I only had the intention of asking 3-4 questions but all these new questions began to form. Im sorry!



 
wyteberrywidow

wyteberrywidow

Global
Not to be bashing or anything but google it all your answers are basic .I just dont feel like going down the line right now..But this is something you should know before you went out and got the system.
 
sixstring2112

sixstring2112

Well-Known Member
for 5,6,&7 i like the 65k for veg and 27k for flower and a mix is always good. in flower i would go with a mix of 1 blue bulb for every 3 bulbs so 2- 2700 and 1- 6500. good luck.
 
Flo Grow

Flo Grow

Well-Known Member
endofwed said:
Hello!

I was wondering if you could help me answer a few more questions before I start my first micro 1 gallon bubbleponics systems. I've tried googling for the answers, but I can't seem to find them. (and if it helps, i will be growing the short rider strain)

1) when germinating the seed, will I need to use pH adjusted water to wet the paper towel, or will regular tap water be fine?
2) whats a better method of germinating, seeds between paper towels on a plate with a bowl over it... or seeds in paper towels in a zip lock bag (closed or open?) placed over my internet modem which warms up the seeds
3) I currently have a 3 inch net pot and im realizing if I put the 1.5" rockwool cube in it, I will only be able to place a few hydroton rocks on the bottom, and barely any one the sides since there isnt enough room. Will this be a problem?
4) Is it safe if the water level inside the bucket touches the netpot? or will It become acceptable to root rot? This aspect of the bubbleponic system really confuses me since if the water isnt* suppose to touch the bottom of the net pot, I'm suppose to expect the roots to just jump from the netpot all the way to the water? If the roots havnt reached the water yet, should I water the rockwool cube?
5) In the CFL thread, they said how 5000-6500K should be used for vegetation. WHats more ideal, buying only 6500K light bulbs, or buying only 5000K.
6) same as question 5, but for flowering. Should I only get 3000K light bulbs, or 2700k?
7) If i remember corretly, Roseman mentioned how even in the plants flowering stage (red) , I should still use some blue lights. Anyone know anymore information about this?
8 ) For this 1 gallon bucket, (which will probably only hold 7/10's of a gallon of water, how often do you think I'll need to change the water and nutes?
9) When people talk about replacing their water every 5-7 days, are these the times when they add new nutes as well? I never add nutes unless I want to replace the water?


ARGGG when I was writing this, I only had the intention of asking 3-4 questions but all these new questions began to form. Im sorry!



Click to expand...
1 & 2) Pre-soak seed for 24hrs in ph'd water. Opinions WILL vary, but it's always worked for me. Then into damp, not dripping, paper towels until tap roots show. I place my towels in a shallow dish and barely covered. Don't want it to dry out too fast, but still want natural air flow. Sit somewhere dark and warm. No direct light.

3 & 4) Forget rockwool plugs. Too many probs with ph adjusting and they cause ph issues later too. Get rooter plugs/rapid rooters. Made from coco coir. Wet the plugs with ph'd water, wring out excess water and place seeds in with tap root down. Just deep enough to barely cover the seed. If you still see it, that's fine too. I flip the plugs over and use the BOTTOM as the top because the actual base is narrower than the actual top (you'll see). I use a pencil to poke a hole in the plug for the seed. The same day I put seeds and tap roots into the plugs, I put the plugs into the net pots and hydroton. Fill bottom of 5" pot with 2" of hydroton, sit plug in center and fill in around it with more hydroton. Don't cover the top of the plug YET. Sit pots into water/nute solution of 50 -75 ppm's until all seedlings break the surface, then up the ppm's to 100 - 125. The bottom of the pots are under 0.5 - 1 inch of water for the first 7 - 10 days, then I raise it an inch above the water once I see a single root hanging from ANY ONE POT. The bubbles will keep the hydroton wet, which will wick up the water to the rooter plug and roots not yet showing. I use 5" pots instead of 3" pots for support. Hydro makes big harvest and those 3" pots will get to leaning. Notice my plugs are 3 inches deep into a 5 inch pot. All that hydroton around the stem and in my pot is anchor weight, not to mention the root sytem itself. JMHO.

5, 6, & 7) The Kelvin numbers are figures to be taken with a grain of salt. 500K is = to sunlight and it's PAR for the most part. 3K or less for Bloom and 5K or more for Veg. A mixed spectrum of both is even better but NOT NEEEDED. People veg and bloom with just an MH or HPS all the time with no probs. If you can afford a seperate Veg and Bloom light, then do it.

8 & 9) Get rid of the 1gal ! Go AT LEAST 3gal, but preferrably 5gal. When those girls hit the end of veg/beginning of bloom, they will drink half to all of that 1gal bucket you have if they are at least 28 days old. Plus, you'll have PH and PPM fluctuations all over the board. More water/solution = less fluctuaions = more stable conditions. Some ppl change weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or not at all once they hit bloom. It's up to you and what you see happening. Some ppl just replace used up water with fresh ph'd water, and when the ppm's drop they add more nute solution pre-adjusted to the correct ppm's and ph.
 
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