Starting seedling in hydro

Hello every1 n thnx in advance 4 n e help u can offer me. I am very new to growing. I am on my 3rd grow now all of which have been done in soil. I am getting ready 2 start my 4th n this 1 I want 2 try hydro.
So here is what I have: 1, a single general hydroponics water farm drip system. 2, clay pellets. 3, a white widow seedling grown in a rockwool plug.
My questions are as follow. What should my water ph be at? At what point do I start 2 add nutes? & most importantly what should my watering schedule b, how long does the drip need 2 b on n how long of an off cycle?

HellOnWheelz said:

Hello every1 n thnx in advance 4 n e help u can offer me. I am very new to growing. I am on my 3rd grow now all of which have been done in soil. I am getting ready 2 start my 4th n this 1 I want 2 try hydro.
So here is what I have: 1, a single general hydroponics water farm drip system. 2, clay pellets. 3, a white widow seedling grown in a rockwool plug.
My questions are as follow. What should my water ph be at? At what point do I start 2 add nutes? & most importantly what should my watering schedule b, how long does the drip need 2 b on n how long of an off cycle?

Click to expand...

Roseman's DIY Bubbleponics Tutorial - Marijuana Growing Post # 13 is all about pH.

You want to average 5.8 to 6.2 but 5.6 to 6.4 is OK too.

Add nutes, 1/4 dose, AFTER you see 4 leaves, not counting those first two round ones.

awsome, ty 4 that info. Can you please tell me what the drip on/off cycle should b?

I 've never done a drip, if no one else ansers you, i'll look it up in a book.

Unless your drip is a sophisticated one that can control flow precisely, you sort of have to calibrate it yourself. Load one of your netpots with hydroton and rockwool (or whatever, but no seed and start a drip on it. You want it damp but not wet and you have to develop a feel for that so you can tell - it's a little wetter or or it's dried since the last check. Then monitor it over a day or so. How wet is it right after being watered? How dry does it get in between? I would do this lights on to simulate actual grow conditions.

Now you know whether it is too wet. If you can control the drip, slow it up. Increase the intervals between watering, shorten the water flow times. You may get the cube overwatered and have to replace it rather than wait for it to dry to continue the test. But eventually you will get it dialed in so the cube is wet enough and not to wet. I'd suggest starting with about 2 min of drip every 6 hrs and go from there.

Much better you are doing this before there is a germed seed to worry about!

Hey Roseman n illegal smile, I sure do thank you 4 ur help. U guys make it alot easier on us newbs.

I have no experince with a DRIP, never used it and I thought the Ostrich was opposed to tubes, and pumps and had no exopericne with DRIP either. I've been told he will offer a lot of advise on what he has had NO experience with, like doing a GROW.. I have him on IGNORE so I don't have to read his mis-information.

I always grow with a ph of 5.5/6.0 and have never had any problems with any of my grows i generaly go with what ever greenhouse do.No one on this site can say that greenhouse don't know how to produce massive yeilds.But i just do the same but scale the grow down and flower alot smaller round about a ft in height.Growing hydro is def the way forward in the cannabis growing world but i still like to mix it up a little.I get all my seedlings going in the normal manner on papper towel.But once the seeds crack i put them into a wet cube i don't have the system running till the first leaves appear.Once the first leaves appear i put them into a nft system this gets the seedlings going alot faster than soil.But once the plants reach a ft i put them into large tubs in soil.The reason is personal choice i think soil grown weed taste better but that is just me.And i grow to smoke if i was growing to sell it would be hydro all the way.My plants are not where i live so less can go wrong in soil i just water once a week and leave the plants to do there own thing.

i also have a water farm and you made agreat choice, transfered one from soil to hydrofarm and know this bitch is in flowering gonna hope fully get a LB off just this one what you think.???dont forget to +REP this is what your in for ....and let it drip 24/7 ...thats what i do,, you need ot to keep the air moving under the clay rock s provides some type of airiationg when dropping back to resivoir ,,,eventually some roots will make it to the botttom of resicoir but you neeed to continnue to constantly feed roots in clay, okay be checking resivoir as once they get bigger they can sometimes dink 3/4 to a 1 gallon a day...hope you like!!and they are as follows, just transferred from soil 1st pic, over month growign in waterfarm2nd just before flowering 3rd and current flowering 4th pic enjoy..

Roseman said:

Roseman's DIY Bubbleponics Tutorial - Marijuana Growing Post # 13 is all about pH.

You want to average 5.8 to 6.2 but 5.6 to 6.4 is OK too.

Add nutes, 1/4 dose, AFTER you see 4 leaves, not counting those first two round ones.

Click to expand...

Hate to argue with you Roseman, but that's too high for hydro. you need the water to be PH'ed to 5.5-5.8. You'll get nute lock any higher or lower.

and not 1/4 dose in hydro, you set your res up accoding to the schedual on your nutes. use 1/4 strength that it calls to start your plants, and I would wait at least 3-4 weeks before nuting at all.

I feel weird correcting you Roseman.. but you may have meant in soil?

I water 3 times a day for 15 minutes. (6am, 2pm and 10pm) I usually ph my water right before watering if I can. I wouldn't suggest running a constant drip. I have no experience with it, so I may be entirely off on that, but I would assume it would make for a weaker root structure as the roots don't have to develope to search for sustanance.

Roseman said:

I have no experince with a DRIP, never used it and I thought the Ostrich was opposed to tubes, and pumps and had no exopericne with DRIP either. I've been told he will offer a lot of advise on what he has had NO experience with, like doing a GROW.. I have him on IGNORE so I don't have to read his mis-information.

Click to expand...

If roseman wants to take issue with the content of my post why doesn't he do that instead of this juvenile invective? And what is "bubbleponics" but drip from below using a pump in your res to fight gravity?

h8red1, That is the answer I was hopin for. awsome pics! how old is she? I am excited as hell now to get a grow in on this system. what nutes r u usin?

At this site, http://www.marijuanagrowing.com/dhtml/knowledgebase.php?faqid=16
Jorge Cervantes says in the 4th paragraph in GROWING MARIJUANA:

Unfortunately, common tap water often contains high levels of sodium, calcium, alkaline salts, sulfur and chlorine. The pH could also be out of the acceptable 6.5 to 7 range.

In the book MARIJUANA INDOORS, (that I have on my shelf) he (Cervantes) says :
When you keep the pH between 6.0 and 6.5 all the nutrients are available.

In the book GROW GREAT MARIJUANA by Logan Edwards, sitting on my shelf, yea, I collect growing marijuana books, and on page 124, he says:
the recommended pH range for cannabis in hydroponics is between 5.5 and 6.2.

In GROWING MARIJUANA HYDROPONICALLY by HANS, he says:
A pH of 6.3 is ideal for cultivation. Keeping the pH in the reservoir water maintained at a constant 6.3 would be a daunting task. Fortunately, maintaining the pH between 5.5 and 6.9 is adequate for absortion of nutrients.


Here:
http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/articles/3341.html
you can find :


Proper pH





By Ed Rosenthal - Thursday, February 12 2004 Tags:

• <LI class="first taxonomy_term_19">Ask Ed <LI class=taxonomy_term_80>CC46 <LI class=taxonomy_term_114>GROWING
• Nutrients/Fertilizer

How do I get the best PH level for my garden?

What is best pH level for marijuana?

Betty Chronic,
Internet
PH is a measure of the acidity or alkaline quality of the water or soil. The pH scale runs from one, which is highly acidic, to 14, which is highly alkaline. Seven is neutral. Every tenth of a point is a significant increase in the pH level.
If you are using a hydroponic system, the water's pH should be kept between 6.1-6.3, which is mildly acidic. Soil has a little more latitude, but should be kept within 5.9-6.4. When rockwool is used, keep the pH at the lower end of the recommended measure to counteract rockwool's strong alkalinity.




Books and growers do vary and debate different TAGET or PERFECT pH levels,
or what the best pH level is.

I have 14 books on my shelf, (minus one loaned out) on growing pot, some are over 20 years old.

I don't just make up numbers, I do my homework, and research.

Here is an article I wrote on pH:

pH is measured on a scale from 1.0 to 14.0. Pure water has a pH of 7.0 and is considered pH neutral. pH below 7.0 is considered to be acidic and pH higher than 7.0 is considered to be alkaline.
A substance that decreases pH (pH-down) is called an acid while a substance that increases pH (pH-up) is called a base. A substance that helps nutrient solutions resist pH changes when an acid or base is added, is called a buffer. ..or stabilizer.
A pH difference of 1.0 is equal to a ten times increase or decrease in pH. That is, a nutrient solution with a pH of 6.0 is ten times as acidic as a nutrient solution with a pH of 7.0. A pH difference of 2.0 is equal to a hundred times increase or decrease in pH.
It is very important to keep the pH level in your water within certain limits when growing [URL="https://www.rollitup.org/"]marijuana[/URL]. Most grow-books say strive for 5.9, or some books say 5.6 to 6.2. Some books say 5.5 to 6.5, and you will not find two books that say the exact same thing. Growers need to monitor the pH of their nutrient solution and keep it within recommended levels.
The pH level of your hydroponic nutrient solution will determine how well your plants are able to eat and absorb nutrients. If the pH level is out of the proper range, the growth rate of the plants will slow down or stop.

Almost a 1/4 of all the problems I read about that growers experience are due to pH problems.
There are pH meters and test strips to test the pH of your water.
There are additives, or chemicals, made to adjust it, called pH UP and pH Down. These additives are to be used in very small amounts, like one gram, or 1/4 level teaspoon per gallon of water. (just a pinch)

First you have to realize that the pH is going to change daily, even hourly, as the nutrients are eaten. That means adjusting it daily. Goal is that those daily changes be slight and not major or drastic. And too remember, different sources of water yield different pH problems.

You have to have pH balanced nutes, and normal regular water or a buffer or a stabilizer in the water to keep it from roller coasting and spiking up and down.

I've done some research on pH Control and I 'd like to offer some advice and my opinion.

NEW growers worry about it too too much, and the biggest mistake they make is trying for a perfect contstant same pH.
You will do better, to just try to keep it between 5.6 and 6.8 without changing it often. Plants eat more nitrogen at 5.7 to 5.9 than at 6.7 to 6.8 according to some charts I have seen. But they eat more iron and magnesium at 6.5 to 6.8. You need a fluctuating pH level for your plants to absorb different nutes at different levels and nature provides it.
When you prepare your water, add nutes and pH test it, no matter what the results, if it is between 5.6 and 6.4, the plant wille at adn grow. Only adjust it slightly by .1 to .2 down if it is 6.5 or 6.4 or lower.
Do NOT try to make it exactly 5.9.
DO NOT PLAY the pH Game.
Do NOT ride the pH Roller Coaster.
Do NOT adjust it more than .5 in 4 hours or one whole point in 8 hours.

It is better to be off, too high, or too low for half a day, than to adjust it too much at one time.

Drastic or FAST adjustments really mess up the entire system.
Adjust gradually, and slowly.

The pH should not vary more than .5 to .7 everyday, and if it does flucuate alot more up OR down daily, something is wrong.
First, ask yourself, IF growing in HYDRO, what is going into the tank? Water, Nutes, pH UP and Down should be it. Adding anything else, WHEN YOU DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM, is not the wisest thing to do. (Yes, sometimes some small amount of peroxide or hydrozyme might be needed, but I've done 7 grows without it.)
And if you are making NUTE SOUP, ( a nute mix and supplement mix of more than two nutrients) I can not help you or advise you about your pH. You are inviting flucations.

I'm just trying to help new growers be comfortable growing, and I am not here to argue or debate.

cowell said:

Hate to argue with you Roseman, but that's too high for hydro. you need the water to be PH'ed to 5.5-5.8. You'll get nute lock any higher or lower.

and not 1/4 dose in hydro, you set your res up accoding to the schedual on your nutes. use 1/4 strength that it calls to start your plants, and I would wait at least 3-4 weeks before nuting at all.

I feel weird correcting you Roseman.. but you may have meant in soil?

I water 3 times a day for 15 minutes. (6am, 2pm and 10pm) I usually ph my water right before watering if I can. I wouldn't suggest running a constant drip. I have no experience with it, so I may be entirely off on that, but I would assume it would make for a weaker root structure as the roots don't have to develope to search for sustanance.

Click to expand...

Sorry to add to the fire...but Roseman is completely correct. I am a Medical MJ Caregiver and have been growing in BP for about 4 years now, and I use most of the ph range. During Veg, I like to have my ph start at 5.5 and drift to 5.9/6.0 max while they are eating. During Flower, I like to start my ph at 5.8 and let her drift to 6.2-6.5 while eating. This will ensure the correct nutes are more available at their appropriate times. The true ph scale for hydro to effectively grow is 5.5-6.7.
Also.....I start 1/4 nutes at the second to third set of leaves. i don't uses the recipe from the label because the concentration is way too strong and will burn your plants. It is always best to underfeed then overfeed. If you overfeed you can cause nute lockup, burn and other damage that will take time to recover. If you under feed you just need to add a little more until she is happy.

Perfectly said rose... Can't add a thing

Between Funky and Roseman I think we have a concesus. Personally I do exactly as Funky does including the start points and the drift. I used to try to hit a number but my last grows have improved with less diligence on the 5.9 number I was trying to achieve and adjust for.

MostlyCrazy said:

Between Funky and Roseman I think we have a concesus. Personally I do exactly as Funky does including the start points and the drift. I used to try to hit a number but my last grows have improved with less diligence on the 5.9 number I was trying to achieve and adjust for.

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When 4 guys like this say the same thing the topic is over. we all get were the ph should range good thank u kidskiss-ass

i keep my ph the same as funky and have good results

Thank you every1 4 ur help on gettin me growin in hydro. I'm sure I'll hit some bumps down this road but it's nice 2 know u guys on here will steer me around the 1's u can.

Always a pleasure to help a new grower. We were all there once. Join the Bubbleheads if you are so inclined. This is your formal invite! LOL!