WATERFARM SCROG!!!! ..first frightening waterfarm grow....Dr.Amber Frankenstien

GreenGiant49 said:

Thanks! That is helpful. Now to guess how much she can grow in a week ....

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Now THAT is light cycle dependent. If you put her into flower, expect a minimum of 50% of total height now to be added on in a week. I usually assume 2x growth during the 12/12 stretch. Also dependent on strain. Sativas usually stretch more than indicas. However, if you put into flowering this week, expect for her to stop growing vertically around the end of December. 12/12 stretch usually stops after the 1st 2 or 3 weeks into flowering. Then bud weight gets packed on from then on.

GreenGiant49 said:

Yes, I hear you. That makes sense. Im going to watch the water uptake carefully to see exactly the demands. I may put her into flower in one week, so that I have awhile to watch the effects of that for a week or two before I leave.

I already have a big tote that I can use.

I have been growing under cfl's so far. I bought a small HPS (150) for flowering. I will supplement with some cfls. For this trip, I wonder how high I should keep the new HPS above the plant. I dont want her growing into it. How much could she grow in a week?

I leave for my trip on Dec.21.

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If you don't leave till Dec 21, you should flip her lights now and by then she should be nearly done with her stretch. You will have a pretty solid idea of what she will need from the 21st till you get back if you start charting now. If you are going to use the HPS light, don't wait until you are ready to leave to start that. That will change things drastically from the CFL's in terms of growth and therefore, water uptake.

Bluejeans said:

If you don't leave till Dec 21, you should flip her lights now and by then she should be nearly done with her stretch. You will have a pretty solid idea of what she will need from the 21st till you get back if you start charting now. If you are going to use the HPS light, don't wait until you are ready to leave to start that. That will change things drastically from the CFL's in terms of growth and therefore, water uptake.

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Please tell me how you know what I am thinking!!! I think flipping her soon is what I should do for several reasons. Thanks for pushing me in that direction. It will give me time to deal with the stretch, the watering needs of the plant in flower, and I cant remember the rest .....

GreenGiant49 said:

Please tell me how you know what I am thinking!!! I think flipping her soon is what I should do for several reasons. Thanks for pushing me in that direction. It will give me time to deal with the stretch, the watering needs of the plant in flower, and I cant remember the rest .....

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Because I'm a grandma. We have that ability.

Well from my experience (and it's very little), the waterfarm is just as susceptable to root rot in the rez as any other hydro setup - compounded by the fact that you don't have easy access to view the roots once your scrog screen is down. The best thing you can do, is make sure your rez temps stay below 75 to avoid bacteria growth which encourages algae to grow among other pathogens that menifest themselves with higher water temps such as 'Pythium'. Warm water mean less oxygen, so your roots kind of 'suffogate' and die when it's too warm. I've been told that most roots can handle fairly cold temps, so don't be afraid of 'too cold' of temps in the rez unless you're putting like 30-40 degree water in there...just use common sense.

I'm actually going to have a friend help me this weekend and we're going to left the top bucket out of my VK and lift the screen up at the same time so that it can be raised up enough for us to see the roots. I'll need to raise my light up as far as it goes beforehand obviously...should work okay since the VK canopy has kept fairly low. I still haven't brought in those flagstones to put under the waterfarms in order to keep them cool from below...we may also do that. I've also picked up a great tip from 'Bluejeans', suggesting to put the waterfarm into a shallow pan of sorts, and fill that outside pan with ice-water or cool water to help bring the rez temps down...I may need to try that as well.

Another tip is to keep your air pumps 'outside' of the tent, so that the air they pump into the rez is cooler than the warm air inside the grow space...one of mine is outside of the tent - but the AoS pump is inside..may need to move it out of there!

I asked my hydro shop guy about using too much H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide), and he said unless I use WAY too much (glugs of it at a time), it will be fine and actually beneficial for the plant, even if there's to temp or root rot/algae issues... especially when using the over-the-counter 3% stuff...which is what I'm using - just from the drug store. Many hydro growers use it regularly, even if they aren't having these issues. THe hydro shop sells the high-concertrated H2O2, and it's pricey - but for just a few waterfarms, the 3% stuff is fine. I use about 1.5 tsp per gallon in my add-back pails, and about 2.5 tsp per gallon in my full rez change-outs. Since using it, I've noticed my algae went away that was building up on the AoS... H2O2 will not effect your bud taste - it's just like adding liquid oxygen to your water. H2O2 is missing a molecule, and when it breaks-down in your water, it releases pure oxygen, which the roots absorb... no effect to your plant smell or taste.

Hope that helps!! If anyone out there disagrees or finds this info inaccurate, please jump in here!!

Bluejeans said:

Because I'm a grandma. We have that ability.

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Ill have to be very careful what I think about!

Well, today was a big day. Move my beauty to her flower room. Added the HPS. Going to run the HPS tonight until her normal bed time. Tomorrow is her 5 week birthday. For a gift, I will be going 12/12. Flower stage!! (aren't first time growers WAY too excited????) Well, I just think it so fun and interesting!

I do have a question. I only run the water pump during the light cycle. Now that I am going 12/12, is it ok to only run the water pump for 12 hours. I run 1/2 hour then off for 1, then 1/2 on etc.

Here she is in her new digs! Like Blue and I have been saying, wider than she is tall.

GreenGiant49 said:

Ill have to be very careful what I think about!

Well, today was a big day. Move my beauty to her flower room. Added the HPS. Going to run the HPS tonight until her normal bed time. Tomorrow is her 5 week birthday. For a gift, I will be going 12/12. Flower stage!! (aren't first time growers WAY too excited????) Well, I just think it so fun and interesting!

I do have a question. I only run the water pump during the light cycle. Now that I am going 12/12, is it ok to only run the water pump for 12 hours. I run 1/2 hour then off for 1, then 1/2 on etc.

Here she is in her new digs! Like Blue and I have been saying, wider than she is tall.

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Personally, I like to run my air pump 24/7. I don't like my roots sitting in stagnant water no matter how long. To me, that's welcoming bacteria, algae, and other contaminants into your reservoir even more than hydroponics already do. It's the partly the same reason why DWC has air stones sitting in the buckets. Anyone else have an opinion on the matter? Scottyballs, Kriz, and Dayzt seem to have no problems running it 24/7 and neither have I.

Tmac4302 said:

Personally, I like to run my air pump 24/7. I don't like my roots sitting in stagnant water no matter how long. To me, that's welcoming bacteria, algae, and other contaminants into your reservoir even more than hydroponics already do. It's the partly the same reason why DWC has air stones sitting in the buckets. Anyone else have an opinion on the matter? Scottyballs, Kriz, and Dayzt seem to have no problems running it 24/7 and neither have I.

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Hi Tmac,

I do run the air stone 24/7. That is very important to keep o2 in the nutes. What I am wondering about is the water pump that pumps water to the drip ring.

hi mate, all first timers get excited, well done. As for turning off the air pump, it's not advisable, you already know why. Growing well is partly instinct and common sense - having you air run 24/7 is the best way to look after your plants, keep temps around the roots low by venting and using what shade you can get. gl

She's lovely! And she will reward your gifts of light with amazing growth. My silly RCB can't even get out of her own way! It will be fine to run the pump for 12 hours.

Wait. Iz confused. What does the water pump go to? It's the air pump that pushes the bubbles through the drip ring that saturates the hydroton..

Bluejeans said:

She's lovely! And she will reward your gifts of light with amazing growth. My silly RCB can't even get out of her own way! It will be fine to run the pump for 12 hours.

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I just read the WF instructions again. It says, for plants that prefer dryer conditions, to run the pump during daylight hours (.5h on, 1h off). I think our plants do prefer dryer conditions. Another thing that they (GH) suggests is to run plain water for 24 hours between nute changes. I have NOT been doing that, but I think it is a very good idea. The plain water would flush out the equipment and also the plants roots. I just have to remember to do it!

GreenGiant49 said:

Hi Tmac,

I do run the air stone 24/7. That is very important to keep o2 in the nutes. What I am wondering about is the water pump that pumps water to the drip ring.

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Hey man, most of your root structure should be in the bottom bucket anyways. I suggest running the air pump with your lights. This way, the roots that remain on the upper half get exposed to more oxygen. Also, stop calling it a water pump. There is no water pump in water farms. Just air pumps.

Tmac4302 said:

Wait. Iz confused. What does the water pump go to? It's the air pump that pushes the bubbles through the drip ring that saturates the hydroton..

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Lets get it CONFUSED in here! I, and others, have modified the WF slightly. We run two air pumps. One runs a big air stone, the other runs the drip ring. So we kind of have a hybrid (best of both worlds) system. DWC and drip.

Best to run the air stone continuously, but there are different theories about how to program the drip ring. I personally think that you do not have to run it all the time.

brokenturtle3102 said:

Hey man, most of your root structure should be in the bottom bucket anyways. I suggest running the air pump with your lights. This way, the roots that remain on the upper half get exposed to more oxygen. Also, stop calling it a water pump. There is no water pump in water farms. Just air pumps.

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Well, it does pump the water! I was just trying to differentiate between the air stone pump and the drip ring pump. So, that what I should call it! The drip ring pump.

Getting back to what you suggest, putting the air stone pump on the light timer. I have been under the belief that it was better to run that continuously to keep the o2 flowing to the roots. Explain why you think it good to turn off the air stone in the dark period? Thanks.

GreenGiant49 said:

Well, it does pump the water! I was just trying to differentiate between the air stone pump and the drip ring pump. So, that what I should call it! The drip ring pump.

Getting back to what you suggest, putting the air stone pump on the light timer. I have been under the belief that it was better to run that continuously to keep the o2 flowing to the roots. Explain why you think it good to turn off the air stone in the dark period? Thanks.

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I was very hesitant when I started my current row with a waterfarm, with the same reasons we are discussing about now. I could not keep my pump more than 11 hours a day. It makes too much noise for my neighbor, and long story short, I cant have anything on more than 11 hours a day. Anyways, I started my Jack herrer in the waterfarm, and it TOOK off. Some distinct characteristics I saw that were different from my other plants was the width of the veins connecting the leaves to the main stalk. The width was incredibly thick. Also, the plant overall grew considerably faster than any hydro I did, or my friends currently do. I know this does not say much, but having the pump off at certain hours will not kill your plant. After more experience with it, I might even add it works better. But I won't say that yet.

Also, you can only pump so much oxygen into water. After a certain amount, the level of oxygen will not rise with the amount of oxygen you are pumping in the water.

looking real good id like to grow like that 1 day but right now illstick with soil hope all turns out well ambz ill be watching

How's Farmville looking Doc. ? You got your feeding issue's sorted ? They deff. grow BIG and FAST Plant's them waterfarm's! " Still can't find my old smaller one " Somebody prob. threw it out thinking wtf is this ? Dont know if ive still got the one i made, it worked a treat. When i get everything else back into a norm. routine i'll try look it out again, or get my mate to fix another one together.
The smaller round one was better imo anyway, it will fill the whole tent so its like one strain at a time and i like my variety too much I suppose a second tent would sort that though

GreenGiant49 said:

Well, it does pump the water! I was just trying to differentiate between the air stone pump and the drip ring pump. So, that what I should call it! The drip ring pump.

Getting back to what you suggest, putting the air stone pump on the light timer. I have been under the belief that it was better to run that continuously to keep the o2 flowing to the roots. Explain why you think it good to turn off the air stone in the dark period? Thanks.

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WOW, im glad this was brought up. All i have running is the drip ring air pump. Should i have an airstone in the bottom bucket? and if so how do i get it in there?


thanks everyone for the great posts, pictures and input. i appreaciate them all.

DayZt, thanks for answering all my pending questions so clearly, that really helped.

BlueJeans, great idea about the pan under the bucket to keep the rez temp cool. I will be working on that.


I placed my airpump outside the tent, another great idea and suggestion.

take it easy, happy gardening and happy medicating.

Dr.Amber Trichome said:

WOW, im glad this was brought up. All i have running is the drip ring air pump. Should i have an airstone in the bottom bucket? and if so how do i get it in there?


thanks everyone for the great posts, pictures and input. i appreaciate them all.

DayZt, thanks for answering all my pending questions so clearly, that really helped.

BlueJeans, great idea about the pan under the bucket to keep the rez temp cool. I will be working on that.


I placed my airpump outside the tent, another great idea and suggestion.

take it easy, happy gardening and happy medicating.

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The air stone in your bucket definitely isn't needed. 95% of the water gets oxygenated upon breaking the surface of the water from the drip ring. Personally, I think it just keeps your roots healthy once they hit the water. It's just a little more reassurance, imo. Not needed though