Alright guys ive decided that I dont like soil to much. Its to messy for me I get soil all over the place. So im gunna go with a DWC system so I looked at the DIY dwc system in the hydro faqs that swarmy made. Ive decided im going to get a couple of those bins and build a couple. For the grow I will be using Advaced Nutes (grow micro and bloom) ive got down that the desired PH will be between 5.5 and 6.2 with a best one at 5.8. But what is the desired PPM? And how much does PPM affect your grow? Is there a cheap alternative to a PPM/EC meter to see what the PPm in the water is? if those are noob questions just couldnt find the answers. Thanks guys ~Peace
ppm is parts per million, talking about nutrient solution, lower the number the less ferts- and vice versa.. low ppm during early growth and gets bumped up as they get bigger... spend the money on a good meter- dont cheep out.
You can get a cheap PPM meter for $30. There's no other way of testing PPM. Proper PPM and PH are essential for a successful grow.
I give young plants a ppm of between 100-500, and then after about 4 weeks the plants get upto 1200ppm. But running ppms at 1200 can leave excess salts on/in your growing medium. Regular flushing will get rid of this. PPM is the amount of stuff in the water measured in Parts Per Million. This is not necessarily the amount of nutrient in the water. Tap water is full of shit and will give a reading starting at about 100ppm and depending how dodgy your local water pipes are can get up to 400ppm (thats the highest I've heard of). This is one of the reasons why RO (Reverse Osmosis) water is recommended....is allows accurate measuring of ppm as it starts with a ppm very close to 0. If your any good with electronics and making your own circuits you can make your own PPM/EC meter fairly easily, but you will still need a way to calibrate it, so unless your know someone with a meter you can use to calibrate your DIY meter your gonna have to buy a meter.
Hey guys thank you for your replies! I ordered a PH meter and an EC meter on ebay both of em for 70$...That hit my wallet pretty hard but oh well. Got a few more questions now. I know I can use lava rocks as a medium instead of hydroton. But how affective are lava rocks? Also how far away should the bottom of the net pot be from the water? And at a local nursery here we have these things dunno what their called. at first their small like alittle hockey puck then ya soak em in water and they grow into something like a sack. Can I use these to replace Rockwool? So id have the bucket with the net pot with the sack thing in it and crushed lava rocks around that. Will this work or no? I think these things are like umm those things called jiffey pellets I think their called.
hey guys. I got another question but I need the ones above answered also. I was wondering if their are any strains that are grown better hydro then soil? And also how much bubbles should I see in my res doing DWC setup? Please answer the questions above as well as these please Thanks ~Peace
lava rocks are very good at holding moisture, as is the hydroton. i use hydroton in my net pots, all except the top layer where i use lava rocks. just be sure to rinse the hell out of the hydroton before you use it. that red dust will clog up everything and turn your roots orange if you don't. i have no idea about the hockey puck things that grow bigger when they're soaked in water. i use rapid rooters now instead of rockwool, and i like them a lot. when soaked with water, they turn a darker color of brown, but i wouldn't describe them as "sacks" so i think we're talking about 2 different things there. yes, seed (or clone) into rapid rooter, surrounded by lava rocks or well-rinsed hydroton (or both) in 6" net pot. if using DWC method, with buckets, the net pot should be suspended down into the water about 1 inch. that way, the rocks get wet and hold the water which your plant's roots will grow down into and then through and into the water eventually. get a pump that will provide at least 1.75 psi to get enough bubbles breaking the top of the water. the more powerful the pump, the more bubbles (oxygen) to stimulate your plant's growth. in other words, yes, what you have suggested will work fine. there is no "one way" to do DWC. there are many ways, and someone else can tell you how they do it, but you've got the right idea about how it works. you'll be glad you got the pH tester and EC meter. you're on your way, mr player!
very nice post mary! u can use jiffy pellets but they will over time breakup in pieces (peat) so i wouldnt recommend them...
I found these pellet things again today at the Menards while I was picking up some buckets and shit. I think tomorow I will pick some up. The only thing I believe ill have to buy online are the netpots and the nutes. So hopefully that wont take so long...Well thank you both for your responses. Hopefully I can get this grow on soon! Because as of now I think the plant I was going to use as a mother is a male not completly sure because its got those footballs but they look like they might have some hair coming out but not white yet. So im just gunna let it go in the box their in now since theres no other plants with it and ill be using a different room for my plants next time.
Here's my advice to the beggining hydro grower: http://www.technaflora.com/sharedfiles/technaflora_mixingchart_imperial_english.pdf Get Tecnaflora BC nutes and follow the Recipe for Success I posted above, and change your Res every week. I used to measure my PPMs but accidently dropped my meter in the water :5headache: while I was trying to fix it (ended up just needing to have the batteries replaced) I didn't have a PPM meter for 3 weeks. During those 3 weeks, I just followed the formula and the plants did great. Since then I haven't really checked my ppm's... I'm going to finish out this grow only following this guide and see how it goes.
