I've gone and made the switch to Hydro. I have and ebb & flow system, 3x3 tray, Maxi-Jet 900 water pump, and I also bought a tray/dome for my seedlings and clones. (Edited by Lemonpie at 11:32 pm on April 6, 2004)
There's so much to know, I really need a more specific question to help. pH in my opinion is one of the single most important variables that will grant you success or hand you failure. It's something that YOU have total control over and thus, will take some time garnering experience. Good luck, great advice is available here, as you know, JE.
I do have a couple of questions, they may seem obvious to a grower such as yourself, so please bare with me. I have 9 plants for my 3x3 tray. How often do I flood, and for how long? What is the correct balance of ph, and at what stages of growth? I'm also concerned about my reservoire water becoming too warm? My room is controlled by ac, but I've been up there with my light on and it gets hot! What is your opinion on the Squirrel fan? (Edited by Lemonpie at 7:56 pm on April 15, 2004)
9 plants for that area is about max. Now this are quite simply general recommendations, you may have to tailor them to suit your specific needs. Proper pH is still a argueable topic, however, IF you use rockwool 5.4 is about as low as you want to see. To be safer (and slow growth slightly) I would recommend a pH of around 5.6-5.8, just to test the waters (excuse the pun) As for your res temp, I would not be too concerned UNLESS it approaches 75F, anything lower should be fine to about 60F. The whole trick to hydro is findng a balance for all these variables to be in tune and work well with each other. Squirrel fans are great, you need to figure the volume of the room that you are trying to cool, not just the grow area (unless it is partioned away from the rest of the room). Also the addition of an oscillating fan blowing through the area between the light and the plants will allow you to move the light closer to the plant, result: more lumens (but becareful, if you buy too strong of a fan, you might blow away all these extra lumens) BTW I was only kidding abou tthe lumens being blown away, hope it didn't twist your brain too much. Take care and good luck in your venture, I'll try and keep the newbie jokes such as the lumens to a minimum. JE
Thank you so much But one more thing... How often do I flood, for how long? I know there are a dozen questions I'm probalbly not asking, so feel free! (Edited by Lemonpie at 11:34 pm on April 6, 2004)
I feed every 3 hours for 2 minutes, but yours WILL be different. Now, I need to know what size rockwool cubes you will be using, because to suggest a time of duration depend upon this. Ultimately, you only want to feed for as long as it takes for your flood level to reach the desired height, then the pump stops and draining starts. With me so far? Now, this water level will need to change at some point in your grow. Water level is controlled by the stand pipe in your flood table, this is how you control the depth of the flood. The stand-pipe slides up and down. I will explain how to find your desired flood depth in later posts if you need me to. So to answer your original questions of how long? how often? General rule of thumb for ebb& flow is every 4 hours for 15 minutes. 15 minutes is the number because the timer that most systems come with only allows 15 minute increments. A digital timer allows for shorter feed cycles. There are reasons for this but they will come later. Time to walk first. Jog comes later
My rockwool cubes are 3"X3"... I'm with you so far... (Edited by Lemonpie at 11:35 pm on April 6, 2004)
I'm glad that JE jumped in and helped...cuz i learned alot more about ebb n flow than i did b4 readin' this thread...wow! I'm with JE; PH is my Primary concern. 5.8PH or lower will be ideal. And frequent flushes. Never use the same rezzy nutes fer more than 2 weekz; or your plants will begin to burn(due to eventual salt build-up). I also Top Off my Rezzy with Pure Water every other day! Hope that helpz a little...cheerz lemonpie!
Hey Pie, JE has got you on the right track. Did you get your box built? PM me or something if you still need the design.
Hey streak, please feel free to advise me...your knowledge is welcomed Forgive my snubbiness I will test the ppm often, given I'm slighty neurotic, shant pose too much of a problem. I will keep you posted! Thank you streak
i don't think that anyone mentioned that the rockwool should be stabtlized?or else you're ph will be all over the place on the high side.if you were aware of this,please disregard....just wondering? (Edited by bonbon at 1:42 am on Jan. 20, 2004)
No, you are correct. But given there are so many variables, and that my redundancy can be annoying...I bought a book. Thank you bonbon. (Edited by Lemonpie at 10:44 am on Jan. 20, 2004)
I thought I'd let you all know how my first hydro experience is coming along. I'm nearing the flowering phase with good results(except for my anxiety). For my vegging from seed I used PBP for veg coupled with Dark Energy. I increased the nute levels as required. I have PBP for flower and Green Fuse. I will let let you know how the flowering goes. I've been keeping a consistent pH level of 5.8 and my ppm is at 1100 now in final veg. So far so good. I want to thank everybody at GK who are and continue to be of assistance to me. Everybody in this thread Merci infinniment. I bought a book which I can't say enough about to the newbies....any indoor grow book proves to be a small investment for that sense of security when immediate action may be needed and no one is around, or you just can't seem to understand someone elses accent or vernacular in general. (Edited by Lemonpie at 4:45 pm on Feb. 12, 2004)
I totally agree with joint effort on PH thing but the most important thing is what lighting system you are using, most Ph coming out of the tap is very high, and has to be lowered because of the chemicals the munical gov puts in the bleaching system that the city supplies, so I am not saying Ph is an important issue but I have seen plants grow and flourish on A Ph level above 7, I have 6 plants right now that are 16 days into veg that are to die for PH is set at 5.8 - light is right - high pressure sodium or nothing
I want to give you all another update, I'm nearing harvest and very pleased with whole process of my first hydro grow. Flood and Drain System... Yes, the pH is key and I did as I was advised and I'm loving the results. I took all the advice given and applied it accordingly. I also got a feeding schedule for the products I use, just ask the hydro shop guy for one, I did, and he had one faxed over to the store for me while I was there. Way cool If, not the bottles have that info printed on the back of them. I also bought a book, listened, and asked a lot of questions. It certainly isn't as difficult as I had anticipated. I'm really looking forward to my next garden...Like I can't bloody wait! I'll have final harvest pics. (Edited by Lemonpie at 11:38 pm on April 6, 2004)
