I am trying hydro for the first time.. after my latest dirt experiment. I am trying it in a tray that I bought and rockwool. No, I don't want the continuous drip method, and am just looking for something where I can just flood it on my own. Is this okay to do? I only want 2-3 plants, eh! How often would I drain and water? Candid and good advice would be muchly appreciated! I have a 400hps bulb, my humidity tends to be low.. 25% here... so the extra humidity would probably be a good thing. I only vent OUT, not outside in, b/c of the cold climate... Should I treat the air on the way out? Thanks again for any replies! Shamus
my best advice to you would be to pick up a good grow book. if you want an easy to understand hydro overview look for cannabis cultivation by mel thomas
shamus, I started out in a system very similar to what you're doing. It's O.K. but you'll have a few things to deal with. First, you'll have to wet/flush your medium 4-6 times a day, minimum. This is because you'll find that the pH of the rockwool has changed a lot in the last 4 hours. You might have to flush a few times, readjusting the pH of your water each time unless you're using a large reservoir (8-10x the volume of your rockwool). The other thing is in a passive flood system you wil still need to pump air into the reservoir so when you flood the rootzone you're doing it with oxygen fortified water.
Thanks for the advice. Will I have to flood it 6 times per day every day, or just for the first little bit? What would you suggest? A continuous drip method? I figure that I can get either a high-powered aquarium pump, or an outdoor pond pump to do it... the problem right now is money is tight. Can I start it with manual flushing, or am I just wasting my time?
I eventually migrated to a DWC and as a results:effort ratio goes, you can't beat it. Just stick the rockwool in a net pot, or even a net, whatever, I used a 4" square pot that I made 1 cm squares in the bottom so the roots could grow out, then mount that in the lid of a light-proofed bucket. A lot of people swear by the dual-outlet airpumps but I've got a $7 10L whisper that works. fill the bucket to below the rockwool and put an airstone in. This is limited to how big a reservoir you can handle filling/emptying. They get heavy.
Thank you again for your reply. What I may just do is go with dert for my next batch, then hydro for my final one of the winter... or 2nd last of the winter... I hate doing things half-assed, and if I need to water 6 times per day, that's just silly. Also, I don't want my plants to die on me... it would be like losing one of my children... If anyone else has any advice I would appreciate it, otherwise I'll rig up something with a pump in 3 months, when my 2nd batch is happily being smoked. Thanks again for your time! Shamus
Dude, if there are no holes in the tray allrrady you can simply convert to a shallow water culture. Place about 2-3 inches grow rocks inside some net pots (handmade/ whatever, about 4"sq, or the 6" round). Now put rooted clones in and fill the rest of the pot with rocks. Now lay airstones through out the tray then set the pots in the tray equally etc. Now you can fill the tray with nutrient solution to about 2inches and turn airpump/pumps on. The plants will grow in like a shallow DWC like this and keeping the res right is simple. Top up res with PH adjusted water when needed, if you wish to use an EC meter then you can top with weak nutrient solution when needed. You can change the water every 2 weeks (weekly is better and ensures good nutrient levels, easier to keep PH stable). Kay, that be the basic of the basic and it works, I have seen 11 oz from a 400watter using 16, 7 day veged clones. Each where in homemade 4'sq, 6' deep pots, canna nutes, SOG style. Too Easy HappyJay
Just had to clear up that the res is actually the grow tray, they sit in the water constantly, (why you must have the stem or grow cube placed at least half to an inch higher in the pots than the water level to stop drowning), with the airstones constantly running. You will develope two sets of roots (thick and fine) in this type of system just like the DWC. There is no flooding or draining, water, pump timers etc.
Aw ****! I just went out and bought the whole shebang... I said that I wasn't gonna, but WTF! I bought the air pump, air rock, pump, hose, you name it! I haven't put any holes in it yet... thinking maybe continuous drip, or maybe not... maybe flooding 6 times a day with my nifty timer that I got.... I am thinking abooot it.... Hydro sounds the way to go! A lot faster in the veg state, and a lot better results! Even got PH tester, PH up/down, rockwool, tray, you name it. See? I don't like going half-assed into anything. Anyhoo, in about 2 months I will be all set up! Actually, tomorrow it is my project to get this going... woo hoo! Thanks again for the comments!
4inch cubes do not need to be flooded 6 times a day especially for plants in veg.You will over do it.They need to be watered when they are close to being dry.The plants will grow alot faster this way.
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