A few questions about hydro growing

[Gorillabuds]

I've perused the threads and still don't have a complete understanding about hydro growing. There are lots of conflicting bits of information. Some of them must be accurate but it seems like for everything I read and take it as fact, a detractor comes along and tries to shoot holes into it. I understand that I need rockwool, clay pellets (it was lava rocks when I did this 20 years ago), veg and bloom nutrients, PH up and down controllers and a PH meter...oh and a hydro growing system of some sort, of course. Ok..I guess I'll break down the questions, one by one.

1. How do I set up the rockwool BEFORE I put the germinated seeds into each block?

2. Do I use veg nutrients at half strength for a week or so while the seeds are under the florescent lights and then go to full strength when I switch to a MH lighting system?

3. Do the clay pellets need to be rinsed or have the PH stabilized before setting the rockwool cubes into them?

4. Is it better to have water flooded over the roots several times per day or is it better to used a bubbler that mists water onto the roots continuously?

5. This one I wonder about the most. How often do I dump the reservoir and add fresh water & nutrients?

6. Is 5 Gallons of water per plant a bare minimum or is 8 to 10 gallons a better place to be and what is the optimal PH range to be in??

I've been a dirt farmer since giving up on hydro but I've noticed that hydro now seems to be a lot easier than it was 2 decades ago and want to give it another shot. I'd like answers from an experienced and successful hydro grower, please. "I think, I heard, rumor has it...etc"....I want all comments like that to please take a back seat. I'd like to have this thread become the "Hydro Bible" thread. I'm trying to "weed" out all the BS and "plant" the seeds of fact and truth..any takers?

I'll be forever grateful to the hydro-guru that can fill in all the blanks

 

[Stix]

I'll give it a shot.



1. How do I set up the rockwool BEFORE I put the germinated seeds into each block? I don't use rockwool. I use grow plugs. For cloning, I basically soak the plugs in a gallon of water which is nuted with hygrozyme and diamond nectar and is PH balanced. I simply place the plug in the solution, squeeze the plug soak up the water and squeeze out the access.

2. Do I use veg nutrients at half strength for a week or so while the seeds are under the florescent lights and then go to full strength when I switch to a MH lighting system? I don't start using "veg nutes" until the seedlings have popped up. Once that happens I start nutes at 1/2 strength.

3. Do the clay pellets need to be rinsed or have the PH stabilized before setting the rockwool cubes into them? I use hydroton. I simply place the grow plugs with the seedlings into the hydroton. Yes, Hydroton MUST be rinsed before use. Hydroton can be used over and over again. Just clean it between grows.

4. Is it better to have water flooded over the roots several times per day or is it better to used a bubbler that mists water onto the roots continuously? I use 3 different hydroponic systems. 2 for veg and 1 for flower. One of the ones for veg is a drip system. It seems to work faster then the other veg system I have which is a mister. Both systems are rainforests, and both systems work pretty good. The system I use for flowering is a 24 bucket ebb & flo with a 55 gallon resevoir. It works pretty good but has its flaws.
flaw #1 55 gallon resevoir with 24 plants isn't really enough. You should have 5 gallons of nutes per plant. I'm at about 2.2 per plant. Which means I'm constantly dealing with PH flucuation as well as PPM fluctuation. I have to change out my nutes more frequently.
flaw #2 On occasion I have to clear out some of the 1/2" tubes running to the individual pots. I don't have to many problems with clogs, but it has happened from time to time. Other then that, I love the system. It's basically self operating.

5. This one I wonder about the most. How often do I dump the reservoir and add fresh water & nutrients? I usually change out the nutes once a week, but that varies. A good rule of thumb to determine when the nutes should be changed is once you have added 50% of the original nutrient volume in plain water its time to change the nutes. For instance, I start with 55 gallons of nutes, once I have added 25 gallons of water to maintain my 55 gallon level its time to change the nutes.

6. Is 5 Gallons of water per plant a bare minimum or is 8 to 10 gallons a better place to be and what is the optimal PH range to be in?? Like I said above, I'm running at 2.2 gallons per plant. I'm constantly regulating ph levels. The more nutes per plant the better in my opinion. The PH range for hydroponics should be between 5.5 - 6.5. Some growers like to keep it between 5.8 - 6.3. It's a good idea to let your ph fluctuate. If your ph levels tend to rise during the week you should start your ph at 5.5 and let it rise to 6.5 before bringing the ph back down. Different nutrients are absorbed by the plant at different ph levels.


Hydro is easy and alot cleaner then dirt IMO. Just make sure you get yourself a good ph/PPM tester and check the nutes every day. If your using a bucket system like me its a good idea to get yourself a moisture tester. That way you can check each bucket when the system is filling to be sure there are no clogs. Good Luck!

 

[Gorillabuds]

That's awsome. Thanks a lot for taking the time to write all that. I checked out your gallery and found the bucket setup. That's an awesome grow room. I used to do a flood twice per day when I grew in lava rock. I wasn't taught by anyone how to use it and therefor results were not great. This was 10 years before the internet (1984-86ish) was available and information was not as easily obtained as it is now with a couple clicks. things have changed dramatically. Again, many thanks

 

[Lilstinky420]

I also have a noobie question about hydroponics that I wanted to ask. These PPM meters, can you buy them at your local pet shop or aquatic shop, or do you have to buy ones that read nutrients? Was thinking of ordering one, but if i can buy one in town, i'll just do that. Closest hydro shop is about 4 hours away.

 

[Urdedpal]

Ppm meters is more for hydro stores and such. Ph meters cna be purchased at pet and aquatic store. You can get ph testing kits too instead of buying a meter.

 

[Lilstinky420]

Thx much! I went ahead and ordered ppm meter off ebay, but how about ph down and up kits? We have aquatic stores that have them, but can you use the same for hydro?

 

[Lilstinky420]

Thx much Dank! I went to my aquatic store and go some ph up and down they said was safe for live plants. I also got my Rainforest 66 today too! I had a question about the sprayer, how long do I leave it on for, or how many times a day should I turn it on for how long? Sorry im pretty new at hydro, but so far it's way way funner than soil, but also more expensive hehe.

 

[Stix]

I run mine at 15 minutes on/ 1 hour off throughout the 24 hour day. There really is no reason to feed the plants at night, but with this system you won't have a choice soon enough. Before you know it those roots will fill up that whole resevoir (it's gonna be one tangled root mess). It's critical that you have an air pump with an airstone. drop that airstone in the resevoir and run it 24/7 the entire grow. Those roots will be submerged in nutrient the entire time almost. It's important that the roots have adequate oxygen.

Remember less is better when it comes to nutes. Start out LOW and work your way up. PH is also critical, make sure you check it everyday. PH range for hydro should be between 5.5 - 6.5. (5.8 - 6.3 is optimal) It's a good idea to let your ph levels flucuate between these numbers. For instance, if your ph always seems to drop over a few days then its good to start your ph at 6.5 and let it gradually drop to 5.5 before you bring it back up to 6.5. Certain nutrients are absorbed by your plants at different ph levels.

With the rainforests, your plants will get a little cluttered. If you plan on vegging and flowering in the same system you should be alright. Just don't grow them to big or they may start to fall over. They tend to use eachothers branches for support. Make sure you plan for a support system if need be.

If you plan on transplanting to a different system for flowering then you will need to transplant before the roots get to tangled. It's virtually impossible to untangle all those roots. I ran in to this problem in the past and had to cut just about all the roots in half. It shocked the plants pretty good, didn't get any new growth for about 2 weeks, but they did pull through. Luckily.

OH yeah, in order to change your nutes. Your gonna need to get a small pond pump with a hose long enough to reach your sink. The only way to get the nute out of that system easily is by placing a submercible pump in the system and pumping out the nutes.

Good luck man, you'll love hydro, it's fun and it's clean! Just don't fuck up

 

[Stix]

One more thing, Be very careful with the sprayer. that cone is balanced. If you hit it or bend it even a little bit. IT's gonna shake the hell outta your system and plants. A little vibration is normal.

 

[Lilstinky420]

Lol, just go to reading your PM and response, thx much. I Transplanted from dirt to soil last night and there not dead, but maybe in shock hehe. I think my ppm is like 452 and my ph is like 6 I hope. I'm using fish aquarium strips cause nearest hydro shop is couple hundred miles away.

Thx also for telling me about the air stone, never would of come to mind to put one in. I'm also getting a digital ph meter this week because i hate matching up those colors, it especially sucks when your color bline lol, gotta ask for other peoples opinions.

Thx again for info, i'll prolly be posting some pics on soon.