Do people still use traditional hydroponics?

[Dusted]

I bought an 8 pot system 40 years ago and it has been in use ever since. 15 L pots nestled in 20 L pots, drip feed, recirculating. It was down to 3 pots for a few years when I had to grow in a closet. I’m now back up to 5 pots since I have the room again. I’ve only replaced the clay pellets once in all that time.

Yes, getting the system set and leak free can be a trial. Just make sure you have a waterbed liner as a containment system and leaks don’t matter as much. Yes, you do have to learn water chemistry and adjust pH religiously. Yes, you do have to add up to 5 L of water daily during flowering. Don’t add excessive organics to the system. I add 2 different brands of bacterial/fungal spores, hydrated, weekly to the pellets, so any organic carbon in the system is rapidly biodegraded. I feed the bugs daily with a dose of vinegar. Bacteria and fungi prefer to grow on surfaces and form a biofilm. The free floating bugs just recolonize system surfaces. Think about the huge surface area of all the clay pellets plus all the rootlets that beneficial bugs can colonize.

It seems most people are now using DWC and bubble pots. Any other traditionalists out there?

 

[Old Salt]

I bought an 8 pot system 40 years ago and it has been in use ever since. 15 L pots nestled in 20 L pots, drip feed, recirculating. It was down to 3 pots for a few years when I had to grow in a closet. I’m now back up to 5 pots since I have the room again. I’ve only replaced the clay pellets once in all that time.

Yes, getting the system set and leak free can be a trial. Just make sure you have a waterbed liner as a containment system and leaks don’t matter as much. Yes, you do have to learn water chemistry and adjust pH religiously. Yes, you do have to add up to 5 L of water daily during flowering. Don’t add excessive organics to the system. I add 2 different brands of bacterial/fungal spores, hydrated, weekly to the pellets, so any organic carbon in the system is rapidly biodegraded. I feed the bugs daily with a dose of vinegar. Bacteria and fungi prefer to grow on surfaces and form a biofilm. The free floating bugs just recolonize system surfaces. Think about the huge surface area of all the clay pellets plus all the rootlets that beneficial bugs can colonize.

It seems most people are now using DWC and bubble pots. Any other traditionalists out there?

I've seen a few growing this way.

It was my intent to use RDWC when I started growing. I found my well would not support this, as I would have needed 135l from my RO weekly for four plants, which equates to 675l from the well. Instead I went with drain-to-waste with a coco/perlite substrate. This required 50l per week from the RO or 250l from the well during late veg and flowering. I'm also switching to a perpetual grow, with two plants in the flower tent. This will drop my water usage to a fairly consistent 30l per week from the RO or 150l per week from the well. I've also started construction of a rain water collection system to further ease the load on the well during the summer / early fall dry season.

 

[NMBurrito]

When I first started thinking about building out a grow area, it was over 10+ years ago. I had read about what it would take to get a system up and running, but ultimately didn't have the space. Now I finally have the space and am planning to build out a DWC system, but I have a true appreciation for traditional hydroponics.

We actually added a 2000 gallon rain water collection system into our house. Looking forward to finally putting all that water to good use.

 

[Dusted]

I have never thought about how lucky I am to have good tap water in sufficient quantities. Trying to grow without proper water would be a pain. Even RO water has its issues, with the need to add hardness back in.

Grow room space can be a problem with hoses and reservoirs and water chillers added in. I presently use a large downstairs bedroom so I have lots of room to spread out. I also grow single cola plants because I have the height available. I haven’t had to snap stems since I started buying high quality seeds online. Mexican bag seed from the 70’s and early 80’s was sativa and would hit 10-12 feet in a bedroom unless supercropped repeatedly