Hydrohut killers

[tcccfriends]

Has anyone else had any problems with Hydrohuts killing everything they put into it?

[Boss]

With hydro, you can easily kill anything you put in it. Especially if you measure the nutes wrong.

I would search for hydro grows in the grow journals and see what they say. There is a lot of info here about this topic.

Thanks!

[Medical Marijuana]

I'm not familiar with Hydrohuts, but here is some info in the hydrohut faq's

When setting up a HydroHut, why is the canvas difficult to get over the frame?

The HydroHut canvas is made to fit very snuggly over the frame so there isn’t an inward or outward bulge in the canvas if using positive or negative pressure methods. Unzip all zippers first, every zipper gets unzipped all the way before pulling the canvas over the frame. The frame should be sitting squarely in the bottom of the canvas before starting. The directions show this step. The canvas must be inched over the frame evenly. Pull some over the top on the left, then the same amount on the right, go back to the left, do a little more, then the right etc.


Why does my new HydroHut smell like new plastic?

The inside of the HydroHut is made of poly-urethane plastic. This plastic is chemically inert and doesn’t off-gas. When plastic is new, it has a plastic smell due to organic matter left over from the production process, much the same as a plastic garden hose or plastic bottle. A solid poly-urethane plastic doesn’t off-gas, a poly-urethane foam or liquid poly-urethane can off-gas. It is highly recommended that you wipe down the inside walls of your HydroHut with paper towels and water. This simple process will remove most organic matter left on the plastic from the production process. Washing the walls lightly and letting the HydroHut air-out a bit before using it will help with the new plastic smell.


I’ve been growing forever and know what I’m doing, why do I need more air movement in the HydroHut than in a normal, house room grow area?

Growing in an all plastic environment is not the same as growing in a room in a house. Atmospheric values, temperature and humidity act differently in an all plastic environment. A room in a house will absorb moisture and heat differently than a wall of plastic. Passively cooling the HydroHut is a very bad idea! Intake and exhaust vent holes are in the HydroHut for a good reason. Taking advantage of these ventable ducts is a priority. Using a blower to force air into a HydroHut but letting the air find its own way out has proven to be very problematic. Even if you’re in a cooler, ocean side town and have never needed forced-air intake and exhaust before, when growing in a HydroHut, it is highly recommended that you employ the use of intake and exhaust blowers.


Not using ducting doesn’t work well. The air that is forced into the HydroHut will passively find its way out and then find its way right back into the HydroHut. This is far from an ideal situation and can cause major air quality problems. Fresh air from outside should be forced through a duct by way of an adequately sized blower and then into the HydroHut. Exhaust air should be forced out of the HydroHut through a charcoal filter, either pelletized charcoal carbon or a charcoal fiber filter and an exhaust blower of adequate size. Using an axial fan (computer fan) to exhaust your HydroHut is wrong and inadequate! Even if you live in a cooler environment and are used to using minimal fans and blowers, growing in a HydroHut is different and as such must be treated differently. Exhaust air should be ducted out of the room, not into the same room that houses the HydroHut! A charcoal filter should be INSIDE the HydroHut to absorb any organic molecules that can be a detriment to your plants. If you have one or more HydroHuts inside of one room and plan on using one charcoal filter in the main room instead of a smaller charcoal filter inside of each HydroHut, then you run the risk of having air-quality problems in each HydroHut. This is being repeated because it is of paramount importance.


I live in a cooler environment and have never needed to air-cool my lighting system. Why do I need to air-cool the lighting system in my HydroHut?

If you do not air-cool your lighting system inside the HydroHut, you run the risk of making your charcoal filter completely ineffective. Heat and humidity greatly reduce the effectiveness of activated charcoal. Again, HEAT AND HUMIDITY hurt your ability to filter (absorb) organic molecules. Having a charcoal filter inside the HydroHut is necessary, but if that filter is four inches from a burning hot lighting system, the filter will be almost useless. Even if you are piping in air conditioned cool air into your HydroHut, the micro climate around the filter will be changed for the worse by the heat being emitted from your lighting system. Air-cool your lighting system with an adequately sized blower and ducting. Duct this hot air out of the HydroHut and out of the room in which the HydroHut is sitting. Recirculating used air again and again is a recipe for disaster.


The HydroHut is watertight, what do I care if I spill some water inside?

Research on used HydroHuts it has shown that sitting water between the first and second water-proof floors was left to dry out on its own. Being sloppy with your watering will only hurt you in the end. If you water with a garden hose or watering can and frequently miss your pots and get water on the inside wall of the HydroHut, that water will run down and sit in between the two water-proof floors. Sitting water will eventually cause the frame to rust, even if the frame is powder-coated or dipped in a stainless solution. Furthermore, sitting water mixed with organics will cause the organics to grow molds. A warm body of water sitting between two layers of plastic will attract bugs, molds and can even lead to a bacteria build up. Please be conscious of where you are putting your excess water.

[bbande]

I have a HydroHut mini and have been having plants dying by yellowing/browing before they can veg long. Thought it was a mystery because I have sucessfully grew for years but have failed big time with the HydroHut. Is quite a mystery to me, has had me baffled. The wooden wardrobe cabinet I used to use worked great for years so I had "upgraded" to the HydroHut, it aslo giving more space. Ventilation is not the problem nor is nuke burn, I have ruled out most everything else. Tccfriends, have you lost some plants in a hydrohut and did yours yellow and then die?

[fasts102376]

i'm glad i read this because i was going to buy one..

[Boss]

So you are very comfortable with hydo nutes and watering, bubblers, all that, and they still die? I would have to say screw plastic... :-)

[bbande]

I have reading more of some other's problems with the Hydro Huts killing any plant put in it. They just bleach out, yellow/brown and die in no time. This happened to me several times and for the record I only grow in soil. The vinyl/sealant emits some kind of gas that is toxic to the plants. Sounds absurd but I have lived it. It seems that there was a shipment of huts this year that have been faulty for everyone. People who have knockoffs or older versions of the huts have not had the same problems. Hydrohut have since discontinued the huts made by the supplier of the faulty huts. I have started another grow My wife was telling me the hut was the problem but I couldn't believe it. Since getting rid of it, I have not had any problems. Secret Jardin has some huts that are advertised to be completely non-toxic - will not react under light and heat, and no off-gassing to harm plants, as they say.

[RooRman]

Are you monitoring the temp. and humidity inside the hut? As ***** said, growing in a plastic enviorment is much different then growing in a room made of wood etc.

[bbande]

The temps and humidity are not the reason for these heavily reported "off-gassing" plant killings taking place with some of the Hydro Huts sold this year. Those are important elements for sure, but those things were fine and in order, they were easy to watch and manage, even in the plastic environment of the hut. I have been reading about a lot of folks recent bad experiences and it's not because of enviromental factors, it's also been called "Bad Room Syndrome". I've heard if you contact Hydro Hut and let them know you have an issue, they will offer to replace your hut or ask you to soak the framing and vinyl in bleach, which some have tried but hasn't helped. I'm not gambling with one of those Huts again. I have another plastic grow hut from a different company and all is great and normal again.

[M00gle]

I wish i would have read this thread before investing 250 in the hydrohut. I just bought a hydrohut and now I'm scarred to place my newly germed plants into it. I read alot of good reviews about the hut from other users but they were written a year ago. Does anyone know when this problem came about?

[Boss]

I think it was reported as fixed in the new ones.

[M00gle]

hmmm.... I guess I'll try and grow some cheap beans or tomatoes in it first to test and see if it will harm the plants. I don't want to waste some good seeds.

[M00gle]

Has anyone else had any experience with the hydrohuts killing their plants?
Bbande when did you buy your tent? I would like to know when these problems started to occur.

Thinking of Buying a Hydro Hut?? bUYER bEWARE!

[bbande]

I purchased my Hydro Hut in August 2007. I started a grow in late Sept. 2007, put the 1 week old plants from compact fluoros in the hut and they started yellowing within a few days. I went through every step of troubleshooting possible but the plants ended up browning and slowly dying within a few weeks. Then when I started having the same issue again with another grow in late Oct. 2007 I put a thread on the "Growing Problem" forum area of 420 asking for help. The fine community stepped up and tried to help in every way, but no change made altered the plants yellowing/browning course they were on. I started another grow in Dec. 2007 which began the same disasterous way as before again. Now I have grown many times for years and have never had a problem before, so I started suspecting the Hut and then soon after read about some other folks having the same issues. I moved a few of the plants out of the Hut back under compact fluoros. Within days there has been remarkable improvement and yellowing had stopped. I bought a grow tent from another company and those and other new plants are now thriving nicely. There's a large thread about this issue on the same website mentioned by MOOgle above under "Cannabis Infirmary". I have found others by searching under my homepage's search engine.
Side note: 420 Mag rocks and is the best!

[M00gle]

Hey Bbande? what tent are you now using? I am going to return my hydrohut and get something else. I was just wondering how the sturdiness of your new tent compares with the hydrohut.

Thats to bad to hear you lost two crops to that damn tent. I'm not even going to try and use mine. It's not worth the risk especially if that chemical can kill plants just think what it will do to humans over the long run.