1st time grower: Decided to go with hydroponics, specifically Ebb & Flow with a 12 pot system using a Sun System LEC 315, grow tent 4x4
- Thread starter FLOW001
- Start date
Barney86
Well-Known Member
Congratulations on taking the plunge mate. Im always happy to help out a fellow hydrohead so feel free to tag me if you have any questions. It's a daunting prospect but honestly it's a piece of piss. Much easier than growing in pots.
I've not tried eb and Flo yet but it's all the same thing basically. Im NFT which is basically what you've got but my pump stays on 24/7 and the shelf is open at the end so it doesn't flood. Just a constant trickle.
You got much of an idea of what your doing yet or did you do what most of us do and go "hey that looks cool, how hard can it be?" Lol.
I've not tried eb and Flo yet but it's all the same thing basically. Im NFT which is basically what you've got but my pump stays on 24/7 and the shelf is open at the end so it doesn't flood. Just a constant trickle.
You got much of an idea of what your doing yet or did you do what most of us do and go "hey that looks cool, how hard can it be?" Lol.
falstaffo
Well-Known Member
ive seen you talk about nft so many times, finally went and had a look what it is...
watched a couple vids
that does look easyyy
and less work than coco and daily watering lol
wanted to switch to los but this seems even less work than that?
do you fill the tank one time and just keep adding nutes and water when theyve all gone or getting low? or how often do you change water? with eachfeed?
how you even empty it without moving all the plants elsewhere?
with having a lot of info to take in ive mostly skipped any hydro stuff but this thing is interesting lol
watched a couple vids
that does look easyyy
and less work than coco and daily watering lol
wanted to switch to los but this seems even less work than that?
do you fill the tank one time and just keep adding nutes and water when theyve all gone or getting low? or how often do you change water? with eachfeed?
how you even empty it without moving all the plants elsewhere?
with having a lot of info to take in ive mostly skipped any hydro stuff but this thing is interesting lol
Barney86
Well-Known Member
Yeah it's a doddle mate. To empty it you just stick a bit of scillicone tube into the end of the pump. I empty every 7-10 days. Can go longer but it's not advisable. Keeps everything balanced and saves any guesswork if you just empty it every week. Gotta be careful what you put in them though. I've had a few plants get that big they were drinking 15L a day in full bloom and the Res only holds 20. Pump will blow at 2L so gotta watch it if your doing monsters. Stick 4 wee plants in it or 2 autos though and you just top it up every few days cos there's less root mass.
There's my current lots. 2 on the right are 12/12 autos that been in there 4 weeks under 240w blurple. Last 10 days under 600w CMH on 18/6.
The 4 photos in the left Res and the 2 Coco plants at the sides have been in there for about 11 days with the CMH . Were all just in 4 inch cubes under a single 130w CFL untill then.
Changed the auto Res once so far and the veg Res is getting it today.
Niether have needed pH adjusted in between feeds yet. I cheat though and keep a quarter of the Res aside to add midweek. Keeps the pH in range with no extra mucking about
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Barney86
Well-Known Member
Don't have to worry about temps like you do in dwc etc too cos most of the roots are just in the air. That Res has been over 25*c since I turned it on. 27 most of the time. Im not using a sterile product this run though so we'll see how long my smile about that one lasts lol. I might have to add bleach in occasionally to stop any bad stuff growing. Time will tell.
falstaffo
Well-Known Member
seen, so with a long enough hose you could literally run it and drain it into the sink if needed? then have the new feeds ready mixed to go straigh in? i guess you dont want to mixthe nutes up in the tabk while its recirculating over the roots?
and they wont dry out whilst doingthe change?
top it up daily with plain water or diluted feed to keep ec in range?
and they wont dry out whilst doingthe change?
top it up daily with plain water or diluted feed to keep ec in range?
falstaffo
Well-Known Member
sterile product as in the tank wasnt sterile before plants went in?
what nutes you use? there organic lineups for this?
what nutes you use? there organic lineups for this?
Barney86
Well-Known Member
Nah the roots don't dry out when you're changing. The pump they come with would blow if you tried to pump it all the way out the room though. Pump gets set to barely a dribble so they come with a really low power one. I've got 80gal/h pumps from Amazon for doing that though. Were only £8 each. Use a garden hose to get it up the attic too lol.
Regarding the feed strength, it takes a while to get used to it. You just gotta chase the ppm untill the penny drops and you realise what you're doing.
Right now mine are on 350ppm which is dropping 10ppm per day so I'd just top up with the same strength. That's about as close to perfect as it gets.
If it was dropping much more I'd go for 20% stronger. If the ppm was rising I'd add 20% weaker.
As they'll be bigger next week I'll be going upto 450ppm when I change it later so that hopefully I still get that 10ppm drop each day.
That all make sense? I confuse myself sometimes lol
Barney86
Well-Known Member
Yeah sterile product. Need something to keep the Res healthy and stop bad bacteria growing in it. I usually use sm-90 which just kills everything in it aswell as being a root booster and a pesticide but it got banned last year and this my first hydro run since realising.
Most people use beneficial bacteria to do this job. Things like z7 or hydroguard. I was taught to run sterile though so I'll just use bleach if anything pops up. My beloved sm-90 should be back on the market soon once they sort the labelling issue out
hydroguard would be my recommendation for the job tho. That's the most popular option. Can run hydro without something to keep things fresh but it's risky.
Barney86
Well-Known Member
It sounds technical but it's 200ppm for the first week then roughly 100ppm per week of veg to keep it steady. Give or take anyway. Not an exact rule but it's close enough.
falstaffo
Well-Known Member
got it.
lots to think about, with the initial cost of switching to los, for the one i wanted it was expensive lol 100quid 50l bag... would need 2 lol
the nft systems arent tooo much looking thougg, 205s at about 42.. 424 kit 75
would need a longer one or a few of the smaller ones though to spread them in my space lol
lots to think about, with the initial cost of switching to los, for the one i wanted it was expensive lol 100quid 50l bag... would need 2 lol
the nft systems arent tooo much looking thougg, 205s at about 42.. 424 kit 75
would need a longer one or a few of the smaller ones though to spread them in my space lol
Barney86
Well-Known Member
If your in the UK have a hunt about and you'll get them cheaper than that mate. I got mine for 30 and 35. Onestopgrowshop got em for 35 but can't mind where I found the other one.
Only other thing you need is rockwools and good strong tape for putting the cover over the plants.
There's a corex cover on it that you cut squares out of to put your plants in. Then gotta cut a hole in the square and collar your plant with it. That collar is literally all that's holding them in place so gotta use good tape. I use the silver ducting stuff and it's never failed me.
falstaffo
Well-Known Member
TNC MycorrHydro - Mycorrhizae for Hydroponics | The Nutrient Company
Mycorrhizal fungi designed specifically for indoor gardening when Hydroponics is in use. If using a substrate such as coir choose TNC MycorrPlus
thenutrientcompany.com
you seen this shit?
is this a kind of living organic hydro system? you wont be adding ph chems or synthetic nutes or it will kill all the bacteria? so this would be fed with teas or what?
id really like to go organic but aint seen no organic bottled hydro nutes looking around lol
little confused about this though
30 sounds better lol only had a quick look anyway. sure i could find better
falstaffo
Well-Known Member
gt604 85 quid for 3 plants in bloom? lol
falstaffo
Well-Known Member
sorry to the OP btw we hijacked his thread lol
Barney86
Well-Known Member
Yeah
Yeah mate that's what hydroguard is. Living bacteria that keep everything healthy and clean. There are organic hydro nutes. They come with a fresh set of problems though. Especially regarding pump and line blockages. And if you do get root rot or anything like that then you can't just bleach it out. I've seen a couple people do organic hydro but it's not something I'd advise. Lot more mastery involved.
Barney86
Well-Known Member
Oh aye, I thought it was yours lol.sorry OP!
Im the world's worst for it lol
falstaffo
Well-Known Member
hmm
im no master thats for sure
i just want the workload to be as easy as poss without tooo much more outlay lol
i could go with los nd get the cheaper bags, and gradually add to it, but there is still the workload of working in soil, coco was meant to be easy, it is, but its a chore and lot of workload,
this nft sounds nice, easiest of and simplest of hydro systems maybe? but like you say, organic is tricky in hydro then..
gahh i need a goblin to work for me !!!!
im no master thats for sure
i just want the workload to be as easy as poss without tooo much more outlay lol
i could go with los nd get the cheaper bags, and gradually add to it, but there is still the workload of working in soil, coco was meant to be easy, it is, but its a chore and lot of workload,
this nft sounds nice, easiest of and simplest of hydro systems maybe? but like you say, organic is tricky in hydro then..
gahh i need a goblin to work for me !!!!
Barney86
Well-Known Member
That's 3 pounders though mate. Once they've been in the Res for 2 weeks the growth rates go mental. Even autos quite easily turn into pounders with these things. My record auto in a pot is 4oz. Same strain in same time with same lights got me 22oz in the NFT.
Barney86
Well-Known Member
I think in terms of easiest, the autopot takes the prize money. All the benefits of hydro with no having to check the Res. The plants don't feed directly from it so the Res doesn't fluctuate. Can do organic in that too. Seen a few folk do quite well with those biotabs in autopots just filling the Res with water. Plant feeds from the bottom though, not sure if that complicates anything for doing layers of organic amendments. Don't know anything about organics really. 
