Advice on a LOW maintenance grow system

[Dashiznet]

Ok guys I was just about to start my first grow (have a 180 advanced lighting LED light, Blue Planet Nutrients Grow/Micro/bllom, a small grow tent, a home made aeroponics system, and some beautiful seeds) but I was forced to take a new job and will be away from home Monday through Friday. My question is does anyone know a system I can set up to keep my girls happy for those five days? I'm more than willing to spend the weekend preparing for the following week. Oh I also have three timers sofar. (one in 30 min increments the other 2 in 15 min increments) I was thinking that going soil with a watering or two systems on timers would be good. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[TorturedSoul]

DWC tank with a float-valve in it to keep the water level up?

 

[Dashiznet]

DWC tank with a float-valve in it to keep the water level up?

Thank you! I'll look into the DWC tank more!

 

[TorturedSoul]

A good nutrient schedule ought to be stable enough (pH-wise) to not rise to an extreme number in five days. It will rise as the plants feed. The larger the reservoir, the more buffer you have. As the plants get larger they'll uptake more water (and in high temperatures, even more).

 

[InhaleShanti]

i have similar goals in my setup & have been tempted to get one of them timer'd reservoir drip watering jobbies...seems to be about the least potential for anything to flood or go crazy and give my landlord a reason to have to pay a visit while i'm away : P
i'm growin soil but would like a really simple bombproof aero or dwc kinda setup fo shizzle =D

 

[PrairiePoet]

In hydro leaving them alone for five days might not work very well. During the stretching periods, you will need to keep the lights far enough away for the growth it will do that week.

I think if I was doing this, I'd go soil with an automated watering.

 

[DrSticky]

if you want to do DWC the best way to keep your level up is to have a central res with each bucket at a fixed level so the res resirculates into the buckets, which flow out at the fill line. You would want to fill your PPM's lower than normal since water usually is taken up faster than nutrients.

I use coco pots, 15-30 gallons each in smart pots, the bigger the better. this is the best system ive found so far, and i get great results. ive done aero, soil, DWC, NFT, and Coco. Coco is technically a hydro medium. Canna coco absorbs 75% its volume in water...so a 30 gallon pot will hold over 20 gallons of water. That should be enough to last you 5 days, but you could have a fixed volume watering halfway through. I like to water everyday and let it run off. Check my gallery, i think you will agree.