How to: Simple Hydroponics

[TheCapn]

Ya know, when I was cleaning them up after my harvest, it occurred to me someone might want to see the root mass. I should have taken pictures. I'm only a few weeks from harvest. I'll get some pictures for you this time.

I really do like the rock. When you pull them out, you can see a huge (2+") layer starting around where the top of the flood is that looks like webs it's so full of mychos. They do get root bound, but that's because i'm using little 2g pot and vegging for a month!

That's interesting you don't have trouble with overwatering and rock wool. I used to use it in varying amounts when I was growing in trays. I never went to 100% rock wool, but I did use larger and larger cubes for awhile, but I didn't like how much water they held. It was probably just in comparison to the rock. If I keep the rock the right moisture level, the RW is too wet. If I get the RW right, the rock is too dry. It was that little run of experiments that turned me off from it. I continued to use it to clone, but I would veg 10"+ plants in these tiny little RW cubes before putting them in the trays of rocks. I thought it was cool to have more plant than RW.

Now I've built an aero cloner and put the bare roots right into the rock buckets. You just flood the buckets when they are only 2/3 filled with rock. The rock floats a little so you can just wiggle the roots right in, then finish putting the rock in. This current crop is the first time I used the method, and I was very pleased with how well it worked!

I'm watching Jon's experiment too. He's got me reading a LOT about soil now. I'm waaaay behind on that learning curve, but I'm a quick learner. In fact, today I added some Azomite to an Amazon order I'm working on. When I left soil to switch to hydro, I didn't know nearly as much about our beloved plant as I do now. Maybe I can do better in soil this time around. I'm for sure doing some test plants next round. I realized it's also a way for me to expand my flowering with minimal cost.

>>but I did use larger and larger cubes for awhile, but I didn't like how much water they held.

I grow with the rockwool grow cubes, aka croutons, not the blocks. The grow-cubes have little spaces everywhere between them so they drain much faster and are harder to over water than solid blocks. In the past I've tried the hugos and big mama blocks, and have grown many 2 ouncers in them. If you only want to grow 2 ouncers, I think they work well in flood and drain trays, but it is not my style. Plus, they are kind of expensive. And yeah, when plants are young, those blocks will hold water for DAYS.

I made some "super soil" in the spring and I have... shhhhh.... a few outdoor plants of my own I used about 1/2 to 2/3rds the suggested amount of all the ingredients, (except the dirt) and still spent 200 on everything. I flowered out a couple plants in 7 gallon containers indoors, but used the majority of the soil for the outdoor grow. The two plants were 4 ouncers, and really great quality. I didn't use ANY nutrients, just pain RO water about every 4 days. I have to admit, it is as simple as it gets. So far, I haven't added any nutrients to the outdoor plants and they are green as can be. They are about 6-7ft tall now. Aside from a little initial topping in the first month, I am just letting them go, I'm not training them or anything. This is my first outdoor grow so I am learning. It is amazing how they look like a completely different plant when grown under the sun.

Well, I'm getting off track again. Anyway, nice sharing knowledge with you hiker. I've been peeking at your journal and looking fwd to some big buds.

 

[TheCapn]

Time for an update to the 3 plants grown "simple hydroponic-ally".

The two Agent orange plants are at about the 5th week of flower, I am using Dutch Master flower nutrients, A, B, and add27, plus calmag, and 1ml/gal potash with total ppm of around 850ish @.5. I am losing about 25ppm per day over the last couple weeks, so I probably need to shoot for 1000ppm on the next nutrient change. They are still consuming about one to two gallons a day. I am topping off with nutrient water, since I am losing ppm's per day. So far I am really happy with the dutch master. The PH is pretty solid and growth is fantastic.

I was able to free up some space for this plant, so it is happier now.

The Beast:

And Ace of Spades, just showing a few amber trics here and there. I'll start a flush in about 4 days, and harvest another 4 days after that. The ace of spades smells like flowers, and the odor is not too strong.

 

[jlt1202]

hey man how big are these holes??? i am going to use a 5 gall bucket with a 32 gal trash can. the 20 gal was to short and wouldnt have alot of rez room in the can ; P ended up geting a free roller cart that attaches to it because when i was testing it i forgot to detatch and didnt notice she didnt charge me so SCORE! lol that was like 37$ (stupid price anyway)

i drilled a 3/8ths hole but i feel it needs to be atlest 1/2" to 3/4". What did you drill them??

 

[TheCapn]

HI JLT, Honestly I can't remember how big the holes are but 3/8 sounds about right. It doesn't make too much difference. One word of caution on this trash can method. I think I talked about it before, but the roots will grow out the bottom of your 5 gallon bucket and dangle in the res area, turning it into a hybird top feed / DWC grow. When that happens you will need plenty of air. You know this already but just reminding you to plan on that.

Also, I drilled a couple 4" netpot holes in the top of my trash can lid, so i can get my arms down in there, and then for lids, I use netpots with neoprene disks, or plugs as lids so light doesn't get in. Plus, I can remove a netpot and peek at the roots

I have found this top feed / dwc to be very effective, but it is not "simple hydroponics". It requires air pumps running 24/7. It is more prone to root issues than just plain grow cubes. There might be a slight increase in average yield but it's probably not work the extra hassle.

For my next round plants, I'm using this dwc/top feed method, and over the next 5-6 plants, I'll be able to get a good idea if the dwc is worth the extra risk / hassle. I do like this 27 gal tuff tote, as it gets the plant down lower, and has more room for roots and water volume. They are $10 at home depot right now.

 

[TheCapn]

The ace of spades, grown in the basic simple hydro method (shown at the beginning of this thread), was harvested 8 days ago, and yielded a little over 14oz, plus enough trim for 8 grams of golden kief.

Grow Method:

Before harvest:

Here's 12 of the 14oz:

 

[Parkview]

14 oz. not bad at all.

 

[jlt1202]

this is the bucket im using for a rez, i have the 5 gall bucket with a 2/3 cube 1/3 hydroton mix... i drilled all the holes in the 5 gal bucket last night lol

idk if im going to allow the water to get high enough for water to touch, but i was looking into root pruning more, it treats alot like defoiliing because the roots in theroy explode and get thicker, stops the stretch as much and makes dence bud formations

 

[TheCapn]

oh yeah! Gonna be a big one. I hope you have tall ceilings!

You got the grow CHUNKS, instead of the CUBES. I usually use the cubes, but the chunks work too (they are about 1" squares).

I have not done any experimenting with cutting roots. I get the theory, but I'm hesitant to try it for fear of subjecting roots to root disease. I'm probably overly cautious here since I've had a bad bout with pythium. "bad" is an understatement.

If you only irrigate a couple times a day, that might be enough to air prune the roots before they grow into the res area... that is, IF you DON'T have an airstone down there. If you have any air in there, the bubbles popping at the surface will probably be enough to keep the roots wet so they don't air prune.

Either way, I'm looking fwd to seeing this go. Do you have a plant already in veg for this? What strain you going to grow?

 

[jlt1202]

I Have only clones that are just coming out of the cloner X ( lil behind but coming up, going to get them in a smaller containor full of cubes so it can get aclumated before the 5 gall goes in room, i hope that by the time im ready to put it in some of my main grow will be finished

 

[wreched75]

Hey cap awesome awesome awesome!!!!!! Is all I can say

I want to do this method for obvious reasons yield and of course the no brainer # of plant count gotta stay legal! I have a small area I mean small 3x3x72 grow tent. I want to do method 1 and was thinking bout throwing 3 plants in there scrog. My question is, would it be possible to go from veg to flower on drip? Or do I have to ebb and flow during veg? Also since I am in a very tight space would I be able to do the drip method with just one res? And if so how many gallons should one purchase for this grow?

Thanks for all the work and effort you put in the post I follow and read your articles and I am just amazed. I will be doing my first grow next week and hopefully I can be as successful as you. Thanks again

 

[TheCapn]

Hey cap awesome awesome awesome!!!!!! Is all I can say

I want to do this method for obvious reasons yield and of course the no brainer # of plant count gotta stay legal! I have a small area I mean small 3x3x72 grow tent. I want to do method 1 and was thinking bout throwing 3 plants in there scrog. My question is, would it be possible to go from veg to flower on drip? Or do I have to ebb and flow during veg? Also since I am in a very tight space would I be able to do the drip method with just one res? And if so how many gallons should one purchase for this grow?

Thanks for all the work and effort you put in the post I follow and read your articles and I am just amazed. I will be doing my first grow next week and hopefully I can be as successful as you. Thanks again

Hey Wr, I see you found both my ebb and flow and top feed articles. The choice is yours my friend. I would suggest starting at the beginning of both of these articles and reading them all the way through to see what one you like the best, and go with it. The top feed method #1 is the most simple, I believe.

>>>I have a small area I mean small 3x3x72 grow tent. I want to do method 1 and was thinking bout throwing 3 plants in there scrog.

I guess you could do that but this is not really the "point" of my articles. My methods are based around growing a single plant within a 4' x 4' space. If I were you, I would do a single plant in that 3 x 3 area. If you already have 3 plants started, you could flower them using method #1 top feed. Up to you.

 

[wreched75]

Hey Wr, I see you found both my ebb and flow and top feed articles. The choice is yours my friend. I would suggest starting at the beginning of both of these articles and reading them all the way through to see what one you like the best, and go with it. The top feed method #1 is the most simple, I believe.


I guess you could do that but this is not really the "point" of my articles. My methods are based around growing a single plant within a 4' x 4' space. If I were you, I would do a single plant in that 3 x 3 area. If you already have 3 plants started, you could flower them using method #1 top feed. Up to you.

Hey cap

Thanks for the quick reply!!! I am so motivated hehe thank you. I think that I'll go drip, since my setup cannot hold an flood tray, gotta come up with a nice diy water catch lol. I read some where on here that if you did the drip and just had one pump and multiple plants that nutrients won't be able to be spread across evenly? Thanks again cap and I'll be sure start my journal and post post and repost again I hope to yield just a quarter of what you do. Thank you again cap

 

[jlt1202]

Cap, Check this out,

Was at my local store and they only had one of these guys so i looked at it and bought it, should be great for the hdo/dwc bucket i got , ill let you know if it turns into a must have for dwc buckets. Probly make a vid and post so you can see bubble formation haha

 

[TheCapn]

I like it! It looks like it will make a lot of bubbles. As long as the roots don't get it in and ground up?

 

[jlt1202]

So i was on vacation for a week and thos clones i had in the bucket were gtg when i left, when i returned they were huge! here is couple picks of the one i set up for hydro, she is lil behind but im going to see if i can still catch up and woop some asss haha

 

[TheCapn]

I am currently harvesting the 2nd of the initial 3 plants.

So far, we got 14oz from the first plant, and now I chopped the 2nd.

This is the plant I just harvested, pic from a couple weeks ago:

Grown top feed, in a big garbage can:

Here it is hanging. This is everything, minus a 1/2 oz I took a week early. I'm estimating another 14 oz on this one. The buds are small but plentiful. No idea why the picture came thru upside down.

 

[AfricanGrower]

Nice harvest pics man, it is looking like you might be hitting 28 oz with two plants, AND who knows how much that will increase with the harvesting of the third. +reps Capn

 

[KingJohnC]

congratulations on your harvest!

 

[Wacky Kush]

What's hapnin TheCapn?

Very nice read , I tried to PM you but being brand new I'm lacking post count to do so. If you don't mind me asking about the PVC dripper you made , Is it attached with a threaded hose adapter and what size dripper holes and how many ?

Thanks

Great read , all of your articles for that matter.

Jessie here! If you've been reading any of my posts, you've seen the fantastic growth and yields I've been getting with Ebb and flow buckets. Now, I'm simplifying it even more, with Top Feed To Waste.

What is top feed to waste?
Top feed is one of the most simple forms of hydroponic growing. "Top feed" can be as simple as watering plants by hand, or, can be automated with a small water pump on a timer. "To Waste" aka "drain to waste" means, we won't RE-USE the water; we let it go down the drain. The advantages to drain to waste are, we constantly water our plant with premium, bacteria free, ph adjusted water. There is less chance for root disease, less chance for PH drift, and less chance for deficiencies. NO need for chiller, no sprayers to get clogged, the list goes on and on.

Intro:
I started a few years ago growing Hydro. I thought I needed the BEST! I had so much sh_t running in the grow room, it practically vibrated the house. Over time I have learned how to simplify the process, without sacrificing quality or quantity. In fact, I'm growing bigger than I ever have, and I'll show you how I do it.

I've done may types of hydro looking for the fastest growing set up. I have an attic full of hydro equipment I don't use. I will quickly tell you what I've tried, and pros and cons for each.

bio buckets
PROS: Nice, DWC or better growth
CONS: Your grow room will sound like the fountain at the Bellagio. (leaks, loud, and complicated), plumbing everywhere

RDWC (recirculating deep water culture)
PROS: Amazing growth
CONS: Prone to pythium / root rot, plan on a large LOUD air pump for each container, hoses everywhere, chance for leaks, need chiller to keep water at 70, need battery back up in case of power outage, expensive to change nutrients due to large water volume

Aeroponics
PROS: Explosive growth, uses less water that RDWC or ebb and flow
CONS: Water pumps running 24/7 heat up water, demanding need for chiller. You might be able to get away with 75 degree water during veg, but eventually that water will be too warm for flower, putting you at risk for root diseases, loud water pumps, sprayers getting clogged, complicated plumbing unless you buy a pre-fab, subject to power failures / need battery backup

If you're doing one of the three above methods, you won't want to go on vacation more than a day without checking your grow. And if you do, you will need to take a friend thru a 2 week training course to teach him how to take care if something goes wrong.

Now we get a bit simpler:

ebb and flow
PROS: DWC comparable growth rates, less risk of root diseases than aero or dwc, flooding completely saturates the growing medium, giving roots no dead spots in the pot, uses some plumbing, but not complicated, no need for chiller, not affected by power outages, quiet, no air / water pumps running constantly.
CONS: Uses large amount of water

In this pic you can see I'm using a 10gallon flood container, with the plant in a 7 gallon nursery pot. For a full article on how to grow using this, check out my signature.

I've done all these methods with success in each, and trust me, I have made my fair share of mistakes. After this, I analyzed it all, to decide what method gives ME the most yield, with least amount of problems, and best return on investment for both money and effort spent. I have been doing ebb and flow in buckets (see my signature) for some time now. Now, I'm trying Top Feed, and I'm going to do it here with you.

Top Feed to waste
PROS: DWC comparable growth rates if done correctly, almost NO risk of root diseases, inexpensive, uses simple plumbing, easy to set up, no need for chiller, not affected by power outages, quiet, no air / water pumps running constantly, leave your grow for a week or more without worry

What I've Learned
When I was a teen ager, I wanted that new Gibson Guitar so bad! And my dad told me, "Son, it's 10% guitar, 90% player." It's the same with growing. 10% equipment, 90% grower. You won't be mr ganja, just because you bought that $1000 aero setup. The equipment is only a small piece of the of the entire operation.
You don't think "Top feed" is "fancy" enough for you? You don't think "top feed" will give a great yield? Stick around and I'll show you how I do it, with one the most simple hydroponic methods.

PS, this is my first Top Feed grow so I don't know what to expect either ;-)

As always, thanks for checking out my articles. I am here to learn. Questions and constructive comments welcome. I will be starting the process in my next post. We will cover vegetative growth and flowering, topping, fimming, lst, and more, to get the maximum yield from a single monster plant.

 

[TheCapn]

Hi WK. Welcome to the thread. yes that is a threaded hose barb. I use 1/16" holes, but you can use a little bigger to prevent any clogs. Sometimes the roots grow into the water pump intake and then it clogs the holes. I wouldn't go over 1/8".