How to: Simple Hydroponics

Thanks Cap'n, I couldn't have done it without your help

That "strain" is lemon kush, Ive never grown it before, the only thing i can say,it is absolutely the most smell-less weed i have EVER SEEN,in my 30 yrs as a burner...has zero smell(weed scent) very pungent lemon/citrus smell and kind of "burns"your eyes when working on them.
for the last 30 days I didn't even run a carbon filter/straight to outside.

As cut from tree-they were 83.18 oz(I NEVER WEIGH WET,BUT I'm trying to show my son the drying loss of 75-80%)
after everything gets de-branched-trimmed and cured,I;m thinking around 15-17 oz's

Looking FWD to dry weights.

What brand of "lemon kush"? No smell is a good thing.
 
After trimming(and you went kidding about foxtail trimming) man its way more time consuming

should have a "dry"weight in a month or so,,I will change my guesstimate,and drop down to 13-15 zips,hell after the life these girls have had,im pretty happy to get anything

will take a picture of breeder pack, and pm you or post it in your open q&a ( i dont want to muddy,this tutorial too much)
 
huh I wonder if that "lemon" strain has SLH heritage. I tried one of those back in the 90's and it foxtailed like mad. I bet that's where that's coming from, the lemon haze background.

Personally, I don't care for foxtailing. I use that trait as selection criteria for which genetics I will continue to work with. Like Capn said, it doesn't hurt potency, and might add to yield (not sure), but I think it is aesthetically less appealing. This is just me and your buds look great! Don't take this as a slight. I'm just adding to the foxtail discussion. :Namaste:


Hey Capn, thanks for the tip about adjusting ph with other products. I know my pro-tekt silicon does raise the ph some, but I never thought to use it to raise Ph. I wonder how they compare in terms of cost. I already use FB, so maybe I'll try that for my ph down. I never noticed it lowered my ph, but since it's a fermented product, It's not surprising. I suspect all the buffers in the rest of the GH line make me not see the change.

You change your res every 7-10 days, right? How often do you adjust ph? I've found that I only have to adjust a couple times over the course of a whole flower, and it's usually when I get busy and let the res run more towards the 8-10 days. :winkyface:



So you think your ozone generator makes that big a difference huh? Do you run it before or after the carbon? I have a 'filter chamber' where my AC dumps it's exhaust which then gets filtered and blown out an unused chimney. When I was designing this room nearly 2 years ago, I considered putting an ozone generator in the chimney. I ended up not doing it as I thought it wouldn't have that big an impact. How much can it affect the air in the ducting? It doesn't get to be in contact long does it? I guess if the ozone gen were at the bottom of the chimney pipe, it would get to mix with the smelly air all the way out the top. hmmm I was wondering though if it might be better to put it in my filter chamber though. I guess what I really want to know is, would putting an ozone gen before a carbon filter increase or shorten it's life?
 
>>>Personally, I don't care for foxtailing. I use that trait as selection criteria for which genetics I will continue to work with. Like Capn said, it doesn't hurt potency, and might add to yield (not sure), but I think it is aesthetically less appealing.

+1. I've found that MOST bids that foxtail, are not the most dense either. Bottom line they are more difficult to trim.


>>>Hey Capn, thanks for the tip about adjusting ph with other products. I know my pro-tekt silicon does raise the ph some, but I never thought to use it to raise Ph.

YW.

>>>You change your res every 7-10 days, right? How often do you adjust ph? I've found that I only have to adjust a couple times over the course of a whole flower, and it's usually when I get busy and let the res run more towards the 8-10 days.

Yes I usually keep about 8-10 gals of res water for every one pounder plant. Once a week (sometimes a few days longer), I pump as much water as I can get out (leaving a few gallons behind) then mix up a fresh batch of nutrients, and fill it back up to the 10 gal mark. (Keep in mind there was only about 5 gals of water in the res when I started pumping, due to plant uptake).

A few days later, I top off with plain water or 1/2 strength. During the first couple weeks of flower I try to change water 3 times, since this is a critical time.

>>>So you think your ozone generator makes that big a difference huh?

Yes, I can smell it outside my place, without the UV in place.

>>>Do you run it before or after the carbon?

In line, right after the carbon, so it has a long to time mix with the air before being exhausted outside.

>>>I have a 'filter chamber' where my AC dumps it's exhaust which then gets filtered and blown out an unused chimney. When I was designing this room nearly 2 years ago, I considered putting an ozone generator in the chimney. I ended up not doing it as I thought it wouldn't have that big an impact. How much can it affect the air in the ducting? It doesn't get to be in contact long does it? I guess if the ozone gen were at the bottom of the chimney pipe, it would get to mix with the smelly air all the way out the top. hmmm

Exactly

>>>I was wondering though if it might be better to put it in my filter chamber though.

I would put the UV inline so ALL the air must pass over the bulbs before it goes outside.

>>>I guess what I really want to know is, would putting an ozone gen before a carbon filter increase or shorten it's life?

Good question. So what you're saying is... stinky air comes out of the air con exhaust, which has the UV light inline, into a filter box. Then put a carbon filter in that box and pull that air thru the carbon outside. Or the alternative, stinky air goes into the filter box, then you suck into the carbon, thru the UVlight, and THEN outside. It makes sense that cleaner air would make the carbon last longer, but the question is, will ozone air damage the carbon. I don't know the answer to this question, but you bring up a good point.
 
Capn,
I have to transplant some rooted clone in soil, (solo cup), for my E&F hydro. I know I have to wash the roots, and I want to transplant them into a rockwool cube 4" until I'm ready to put them into my hydro system. I plan on vegging them in the rockwool cube for a couple of weeks. I have Hormex, Roots Excelurator, and Dyna Gro K-L-N. What is the best way of doing this?
 
Capn,
I have to transplant some rooted clone in soil, (solo cup), for my E&F hydro. I know I have to wash the roots, and I want to transplant them into a rockwool cube 4" until I'm ready to put them into my hydro system. I plan on vegging them in the rockwool cube for a couple of weeks. I have Hormex, Roots Excelurator, and Dyna Gro K-L-N. What is the best way of doing this?

Sorry I didn't see this until now.

It is impossible to transplant into a rockwool BLOCK. But you can transplant into rockwool grow cubes with little or no shock. I would make up some nutrient solution and dip the root ball into it, gently massaging it to get out most of the dirt. But don't worry about a little dirt coming over to the rockwool, as it will not hurt anything.

Make sure your rockwool cubes are soaked and nice and wet, so the roots don't try out when you first transplant it. I would irrigate it with your nutrient solution a few times the first couple days, until you know the roots are happy. If it starts to wild when you first transplant it, raise the humidity in your closet with a wet towel, to around 70%
 
Sorry I didn't see this until now.

It is impossible to transplant into a rockwool BLOCK. But you can transplant into rockwool grow cubes with little or no shock. I would make up some nutrient solution and dip the root ball into it, gently massaging it to get out most of the dirt. But don't worry about a little dirt coming over to the rockwool, as it will not hurt anything.

Make sure your rockwool cubes are soaked and nice and wet, so the roots don't try out when you first transplant it. I would irrigate it with your nutrient solution a few times the first couple days, until you know the roots are happy. If it starts to wild when you first transplant it, raise the humidity in your closet with a wet towel, to around 70%


First off Cap, WASSSS UPPPPP!!! been a min!

But the phrase "It is impossible to transplant into a rockwool BLOCK."

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!!!!
(just f*%king hard) lol

You literaly have to catch them before the roots get more then 1/8 inch long (basicly nubs)

then it's possible to do, iv done a couple times already....

BUT

the way with grow CUBES is WAYYYYYY easyer if you want 90-100% success,

Personly, It is alot more productive for me to start clones inside a BLOCK due to the fact you dont need to water as much, there is not a pump that needs to be on 24/7 and so on, lot easier in my book

**idk were but just saw a great tutorial on how to start clones in BLOCKs (thought cap made it but cant find it) : (
 
First off Cap, WASSSS UPPPPP!!! been a min!
It is alot more productive for me to start clones inside a BLOCK due to the fact you dont need to water as much, there is not a pump that needs to be on 24/7 and so on, lot easier in my book

**idk were but just saw a great tutorial on how to start clones in BLOCKs (thought cap made it but cant find it) : (

+1. Good to see you on here JLT. Here is the clone article:

How to clone in rock wool
 
Well necessity is the mother of invention.

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About a week and a half and two transplants later:
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Going strong 100% success, if I could just quit dropping things on them.
 
For any that may be interested I finally got my outdoor 'Cap'n Style' set up all done this weekend, and they exploded in growth over next two days. They just got pulled down right before pics taken. The plan is to transplant into 15 gallon airpots in next month(in 3 gallon nursery pots building root mass now), then grow some more and bud starting in August, if weather/strain cooperates....

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For any that may be interested I finally got my outdoor 'Cap'n Style' set up all done this weekend, and they exploded in growth over next two days. They just got pulled down right before pics taken. The plan is to transplant into 15 gallon airpots in next month(in 3 gallon nursery pots building root mass now), then grow some more and bud starting in August, if weather/strain cooperates....

Wow, I didn't know anyone was doing capn style outdoors. Way to go! I'm VERY interested in seeing how you do here. I see plants in dirt too. That will be great to see size difference, if any. Please keep me updated. How often are you irrigating the plants in rockwool?
 
Wow, I didn't know anyone was doing capn style outdoors. Way to go! I'm VERY interested in seeing how you do here. I see plants in dirt too. That will be great to see size difference, if any. Please keep me updated. How often are you irrigating the plants in rockwool?

Right now one 30 min session in the morning. Every time I check the pots are still pretty heavy even right before the timer kicks on, am i irrigating too much? Also I have not drilled any holes in this nursery pot, should i drill some to get more air in there or not necessary at this stage? Using your tea recipe so want to make sure I not killing the good aerobic bacteria so it is replaced with the anaerobic bad bacteria. Actually just started brewing a new batch last night. Plus when transplanting sprinkling a bit of the great white on root mass and in new cubes.

The ones you see in dirt,well pro mix, are some autos, but if you check out my journal I have some other photoperiod strains going in Pro-Mix. My plan is to have 5 big plants, g/f will have 2 more, in this 10X10 greenhouse, but if they keep growing like they are may need to get a 2nd greenhouse lol.
 
Right now one 30 min session in the morning. Every time I check the pots are still pretty heavy even right before the timer kicks on, am i irrigating too much? Also I have not drilled any holes in this nursery pot, should i drill some to get more air in there or not necessary at this stage? Using your tea recipe so want to make sure I not killing the good aerobic bacteria so it is replaced with the anaerobic bad bacteria. Actually just started brewing a new batch last night. Plus when transplanting sprinkling a bit of the great white on root mass and in new cubes.

The ones you see in dirt,well pro mix, are some autos, but if you check out my journal I have some other photoperiod strains going in Pro-Mix. My plan is to have 5 big plants, g/f will have 2 more, in this 10X10 greenhouse, but if they keep growing like they are may need to get a 2nd greenhouse lol.

I'm totally envious of the green house.

You could go to 15 min irrigation but it probably won't affect anything. When those plants get a little bigger, you will find they consume more of the water in the pot. You don't need to worry about drilling holes, especially since you will be moving to the airpots soon. It's difficult to over water the grow cubes. I like how you have some of the main branches tied out. They will really bush up and you will get a lot more tops by doing that.

How's the humidity in that greenhouse?
 
How's the humidity in that greenhouse?

Well I live just East of the crest of the Cascade mountains in Southern WA state, so humidity is pretty low here in summer, on order of 30-50% during days. I run a humidifier in my indoor and it goes through water like crazy and it barely 55% in that room.

I like how you have some of the main branches tied out. They will really bush up and you will get a lot more tops by doing that.

That is the idea, plus cant grow 10 foot tall plants in the greenhouse :)
 
Well I live just East of the crest of the Cascade mountains in Southern WA state, so humidity is pretty low here in summer, on order of 30-50% during days. I run a humidifier in my indoor and it goes through water like crazy and it barely 55% in that room.

You're lucky. Much better to have that problem, than too high of a humidity.
 
Of all the five hydroponic systems that you've mentioned here, Ebb and Flow is the simplest and best one. It was probably the first system used by commercial growers and hobbyists both. My experience with it has been remarkable, not only in terms of excellent growth and yield, but also because of ease of use, care and maintenance!

Personally, I have always preferred an ebb and flow system with the dual-pump mechanism. This kind of system requires you to have two mechanical pumps; one feeds your plants with the nutrient solution and the other makes the solution return back to the reservoir. You can place the planting container straight on the floor, increasing the vertical space of your grow room. And since the reservoir in these systems is detachable, maintenance and adjustments are also easier compared to other hydroponic systems.
 
Of all the five hydroponic systems that you’ve mentioned here, Ebb and Flow is the simplest and best one. It was probably the first system used by commercial growers and hobbyists both. My experience with it has been remarkable, not only in terms of excellent growth and yield, but also because of ease of use, care and maintenance!

Personally, I have always preferred an ebb and flow system with the dual-pump mechanism. This kind of system requires you to have two mechanical pumps; one feeds your plants with the nutrient solution and the other makes the solution return back to the reservoir. You can place the planting container straight on the floor, increasing the vertical space of your grow room. And since the reservoir in these systems is detachable, maintenance and adjustments are also easier compared to other hydroponic systems.

HI Dan and thanks for reading. If you've read my other stuff you've seen I'm a fan of ebb and flow as well.

>>>I have always preferred an ebb and flow system with the dual-pump mechanism. This kind of system requires you to have two mechanical pumps; one feeds your plants with the nutrient solution and the other makes the solution return back to the reservoir. You can place the planting container straight on the floor, increasing the vertical space of your grow room.

I'll have to ask you for more information here? Design pictures? Give us details. Is this a theory of yours or do you have a working set up?

>>>Ebb and Flow is the simplest and best one.

Best? That's arguable, but I agree ebb and flow is very effective because it floods the entire media. Some will argue that ebb and flow creates a salty line in the grow media at the flood level, and this needs to be rinsed weekly.

Simplest? I disagree. Ebb and flow requires a LARGE reservoir, enough to completely fill all the growing containers attached to it. With Top feed, we can get by with a much smaller reservoir, and waste less nutrients at water changes, and never worry about a salt line.

>>>one feeds your plants with the nutrient solution and the other makes the solution return back to the reservoir

Are you referring to a CAP type ebb and flow system, where we have two water pumps on timers and float switches? These systems are expensive and are not the most simple to set up. Or are you talking about a system where water pumps just run on timers and when they run dry they sit there and rattle until the timer goes off?

>>>You can place the planting container straight on the floor

Not exactly. We will still need some room for water to drain out. Think about a 5 gallon bucket of water with a water pump in it. It will pump the water out until it runs dry, leaving about 3" of water in the bucket. So the media still needs to at LEAST be above this, plus an additional 2" to compensate for more water draining out of the media after the pump turns off.

I love discussions on DIY growing systems! Keep in mind, I'm not trying to say you're wrong. I seriously love ebb and flow. But I'll have to challenge you to post some pictures of the design to which you are referring. It "sounds" like a good idea but without more info we don't know how it's set up. Looking forward to your response.
 
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