Low profile & height hydroponics, what would you choose

[Anoobis]

Hi, i grow small plants in a gutted out 4 draw filing cabinet. Not alot of space height wise. I have been growing in soil with decent results, but i have also had a surprising amount of nutrient deficiency issues given that its "super soil" scenario (coco coir, perlite, large quantities of worm castings, blood and bone, various commercial composts (mushroom, chicken manure, cow manure)). Watering mostly with just water and magnesium, but occasionally adding in some seasol, etc. I am sure i have goofed somewhere, probably in how i test the soil PH using a probe. Usually its around 6.7, a bit high. Or maybe its not accurate.

I went soil because it seemed less maintenance, but in all honesty i have had much better results when i used an old flood and drain hydroponic method years ago. But that was in a cupboard where i had a lot more height to work with. I think i want to switch back to a hydro set up, but the flood and drain method i used to use with a reservoir tub on the bottom pumping periodically up to another tub... it consumes a lot of height which is at a premium in my cabinet.

If you were going to set up a hydro kit where height is a major factor, what would you choose? I am talking just a single plant under a hlg 135 v2 rspec. Would dwc be the way to go?

 

[Pat Puffer]

Hey there. I noticed you said coco coir & pH'd @6.5. That was your issue with deficiencies. Coco is considered a soilless medium and needs it's inputs pH'd at about 5.5...or somewhere there, I dont grow in coco.

Organic inputs do not seem to work well for most in coco, due to the constant watering that can accompany a coco grow.

If stick with your coco coir and get some hydro nutes and pH your ferts, you would be on point. Members get great results with coco.

 

[VetSmoke85]

I grow in small spaces too and use soil but I use biobizz light mix and mega crop for nutrients. 6.8 is high for pH. You want to have the nutrient solution/water at 6.3. Get a proper pH pen. If you want a space saving hydro grow have you thought of a hempy bucket?

 

[Anoobis]

I am just germinating some seeds now, and will be doing at least one more soil run. I had wondered about the coco coir (it probably represents about half the mix, along with the other things ive mentioned). I had read somewhere that it can cause a magnesium deficiency due to how it decomposes, so i tried supplementing with mag. But i still think it was magnesium that was the culprit from looking at the leaves, but i am not confident in that. Havent mixed the soil yet, but i decided to switch out the coco and use something else. Peat moss seems to have the same issues as coco, from perusing the internet. Maybe i can get away with just using the perlite for drainage

I do have a EC meter and an old PH pen that i can dust off. Last time i used the PH pen with a 7.0 calibration solution it always said 6.9. Couldnt work out how to calibrate it to 7, its pretty old (15 years plus). I generally dont add fertilizers, apart from the mag and seasol,

Depending on how this run goes will determine whether i switch and have to buy some new equipment. But i am just thinking ahead if it fails.

I will have a look at a hempy bucket video or two as well. Thanks

 

[013]

The proper way to test soil ph is by doing a slurry test with distilled water. The cheap ph probes are notoriously inaccurate. If you are unable to calibrate your old ph pen then it’s time to replace that with a new model. Soilless grows such as peat, coco & hempy are considered drain to waste hydro so the ph of your feed solutions are critical.