I have been working toward a total KISS hydro system, whose results are easily repeatable. The beauty of hydro is CONTROL.
I still haven't decided whether my stripped down hpa system is comparable, BUT, My 21st Century DIY F & D rocks. Anyone can build it with minimal tools. Most importantly it can be operated simply for Noobs, OR, it can be easily pushed in both veg and flower, ideal for more advanced growers.
Seeds are germed in RO water + pinch of sea salt minerals. I use a meat baster to gently water the cubes. Tap roots develop within 24-48 hours. Once the taps are ~ 1/4" they are placed into Sunleaves Starter Cubes (cut in half) and placed in south facing window sill, but a few cfls/led will work, just keep them > 12" above.
Once the taproot clears the bottom (2-3 more days) each is placed into the smallest net pot which is inserted into 1.5" PVC couplers then placed in my DIY bubbler (pic 2) I use a 45L/hr air pump + 4 large Oxystones. This provides an abundance of oxygenated water/nutes. I fill the Rubbermaid with sufficient water/nutes to within ~ 2" from the bottom of the net pot. (When cloning, no net pot is needed). Rubber pucks fit perfectly inside the PVC coupler for cloning.
Plants stay in the bubbler until the root structure is sufficient to absorb ample nutrients (important in the hpa, as mist pause cycles can vary from 2- 10 minutes) are so as to not underfeed the plant; which seems to be at 3rd leaf set.
Pic 3 & 4 show outboard rez + PVC arms. This was first gen. I now use a 2G Coleman cooler which is ample for 2 X 4 tray, though mine at this point is 2 X 2. Inside, where I simply had holes drilled in the pvc, which created a Bellagio type water, but was to intense for young plants. I now use lp mist heads (Pic 6)
Other than the small starter cubes (I no longer us RW or S2G cubes) no other grow medium is needed when using hpa, where plant roots hang in the root chamber, totally free from any medium. My previous IC journal details my hpa system, so no need to rehash it here, though I will post occasional pics.
My DIY 21st Century Flood & Drain
If you enlarge pic and look to the right of my hand you should see 2 lp mist heads
Air Pots + net pots + lava rock + hydroton + lp misting = Explosive growth/budding
Avoiding root transplant shock.
The small net pot with young plant is centered into an empty 3” net pot. I had to cut a ~ 1” hole in the center of the 3" pot as the roots were already 4-5” long; the hole is not necessary if you transplant before the root structure is too long.
The gap between the two is filled with hydroton. This fits nicely into a 1 liter Air Pot, with one layer of lava rock on the bottom for the roots to root on + flow out the sides/bottom. These then go into my high wall flood tray (Rubbermaid 18G tote with lid cut out. However, I don't feed by conventional floodings.
Once the roots start coming out the bottomof the 1L AP, I transfer the whole 1 L AP into a 1G AP (or larger), and infill with a couple layers of lava rock; then center the 1 L AP and side fill with lava rock.
Flood Cycles
I ‘flood’ from the top and sides using low pressure mist heads which are strategically placed along the pvc pipe bars, which connects to my low pressure pump in my 2g outboard rez (a small Coleman Cooler). Feed cycles vary; shorter on time (less nutes) during early growth. As the plant gains leaf sets, I decrease the pause cycle (in the beginning ~ 3 hours), and eventually increase the on cycle. Observing the plants is the key. The 2 plants in the pics below are now on ~30 sec feed and 1 hour pause.
The resulting soft spray from the lp mist heads + the high wall environment (think rain forest) provides oxygenated humidity for the top of the plant while the nutes gently cascade into the plant from both the top & sides; it then cascades slowly down to the drain and back to the rez.
The lava rock + hydroton prevents channeling ++++ feeding all roots. The rough surfaces and pockets of the media holds a small volume of nutes/moisture to keep roots from drying out between ‘flood’ cycles.
Putting the Pedal to The Metal
The AP system + lava rock drains quickly (but small % of moisture remains), this allows me to ‘flood’ as often as every 30 minutes. Timer is IGS 011, it has separate o/o rotary knobs, which comes in very handy as dialing in o/o varies throughout the grow.
In the beginning the plants can’t tolerate more than 1 flood ~ 20 sec (this timers lowest on setting) @ 2-3 hours; 10 seconds would be ample at this stage of development. I compensated by using pvc bars with fewer misting heads, then either swap them out for pvc rails with more heads per rail, or, twist the timer dial for a longer flood time, and/or a shorter pause cycle.
In my previous grows, the plant grew so freakin fast, I decided to keep dialing up the flooding frequency. At the height of flower I was flooding every 30 minutes, then slowly backed it down to 1/4hrs as harvest approached. Easy-Peazy
Each method (hpa + F & D) takes up ~ 50% of the 2 X 4 grow space under my Quantum 8 bulb. I use a combination of aquarium bulbs to simulate led nm specific spectrums.
Nutes for Noobs + Pros Alike
I went through hell using organic nutes and replaced them with DM Gold- the full 6 separate products. Although I got vg results, I was still dealing with clogged filters/screens in my hpa system.
I saw netprophets' thread here and gave it a try. Hydro-Research VEG+BLOOMis easy to mix and my plants love it.
I switched in mid veg. Within days veg growth EXPLODED. It was my best result by a long shot. It has lots of micros that he does not list. New product has fulvic acid, which he makes in house.
This grow started with V+B. The 2 plants are the 2 biggest of the 8 F1 seedlings from my first cross
5gms/G= 850ppms. Using 7.5 RO water pH = 5.8. No pH swings either. Prior to moving from my bubbler, ppms are ~ 200. And I keep it there for the first week in the main system. I then dump the rez, and increase to ~ 300 ppms. The following week ~ 400. I tried 500 but with a few days the plants started sexing. I backed ppms down to 400 and they reverted to veg.
More to come... pics too
I still haven't decided whether my stripped down hpa system is comparable, BUT, My 21st Century DIY F & D rocks. Anyone can build it with minimal tools. Most importantly it can be operated simply for Noobs, OR, it can be easily pushed in both veg and flower, ideal for more advanced growers.
Seeds are germed in RO water + pinch of sea salt minerals. I use a meat baster to gently water the cubes. Tap roots develop within 24-48 hours. Once the taps are ~ 1/4" they are placed into Sunleaves Starter Cubes (cut in half) and placed in south facing window sill, but a few cfls/led will work, just keep them > 12" above.
Once the taproot clears the bottom (2-3 more days) each is placed into the smallest net pot which is inserted into 1.5" PVC couplers then placed in my DIY bubbler (pic 2) I use a 45L/hr air pump + 4 large Oxystones. This provides an abundance of oxygenated water/nutes. I fill the Rubbermaid with sufficient water/nutes to within ~ 2" from the bottom of the net pot. (When cloning, no net pot is needed). Rubber pucks fit perfectly inside the PVC coupler for cloning.
Plants stay in the bubbler until the root structure is sufficient to absorb ample nutrients (important in the hpa, as mist pause cycles can vary from 2- 10 minutes) are so as to not underfeed the plant; which seems to be at 3rd leaf set.
Pic 3 & 4 show outboard rez + PVC arms. This was first gen. I now use a 2G Coleman cooler which is ample for 2 X 4 tray, though mine at this point is 2 X 2. Inside, where I simply had holes drilled in the pvc, which created a Bellagio type water, but was to intense for young plants. I now use lp mist heads (Pic 6)
Other than the small starter cubes (I no longer us RW or S2G cubes) no other grow medium is needed when using hpa, where plant roots hang in the root chamber, totally free from any medium. My previous IC journal details my hpa system, so no need to rehash it here, though I will post occasional pics.
My DIY 21st Century Flood & Drain
If you enlarge pic and look to the right of my hand you should see 2 lp mist heads
Air Pots + net pots + lava rock + hydroton + lp misting = Explosive growth/budding
Avoiding root transplant shock.
The small net pot with young plant is centered into an empty 3” net pot. I had to cut a ~ 1” hole in the center of the 3" pot as the roots were already 4-5” long; the hole is not necessary if you transplant before the root structure is too long.
The gap between the two is filled with hydroton. This fits nicely into a 1 liter Air Pot, with one layer of lava rock on the bottom for the roots to root on + flow out the sides/bottom. These then go into my high wall flood tray (Rubbermaid 18G tote with lid cut out. However, I don't feed by conventional floodings.
Once the roots start coming out the bottomof the 1L AP, I transfer the whole 1 L AP into a 1G AP (or larger), and infill with a couple layers of lava rock; then center the 1 L AP and side fill with lava rock.
Flood Cycles
I ‘flood’ from the top and sides using low pressure mist heads which are strategically placed along the pvc pipe bars, which connects to my low pressure pump in my 2g outboard rez (a small Coleman Cooler). Feed cycles vary; shorter on time (less nutes) during early growth. As the plant gains leaf sets, I decrease the pause cycle (in the beginning ~ 3 hours), and eventually increase the on cycle. Observing the plants is the key. The 2 plants in the pics below are now on ~30 sec feed and 1 hour pause.
The resulting soft spray from the lp mist heads + the high wall environment (think rain forest) provides oxygenated humidity for the top of the plant while the nutes gently cascade into the plant from both the top & sides; it then cascades slowly down to the drain and back to the rez.
The lava rock + hydroton prevents channeling ++++ feeding all roots. The rough surfaces and pockets of the media holds a small volume of nutes/moisture to keep roots from drying out between ‘flood’ cycles.
Putting the Pedal to The Metal
The AP system + lava rock drains quickly (but small % of moisture remains), this allows me to ‘flood’ as often as every 30 minutes. Timer is IGS 011, it has separate o/o rotary knobs, which comes in very handy as dialing in o/o varies throughout the grow.
In the beginning the plants can’t tolerate more than 1 flood ~ 20 sec (this timers lowest on setting) @ 2-3 hours; 10 seconds would be ample at this stage of development. I compensated by using pvc bars with fewer misting heads, then either swap them out for pvc rails with more heads per rail, or, twist the timer dial for a longer flood time, and/or a shorter pause cycle.
In my previous grows, the plant grew so freakin fast, I decided to keep dialing up the flooding frequency. At the height of flower I was flooding every 30 minutes, then slowly backed it down to 1/4hrs as harvest approached. Easy-Peazy
Each method (hpa + F & D) takes up ~ 50% of the 2 X 4 grow space under my Quantum 8 bulb. I use a combination of aquarium bulbs to simulate led nm specific spectrums.
Nutes for Noobs + Pros Alike
I went through hell using organic nutes and replaced them with DM Gold- the full 6 separate products. Although I got vg results, I was still dealing with clogged filters/screens in my hpa system.
I saw netprophets' thread here and gave it a try. Hydro-Research VEG+BLOOMis easy to mix and my plants love it.
I switched in mid veg. Within days veg growth EXPLODED. It was my best result by a long shot. It has lots of micros that he does not list. New product has fulvic acid, which he makes in house.
This grow started with V+B. The 2 plants are the 2 biggest of the 8 F1 seedlings from my first cross
5gms/G= 850ppms. Using 7.5 RO water pH = 5.8. No pH swings either. Prior to moving from my bubbler, ppms are ~ 200. And I keep it there for the first week in the main system. I then dump the rez, and increase to ~ 300 ppms. The following week ~ 400. I tried 500 but with a few days the plants started sexing. I backed ppms down to 400 and they reverted to veg.
More to come... pics too
..thank you for letting me know the other one was done..
