I have always used around 50% leca/hydroton and 50% soil, works like a charm but you have to water daily. Oh yes, and also if you mix coco/hydroton/soil you get a nice mix that holds water.
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Extra air to roots idea.. please critique
- Thread starter marx2k
- Start date
mrgrowmez ye i notice a slight increase in yeild but i've been tweecking my pk stacking and using new products that hav all contributed so cudnt giv u exact %. i've aways checked the root base after i've finished a grow and with air feed there are mor roots and always very white and healthy.
there is always a small clump of roots around the end of the pipe thats thick and hard, i've put that down to the heat of the air in that spot.
i use a flood and dry method so having air in the soil helps protect the roots from damage wen the soils wet.
there is always a small clump of roots around the end of the pipe thats thick and hard, i've put that down to the heat of the air in that spot.
i use a flood and dry method so having air in the soil helps protect the roots from damage wen the soils wet.
i dont have any experience with coco coir but i think a soil mix made up with a large percnetage of coco coir would be perfect for this idea. coco holds alot of water (9times its weight) but at the same time breathes. as for the problem of clumping and clogging... put some gravel at the botton of the pot/grow bag.
I have been thinking of stuff like this for a while just never thought itd work because i figure the airstones would always be clogging up, maybe if you put some hydroton/lava rock to line the bottom of your pots w/ and put the airstone under that under the soil? I've been also thinking of putting a couple stones in my cutting trays so the water isnt just marinating the jiffy cubes,probably do it today and see what happens....
jojajico said:
Man, I havent even built my cab and I wont be able to get to it until after this Summer due to temps
Ive ordered most of the important equipment and now just have to buy the wood to build the cab. I spent already about $700 and expect to spend another $300 and it should be done...
But it will be a 3x3x4' 250 MH veg cab connected to a 3x3x6' 400W HPS cab cooled by a 6" 449cfm vortex! WOOHOO! (Oh, and an external DIY carbon scrubber!!)
NorCal said:
Hiding the airstones under hydroton (or even rocks) under the soil is a great idea! The only problem Ive had with this method (having large stones on the bottom of my pot to keep the roots contained) was when it came time to repot... it would all end up on TOP of the repotting! Have you figured out a way to fix this problem?
G
Guest
fjällhöga said:
I use about 30-40% perlite, and get the soil pots with the water holding 'caps' on teh bottom of it so the water can get straight to the bottom, and then absorbed via up through the bottom. This only works when you know about how long that water lasts...also it is a bitch to take off to get a runoff check.
I am sure a glass plate under normal pots would work, but it would evaporate and contribute to things like humidity a lot more. I find when the plant soaks up water, in stead of it pouring in it, it is much more evenly distributed.
may want to upgrade to a 600 watt, ive even seen 1000 watt in that exact same area, the results where amazing. in that exact same space just under 2 lbs.marx2k said:Man, I havent even built my cab and I wont be able to get to it until after this Summer due to temps
Ive ordered most of the important equipment and now just have to buy the wood to build the cab. I spent already about $700 and expect to spend another $300 and it should be done...
But it will be a 3x3x4' 250 MH veg cab connected to a 3x3x6' 400W HPS cab cooled by a 6" 449cfm vortex! WOOHOO! (Oh, and an external DIY carbon scrubber!!)
G
Guest
would it be possible to put your soil container ,inside a sealed container and pump air in the void, your main container would need drain holes upthe sides for even air pressure.
I think it could be done in a simple manner, the top of the growing container would have to push against the lid of the "pressure tank"..which would have a hole in it just slightly smaller than the grow container..
Does that make any since to anyone :smile:
I have read that some professonial house plant growers have used oxegen tanks with regulaters to feed the air to their plants,with good results.
I think it could be done in a simple manner, the top of the growing container would have to push against the lid of the "pressure tank"..which would have a hole in it just slightly smaller than the grow container..
Does that make any since to anyone :smile:
I have read that some professonial house plant growers have used oxegen tanks with regulaters to feed the air to their plants,with good results.
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jojajico said:
We're talking personal grow with equipment I already have. I would like to max out the growth with those parameters since 400W seems to be the standard for a lot of growers.
I may upgrade to 600W at some point in the future, but I've been pretty happy with the results of 400W (basically, I am unable to smoke through a grow before the next harvest with a 400W...especially since I "smoke" from a volcano) - so 600W would just mean lots of stockpiling, which I really don't want to do.
Me$$iah said:
I dont know... to me, once you saturate the soil, it's pretty evenly distributed.
But hey, speaking of caps... here's a little idea- not sure if it's stupid or not since I just woke up. (Yes, just woke up and am in the threads already)
Bottlecaps. Turned upside down to collect water. 8 to 10 of them place in circle formation (or halo formation) on the bottom (inside) of your pot. When you water the plants, the caps will retain some of the water instead of letting it drain through. As the plants uptake water, the caps will hold a little extra in reserve, and feed the plants.
Wait, that's a totally stupid idea. That's why we HAVE the option to run-off water.
Before i came to this forum, i was experimenting with looping CO2 tubing throughout
a pro-mix/soil medium and then connecting this tubing with a tank of medical grade
Oxygen......now i realize most people do not have access to medical grade oxygen,
but it is obtainable.....
The results were amazing.....simply amazing.....the only drawback was that the soil
tended to dry out faster, so you had to increase the watering frequency....i have
found that there is no toxic limit for oxygen, just like there is no toxic limit for CO2 in
the canopy.....
I believe that this is the ultimate way to grow Cannabis.....it provides the oxygenation
benefits of hydroponics in a soil-based medium.....DWC people might disagree, though......
It seems that the air-pump/air-stone idea gives similar results as my O2-tube experiments..... now all we have to do is make it practical for the consumer.....
I am still looking for all relevant scientific literature which addresses topic of how
plants most efficiently and effectively absorb oxygen.....
kind regards from guineapig
a pro-mix/soil medium and then connecting this tubing with a tank of medical grade
Oxygen......now i realize most people do not have access to medical grade oxygen,
but it is obtainable.....
The results were amazing.....simply amazing.....the only drawback was that the soil
tended to dry out faster, so you had to increase the watering frequency....i have
found that there is no toxic limit for oxygen, just like there is no toxic limit for CO2 in
the canopy.....
I believe that this is the ultimate way to grow Cannabis.....it provides the oxygenation
benefits of hydroponics in a soil-based medium.....DWC people might disagree, though......
It seems that the air-pump/air-stone idea gives similar results as my O2-tube experiments..... now all we have to do is make it practical for the consumer.....
I am still looking for all relevant scientific literature which addresses topic of how
plants most efficiently and effectively absorb oxygen.....
kind regards from guineapig
using a 400 watt is fine but over that space your not going to be producing the best buds you can the light will be diffuses and quality will go down. you may want to consider growing in a smaller space. you will probably increase your yeild and the quality of bud. sounds weird but less space means more light mor elight equals more bud its about finding a happy medium.marx2k said:
guineapig, can you give us more info. did u do a side by side comparision with a clone in normal medium. how much of a yeild did you get with this, how long did you veg, what strain, what light lol??? got any pics? O2 is a bit hazerdous but it may be well worth the risk.guineapig said:Before i came to this forum, i was experimenting with looping CO2 tubing throughout
a pro-mix/soil medium and then connecting this tubing with a tank of medical grade
Oxygen......now i realize most people do not have access to medical grade oxygen,
but it is obtainable.....
The results were amazing.....simply amazing.....the only drawback was that the soil
tended to dry out faster, so you had to increase the watering frequency....i have
found that there is no toxic limit for oxygen, just like there is no toxic limit for CO2 in
the canopy.....
I believe that this is the ultimate way to grow Cannabis.....it provides the oxygenation
benefits of hydroponics in a soil-based medium.....DWC people might disagree, though......
It seems that the air-pump/air-stone idea gives similar results as my O2-tube experiments..... now all we have to do is make it practical for the consumer.....
I am still looking for all relevant scientific literature which addresses topic of how
plants most efficiently and effectively absorb oxygen.....
i know i wish i could give more info jojajico- i was working with ak47 x silver pearl F2s,
i had 100-200 good seeds to work with and i did do a side-by-side but i don't have
hard data.......worked with a 400 watt son agro, and the plants grew like they were in
a hydroponic medium, such as ebb-and-flow.....flowers were larger, plants were
stronger and bushier.....resin content seemed similar, however.....
You can work with O2 as long as you keep open flames away.....i had no problems
with it.....you can also use O2 to hyper-oxygenate your water, and i figure this would
work great for DWC people in particular......
The tubing i used was just extra CO2 tubing which i ordered by-the-foot and it is laser-drilled so only the gas is emitted from these small holes and no soil or junk gets
into the tubing to clog it......i think the holes are 5 microns in diameter?
Wish i had pics or hard data, but this was before i came here.......hopefully i will
replicate this for us very soon
Again i apologize for the lack of hard data.....
kind regards from guineapig
i had 100-200 good seeds to work with and i did do a side-by-side but i don't have
hard data.......worked with a 400 watt son agro, and the plants grew like they were in
a hydroponic medium, such as ebb-and-flow.....flowers were larger, plants were
stronger and bushier.....resin content seemed similar, however.....
You can work with O2 as long as you keep open flames away.....i had no problems
with it.....you can also use O2 to hyper-oxygenate your water, and i figure this would
work great for DWC people in particular......
The tubing i used was just extra CO2 tubing which i ordered by-the-foot and it is laser-drilled so only the gas is emitted from these small holes and no soil or junk gets
into the tubing to clog it......i think the holes are 5 microns in diameter?
Wish i had pics or hard data, but this was before i came here.......hopefully i will
replicate this for us very soon
Again i apologize for the lack of hard data.....
kind regards from guineapig
if you get to it b4 i do make sure to use clones or else the data could be skewed. where did you get the O2 tanks?guineapig said:i know i wish i could give more info jojajico- i was working with ak47 x silver pearl F2s,
i had 100-200 good seeds to work with and i did do a side-by-side but i don't have
hard data.......worked with a 400 watt son agro, and the plants grew like they were in
a hydroponic medium, such as ebb-and-flow.....flowers were larger, plants were
stronger and bushier.....resin content seemed similar, however.....
You can work with O2 as long as you keep open flames away.....i had no problems
with it.....you can also use O2 to hyper-oxygenate your water, and i figure this would
work great for DWC people in particular......
The tubing i used was just extra CO2 tubing which i ordered by-the-foot and it is laser-drilled so only the gas is emitted from these small holes and no soil or junk gets
into the tubing to clog it......i think the holes are 5 microns in diameter?
Wish i had pics or hard data, but this was before i came here.......hopefully i will
replicate this for us very soon
Again i apologize for the lack of hard data.....
G
Guest
have a bucket with an air tight lid, thats where you would pump in air.(a pressure tank)
cut a hole in this buckets lid, to allow the plant to grow through it,and to water the plant
place your soil container (with plant) into the "pressure tank" and seal the top of the soil container to the lid of the pressure tank. You could have foam,or rubber on the inside of the pressure tanks lid to seal off the air.
to hold your soil container in place you would have to adjust its height ,by setting something under the pot.
Ill have to probly make a drawing of this one...:smile:
cut a hole in this buckets lid, to allow the plant to grow through it,and to water the plant
place your soil container (with plant) into the "pressure tank" and seal the top of the soil container to the lid of the pressure tank. You could have foam,or rubber on the inside of the pressure tanks lid to seal off the air.
to hold your soil container in place you would have to adjust its height ,by setting something under the pot.
Ill have to probly make a drawing of this one...:smile:
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G
Guest
Just so there's no confusion guinepig I dont know shit about aerating the roots but you said there is no toxicity issue the same as co2 at the canopy.Co2 can be toxic to plants at the right amounts,I dont know if oxygen can be toxic to the roots if overdone but wanted to make a correction for future co2 users.Wouldnt it just be a lot easier to aerate the water and forget about the soil?Sorry if I'm repeating didnt read entire thread
G
Guest
great thread, read about this on og a while back. i then decided to try it and it helped, maybe not as much as i was expecting. later i got a more powerful pump (275l/h) but the resoults didn't match the increase. i am now wondering if my method of introduceing air to roots maybe to "rough". i basicaly put an airstone in the middle of the pot when i was transplanting and then just puting the plant on that.maybe i was horribly wrong and should put a perforated aquarium pipe in my soil so the air distribution is more wide spread an "smooth".can anybody confirm/denie this from experience?
