Hydro is harder than it first appeared.

[juana2]

the only true sin is despair

the only true sin is despair

Hello all!
I'm home and feeling good today, catching up on the threads here and feeling all brotherly loverly reading all the good sharing that happens here.
Dear new to hydro growers- do not give up!
It's got ya psyched is all!
Hearing things like how fast stuff happens and a newbie can't handle it-
think positive! I am living stoned proof that it can be done.
Think about it. You have met people or at least read people that grow hydro- do you think they are smarter than you? Do you think they went to college and did well in Chemistry? Have subscriptions to popular science and do cross word puzzles in the New York Times?
Au contraire!
Light ,water, and air; kids, its all the same.
Except its better and easier with hydro.
First off, you don't have to haul dirt into your house, assuming you grow indoors. I did that years ago the first time I tried to grow- before there was such a fantastic network of information available. Try getting rid of all that dirt in a hurry? Even in a slow, damn, maybe it's just me, but I have enough trouble keeping dirt out of my house without bringing in yards of it in plastic bags.
You need decent starting water. If you have decent tap water you have what you need to start your seeds.
What is decent tap water?
it has low particles per million -ppm(200 or less)
and a ph around 7.
my tap is 75-100 ppms with a ph of 7.
for growing hydro it is handy to have a ppm reader.
But you can call your local water dept ( or look it up on line)
and they will tell you what you have.
The GH ( general hydroponics) nutrients are simple to use just following the directions on the bottles. YOu always add Micro first. Mix well between each addition.You add different amounts depending on the stage of growth, and how many gallons your buckets are.I use 4 gallon cat litter buckets with an air pump and air stone. Simple. One for each plant. Helps for doing different strains. Don't drill a hole in the side for the air stone- it's stupid and complicated. Just feed the tubing through a hole in the lid, haha. works like a charm.
Then you check you PH, which is important and easy. Get a ph test kit at a pet store fish dept for cheap. You want your ph to be around 6 after you add your nutes, if need to bring it down, add a little ph down ( hydro store) and stir it up real good and test it again.
Then they just need decent lights - I use floro shop lights in veg and HPS in flower. And some air moving , and there ya go.
So you got yer buckets with lids, the air stone boiling away thru the lid, a PPM meter, PH test kit, and GH nutes and ph up or down if ya need it.
When the water goes down read the PH. If it is higher than it started, it wants more nutes. if it goes down, it needs more plain old tap water.
different strains will take up different amounts at different times- some don't take hardly any nutes it seems like and others are big hogs.
When you put them in flower you have to check them every day because they can suck up to 2 gallons in a 12 hour period!
and it's a beautiful thing.
SO try it!
Do one bucket and you'll never go back.
and there is so much help here- just don't ever panic
it's a weed.
a beautiful, sacred weed
peace sisters and bros

 

[xxsicknessxx]

I started hydro, failed.. but I kept at it.. having done soil and hydro I like hydro better, I feel like I have more controll, that its safer, and cleaner, and easy to get rid of incase you have to.. Soil is just to heavy and to dirty for me, for my current location.. Plus bugs love soil they like to have sex in it and put eggs in it.. AHHH

 

[sativalicious]

Are there some environments/situations where soil is more convenient? For example, if one has only a bath tub drain and subsequent public sewer system for disposing of old nute-filled water, then I would speculate that hauling soil is more responsible. I plan to educate myself about hydro, however I wonder where tens of gallons of nutrifried water is gonna go every week after reservoir changes.

 

[juana2]

hmmmm...interesting and responsible thought about what we pour down the drain.
The GH nutes are simple natural elements, so I have assumed they are less harming down the drain than say my dishwater or laundry water. When it's warm enough I dump my used buckets in my garden outside and everyone admires my flowers and asks my secret... however , in the winter time they go down the toilet.

I think once you go hydro and it works there is no going back. As far as indoor goes.

But long ago I remember reading about some dude who had a lake on his property who built strofoam floats for his pots ( hydro baskets) and floated them on the water- using the lake as his reservoir ! always wondered how that worked out!

 

[Grinchy]

Update

Update

I fixed all of the conditions
my PH is a little under 6 (i only have a liquid test)
PPMs at .5 is around 200-250 it fluctuates some between me adding water
My tap water is 20-30 PPMs
Tray floods every 3 and a half hours during light cycle for a total of 5 floods
Temp is always a little under 80
Humidity 50-60
My tray does flood exceptionally high a full 61/2 inches if I want. I have been flooding to within a 1/2 inch of the medium top and the rest wicks up water. My cycles are very short with a three minute flood.

Alas they still have not snapped out of the funk I put them in, they still seem shocked, or locked out, or burned. I really don't know, I do know they haven't grown for about ten days. In fact they browning only furthered, and yesterday I trimmed all the dead leaf off. A few were all brown so i canned them.

TOP 5 PICTURES

Am I watering too much? Is this not optimum? Are the rest of my conditions Prime? I am wondering because I sowed my second batch and would like this one to be dialed in as far as conditions when I transplant the seedlings. Also when should I transplant to the pots? I already have roots and sprouts in some.

BOTTOM 3 PICTURES

Finally my advice and observations from my failed first grow which I assume will soon be eclipsed by my new vigorous plants and will get tossed (Unless they start growing quick). First, do not start you plants before you have everything you need including a way to measure both PH and TDS of your res, a thermometer and humidity gauge for the canopy, and PH up and down along with nutes. Second run your system and maintain proper conditions in your running system then start your plants. Even though I had most every large thing I needed, I forgot the simple ones and my grow suffered. Third, even if your light is aircooled and the heat is non existent, the light will intensity will burn the seedlings. Hang them far at first. Third, more of an observation, out of 5 strains 10 each, I have 11 plants left. 8 of them are master kush. Perhaps this is a good strong strain that can take a harsh environment.

Also make sure not to over water rockwool cubes, you never want them soaked, just wet.

Thanks for all your help guys, check out my second grow if you want, hopefully it goes better.

Grinchy's 600 Watt AK48/Bubblicious Grow

Grinchy

 

[Guest]

Thanks for all your help guys, check out my second grow if you want, hopefully it goes better.
Grinchy

Hopefully?



Did the first trial shake you THAT bad?


common mon,,,,,



if I can do it anybody can.


While I hate to admit it, failure is a far better teacher than succes - if you learn - and not only did you learn - you are better equipted.


I grew bag seed for years and my first store bought seeds were from Gypsy's - it took a couple more years till I would cough up a hundred bucks or more for beans. (You might wana try the freebies BEFORE you run the AK) You DID get some freebies?

Sick plants take what seems like forever to recover, sometimes it's better to start fresh.

Good luck!

We're here for ya. -

 

[Grinchy]

Hopefully?



Did the first trial shake you THAT bad?


common mon,,,,,


if I can do it anybody can.


While I hate to admit it, failure is a far better teacher than succes - if you learn - and not only did you learn - you are better equipted.

Thanks for the kind words, I am glad I did everything I could wrong, next time I will know everything not to do!

 

[sativalicious]

Granted I am not sufficiently educated in these matters... I was merely looking at it like this... metal elements are added to water to increase PPMs. I was thinking that the metals should probably not be dumped into the sewer stream. Just wondering...

 

[10k]

Granted I am not sufficiently educated in these matters... I was merely looking at it like this... metal elements are added to water to increase PPMs. I was thinking that the metals should probably not be dumped into the sewer stream. Just wondering...

Yes sativalicious...we need a thread devoted to the hydro nute disposal issue

So if anyone would like to get the ball rolling, please start a thread on the topic in the indoor hydroponics forum and I'll sticky it temporarily so we can have a larger consensus of opinions.

 

[10k]

hi Grinchy,
I just wrote a book for you in your grow diary thread. good luck.

 

[need4weed]

personaly when i have used expanded clay i feed from the top ie: 4mm dripper tube and run the pump 24/7 because the clay does not hold any water at all. expanded clay is an exceptional medium when used correctly as it provides a lot of oxygen to the root zone.
Your problem is that your tap roots have not developed enough and have dried out.
I would recomend useing coco coir and perlite in a flood and drain system

 

[Guest]

Think about it. You have met people or at least read people that grow hydro- do you think they are smarter than you? Do you think they went to college and did well in Chemistry? Have subscriptions to popular science and do cross word puzzles in the New York Times?
Au contraire!
Light ,water, and air; kids, its all the same.
Except its better and easier with hydro.

wow. that should put it in perspective for all the newbs. then again, there's a new newb everyday making things harder than they really are...kinda like me.

 

[Guest]

Yes sativalicious...we need a thread devoted to the hydro nute disposal issue

So if anyone would like to get the ball rolling, please start a thread on the topic in the indoor hydroponics forum and I'll sticky it temporarily so we can have a larger consensus of opinions.

i 3rd this, maybe me or you should just start it though.. .. i would like to know people's opinions on what is the easiest and safest way to do this too.

 

[stinkfinger]

i dump mine down the toilet.

 

[Guest]

Yes barricade is great ph up when you need to adjust a few tenths. I wouldnt overdo it. it is pure potassium silicate and can be toxic if used in excess. + if you use too much it will form into a solid chunk of silica slime. its pretty gross! I think top watering 3-4x every day with nothing but a root stim like voodoo juice or roots excellerator and b-vits until roots are present down low enough to start flooding the table w a nutrient solution. without roots its tough to uptake from the roots, so a light foliar of b-vits and epsom salts or cal-mg, kelp, w some form of humic will really jumpstart em into the vegative stage.

props on the great advice. i have brief question. i use a bubble cloner, clones been in the cloner for a few weeks, some still haven't rooted and the leaves are starting to yellow. i saw a little bit of roots on my clones and put them into the tray to flood. i added 200ppm of a&b, some b52, barricade, is it ok to put voodoo juice along with the nutes?

 

[THENGINEER]

The one thing i learned with my first and only attempt in hydro is how easy it is NOT KNOW the true ph and ppm of the water. I think hydro is prolly the easiest since you have parameters to adhere to. \

PH must drift between 5.5-6.5. This allows for different nutrients to get absorbed properly (soil actually drifts aswell with rain/waterings, its just not as long). PH pen is ace...but strips will do ok i think

PPM is another thing. A plant can live perfectly fine with low nute dosages, it just wont grow as vigorously. But put too much in and you burn, and then you think you have deficiencies and just make more problems trying to fix them. PPM Pen in key here

BACTERIA. This is one thing i think might be overlooked in Hydro. When i do my next Hydro attempt, this one is gonna be key. Plus its easy to grow it yourself along as you know the conditions bacteria need. Plus bacteria is like your shield for hydro. They almost stretch out your parameters for the plant, so you can get away with lets say higher water temps, lower Oxygen reading, and higher dosages/lower dosage. Of coarse you want to keep those in the optimal range aswell.

I think it just has to do with some people when they start with hydro don't understand that taking out the soil means your completely in charge of the whole operation. Soil is like the guy you hire to do work that you don't want too, and chances are you can probably do better than that guy....the same goes with plants.

lol alright im high as shit an need to get back to calculus

PEace

 

[juana2]

engineer- well put! I like the concept of the dirt being the guy who does the work.

i like ph drops with hydro- always easy to read.no calibration necessary.

 

[Plant Whisperer]

awesome thread!