Newbie hydroponics grow, need help getting started/selecting equipment!

[Don Cotyle]

I've been useing bubble wands for the last few grows for the same reason. Kinda like the tube end but with alot more surface area. After harvest when removeing roots to cleanout your tub toss em but save the glued in mounts. I always replace the wands and pump. They run about $5 for a set and $10 for a double outlet pump at Wall Mart...not much fun trying to replace em tangled in a giant root mass.

 

[Military]

ya Today iv actually tried something different... it seems to really be working well ..

Its kinda like this picture i made..

 

[SoEx]

Wow! Thanks for all the advice here, guys.

I made some awesome progress yesterday and I'm going to be adding some more finishing touches today. I hope that the main part of this whole thing will be done in the next few days. I'll post up pictures later tonight, hopefully.

 

[SoEx]

Wee! So some progress:

Just different parts of the setup as well as the watt meter showing full draw just from the lamp.














Got my air pump! And some hydroton (thanks).

I also got my net pots and have gotten some other things done. Also: I have seeds! 2 Master Kush and 2 F1 Lemon Stinky seeds. so, I'm almost ready to start things up soon.

Here's what I was planning on:

Dropping in the rockwool and starting things up. I shouldn't need any nutrients in the first 1-2 weeks while it's just a seedling until it starts up, right? I don't have nutes right now, but I could order some and get them within a week or so, just in time for the veg to start full force?

I figure two of them will likely be males, so I might have the opportunity to get two clones of a nice plant, hopefully. Then I'll veg until proper height then flower them all.

Now, I have a question: What would happen if one took a cutting and tried to make a clone from a plant in flower? Does the plant HAVE to be in veg for the cutting to root? Will the cutting go into veg and grow normally, or not?

I have to do some research on how to get my ph up/down (got a kit, it's at ~7) before I germinate the seeds.

I have some more work to do right now, will update with more pics as I progress

 

[cabanetforester]

..

Please be careful with those HID lamps


Most take their cuts before flower to avoid causing extra stress by re-veging I believe they will generally root easier in veg state also.

If you can wait till they show sex before flowering that would be the best bet. If they are showing alternating nodes and still haven't shown sex that would be the next best as the plant will have reached some level of maturity.

Looking good so far. Keep reading and you'll be growin like a pro in no time. CF

 

[Military]

well this is what I do with my plants after I harvest them...

I chop them down but i leave a little bit at the bottom of the stem, like a few leaves or buds. Then I just put the plant in 18/6 to re-veg it and grow again from the same plant.

Its kinda like inbreading.. imo atleast lol "people" say you should be able to get about 2 or 3 harvests from one plant.


BUT if your going to make clones, then Id say make then quiet big, veg them for only long enough till they get decent roots and you notice them getting bigger(root are developed enough if they start to grow) and the through those baby straight into flowering.. your get dense buds quick and it will take less time. Because all it has to do it make roots and it already has everything else

 

[Don Cotyle]

Your plants shouldn't need any nutes until the coytoledons start to slightly yellow, coytoledons are the seed halfs ( first "leaves" ) say 2-3 nodes ( leaf pairs ). Start your nutes light as young plants don't need full nutes...you can always add more as they get larger.

Ph should be kept around 5.8 to 6.4. If you don't have nutes you might look into General Hydroponics Micro and Bloom. For a grow you'll probably need 1 qt of Micro and 2 qts of bloom..1 part micro to 2 parts Bloom, do a asearch and use the Lucas Formula an addback formula...no need to change nutes for the entire grow. You should also look into a Bloom additive to help to enhance your bud growth.

Things are takeing shape nicely, you'll be growing like a pro in no time.

Great idea to go with a remote ballast, it'll help you control the heat in your grow area. If your closet is very cold look into a small ceramic heater, there inexpensive and work nicely!!!

Keep up the great work, the Don!

 

[SoEx]

Your plants shouldn't need any nutes until the coytoledons start to slightly yellow, coytoledons are the seed halfs ( first "leaves" ) say 2-3 nodes ( leaf pairs ). Start your nutes light as young plants don't need full nutes...you can always add more as they get larger.

Ph should be kept around 5.8 to 6.4. If you don't have nutes you might look into General Hydroponics Micro and Bloom. For a grow you'll probably need 1 qt of Micro and 2 qts of bloom..1 part micro to 2 parts Bloom, do a asearch and use the Lucas Formula an addback formula...no need to change nutes for the entire grow. You should also look into a Bloom additive to help to enhance your bud growth.

Things are takeing shape nicely, you'll be growing like a pro in no time.

Great idea to go with a remote ballast, it'll help you control the heat in your grow area. If your closet is very cold look into a small ceramic heater, there inexpensive and work nicely!!!

Keep up the great work, the Don!

Wee. Well things have gone decently so far. I made a few foolish decisions that could've saved me ~$20, but that's over now. I found some $1 baskets that are rectangular from the dollar store that are well slit. I cut five holders for them in the rubbermaid lid, so I'm hoping for five plants total.

I put all four seeds in rockwool that was soaked in ph adjusted water (6.1ish) and it's now sitting on my bench power supply, so the rockwool is sitting at ~76 to 80 depending on where. I have an infrared temperature sensor that I love to get remote readings for stuff like this.

I'm hopefully going to get some glass and figure out how to attach it to the reflector. I rigged up a 120mm PC fan to an old 12V adapter to blow into the hood (it's high CFM but not too loud). It's also being slightly overvolted (the wall wart adapter puts out 14.4 at this load), so it spins a bit faster.

I still have to work on making my holes in the air tubing and gluing that in.

ALSO! I went to the hydro store. They had this reflective backing that is white on one side at a very cheap price (like $8 to cover this thing), so I'm going to ditch the emergency blankets. The emergency blankets were very fragile and would tear when handled. This I can also attach straight to the fake leather type fabric I have covering those two sides, hopefully.

I attached a UL hot air dryer duct to the side of the enclosed reflector so the exhaust blows down to the ground and out the enclosure.

No pics for the moment, but I will post a big update in the near future here, hopefully.

I am currently germing 2x f1 lemon stinky (sensi star x chronic) and 2x Master Kush, and I figure two of them (or more) will likely turn into males. That leaves me with 3 unused pots for clones, hopefully. Hell, if things go well I may make a mom chamber next to this -- I have the space.

I bought Dutch Master advance grow formula (A+B) to simplify things. Not a lot of people use it from my research, but people say it's pretty good and a few people love it. Any other additives I should buy to use during veg?

And yes, I know, I'll go light on feeding as well as not feed them until they've come up fully.

 

[Don Cotyle]

Sorry I'm not familar with those nutes..if all else fails read the lable, hehehe! You'r right it's easy to start very light and work the nute strengths up slowly. Looks like things are comeing together nicely. Those sound like some mice strains, you should get some nice keif from the Kush trim or BHO

 

[SoEx]

Sorry I'm not familar with those nutes..if all else fails read the lable, hehehe! You'r right it's easy to start very light and work the nute strengths up slowly. Looks like things are comeing together nicely. Those sound like some mice strains, you should get some nice keif from the Kush trim or BHO

Yep yep, I can't wait

I am going to trim the covering up a bit and finish the bucket hopefully too. The tubing for the air is kinda tricky, I'm trying to make it so there are a ton of bubbles.

If these seeds come out as little seedlings I should put them in the big bucket and the net pots, surround them with hydro, then fill the 22gal up to an inch below the bottom of th net pots, right? Also start my normal lighting schedule? How long will it take for them to stick a root through to the water?

I don't know, I guess I'll find out. It's been really fun

 

[Don Cotyle]

I'd keep the seedlings in a small bowl etc. and water till roots are comeing out the bottom. Then transplant into the tub-buckets,keep your water level just under the pots and the bubbles breaking at the surface should be fne to splash enough water onto the bottom of your medium to keep them watered enough. You should see roots below your net pot in about a week or so, in tw weeks you'll be pleasantly suprized

Hydro will amaze you with the speed the plants and root systems grow. It realy cuts down on veg times allowing you to get to flowering stage alot faster than soil. Now I'm not trying to put down soil growers, t's a great medium for outdoor growing

 

[SoEx]

I did a lot more work

If anyone wants detailed shots of how the reflector hood was made from the batwing hood I can post the other pictures up, but here's things so far:



I fixed up the sides and made it so they roll up, tada!:



I snazzed up the hood and used aluminum tape rather than duct tape, holds MUCH better:







Unfortunately, when cutting the second piece of glass for the hood cover it broke on me, so I need to get some more.



A close up of the "net pots":



Germing:



The thermometer for inside the tank:


It's been 24 hours and I'm hoping something pops out withint he next 24. I'll hopefully finish up my hood and start adjusting the water's ph in preperation for seedlings, hopefully.

Edit: here's the kind of pump I got:

http://www.aquacave.com/detail.aspx?ID=1401

Specs:
Elite 802 Air Pump Specifications:

- 2 outlets
- 1500 x 2 cc/minute
- 3.5 P.S.I.
- 3.5 Watts/hour
- Recommended Aquarium 20 gal


It has dual outlets and I hooked it to the two bubble curtain things I bought (I got lazy with poking holes in tubing).

Will this be enough or should I add a second one?

 

[Klaczek]

seeding

seeding

yo dude!

i have problem and question...

i dont now what i must seeding in my bubbler system...

Can You show me all steps what you seeding?

thx(sorry for my english)

 

[SoEx]

yo dude!

i have problem and question...

i dont now what i must seeding in my bubbler system...

Can You show me all steps what you seeding?

thx(sorry for my english)

Not 100% sure if you're asking how to germ your seeds or what? I'm trying to germ by directly placing the seeds in the pre-moistened rockwool, I read a decent number of people claiming it worked well for them. It's been 40 hours and I haven't seen anything pop up yet.

A popular method, though, is to place the seed betweem damp paper towels and stick it somewhere warm (70-90) and wait for those to germ within 24-48 hours.

As soon as these little guys (Hopefully) come out I'm going to make sure my bucket is all adjusted for ph and transfer them to the chamber to get some light.

 

[dc105]

My method is to soak in tap water for 24 hours then place in a damp paper towel in a warm spot! I wait for the tail to come out about 1 inch and then place in rockwool or started plug! Good Luck Looking good so far!

 

[Don Cotyle]

Hot Damn SoEx, you on a roll!!! If you can find an inexpensive can of white heat temp paint go ahead and paint the inside of your hood to get extra reflectiveness fron it!

You should be fine with that air pump, I always buy a secound one just to have on hand in case the one your useing quits on ya.

Go ahead and set your rockwool cubes in the container your useing on top of your tub and get your lights on em a while, the extra heat from them will help. I keep my 400w about 12-16" above mine, it'll keep em nice and toasty...keep em moist!!!

Looking good!!!

 

[SoEx]

Hot Damn SoEx, you on a roll!!! If you can find an inexpensive can of white heat temp paint go ahead and paint the inside of your hood to get extra reflectiveness fron it!

You should be fine with that air pump, I always buy a secound one just to have on hand in case the one your useing quits on ya.

Go ahead and set your rockwool cubes in the container your useing on top of your tub and get your lights on em a while, the extra heat from them will help. I keep my 400w about 12-16" above mine, it'll keep em nice and toasty...keep em moist!!!

Looking good!!!

I filled my tub up and am adjusting the ph down toward 6.0 (it's near 6.3ish now, waiting for the air bubbles to mix things up).

Anyway, do the seeds need to be in darkness before they germ, though? Would the HPS interrupt that? I have them sitting on a bench supply that keeps the cubes at 70-85f, only one is germing that I can see looking down the hole so far.

 

[Don Cotyle]

Good question, I germ in a paper towle and when the root is about 1" long I transplant into a peat-pellet, then I put them right under the lamps. If you can see the seed thru the hole you might want to wait a little till they break the surface. I've even broke open the seed sides after they have a1" root and left the top just above the soil and put em under the lamps. Just wait till they break the surface and lights on!!!!!

 

[SoEx]

Good question, I germ in a paper towle and when the root is about 1" long I transplant into a peat-pellet, then I put them right under the lamps. If you can see the seed thru the hole you might want to wait a little till they break the surface. I've even broke open the seed sides after they have a1" root and left the top just above the soil and put em under the lamps. Just wait till they break the surface and lights on!!!!!

Well I took the guy that had germed and had his root shooting out and now it's sitting under a desk CFL until I make sure things are 100% with lighting in my chamber. I got a lock for the closet and if I can figure out ductwork and air exchange underneath the door it can remain closed while I'm out.

It is 63 F (water temperature) right now.

Anyway, pics:












due to unforseen circumstances I had to use three seperate pieces of glass for the hood. Anyhow, the fan is a bit loud but it pushes a lot of air. After letting things heat up for a bit the surface temperature of the glass was 105 F. Exhaust temperatures were around 81 F.

I'm wondering, do I need more hydroton before I can start? As you can see in the last picture, there's a gap of an inch or two below which you can see the water and I imagine light could get through -- and I was told light was bad, right?

Or is it okay if it's like this? I am going to go retest, I believe I got the ph to 6.0. It's crucial

I may put this little guy into the chamber as soon as he brakes the surface (if he brakes the surface), hopefully.

 

[Don Cotyle]

Your medium should be rather high in the net pots, this will do 2 things for ya. First keep light out of your tank, secound it will give added support for your plant.

Light in your tank is not good as algea will grow in there useing up nutes and coating roots...bad!

63* water temps is good and 80* in the closet with lights on is also good!!! Yes PH is critical 5.6 to 6.4 is fine, I prefer 5.8-6.0