simple hydro/aero setup

[Phychotron]

So I'm on the tail end of my first grow. after becoming infested with fungus gnats from the soil I became very interested in cutting that ingredient out.

i have a 2x4x6 area and i want to get 4 plants in there with a simple hydro or aero setup and was wondering what a good reliable, yet very inexpensive setup would include. i was thinking maybe (4) five gallon buckets would do the trick. But on the other hand i was thinking a pvc tube with 4 holes cut in it might be nice too, however if i went that route i'd have no way of accessing the back of the plant. I would also like to make the gardening supplies as inexpensive as possible in the long run.

one question i was wondering is what size reservoir would i need for something like that?

my friend who's been helping me is strongly against hydro since it's easy to mess up, but i think i want to try anyway.

 

[Herborizer]

No such thing as simple Aero setup. Run, run away from Aero. Not for the faint of heart.

Fungus gnats are easy to fix. Get some mosquito dunks, and crumble them into granuals. Spread these all over the top soil. When you feed your plants the stuff will activate killing all gnat larva. They will be dead in less than 1-2 weeks. I never have gnats because I always put about 1/2 tsp of misquito dunks per 1gal of soil. All spread on the top layer.

Simple, cheap, and by by gnats.

 

[Herborizer]

Simple would be a quality soil from a hydro shop like Roots Organics. Just water for the first 30-60 days. After that, Puraveda organic ferts. Feed, feed, water. Feed, feed, water. Can't go wrong. Simple as it gets.

 

[Phychotron]

i have roots organic, however according to the guy at the hydro shop they come from the foxfarm that they keep it right next to.

I'm in no way the faint of heart. I have tools and can build just about anything.

 

[FreezerBoy]

my friend who's been helping me is strongly against hydro since it's easy to mess up,

Hydro is as simple or as complicated as you care to make it. Personally, I can't imagine dealing with the mess, pests and complications of indoor soil.

The easiest would be a DWC or Ebb and Flow (aka Flood and Drain). Aero is second only to foggers as being most complicated. One of the many benefits of DWC is no bugs. I see maybe a gnat or two in a 14-20 week flowering period.

Whether growing directly in the res with DWC or using an remote res with E&F, the smaller the res, the faster the disaster. Go as large as you can.

 

[Phychotron]

that's good to know. I was considering DWC with just one plant for now and see how it goes. I have a 5 gallon bucket and a few air pumps that have been sitting around that i can use. From what i can tell it's just a net pot on the lid, and an airstone in the solution.

how much work do i need to put in terms of watching the nutrients, and how often do i need to change the water on something that size?

 

[FreezerBoy]

tFrom what i can tell it's just a net pot on the lid, and an airstone in the solution.

That's it. Actually, you don't even need the airstone, that's just for stealth.

A 5 gal bucket will hold about 3 gal of nutes (remember the net cup extends into the bucket plus the air gap) For best results, I'd check every 2-3 days and flush every other week.

I have a single in an 18 gal tub, 12 gal of nutes ($4 at home depot) I do maintenance bi-weekly. With prep, I can go 3 weeks unattended but, she's pretty unhappy when I get back. Fortunately DWC recovers quickly. I flush 2-3 times in a 14-20 week grow.

A larger tub buys you time. While it's footprint is larger, it's not that much taller.

 

[pinecone]

i have roots organic, however according to the guy at the hydro shop they come from the foxfarm that they keep it right next to.

I personally doubt that these things are in the soil in the first place. Rather I believe they get in soil that is not stored properly (on pallets outside for instance).

Fungus gnats can also be a problem in hydroponics.

Pine

 

[FreezerBoy]

Fungus gnats can also be a problem in hydroponics.

No more than soil, coco or mixes. DWC is gnat free.

 

[Herborizer]

If you enjoy the hobby, experiment and see what strikes you. Though, make sure to bring tons of patience.

 

[pinecone]

Personally, I can't imagine dealing with the mess, pests and complications of indoor soil.

I also hate mess and pest. Using containers with no drainage holes has done a lot to clean up my soil grow and may also be helpful in warding off fungus gnats as they can't enter through the drainage holes. I've got some bugs crawling around under the leaf mulch that harvested from outside, but I wouldn't call classify them pest. In fact I suspect some of them are the type of bugs that munch fungus gnat larvae. I haven't seen a fungus gnat since 2009.

Pine

 

[HempAlchemist]

Take a look into hempy buckets. Cant get any easier than that. Basicly a hand feed drain to waste. Kind of a pain with high plant count, but if we are only talking about a few plants then labors not that bad.

 

[blue_lighter]

does anyone have opinions on using clay vs. lava rocks?

 

[FreezerBoy]

Just that you need the right KIND of lava rock. Too long ago to remember the brand but, I got the WRONG kind. Weed tasted like gasoline.