First Hydroponic Grow. Need advice please

[Qwobbler]

Hi everyone,

 

ive been growing outdoors for a few months now want to do some auto's in a small cabinet hydro system.

 

 

my cabinet is 1.2m x 1m x 1.8m

 

 

im running a 250W HPS and now have sufficient ventilation.

 

 

i made a basic recircualting system with netted pots, clay pebbles and drip feeders.

 

I have some seeds germinated on paper towl.

 

Now i have everything set up, water is dripping slowly from each of the drippers. i have added my canna in a quarter strength mix for starting.

 

 

1. Now what do i do with my sprouts and the rock wool?

 

2. Do I put them in the rock wool, moist, and stick in the net pots with the clay and run the water system over it straight away? 

 

3. Or do i wait till they pop up then start the water cycle?

 

4. Should it be dripping 24hrs? or should i put on a timer at the start?

 

 

any good threads on here about beggining hydroponics?

 

Thanks Guys every help will be appreciated..... i need to do something now because my beans just sprouted in the paper

[Biggdogg]

personally grow in coco so cant help there, but the subforum you posted this in is literally full of info about recirc systems

[Sir PsychoHashy]

Hey Q.

 

Never used rockwool, so might be worth waiting on an opinion from someone who has, but it is my vague belief that putting a germinated seedling into rockwool is a bit of a risky no no.

 

Been a few years since I used clay balls, and I did flood and drain when I did, but I always used to germinate the seedlings and carefully pop them straight into the clay balls.  Had to keep an eye on them as flood and drain caused some movement of the medium until they got some roots down, but never had any dramas.  Being top fed, your medium should stay stable, so I'd probably keep it simple and do that instead of rockwool.

 

You will need nutrient solution flowing through your medium right from the start.  Don't know about drip feeding, should work I suppose, so long as the flow rate remains sufficien through the grow.  Being a recirc system though, I don't understand why you aren't pumping it through instead of using drippers?  Pump on a timer set to 15 minutes every 2 hours works a treat, gives them the opportunity to take as much or little as they need, and still gets good oxygenation of the root zone.  But feel free to use drip feed instead, could turn out to be a great method.  I would assume constant running would be the go with that, but I don't know.

[merl1n]

Hey Qwobbler,

OK, I use rockwool for my seedlings. So you have your germinated seed. First you must soak your rockwool cube in pH adjusted 1/2 strength nute mix. Once soaked gently squeeze the excess out of the cube, so the fluid is not dripping out of the cube. I squeeze about a 1/2inch on each side, then using a tooth pick I make a small hole for the seed to be placed in. Now the tap root is usually the first white root out of the top of the seed, it curls around from the top and starts heading down to form your root system. One the opposite end of the seed will emerge more white growth, this too will curl but then head up, this will form the plants green growth. HINT: You can google seed germination images to get a picture to see what I'm explaining and it maybe easier to understand with an image.

I'd have to agree with PsychoHashy "...I don't understand why you aren't pumping it through instead of using drippers..." if you keep the rockwool moist, again as PsychoHashy suggested "...Pump on a timer set to 15 minutes every 2 hours works a treat..." then your drippers aren't really needed. Also drippers can have problems with blockages and keeping them clean can sometimes be a pain in the arse. You don't need to keep the rockwool soaked all the time, just moist. Keeping them constantly soaked can cause root rot. I keep them moist under a Fluro light or CFL until the 2-3 set of leaves appear and the base of the cube is white with roots before planting the whole cube in my medium, which in my case is perlite with a 4inch layer of clayballs in the base of my pot.

Be sure to thoroughly wash your medium, the dust from the clayballs and perlite acts like a grinding paste when it gets wet, so be sure to rinse them to remove as much dust as possible, as its real harsh on pumps.

 

Hope it helps

Merl1n

[Qwobbler]

Hey Qwobbler,

OK, I use rockwool for my seedlings. So you have your germinated seed. First you must soak your rockwool cube in pH adjusted 1/2 strength nute mix. Once soaked gently squeeze the excess out of the cube, so the fluid is not dripping out of the cube. I squeeze about a 1/2inch on each side, then using a tooth pick I make a small hole for the seed to be placed in. Now the tap root is usually the first white root out of the top of the seed, it curls around from the top and starts heading down to form your root system. One the opposite end of the seed will emerge more white growth, this too will curl but then head up, this will form the plants green growth. HINT: You can google seed germination images to get a picture to see what I'm explaining and it maybe easier to understand with an image.

I'd have to agree with PsychoHashy "...I don't understand why you aren't pumping it through instead of using drippers..." if you keep the rockwool moist, again as PsychoHashy suggested "...Pump on a timer set to 15 minutes every 2 hours works a treat..." then your drippers aren't really needed. Also drippers can have problems with blockages and keeping them clean can sometimes be a pain in the arse. You don't need to keep the rockwool soaked all the time, just moist. Keeping them constantly soaked can cause root rot. I keep them moist under a Fluro light or CFL until the 2-3 set of leaves appear and the base of the cube is white with roots before planting the whole cube in my medium, which in my case is perlite with a 4inch layer of clayballs in the base of my pot.

Be sure to thoroughly wash your medium, the dust from the clayballs and perlite acts like a grinding paste when it gets wet, so be sure to rinse them to remove as much dust as possible, as its real harsh on pumps.

 

Hope it helps

Merl1n

Hey, thanks heaps for the info.... i dont understand what you mean by pumping through?

 

i have a pump in the reservoir which is a 60 lt tub and has 30lt for 4 plants.

 

the pump runs to a spliter that runs to a dripper which drips over the top of the medium...

 

Is this not how to do it? 

 

im confused....

 

Should i just take the drippers off and let it pour over? is that what your saying?

 

Are the bottom of the pots ment to be in the the water, that way it soaks up through the bottom?

 

So then i dont need a dripper?

 

so should i fill my reservoir up more?

 

cheers

Edited March 26, 2015 by qwobbler

[Qwobbler]

has any one got a diagram of what your talking about? diagram of pumping through compared to drip.

 

btw, im using all canna products

[Qwobbler]

ok i took the drppers off, shoved the water line through a hole on the netted pot near the top and towards the center, so in theory i will pump over the rock wool continuously when the timer goes on for 15 mins every 2 hrs, then drain back into the reservoir.

 

am i right now?

 

sorry im having a confused jumbled day and am getting frustrated.. 

 

I just want it simple.

[Sir PsychoHashy]

Some pics of your setup might be helpful, but it sounds a bit like you've got plants in net pots in top of a tub which you are also using as a reservoir?

 

If so, you will basically end up with a very basic DWC, which may be prone to problems if you don't know what you are doing.  Would require a DWC user to guide you into setting it up better and how to avoid problems if you want to continue down that track.  Up until your roots drop down into your nutrient solution though, what you have will work.

 

Proper recirc system will have the res separate to your medium containers, which will then drain back to your reservoir, which needs to be at a lower level than your plant containers.  Some people use pots inside a blank pot with a drain pipe plumbed into the bottom, some use prefabricated all in one units, I use Tuff Man storage tubs with a drain pipe plumbed in the bottom.  What you use is pretty much limited to your imagination, but try to keep it simple.  Simplest method starting from where you are at would be to get another tub to sit on top of the one you are using as a res, and put some drain holes in the bottom so it drains back into the res.  Fill it with clay balls and chuck your babies in.  I personally keep my res outside the tent to avoid the heat and light from the lights affecting the nutes in the res, but as long as you've got black tubs and no light leaks into it you should be ok.  Also worth planning ahead for dealing with roots getting into your drainage, I use a bit of 100mm poly from my drain to the top of the tub so I can reach in and pull out any roots that get in there, but there will be plenty of other options.

 

By pumping through, basically remove the drippers and let it flow while the pumps on.  So long as it can drain back at at least the same rate as it's pumping in all will be well.

[Sir PsychoHashy]

What you've just done is right for now, might be worth directing the flow more onto the clay balls than the rockwool though, so the rockwool doesn't get oversaturated, maybe, not sure as I've never used it, but I've heard you shouldn't have it too wet.

[Qwobbler]

thanks heaps mate.. ill get some pics up in 5 mins and show what i have going.. i understand what you mean now

 

be back in a sec