First Hydroponic Grow. Need advice please

[Qwobbler]

 

 

 

is that clear enough on what i have set up?

 

cheers

[Qwobbler]

suggestions for anything i have done wrong here...

 

im going to take your advice and get anotther tub to go on top...

 

if i do this, do i just make a drain hole near the top of a shallow tub, so when the water pump fills that top tub with the net pots in it, it drains out and back into the reservoir?

 

does this mean that when my root system gets big it wont be constantly sitting in the nutrient, only when the pump goes for 15 mins every 2 hrs..? or should the root be sitting in some water? therefore make a drain plug a bit higher than the bottom of the tub so there is some water left after the flood and drain....

 

or should it just be running through my clay for 15 mins and letting run off straight into the reservoir?

 

am i making sence?

Edited March 26, 2015 by qwobbler

[Qwobbler]

oh, do my tubs need to be black so there is 0% light?

[merl1n]

yep, they shud be black

[Qwobbler]

how big should the grow tub be for the roots of 4 plants?...

 

my reservoir is currently 30lt, be i feel the grow tub is way to big at 30lt aswell..

[Qwobbler]

suggestions for anything i have done wrong here...

 

im going to take your advice and get anotther tub to go on top...

 

if i do this, do i just make a drain hole near the top of a shallow tub, so when the water pump fills that top tub with the net pots in it, it drains out and back into the reservoir?

 

does this mean that when my root system gets big it wont be constantly sitting in the nutrient, only when the pump goes for 15 mins every 2 hrs..? or should the root be sitting in some water? therefore make a drain plug a bit higher than the bottom of the tub so there is some water left after the flood and drain....

 

or should it just be running through my clay for 15 mins and letting run off straight into the reservoir?

 

am i making sence?

bump

[Ozzy420]

Bigger if you can with the tub, most use a 20lt bucket per plant.

 

As the plants get bigger and into full bloom they will drink up a lot of water.

 

Yes the tub needs to be light proof or you will get green algae growing on everything inside the tub, even the roots of the plants and will cause u probs.

 

The roots should never go dry and you should have a air pump running 24/7 in the tub.

 

I find it easy to have a controll bucket hooked up so can keep an eye on how the water is and for refilling...

[Sir PsychoHashy]

Pretty much what they said.

 

Best advice I can give is to do some research and planning before you purchase or do anything.  Come up with a design that you are going to be able to use without creating hassles or problems for yourself.  The reservoir is pretty much the heart of your system, you need to be able to monitor it, and look after the levels of water, nutrient, and oxygen, in the res and let it look after the rest of the system from there.  So you need access to it for that, and you also need to be able to drain it and refill it for flushing and fresh nutrients.  And as stated above, you need to keep light out of the system to prevent algae.  There are plenty of ways to set a system up, so research and design one that works for your situation.

 

Tub size for 4 plants, depends how long you are looking to veg them (or how big you want your plants to get).  But I'd say min 50l, but bigger would be better.  I'm looking at 2 plants per 50l tub for my next hydro grow, and am planning on not growing them very big.  You may be surprised at how big the root mass can get.

 

If you pump in through the bottom of your plant tub, and have a drain near the top, you will be creating a flood and drain system, as the nutes pump in, the tub fills up to the drainage level, and then the filled tub drains back into the res when the pump turns off.  A good method with clay balls as it pushes the stale air out of the root zone when it fills, and sucks fresh air in when it drains.  The medium retains moisture well enough to keep the roots wet until next time around, every 2 hrs is good, and a little will stay in the bottom, but you want that kept to a minimum.  If you pump in from the top and have your drain at the bottom level of your plant tub, that's a basic recirc, and is probably a bit simpler in some ways and works pretty much as well in my experience.

 

Go with what you want, most important thing is that you are comfortable that it will work for your abilities and situation.  Plenty of info available here and online for research, might be worth having a squiz at you tube to look at some systems in action to help you get an understanding.

 

In the meantime, what you have will work quite well for a while exactly as it is, so take your time and don't panic.  If you make your grow stressful you will still get buds, but you won't enjoy the process, and that's half the fun.

[Qwobbler]

Bigger if you can with the tub, most use a 20lt bucket per plant.

 

As the plants get bigger and into full bloom they will drink up a lot of water.

 

Yes the tub needs to be light proof or you will get green algae growing on everything inside the tub, even the roots of the plants and will cause u probs.

 

The roots should never go dry and you should have a air pump running 24/7 in the tub.

 

I find it easy to have a controll bucket hooked up so can keep an eye on how the water is and for refilling...

 

Sorry, bigger grow/medium tub? this tub is 60lt and will be having 4 netted pots in lid, suspended from the bottom of the tub, with the water pumping over and draining off for 15 mins every 2 hrs. the water draining off hits the bottom of my grow tub them immediatly drains back to the reservoir which is 60lt, but only has 30t of water/nutes (Canna Aqua Vega & Cannazym at the moment)

 

im going to change to black, but is a 60lt grow/medium tup not enough for 4 plants

 

or bigger reservoir?

[Ozzy420]

Is this a DWC setup, once the feed is done dose the growing tub drain back to the rez, how much water is left in the growing tub?

 

As i said most ppl a 20lt bucket for each plant.

 

The net pot should never be in the water, the water level should be abouy 25mm below, the splashing of the bubbles will keep the bottom on the net pots wet.

 

I have all ways had the rez with a pump going back into the growing tub/bucket  then running back to the rez 24/7.

 

I think u need to do a lil bit more reading on how u want things working