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Advice on 1st hydro attempt


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I've been wanting to have a go at a hydro grow and saw this container at the hardware and thought I'd give it a go. Guy said it was quite tough and should keep almost all light out of the solution. 20ltr container.

So my plan is simple enough (if it's this simple) I have these orchid pots, gonna cut a hole in the lid to fit the pot and sit on the edge. Drill a hole for the drain at the bottom and a hole for the air hoses. I have a 240v air pump with 2 outlets and run both 24hrs. I have some clay balls I was gonna use and have a go.

post-64445-154656709172_thumb.jpeg

What nutrients would I use for a system like this? Or I should start off asking would this work?

 

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I've been wanting to have a go at a hydro grow and saw this container at the hardware and thought I'd give it a go. Guy said it was quite tough and should keep almost all light out of the solution. 20ltr container.

So my plan is simple enough (if it's this simple) I have these orchid pots, gonna cut a hole in the lid to fit the pot and sit on the edge. Drill a hole for the drain at the bottom and a hole for the air hoses. I have a 240v air pump with 2 outlets and run both 24hrs. I have some clay balls I was gonna use and have a go.

attachicon.gif20190104_113943.jpg

What nutrients would I use for a system like this? Or I should start off asking would this work?

 

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So are you going to do this DWC outside or in controlled indoor?

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This looks a lot like my DWC setup, just a DIY version. My very novice opinion is it should work. I use Mills nutrients and everything is going well. The hard part of DWC for me is keeping the reservoir cool in this hot summer. Twice daily ice packs is my solution. You might find some useful info in my grow thread: Living in the closet.
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Would this work? Hmmm, yes....but....

There's a couple of 'buts' here in my opinion.

The first 'but' would be what grow medium are you planning on using? You state clayballs but it can be difficult to establish a seedling in clayballs What ever medium you are going to use you will need to fill you orchid pot to hold your plant upright. Most DWC setups use a smaller orchid type pot or basket and thus take less medium to fill. Some growers use rockwool cubes as their first or primary medium and these sit in the smaller baskets fairly well and will hold the plant upright.

Another 'but' is exactly as Veritas states "Maintaining a cool reservoir", some growers have a dedicated thermostatically controlled refrigeration unit, which can be costly to setup but once setup, will do the task precisely. The other option again as Veritas suggested is icepacks, but not as refined as a refrig unit. With DWC nutrient temp is paramount as root rot is your enemy.

Another 'but' As Zen2u states in his question. Are you planning indoor or outdoor? Indoor you'd be able to control temps a little better, but then indoor you'd need to supply light as well and if this was the case, what light were you proposing to use?

So, for a start, these would be the questions that'd need to be answered, but again IMO.

As for your nutes I'd suggest any 'full hydro' nutes would be adequate as both rockwool and clayballs contain no nutrient value what so ever.

I'd also suggest a small aquarium water pump would be helpful for two reasons 1)to stir your nutes. This will help them to not go stagnant, and 2) to autofeed whilst establishing root growth. Although hand watering can elimate the need for this.

 

Hope it helps

Merl1n

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Thanks for the advice so far [emoji106]

This grow will be in the greenhouse, I've got a fan blowing in there since Wed and that's dropped the temps i n there quite nicely so far.

I've filled up the container this arvo and have a thermometer in there to see what temps it gets to tom. How cool am I looking to keep the nutrient solution?

This is the air pump I was looking at below, would that be good enough to keep things moving in the container?

The last thing is the container is 500x300x150, is that pot too big and should I try for 2 smaller pots or just 1 smaller pot.

I was thinking of clay balls but I do have access to perlite or something else.

Thanks again for advicepost-64445-154659160613_thumb.jpeg

 

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That air pump will be OK for aeration of your fluids ( a must) but you need an air stone. An airstone will breakup the big bubbles, which the plant roots can't use, to tiny, tiny usable bubbles. Just dropping a 6mm hose in the water won't do it, you need an airstone. The flow of air 'will' assist in moving the fluid, but is it enough movement? That is debatable. I'd still be suggest a small aquarium pump.

 

As for your medium, I'd suggest a rockwool cube, even a small cube around 2in x 2in from memory. I use the bigger cubes 4in x 4in cubes as my primary but I'm grow in perlite and clayballs in a 50ltr pot, but IMO you'll need something to give the plant roots a bit of stability. Perlite, if you decide to use it, MUST be washed before you use it. Perlite compresses down to a very fine dust and the dust can smother the roots. So it needs to the thoroughly rinsed with running water until the water runs clear. Also if you do use perlite you will need to line the base of your orchid pot as the perlite will just fall through, washed (and rinsed shade cloth works). 

 

Merl1n

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Don't take this the wrong way but the fact you are asking for the ideal Nutrient Temp tells me you have not done any research yourself thus far.

DWC is not for the faint hearted and requires more knowledge than any other form of growing and is the least forgiving, and it's probably the most expensive to gear up for.

It's also noisy...Much to consider depending on how what and where

 

Plenty of info here and on the internet. Google is your friend.

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If you are going to do this in a greenhouse I doubt that you are going to be able to control the temp sufficiently(never over 26C, 20C is optimum) in summer to grow DWC. All you will do is create the perfect conditions for root rot soup. It can't be stressed to much how critical temp is in DWC.

 

A rock wool cube into clay balls is fine for a grow medium, you will have to hand water until the roots reach the grow solution. The pump should be fine if is rated at 7500 cubic feet/hr with a bubble stone.

 

As Buzzo states, you will be pushing shit up hill with a stick if you don't read a lot more about DWC. You are going to try the hardest way to grow with very little knowledge about the subject from what you have asked here. There is information both here and on the internet, please look for this and read until you have a better idea about DWC.

 

Good reading.

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