Aeroponic Growers .. I need advice or a mentor

[MadamePandora]

Hi people ... newbie here (I have had some experience in hydro a while ago)

I have read an awful lot of topics about aeroponics here and on other sites. (it's taken me 2 weeks to read up )

I still have a couple of questions so far, and maybe more later on

1. Are the sprayers run on 30 sec on and 3 minutes off, or 1 minute on and 5 minutes off.. I have seen both .. is there a difference?

2. Once the plant is switched to 12/12 for flowering, do you leave the sprayer cycle on the same as above, or turn them off for the dark period .. or something else ??

3. Do you need an airstone in the reservoir to aerate the nutrient solution or with this system is it unnecessary as the roots are in air?

4. What ph do you run at ??

5. I guess I need a meter to check the nute concentration... what do you use (EC ? CF or ppm ? ) and what concentration do you run at ??

Any advice appreciated.

I have yet to build the system, so any tips or help would be great. It will be 2 plastic tubs, bottom one as a reservoir and the top one as a root chamber not holding water, constantly drained into the lower reservoir.

 

[UserFriendly]

You don't need to worry about dissolved oxygen in an aero-rig. Do run the pumps at night, but make sure to get an adjustable recycle timer as you will want to change-up the schedule depending on the growing phase of your plants.

 

[whatapothead]

Are the sprayers run on 30 sec on and 3 minutes off, or 1 minute on and 5 minutes off.. I have seen both .. is there a difference?

this depends on your medium... i use net pots with hydroton and my sprayers are on 24/7 during veg. not sure during 12/12 but pretty sure they stay on with hydroton.. now if you're using rockwool 24/7 would keep it too moist so i'll let someone else comment on that.

Do you need an airstone in the reservoir to aerate the nutrient solution or with this system is it unnecessary as the roots are in air?

don't need airstones... i've read that they make ph vary and promote alge growth

What ph do you run at ??

5.5-5.8 but hydro can run 5.0-6.5 i believe

I guess I need a meter to check the nute concentration... what do you use (EC ? CF or ppm ? ) and what concentration do you run at ??

def. get a ph and a ppm meter. ppms change as the plant gets older. i don't have a schedule cause it varys strain to strain.. just push the plant to the max without burning them.

gl gl gl and have fun.

 

[MadamePandora]

gee thanks a million for the replies

I am in Australia and so some things are different here .. brands of nutes and stuff.

I thought I'd be using plugs of rockwool to clone into, but I see what you mean about the risk of water logging the roots.

Maybe if I clone into a small amount of rockwool and then put that into the net pots with hydroton around it ?

I can only experiment and see anyhow.

thanks for the advice so far I really appreciate it.

 

[AeroKing]

Opinions are like assholes. We all have them. So what the hell... Here's mine.

1. Are the sprayers run on 30 sec on and 3 minutes off, or 1 minute on and 5 minutes off.. I have seen both .. is there a difference?

Heat is the #1 reason people run the pump on a timer.

Theoretically aeroponics will provide enough o2 to the roots, that they should not need a "drying out" time, like as is required with soil or ebb and flow hydroponics.

However, it seems that the problem isn't the lack of o2, but the fact that when roots are soaked consistently, they tend to mat together. When the roots are fluffy and spread out, they grow many tiny little white hairs that are very effective at absorbing water, nutes and o2. When they become matted, you will see less of these fine root hairs and the plants will not grow as fast.

So, the #2 reason would be to allow the roots time to dry out, not to provide o2 in and of itself, but to allow the roots to "fluff up" again(which they will not do if being sprayed constantly).

The timing of the spray should be dictated by the plants genetics. If the strain adapted to a wet climate, they'd fair better with more spray/less dry. If they came from a dryer climate, then the other way around

2. Once the plant is switched to 12/12 for flowering, do you leave the sprayer cycle on the same as above, or turn them off for the dark period .. or something else ??

Once dialed in for the strain, I think that you'd be best off to follow it through flowering.

3. Do you need an airstone in the reservoir to aerate the nutrient solution or with this system is it unnecessary as the roots are in air?

I add airstones to every reservoir. There's no such thing as too much oxygen. Although your sprayers will ensure that there is plenty of DO available for the roots, adding an airstone to the res will ensure that there will be no anaerobic(bad) bacterial buildup and also helps to keep minerals in solution.

4. What ph do you run at ??

Ph fluctuation is inevitable and important.
I generally try for around 5.8 for veg and 5.5 for flowering and let it drift.

5. I guess I need a meter to check the nute concentration... what do you use (EC ? CF or ppm ? ) and what concentration do you run at ??

Completely strain dependent. You can run a very low EC and change to solution often, enduring that you won't run out of a particular high demand nutrient. If you don't change out solutions often, running a low ppm can cause deficiencies.
On the other hand running a high ppm can cause lockouts and burn.
I'll tell you this much, the faster a system, the higher demand will be for everything - Light, CO2, Water and Nutrients.
Because of the speed of growth, seedlings and clones will need fed sooner and generally with a slightly higher concentration.

 

[ViRedd]

Maybe if I clone into a small amount of rockwool and then put that into the net pots with hydroton around it?

The 1" RockWool is what I use. As soon as roots show out the bottom, I transfer them to 3" net pots with hydroton for vegging, then transfer again into the flowering area ... still using the same 3" pots.

By the way ... you're going to love aero. The short vegging times are amazing.

Vi