new to hydro growing

Hidden Door

Hidden Door

Member
i've grown plenty of inside and outside plants in dirt but a total newb to the hydro world. i bought a 27 gallon black tote, a 6" net basket, general hydroponic nutrients and a small bag of hydroton clay marbles. i already had plenty of airstones, pumps and a water chiller from back when i had a few aquariums. the 2 air pumps i'm using are for 170 gallon tanks. they have 4 outlets each and i have 8 12" air curtains weighted to the bottom of the resivoir. my question is, should i have the return from the chiller spraying in the net basket to drench the roots with 68 degree water or should i find another hole away from the plant. the plant is a fem ppp from nirvana, she's about a foot tall and it already has a massive root ball. all this is in a 4x4 closet with a 1000mh for vegging and hps once the screen is filled for flowering. thanks in advance for any help.
 
Hidden Door

Hidden Door

Member
did i post this thread in the wrong forum? if so lead me to the right spot please. i'll try asking again without all the other read. is it alright to have water spraying on the roots 24/7 or should i have them on a on/off schedule?
 
Hidden Door

Hidden Door

Member
since i found so much conflicting information. i decided to just give the 24/7 watering a go. and my little girl loves me for it. she has tripled in size in just a few days.
 
bird mcbride

bird mcbride

Well-Known Member
Hidden Door said:
since i found so much conflicting information. i decided to just give the 24/7 watering a go. and my little girl loves me for it. she has tripled in size in just a few days.
Click to expand...
When your buds start getting larger you might have to timer your sprayer because constant flow systems are prone to causing bud rot.
 
W

windytodai

Active Member
If you're doing a misting on the roots, try to keep your water cold (not icey slush, but just pretty cold) to help slow bacterial growth and using a 24/7 method works best. Keep an eye on it though because misting systems break often and your plants could suffer majorly if it does.
 
Hidden Door

Hidden Door

Member
after 3 weeks i changed the res water for the first time yesterday. i didn't add any nutes until this afternoon so it got straight water for a day. after adding the nutes the ppm's are up around 1200 and the ph was 6.2, so i left it alone. this hydro growing is amazing, not one discolored leaf and you can almost see it getting bigger right before your eyes. before with soil grows i would have to veg for almost 2 months to fill my screen, with the hydro i bet it will knock a few weeks of vegging off. can't wait to see what it does during flowering.
 
RawBudzski

RawBudzski

Well-Known Member
:) yes. My DWC babies grew an INCH a DAY for a week. Hydro is amazing, Tho im afraid my babies are Shocked.. coming up on 8th wk ina few days, Prolly have another 10-15 togo. But its freezing and I know my water is too. Plants might lock up and not Fatten as Fast
 
Hidden Door

Hidden Door

Member
RawBudzski said:
:) yes. My DWC babies grew an INCH a DAY for a week. Hydro is amazing, Tho im afraid my babies are Shocked.. coming up on 8th wk ina few days, Prolly have another 10-15 togo. But its freezing and I know my water is too. Plants might lock up and not Fatten as Fast
Click to expand...

i've heard a bunch of folks having to watch out for high water temps but not to many low temps. what about an aquarium heater? i wonder how cold of water is too cold? good luck with it raw.
 
Hidden Door

Hidden Door

Member
the screen is about 60% full, the way this plant is growing it will be a month a head of schedule when i change to 12/12 light cycle. i never could find a clear answer on what the min. water temp can be so i will be adding an aquarium heater to my resivoir to keep the temps a steady 68.
 
BeaverHuntr

BeaverHuntr

Well-Known Member
Hidden Door said:
i've heard a bunch of folks having to watch out for high water temps but not to many low temps. what about an aquarium heater? i wonder how cold of water is too cold? good luck with it raw.
Click to expand...

You want to stay in the 62-68 degree range you roots will take in more oxygen and you will avoid things like algae and root rot.
 
BeaverHuntr

BeaverHuntr

Well-Known Member
Hidden Door said:
the screen is about 60% full, the way this plant is growing it will be a month a head of schedule when i change to 12/12 light cycle. i never could find a clear answer on what the min. water temp can be so i will be adding an aquarium heater to my resivoir to keep the temps a steady 68.
Click to expand...
Yes you can add a aquarium heater wand from the pet store...
Wise man once told me
" cool waters & no light!" --- he was right ..
 
Hidden Door

Hidden Door

Member
BeaverHuntr said:
Yes you can add a aquarium heater wand from the pet store...
Wise man once told me
" cool waters & no light!" --- he was right ..
Click to expand...
my chiller has a place to add a heater and i'll be able to use the thremostat. just need to make time to go get it. i have a small electric space heater that i'm using right now that is taking care of temps so i'm not in any big hurry.
 
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