My First Hydroponic Grow

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soysauce86

Member
Hey guys this is my first grow, I've been reading your forums for the last couple days and decided to post something. Here's my setup, let me know what you guys think. I've been checking my pH at least 3 times a day keeping it at around 6.5 ... My pH seems to jump from 6.5 to 7.0-7.5 every time i check.is that normal? I have veg nutrients c17 or something like that... Im running 4ft. x 4 light t5 fluorescent for veg and i plan on getting either a 400 watt or a 600 watt hps when its time to flower... any tips, suggestions would be great. I have 6 -Northern Lights Blue and 6- Pre Bubba 98
TOMMY SETUP.jpg 20130306_082941.jpg Day 2 20130305_010513.jpg Day 1 (transplanted clones )
 
ounevinsmoke

ounevinsmoke

Well-Known Member
you could have your water lines just go to the bottoms of each net pot instead of having them on top and being all in the way. You should also have a ph at 5.8 in hydro. I keep mine between 5.8-6.1. Thats the sweet spot that gives your plants the most nutrients in Hydro. As far as your PH flux it could be anything from bacteria to poorly rinsed hydroton. Just will have to wait and see on that one. Try and keep your res temps under 70 and over 59 degrees if possible. Sice this is your first grow I would wait on buying that light and just do the whole grow with your current set up. Also because of your limited space I would not veg very long and keep the plants short going into flower and lollipop for maximum main cola.
 
S

soysauce86

Member
hey ounevinsmoke , yea i was actually thinking about putting the water lines in the bottom of the net pots. Im about to go check my pH a drop it down lower.....im guesssing i could of washed out my hydroton better... for them temp, i should be good for now i live in San diego temp feels right. i have a pretty big space, the pic just looks small from how i have it, ill attch a pic of the whole size.20130301_205525.jpg.... im planning to veg untill my plants are maybe 2 - 3 ft. Another question was i was wondering if i should change the RES every week or 2 weeks and if i should add nutrients every day or everytime i add water to the RES?
 
ounevinsmoke

ounevinsmoke

Well-Known Member
soysauce86 said:
hey ounevinsmoke , yea i was actually thinking about putting the water lines in the bottom of the net pots. Im about to go check my pH a drop it down lower.....im guesssing i could of washed out my hydroton better... for them temp, i should be good for now i live in San diego temp feels right. i have a pretty big space, the pic just looks small from how i have it, ill attch a pic of the whole size.View attachment 2557333.... im planning to veg untill my plants are maybe 2 - 3 ft. Another question was i was wondering if i should change the RES every week or 2 weeks and if i should add nutrients every day or everytime i add water to the RES?
Click to expand...
If you wait a full 2 weeks or 14 days you may notice some leaf damage which is an indicator of nutrient deficiency because the roots in the water are constantly pulling out what they need. Some people never change the solution and just add more water and or nutrients when needed, but trust me they had to experiment to get to that point. Leaving the solution in past 14 days can lead to nutrient lock out and unwanted bacteria growth which could bring about the dreaded slime and trust me you dont want that. It all really depends on your plants in particular and how they react to the water. My plants like their water changed in between 10-12 days. If your plants are heavy drinkers it is okay to top off with fresh PH'ed water to keep the levels optimal as when the water drops your ppm's may shoot up causing the roots to dehydrate from accumilated nutrient salts in the solution or possibly even get nute burned. With Nutrients be delicate and remember less is more.
So in short, change res somewhere between 10 days and 14 and thats when you put nutrients in. Top off with plain water ph'ed if they drink it too fast and you are not ready to change res. Further note Your space is quite large now that I see your new pic, but plants can double and sometimes triple in height after you flip to the 12/12 cylcle. Meaning a 3 foot plant can hit 6 foot easy after strecth. Becomes a hassle in the style of grow you are using because you will notice at about 3 feet your babies will start tipping and falling over and it turns to a disaster tryin g to hold those suckers up inbetween changing the res. It may be hard to imagine now but picture a fully grown 3 foot tall plant and how close it is right next to the other. Those tubs are not designed to have that many large plants next to each other.

Are you going for the sterile approcah or are you using beneficials?
 
S

soysauce86

Member
ok sounds good, my plants are looking healthy nice a green ..thanks for the imput..... To tell the truth i heard about benificals but have no clue about that or the sterile approach. what would be a good option for me..
 
ounevinsmoke

ounevinsmoke

Well-Known Member
soysauce86 said:
ok sounds good, my plants are looking healthy nice a green ..thanks for the imput..... To tell the truth i heard about benificals but have no clue about that or the sterile approach. what would be a good option for me..
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Well running a sterile set up is simply to have everything clean and keeping organic matter from getting in your res(i.e. leaves, dirt, bacteria). Basically what you are doing now but maybe adding a dose of Hydrogen peroxide every now and then to keep any bacteria from forming on your roots.

Using beneficials is finding special plant helping bacteria/fungi and purposley adding them to your res and roots. Beneficials help nutrient uptake.
The beneficial also aids in eliminating harmful bacteria in case your roots ever get infected. You will know if your roots get infected as your plant will show signs of stress and the roots will begin to turn brown or maybe develop a clear slime or brown slime.

You will eventually have to go one way or the other. If you can continue to do what you do now and still have success then the more power to you and dont change anything.
 
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