General questions about running a hydro system i need tips and answers

hey growers i just have a few questions and in need of some answers. Ok heres my setup i have a 6 plant hydro system. I only got three plants in it at the moment. (why?) lol because the other three died because of over nuting is what i was told. i got it down packed now my 3 now are about a month and are looking VERY good. *note i have grown soil before and was successful with vegetative and flowering. I have a digital pH meter and pH stix i also have a digital PPM meter. IM using rockwool cubes for my medium and im using nutrient rocks. Is this a good setup so far? The nutes i have are Grow(vegetative) and Flowering. Im wondering is there any other nutes im missing to give them a healthy grow? i know during veggy i keep them at 6.08 or at or below 7. The light im working with is a 150watt HID HPS bulb is that a good lighting system for 3-6 plants? If you have any questions post your reply im new to this site so please take it easy on the negative comments im too old for that. Please include pictures of your setup if possible, add levels the PPM should be. my last mess up was not cloning i now have cloning gel and more rockwool cubes and ready to keep it going year round. thanks and TOKE UP

dude i need clearer questions so i can answer easier.

150 watt- yeh has ok for some small perso stash
pH- your pH is wrong for hydro
PPM- Gadually get yourself up to 1200ppm, some go even higher 1500+. i dont see the use as it doesnt give me bigger buds just costs money.

peace

Hey
What are these nutrient rocks you speak of. Iv never used rockwool before but I think it alters the ph and you have to compensate for it maybe.
Im on my second hydro grow but noticed that when the nute levels are to high the ppm will eventually rise and the ph willl drop. You want the ph to naturally rise from 5.6 up to 6.2 and then slowly bring it back down to 5.6.. There seems to be a sweet spot where the ppm stays the same but the ph rises, but they will continue to need more nutes until they peak... they can only take so much and each strain varies in feeding habits. Just what Iv noticed.
h2o temps are important too. you want them between 65-70
So if you notice your ppm raising and ph dropping, just dilute with dechlorinated water ph'd to where you need it atm.
follow the feed chart but dilute as needed.

Ok, ph should be between 5.5 and 5.8. You can let it rise as high as 6.2 but try not to let it get higher. I have no idea what nutrients you are using? Are they for MJ or just a plant food found in a garden centre. MJ needs a minimum of 3,000 lumens per sq ft of canopy in the blue spectrum (6,500k) while vegging and 5,000 lumens in the red/orange spectrum (2,500) while flowering. A 150W hps will put out around 16,000 lumens giving a flowering capacity of 3.2 sq ft of canopy. Set your ppm at 800 and increase every 3 days by 200 until you see brown tips appear on the leaves. Once you see these, this is nutrient burn, back off back to the previous level. By doing this methodically, you are working out how much nutrients your plants can take. Once there, stick with that feed regime through veg. Peace W

woodydude said:

Ok, ph should be between 5.5 and 5.8. You can let it rise as high as 6.2 but try not to let it get higher. I have no idea what nutrients you are using? Are they for MJ or just a plant food found in a garden centre. MJ needs a minimum of 3,000 lumens per sq ft of canopy in the blue spectrum (6,500k) while vegging and 5,000 lumens in the red/orange spectrum (2,500) while flowering. A 150W hps will put out around 16,000 lumens giving a flowering capacity of 3.2 sq ft of canopy. Set your ppm at 800 and increase every 3 days by 200 until you see brown tips appear on the leaves. Once you see these, this is nutrient burn, back off back to the previous level. By doing this methodically, you are working out how much nutrients your plants can take. Once there, stick with that feed regime through veg. Peace W

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Some great info wooddude.
Just wanted to add although its an accepted practice in hydro/cannabis gardening, the tech of dosing a plant until you see tip burn etc is pretty detrimental and if not done right you can find yourself in a whole lotta pain. Burning the shit out of your girls is usually what happens. Your already hurting your plants before they show it, for the roots its similar to walking on a hot road with no shoes on. Ive done it myself and set myself back due to flushing and added veg.

Plants need alot less then then what most ppl feed and i am one who only gives what the plant needs to be green and healthy.
I also read Al B's latest posts saying he now runs EC 1.2 all the way thru from rooted clone and he wouldnt do that if it cost him yield

Also increasing by 200 every 3 days, well i might do 200 every week. Doable and feasible for experienced growers but maybe tricky for a new grower.
In mainstream gardening the common rule is increase things very slowly, 'water weakly weekly' Not so much in the dollar fuelled canna biz.

Point taken Plant. I have become so used to the 200/3days now that I forget not everyone spots the signs early enough! Funny you mention water weekly weakly, my grandfather used to say the same about his veg, yet we lived in Yorkshire, which is not the dryest county in the UK and would rain most the way through summer lol. My favourite Satori & White Widow would not thank AL B for 1200, they don't like anything over 1000 (EC 1.5). There is a good point there however, even though my methods may be too agressive for some and that is that every strain is different and looking at what the plant is telling you is more important than just repeating the same thing over and over. Stay frosty dudes. W

so u think hydro is a waste? whats my ph supposed to b for hydro? my ppm meter say 104x10 thats 1040. u think i should just do soil? im just trying hydro because of the rumors of faster grow and yield.

ok thanks alot! the nutes im using are called earth juice bloom and earth juice grow

whodatnation said:

Hey
What are these nutrient rocks you speak of. Iv never used rockwool before but I think it alters the ph and you have to compensate for it maybe.
Im on my second hydro grow but noticed that when the nute levels are to high the ppm will eventually rise and the ph willl drop. You want the ph to naturally rise from 5.6 up to 6.2 and then slowly bring it back down to 5.6.. There seems to be a sweet spot where the ppm stays the same but the ph rises, but they will continue to need more nutes until they peak... they can only take so much and each strain varies in feeding habits. Just what Iv noticed.
h2o temps are important too. you want them between 65-70
So if you notice your ppm raising and ph dropping, just dilute with dechlorinated water ph'd to where you need it atm.
follow the feed chart but dilute as needed.

Click to expand...

nutrient rocks are made out of clay and go around the grown medium which is the rockwool cubes. r

mikeyb2010 said:

nutrient rocks are made out of clay and go around the grown medium which is the rockwool cubes. r

Click to expand...

You mean hydrotone? The expanded clay pellets? It has no nutrients in it.
No need to burn your plants on purpose lol just make a note to what your ph and ppm is doing.
I would stick with soil if I were you.


btw, the reason you want the ph to naturally drift from 5.6-6.2 is because different nutes are accessible at different ph levels mmmk.

did you miss the rest of my post?

here it is again~

Iv never used rockwool before but I think it alters the ph and you have to compensate for it maybe.
Im on my second hydro grow but noticed that when the nute levels are to high the ppm will eventually rise and the ph willl drop. You want the ph to naturally rise from 5.6 up to 6.2 and then slowly bring it back down to 5.6, you also wnat your ppms to slowly be dropping. There seems to be a sweet spot where the ppm stays the same but the ph rises, but they will continue to need more nutes until they peak... they can only take so much and each strain varies in feeding habits. Just what Iv noticed.
h2o temps are important too. you want them between 65-70
So if you notice your ppm raising and ph dropping, just dilute with dechlorinated water ph'd to where you need it atm.
follow the feed chart but dilute as needed.

Here are some general rules:
1. Water level drops PPM goes up: Drop your nutrient strength in relationship to the PPM rise.
2. Water level drops PPM stays the same: You may be able to fine tune you nutrient strength, if growth is vigorous leave it alone.
3. Water level drops PPM drops: Raise you nutrient strength in relationship too PPM drop.

joe dollar said:

Here are some general rules:
1. Water level drops PPM goes up: Drop your nutrient strength in relationship to the PPM rise.
2. Water level drops PPM stays the same: You may be able to fine tune you nutrient strength, if growth is vigorous leave it alone.
3. Water level drops PPM drops: Raise you nutrient strength in relationship too PPM drop.

Click to expand...

Pretty much what I was trying to say but much more simple sounding lol nice post