Need help with Hydro please.

hi

im about to buy this system but have never grown hydro b4 only soil have had many good soil grows but time for a change.

i have actually brought this system 6yrs ago but didnt have a clue back then and never even managed to germinate the seeds lol ended up selling it for half the price without even using it lol

i understand the basics and like how simple it was to put together and use cause im pretty shit at fixing or putting things together, im not asking for help on a different system but more how many times would i set it to flood n drain, what is a very simple nute setup? good reliable p.h pens? how important is a e.c pen? dus the temperature of the water have to be spot on?

heres the system im planning on getting. http://www.1-hydroponics.co.uk/hydroponic-systems/4-pod.htm

FLOODING:
My design floods every 3 hrs for 15. min. 8x's daily (this is for any stage of veg and flowering with a few exceptions.) Lights on 77-78 degrees. avg.
Given, the plant does not need as much watering during the dark cycle.If you have a timer that you can set more in the day and less at night you should do so.
I have timers for this but, I just stay at the initial setting.Works beautifully.When i start new strains, I will start my fem. seeds in grodan starters, soaked
in a 5.5 solution with seedling nutrients,introduce the seedling,when they have substantial root mass',usually after 14 days, I will put them in 6" netties,
into the hydroton and flood once every 5 hrs.Since they have a little grodan in there, they stay fairly moist, and you dont want any rot from excessive flooding
and you want the seedling to really search for water. At about 1 month, mind you that these are to be Mom's, I will get to flooding every 3 hrs. for 15 min.
Bigger plants need more delivery and under a 75-80 degree room, 3 hr. intervals seems to be fine, also a daytime humidity of around 41%.During the
end of flowering (last 2 weeks) I will cut back on the floods a little to make those calyx's swell, also this seems to help with the drynig a nd curing
process for me. Hygrozyme or similiar is a MUST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A good simple nute plan can be anything, General Hydroponics has a 3 stage system that really is a breeze to follow for anyone thats green to this.Nutes are nutes
really.Keeping in mind, that these companies sole plan is to keep you buying a shit ton of nutes, so like, with GH nutes for instance,you can cut the recommended
feeding in 1/2 and obtain right around a 700ppm baseline or an Ec of around 1.4 Easy 2 use, easy to follow.
Many different kinds of Ph pens out there, dont skimp on this, for if your Ph isnt dialed, you really can just waste time and $, and not get the most
out of the girls.Ph pens are everywhere.
Ec pens are nice to have but not generally necessary.With some simple math you can figure out your own Ec.Remember that the Europeans' Ec is a little
different than US calculations. So..........
I have all my rooms dialed, My res temps stay right around 68 degrees.Res temps will fluctuate a little, but not meant to be too drastic.Anything under 62
I find, this slows all growth and just really shocks the shit outta them. 72 or higher and you might find that you have opened the door to mold and
harmful bacterias, algae, and on and on.
Once again just a bit o' opinion.We all have one, and we all have what works for us,lots of different dynamics for all of us.Hopefully some of the other
Brothers and Sisters out there will chime in and give you some other views. Peace...........

thanks for that info mrs robinson very helpfull although sounds so fucking complicated compared to my soil grows lol im gonna get a good p.h pen although am a little worried about calaborating it? is that hard?

also planning to use rockwall cubes into clay pebbles is this a problem compared to the net pot? will i get more mold/rot problems using cubes? im gonna go for a e.c pen too i wana go for yield cause i no my strains are top notch thats why i wana change to hydro so with a e.c pen i can push my nutes to the max no?

also can i ask your advice on flushing useing this system?

sorry +rep for that aswel thank again, i no alot of the info on paper just scared of trying something new after doing soil for nearly 2yrs.

ph pens are easy to calibrate,yes.They come with instructions.
Rockwool cubes are not designed really to be flooded on a continual basis.Mostly for a drip system.
As far as an Ec pen...you can push your nutes to the max regardless of having that pen.Just get yourself a TDS/ temp pen.relatively cheap, and a cinch to use.Or an Ec pen versus the TDS, really just personal pref. man......
Dont be scared, change is good........knowledge is power, brah.Sorry, gotta keep it quick, the fam needs tending to. Right on Sambo!