New Hydro Toy

hempknightt

hempknightt

Active Member
Hey RIU bongsmilie

Just bought this badboy VVV

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MGSYS-Hydroponic-Megagarden-System/dp/B0001XLP9G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322819180&sr=8-1

I have no clue how to run hydro so this is my little test that im gonna throw on my 4x4 table with my other soil plants. Any info would help really.

I have fox farm nutes and bud candy and this system has a 7 1/2 gallon res ebb and flow. I understand how it works basically but i have some technical questions like how many times should i flood and for how long, what ppms to use, etc. Any general hydro-related problems to look out for or tips would be helpful to!
 
drgreentm

drgreentm

Well-Known Member
cool little ebb system. will you be filling all the pots with plants? are you starting from seed or clone? if you are filling the entire system with plants i wouldnt veg long because that system will be overly crowded, never used fox farm nutes but if starting from seed i wouldnt run anything in the water for a while, just plain ph'd 5.8 water until the plants need the nutes. watering schedule depends on the type of medium you will be using, with hydtoton i would go up to 4x a day in veg with lights on in flower i would go 3x a day with lights on. anyway welcome to hydro:)
 
hempknightt

hempknightt

Active Member
I was starting to think no one was going to answer haha thanks! Yes all of them will be filled, 15 plants. It actually will be sitting on a 4x4 table with 30ish-so plants i have in 1 gallon containers. All my plants currently are in soil so I got this to try out hydro before i upgrade my whole setup.

My plan once i get this (its coming in the mail) is to take clones from my mothers and once they take root ill put them all in flower. Im going to try and get big clones around 6". Its a SOG-gy grow haha not a true sog cauge i might veg the clones a little, but similar. I think the system comes with hydro-ton, they call them clay pellets i dont know if its the same thing.

So since id only be using them in flower i would flood for 3x a day, how long should each flood last 15min? And do I only flood with lights on, so it does nothing when they are off? Also not sure if this system comes with an air stone is that something i should get? Theyre pretty cheap just not sure what theyre for.
 
drgreentm

drgreentm

Well-Known Member
hempknightt said:
I was starting to think no one was going to answer haha thanks! Yes all of them will be filled, 15 plants. It actually will be sitting on a 4x4 table with 30ish-so plants i have in 1 gallon containers. All my plants currently are in soil so I got this to try out hydro before i upgrade my whole setup.

My plan once i get this (its coming in the mail) is to take clones from my mothers and once they take root ill put them all in flower. Im going to try and get big clones around 6". Its a SOG-gy grow haha not a true sog cauge i might veg the clones a little, but similar. I think the system comes with hydro-ton, they call them clay pellets i dont know if its the same thing.

So since id only be using them in flower i would flood for 3x a day, how long should each flood last 15min? And do I only flood with lights on, so it does nothing when they are off? Also not sure if this system comes with an air stone is that something i should get? Theyre pretty cheap just not sure what theyre for.
Click to expand...
x3 floods is right on for flower, mine flood for 30min and i like to flood x1 in the middle of the 12 hour dark period just to keep the hydroton(clay pellets) moist. its never a bad idea to throw some air stones in the res but completely unnecessary in a ebb system because the roots receive there oxygen after every flood when the water is draining from the pots it creates a suction pulling frosh o2 in the pebbles. air stones have to be connected to a air pump, basically like a fish tank setup, that causes bubbles in the water giving the water 02.
 
hempknightt

hempknightt

Active Member
:D okay im stoked now! My PPM reader just came in the mail so just waiting for my light and hydro system to come, my mothers are only 3-4 weeks old now from seed so they should be ready to be cloned this weekend or sometime next week then ill start a journal, ill post a link on here!

@drgreentm - just to be clear so you flood 3x during lights on and then 1x during lights off? not 2x lights on + 1x off?

Now that I think about it I will probably need to veg them a little just to get the clones to a decent size until my mothers are bigger, what are some safe ppms to start with after a newly cloned plant has taken root?
 
theinhibitor

theinhibitor

Well-Known Member
I have this hydro system and its good but there are a couple of things that suck:
1) pots they provide are too high
2) Water level is too low (because of 1)

So i would recommend either not using pots at all (just fill the tub with hydroton) or getting some nice low meshpots.
 
hempknightt

hempknightt

Active Member
What is the EC range mean? I bought a PPM reader do i need another one for EC or is it just a different way to measure ppms?
 
sfttailpaul

sfttailpaul

Active Member
That system you got is called "Mega Garden". They also sell a smaller version called "Emily's Garden" which is a wick system based on DWC. (I sell this stuff too). Both work nicely and come ready to set-up and grow; everything is in the box. Problem is that you are going to get overgrown fast and this creates a problem for longevity. An earlier response said to loose the pots and simply put the Hydroton in the bottom using the openings in the top to be the sites. This would surly make a transplant a lot easier. I am just concerned with what are you going to do in about 3-4 weeks when each plant will need a footprint about the size of this unit. That's one plant and not the 15 sites this system offers. I use the tray for another reservoir...
 
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