Getting ready for first grow..any info or ideas welcome..

[traw88]

hello everyone and thanks for your time.....
this is my first hydro grow. ive grown outdoors before but wanted to expand further...
I've posted pics of what i have setup and done so far. any extra knowledge is more than welcome.. heres what i got so far...i am doing a total of 6 clones... the legal ca. limit :confused: ...
1- 4*4 flood and drain tray.

2- room is 6*8*9 (6 wide) (8 length) (9 tall)
3- for clone/veg using- 3 t5 and 4 foot fluorescent tubes..
4- i have a top drip system setup ...and have flood and drain setup also..debaiting on witch one to use...or both?
5- a friend handed down some nutrients as seen in pics ...but they a year old wondering if nutes go bad?...
6- i have a r/o filter is it really necessary
7- i belive i have all the meters i need to measure my resevior...
8- hydraton rocks with rock wool.


I am open to to every ones thoughts and opinions like i said its my first hydro grow and i want as much info as i can get....ive been doing a lot research on this forum and i must say i like what i read...so feel free to drop some knowledge ......

 

[juniorgrower]

Looks like a sweet setup Traw. What are you going to use for a light for flowering?

 

[traw88]

i have a 1000w hps in a vented hood ..ill post a pic of that too..

 

[sky high]

A few thoughts/ideas/questions.....

If it were me I would contain the light I have for veg within that 4 x 4 area. One way to do this is to affix a bamboo stake or some other "post" etc to each corner of the tray and then hang white (panda) plastic around the tray. (and drop those lights down to the plants) The way it is now you will lose a substantial amount of light to the "room" rather than concentrationg it on your plants.

I would also flush those RW cubes with tap water...run it straight through the cube for a good couple of minutes per cube. This will rid the cube of the limestone dust used in manufacture that causes the pH to rise in many instances. THEN soak yer cubes as directed in 5.5 ppH water.

GH nutes are fairly stable over time. However.....for $30 or so you can replace all 3 and be "sure".

Have you calibrated your pens?

If you use the r/o you will need to add Cal/mag back in. Seems like most successful hydro guys are using r/o. If that unit is good and you can hook it up easy enough it may be worth the time.

What medium are your clones in now?

good luck with your grow

s h

 

[traw88]

I will definitely look into the panda plastic wrap idea......more light the better :D ..

As far as flushing the rocks just use tap water no cleaning agents necessary ? ..

Yes that is true might as well get new nutrients..better safe than sorry..

The pens are not calibrated to my knowledge ..how would i test it...?


As for the r/o filter , what is a good replacement for cal/mag ?.


I am waiting on getting the clones from a local clone dispenssary..down the street..
I will be getting clones in the starter rockwool squares...

thanks for the fast feedback...this forum helps ...

 

[sky high]

Get rid of any root material/matter stuck to the rocks. I always just used hot tap water..(the bathtub spiket has good force). If you use any cleaners/etc there's a chance of residuals and havin problems later... If you have a 5 gal bucket drill a buncha (like 50) 1/4" holes in the bottom....fill it 1/2 way with rocks..rinse til no crap comes off.

Find the model # of yer pens. Look em up online. Hanna website should have manuals/info etc as to which calibration solutions you will need to make sure they are reading correctly. Most hydro shops will have the solutions and the >new batteries< you need. (your tds/ppm pen may/may not be calibratable). You'll just have to read up on each one to figure out the proper procedures/etc. to get the job done.

dunno if there is a good repalacement for cal/mag other than to nix the R/O and take a chance with tap water. Pretty sure without the Calmag in R/O grows yer gonna see problems at some point... read up.... lotsa info here on water/water quality issues.

what clones/genetics are you getting? That will have an impact on what you do as well.

s h

 

[traw88]

I haven't completely decided I'm in a toss between "master kush " or "bubba kush " ... I'm not looking to get multiple pounds, but would like to get at least a 1/2 p to cover costs of materials and electricity.

Witch Strain in your opinion would give a better yield ..?
Thanks for your time ...

 

[sky high]

1/2p from 6 plants is a reasonable expectation....but all-in-all, I would advise you to keep your focus on each stage/parameter of your grow rather than how much you might harvest (if successful). In the end, your yeild will depend on how well your garden runs overall.

I concentrate more on the taste of the strain than the yield. Can't really advise ya on BK or MK.... not really a fan of BK and have never grown straight up MK. to be able to compare yields/etc.

good luck

s h

 

[Cat Jockey]

If you use the r/o you will need to add Cal/mag back in.

DO NOT DO THIS !!!

Nuthin' personal SH, so don't take it that way. It is just not good advice, especially with GH 3 part. GH makes a specific Micro formula for hard water. Take RO, add Cal/Mag and you now have hard water. Add normal GH Micro to this and you end up with too much N, Ca & Mg. If you are running GH and you think you have too little Ca & Mg in your res (which you don't), you can rectify this with pH manipulation.

I sound like a broken record with a couple issues in multiple threads. One of them is Cal/Mag and one of them is the pH chart you have as your avatar. So, let my same 'ol tune begin again.

The Cal/Mag craze started a few years ago. Botanicare's PBP had a lot to do with this. It is low in certain things, like Mg and some other things. This deficiencies in their formula become very apparent when you run RO water with them. If you are using RO water with PBP, you must also give Botaincare money for Cal/Mag+.

People like PBP because it is the easiest solution to people's desire to run organic hydro (even though it is not quite 100% organic), so it became popular despite its flaws in providing an optimal nutrient solution for Sweet Lady Jane. And with it comes the necessary use of Cal/Mag+ to make up for the lack of Ca & Mg in their base PBP formula.

And then the MJ forum echo chamber began and everyone began talking about Cal/Mag and how you needed to use it with RO, etc. Unfortunately, a lot of the people involved in the echo chamber were not overly experienced growers, just people that read some internet posts and began repeating them, slept in a Holiday Inn the night before and crowned themselves as experts.

GH 3 Part does not have that problem. It has all the Ca & Mg you need for mj, even with RO. In fact, that is why they make Micro for hard water. Use the RO filter. You can attach that filter to your sink with a simple adapter, so it is easy to use. The big advantage you will gain when starting with an RO water supply is you avoid the alkalinity of tap water. Alakalinity refers to the resistance of the water to acids and pH changes. The higher the alkalinity, the more acid you need to pour in to drop the pH.

The importance of this is that after you mix your nutes (nutes are acidic), your starting pH will be too high as the alkalinity of tap buffers the nutes. If you mix GH 3 Part at recommended dosage in RO water, you start at the most optimal point, pH wise. This is around 5.1-5.2. If you use tap water, because of the alaklinity, after you mix, your starting pH could be higher, like 5.5-6.0, depending on your tap water at your location. That is in addition to all of the crap and excess Ca & Mg in tap you don't want to expose your plants to.

Speaking of pH ...

... don't refer to that chart in your avatar. I actually remember when St0ney created that chart on the old HC boards. It was a decade ago, well, probably slightly over a decade ago. Because it was posted on a weed forum at a time when there really weren't any other charts floating around, it got picked up and circulated. The B&W chart you see (I think it is in a sticky here) is the one to look at and refer to.

The B&W chart was put together by scientists, not a stoner who was having problems with his grow from an inappropriate nutrient solution in his res like St0ney was. St0ney was trying to be helpful, but that chart is a result of problems he was having in a hydro grow - so it was not made by someone who i woudl consider an expert, certainly not at the time, evidenced by his problems.

As far as your setup with the tray filled with hydroton and rockwool sitting on top, although you can make some comments in the 'pro' column as far as doing it that way, their are also 'cons'. From my experience, the 'cons' outweigh the 'pros'. I also try to avoid, whether dirt or hydro, locking my plants into place, for one. The benefits you gain from being able to move your plants around in the tray if they are in individual pots can be pretty big. And it can be a critical point in saving your crop if you run into problems - of which many can arise.

Nutes do have a shelf life. Organics more so than inorganics, for sure. I don't know at what point GH 3 part will break down, as I have never sat on them for a year. Contact GH tech for the most accurate time frame. Managing your res is a big topic in of itself, but if your wallet can handle it (shouldn't be bad with GH and a res your size), instead of adding pH down, replace your res after the pH has climbed to 6.2 or so. This could be 1-3 weeks, depending on strain and growroom conditions.

 

[Cat Jockey]

A couple more quick things:

I think GH 3 part is a great nute for beginner hydro growers. This is not to say it is a 'beginners' nute and as you progress in experience you will automatically discard it and switch to something else. It is just an easy nute to work with for providing all of the macro, secondary and micro nutes your plants need, is pretty stable, tried and true and relatively inexpensive compared to other nutes. It is a good, solid, reliable nute.

Also, after you put the RO in your res ALWAYS add your micro nutrients first. Always. If you don't, you can easily fuck up your res before you even start.

Micro before any Grow or Bloom nute in your res. Always.