Goin hydro!

[Motarebel]

After this RA attack it's a no brainer,i'm switching over and would like to hear your input on systems and ferts. I'm eyeing an ebb + flow system with buckets,seems simple enough and i'm not feeling like doing a D.I.Y. project right now. I'd like to start off with a 12 bucket system and start adding on once i'm confident i have a grip on things. I'm not a big fan of chem ferts or buying water so any hints for the organic minded ex-dirt farmer?Oh and before i get blasted for asking, i have done my research and just wanted to hear your input.

 

[sky high]

Yo mota.

Buy a chiller right off the bat. Gonna save you a BUNCHA headaches.

the chem nutes are the drawback to it all. They work great, but I'm guessing you'll miss the organics and the "mad scientist" aspect of it all with the bat poop and the beneficials and stuff...I know I sure did. (and I'm back to all of that...LOL)

best of luck with the switch

s h

 

[maestro]

SAY JUST DIP YA FEET SLOWLY BROTHER. Get a feel for it n see the advantages for yourself then go with what works best for you. I wouldn't go all in right away gives me anxiety for ya just thinking that. You dont wanna learn the hard way unless ya have to n the best way to demystify the bs of it is to do it yourself....Its easier to get consistent quality indoors n cheaper with hydro ya do it right.

I don't go completly organic, I cheet some. I like to add lil'poop be it insect guano or something to my subsoil for extra umf n veg. In bloom I use GH 3 part flora bro...but just the bloom n micro....5ml bloom/ 1 ml micro per week per foot of plant I'm bloomin as a rule of thumb is golden brudda!
...like my ppms 600-800 n 5.8 ph....use tap water n just either add water to raise ph lil or bloom to lower it some. See my girls use up the last of that organuic enrichment n bloom so I get the organic panic effect n chem advantages without the harshness of overkill. I seriously can go years without any build ups in my reservoirs with this ratio n my fruits pretty solid...uhhhh huuh...I use a big res so chillers not really needed n you probably can do the same since its cold there at night concrete floor keep you water ok as long as you rooms about 80 my friend. Flush two weeks with tap water. and ummmm i never change my flush res either but it stays clean with the starving girlies!

what do I know I'm crazy........

peace

 

[devilrays]

you do NOT need a chiller with a 12 bucket ebb n flo. that's a waste of money!
:sign0065:

 

[altitudefarmer]

My advice would be to start small, Mota, if you're just getting a feel for it. I found e-n-f trays to be the easiest, if not the most efficient way to grow hydro. Sadly, root aphids will attack in hydro just as fast as in soil. The nice thing is not bringing questionable soil into the grow.
I have had success in the past by baking my soil before introducing it into the garden. Huge pain in the ass, but it'll kill any fungus gnats or root aphids in the mix. 45 min @250. I used a meat thermometer to make sure the temp in the middle was at least 225 before I removed it from the oven. No chemicals required.
Best of luck to you brother. Peace

 

[Kaya420]

Hey there Mota my friend.


Whats been up with you buddy? Not sure if you remember, but I did an 8 bucket recirculating DWC system over at CSC before we lost it all.

I didnt need a chiller in a pretty warm room with a 1000, a 600, and a 400 veg room.

I used Pure Blend Pro, and got excellent results. Its not OMRI listed, so Im sure its not 100% organic, however, I always achieved organic-like results with it. Foe20 still uses it, and occasionally he will do a DWC, or Ebb table. All of the ingredients listed are organic in nature, so Im unsure it Botanicare just wont fork over the royalties to OMRI for the listing, or what. I used the complete lineup, and feel that they are all great products, which are competitively priced.

I never got slimy roots, or any adverse effects from the thick soupy nutrients.

Heres the kicker.......

I used tap-water.

It worked fine. Never had a lockout, or any PH problems at all. My tap runs 250-300PPM, which isnt low by any means.

Heres my question though.

You think this will be easier on you?

Maybe if the drain and tap are in your room, but doing a res change, with 55+ gallons of water, like I had, was anything but easy.

If your going for 100% ease heres what I would do.

I would just get an RO/DI unit, with an auto-fill floater, and easy drain kit. then, pick up some PBP grow, bloom, Liquid Karma, Hydro-Plex, and Clearex.

Anyways,

Thats my 2 cents. Im just kinda making my way back on the scene, and catching up with old friends. You ever get any of those 3xMoonshines going? Ive been busy but found a plant outta a pack of Twisted Fruit that I kept as a mom for close to 2 years. Ill get some pics of her, but it was some of the trippiest, best tasting buds Ive had to date. I flowered the mom after a while as she started getting sickly looking, but, she was a real winner. Its nice to see ya again man, I hope you stay safe and well.


The one, the only,

-Kaya

 

[joshadelph]

I tried House and Gardens in a hydro style setup and it worked decent, the best I have used is Humboldt for hydro IMO ( just based off of 2 hydro runs). Id look into BioBizz if you are looking for Organics, I think that it would transfer over to a Hydro great and plants LOVE LOVE the stuff, just may be a little pricey.

 

[T1420]

for sure!! I agree with ya Altitude, But I found a product that if it is applied correctly will kill ANY soil predators... Botanigard, it is a fungal spore that burns the skin off anything, multiple tests under a lab microscope I seen them drop and die. But your humidity has to be below 60 and use it as a drench not just foliar, only apply to DRY soil and do not wet too much as the spores cannot breathe and could die, it is CRITICAL to have your moisture levels right. After a plant ingests the bacteria from the aphids they are sick and cannot repair the damage, so use sensizyme or hygrozyme to excell the breakdown, other than that you are probably better off replacing your plants, and pretreating your soil with Botanigard to prevent the killers.

 

[ProdigyGrower]

Have you thought about using coco with a dtw you could still use a ebb n flow table and what not and it's much cleaner than soil I use coco and love it it's amazing . For organic nutrients I would go with advanced nutrients iguana juice I think that would work fine In A ebb n flow system it's not super think or anything just make sure to get a filter bag for your pump. I really think you'd like running a dtw in coco and u Dnt even need to buy a Table you could still use the same pots you were useing and for a Rez you could just buy one of those 30gal heavy duty totes any way hope you find what your looking for brutha grow safe peace.

 

[motherlode]

I could have swore somehwere on here I saw pix of a root aphid infestation in a UC or MPB setup


dont think going hydro is gonna stop root aphids

are you assuming you got the RA in your bag soil?

 

[Motarebel]

Let's not assume that i assume there'll be no bugs by switching to hydro,that'd be 2 assumesessess! lol

 

[RIVAL79]

I'm a Dirt farmer myself, Mota! I just got a few tray setups. For a top feed DTW coco and Flood and Drain with 6x6 rockwool and coco mat. I am testing the waters. Hydro seems cleaner to me but I prefer the taste of soil grown herb. Attention to detail is a must for sure! Good luck with everything bro. Keep us posted! The Dio and Redneck TNT r getting huge! Thanx for making awesome genetics, Mota!

 

[Aligee]

If you were in Cali i got a UC 6xl collecting dust your more than welcome to have bruh !!!

 

[T1420]

HMMM.... Guess my spore theory is gonna be shot in the water, Root aphids evade alot of treatments cause they can make themselves dormant, in water they must suck the oxygen out of the water. Guess thats why the spore kills em cause they need not ingest it , it just burns the skin off any pest it encounters. I recently setup a 30 gal, with a 1028 GPH pump hooked to sprayer risers and a current outlet on the bottom to create current, 8" netpot filled with hydrton. I dont have a clue on hydro, read countless pages of setups and just hope it goes easy. Got cupboards full of nutes, from H&G to advanced to biobizz, the full lines, all diff. kinds of fish n seaweed, almost every additive booster out there, Milwaukee PH and TDS meters. Tryin to put something together that will work....or just walkin circles again.:banana1sv6:

 

[J.P.]

hola mota.
Personally, I do practice more!
Don't forget the clones room..
here a GT205 adapted ...
Ooh sorry. You do not want to become handyman (...)

 

[gerardbutler79]

Have you thought about using coco with a dtw you could still use a ebb n flow table and what not and it's much cleaner than soil I use coco and love it it's amazing . For organic nutrients I would go with advanced nutrients iguana juice I think that would work fine In A ebb n flow system it's not super think or anything just make sure to get a filter bag for your pump. I really think you'd like running a dtw in coco and u Dnt even need to buy a Table you could still use the same pots you were useing and for a Rez you could just buy one of those 30gal heavy duty totes any way hope you find what your looking for brutha grow safe peace.

Ditto on the coco. Much cleaner. It took me a little while but eventually I realized soil is only practical for the outdoors.

 

[GhostFace]

mota i would switch to COCO or a Soilless mix like Promix..i been using Promix for 10+years with pureblend pro and you have seen the dank it grows in sum of the pics i sent your way :rasta2: go soiless

 

[FLB]

Very wise to start simple Mota. Hydro can be very rewarding but can also be devastating. I like hydro for many other reasons than less chance of critter infestations. And with a proper flush and cure I would put hydro up to any organic grown. Genetics are genetics. What I really love most is once you get set up they run almost by themselves. A chiller is a must and I would recommend as big as res as you can muster. I am doing a run right now and have not done a res change yet and am 4.5 wks into flower. I keep the ppms light. I am very busy in life so I have little time for my hobbies. I check on my rooms twice a week to add ferts and say hi. Doesn't get much easier than that.

There are drawbacks as well such as more reliance on power and pythium can be more rampant. That is why I choose to run sterile. At the end of the day it is what works best for the individual.

Did I mention bigger yields......best of luck Mota!

 

[sadhu]

Hey brother ............... i would assume that your looking for something simple .......... i would go either with coco feeding it drain to waste maybe in smart pots or just normal pots .......or......... a little easier would be hempy buckets . You could even do a little hybrid of the 2 . The hempy's would give you a little range for watering , and if you went with the perlite /coco mix there'd be very little prep for the media .The more coco you use the longer water retention you'll get in the hempies but with all coco you would have to do a good runoff as usually for all coco grows. The more perlite in the hempy , the more frequent the waterings , but the faster the growth . Also you could start off hand feeding , and eventually automate to drip feeders and there's no recirclulation to worry about ( ph sifts etc. ) . Ebb and flow isn't bad .......but you have to have a table ( built or bought ), and you have to worry about recirculating your reseviour ............ i've hand feed my coco in smart pots with pure blend pro ( without drippers ) for a couple rounds .....then eventually automated some .....the worst you might have to is water everyday eventually . With the coco you can use organic ferts............. the all perlite setup most people use chem ferts . Sorry for a little rambling .....there's just so many was to skin a cat, also..........i'd get hold of Texas Kid .......he's grown everyway there is ......his input would be invaluable ...........here's some stuff to look at :






Cheers brother .





Peace sadhu :sad0104:

 

[ProdigyGrower]

Yep I agree soil should only be used out side imop and actually I've heard of a few people runningnpure coco in big ass smart pots out side like 65 gal and shit and there getting the biggest yields if their life coco has all the benefits if soil and and the benefits of hydro it's the best imop and it's newb friendly as it's damn near impossible to over water in coco I love it I Dnt plan on using anything else the only thing that will change is the size of pots I just went from 5's to 7's and I love I have monster bushes!! Mota you will love coco bro I promise once you use it you'll be wondering why u haven't sooner. I'm just glad I choose to start growing using coco and I deff think it's best run pure no perlite but I could be wrong I haven't tried it with perlite if it ain't broke Dnt fix it lol