Is there anyone growing in nft channels on here?

[Checkler92]

Would like to chat with some people that have or are growing nft channels. Like to talk about problems encountered and solutions. What have you guys learned?

 

[Smithygreen]

I have been actively attempting to perfect this method. The picture is my final design.
What I have learned.
1. Stay sterile. Use no beneficial bacteria in this system unless you are a master at it. You will end up with cyano bacteria very easily. I use HTH pool shock. 5 dry grams per gallon and then I use 1 ml per gallon out of that mixed stock solution per gallon of rez capacity every 4 days to maintain a very clean rez.
2. 2 to 3 LPM in water flow is better for cannabis. Your growing cannabis not lettuce. You need slightly more flow.
3. Water temp must no go above 72 DF ever. Must use air pumps and stones as well.
4. A balanced nutrient solution around 550 to 700 PPM has worked wonders. Even in Flowering.
5. Low stress training and netting is a must to get the most out of the system. Combine SOG and Scrog.
6. Make sure to have a replacement pump on hand and a small generator to run it in case of a power outage. If your pump goes out turn off your grow lights immediately until you get the pump running again.
7. Have good de humidification. Your transpiration rates will be insane. I stay below 50% humidity even in veg and try to stay at 40% in flower. Your not in soil so lower ambient humidity will not hurt your veg plants.
8. Shes a beast and will need constant attention, check multiple times a day. just when you think its all good something will come at you. Never not check it, ever.
9. If you are having humidity issues consider a sulphur vaporizer or you will get mold 100%. Transpiration rates will be very high.

Realize you are top ending your plants with this system and prepare accordingly.
You have to balance your inputs correctly.
Light is the main key. The more light the more everything else will be needed, water, nutes, CO2, dissolved O2 in water all of it. again I cant stress enough about a balanced nutrient solution. Use chelated nutrients.

All that being said when done correctly it is the absolute best producer of yields and potency around.
Happy growing!

 

[Checkler92]

I have been actively attempting to perfect this method. The picture is my final design.
What I have learned.
1. Stay sterile. Use no beneficial bacteria in this system unless you are a master at it. You will end up with cyano bacteria very easily. I use HTH pool shock. 5 dry grams per gallon and then I use 1 ml per gallon out of that mixed stock solution per gallon of rez capacity every 4 days to maintain a very clean rez.
2. 2 to 3 LPM in water flow is better for cannabis. Your growing cannabis not lettuce. You need slightly more flow.
3. Water temp must no go above 72 DF ever. Must use air pumps and stones as well.
4. A balanced nutrient solution around 550 to 700 PPM has worked wonders. Even in Flowering.
5. Low stress training and netting is a must to get the most out of the system. Combine SOG and Scrog.
6. Make sure to have a replacement pump on hand and a small generator to run it in case of a power outage. If your pump goes out turn off your grow lights immediately until you get the pump running again.
7. Have good de humidification. Your transpiration rates will be insane. I stay below 50% humidity even in veg and try to stay at 40% in flower. Your not in soil so lower ambient humidity will not hurt your veg plants.
8. Shes a beast and will need constant attention, check multiple times a day. just when you think its all good something will come at you. Never not check it, ever.
9. If you are having humidity issues consider a sulphur vaporizer or you will get mold 100%. Transpiration rates will be very high.

Realize you are top ending your plants with this system and prepare accordingly.
You have to balance your inputs correctly.
Light is the main key. The more light the more everything else will be needed, water, nutes, CO2, dissolved O2 in water all of it. again I cant stress enough about a balanced nutrient solution. Use chelated nutrients.

All that being said when done correctly it is the absolute best producer of yields and potency around.
Happy growing!

Dude were we’re you a month ago! I Have learned a lot in the past 6 weeks mostly the hard way lol. Transpiration is insane!!!! I have over 700 pints of dehu and it’s barely keeping it at 55% at night! As far as flow goes I’m running .5 to 1liter a min Anything more plants look like they are drowning! Was hard to keep my temps down at first but maintaining 66 degrees steady with an extra chiller.

Have you used hydrogen peroxide for disinfectant of the system before? That’s what I’m using now once a week 5ml per gal of 34% plants don’t seem to like it for the first day but after that they like it but no issues since I started using it.

What nutrients are you using?currently I ditched the lotus and started using advanced nutrients sensi grow a and b with cal mag and stock stiffener. If I run anything less than 1000 ppm I start getting deficiencies seems odd to me but I’m still trying to get it figured out.
thanks for all the info! It’s greatly appreciated. I am about to flip them to flower tomorrow. Iwould like to try some of the things you mentioned If they are going to help me out. just recently got them growing good and looking somewhat healthy but if I let them go much more I will be running out of space for them to grow. Here is a photo from last week! I am learning how to defoliate so don’t make fun lol turns out just letting them grow is not the way to do it. In the midst of all my problems I was working out I didn’t want to take the leaves that they did have in fear of killing the plants ( they are very resultant come to find out) and when I got to a point were everything was growing good they took off like crazy!!! been defoliating since I took this pic! So many leaves and lower branches!

 

[Smithygreen]

Dude were we’re you a month ago! I Have learned a lot in the past 6 weeks mostly the hard way lol. Transpiration is insane!!!! I have over 700 pints of dehu and it’s barely keeping it at 55% at night! As far as flow goes I’m running .5 to 1liter a min Anything more plants look like they are drowning! Was hard to keep my temps down at first but maintaining 66 degrees steady with an extra chiller.

Have you used hydrogen peroxide for disinfectant of the system before? That’s what I’m using now once a week 5ml per gal of 34% plants don’t seem to like it for the first day but after that they like it but no issues since I started using it.

What nutrients are you using?currently I ditched the lotus and started using advanced nutrients sensi grow a and b with cal mag and stock stiffener. If I run anything less than 1000 ppm I start getting deficiencies seems odd to me but I’m still trying to get it figured out.
thanks for all the info! It’s greatly appreciated. I am about to flip them to flower tomorrow. Iwould like to try some of the things you mentioned If they are going to help me out. just recently got them growing good and looking somewhat healthy but if I let them go much more I will be running out of space for them to grow. Here is a photo from last week! I am learning how to defoliate so don’t make fun lol turns out just letting them grow is not the way to do it. In the midst of all my problems I was working out I didn’t want to take the leaves that they did have in fear of killing the plants ( they are very resultant come to find out) and when I got to a point were everything was growing good they took off like crazy!!! been defoliating since I took this pic! So many leaves and lower branches!

I think my system is a bit different as in how it flows. I run higher flow rates but I am in round channels instead of square, I also run a deeper channel flow as well about 1 inch depth. As far as nutrients I run the Cultured Solutions line coupled with Botainicares Silica Blast and Sweet, I use sulfuric acid as a PH down, It will not degrade like the store bought PH down and hold you where you need to be a lot longer also sulfur is a tertiary nute the plants can use. I also had a similar problem at first that looked like nutrient deficiency however it wasn't lack of nutes it was a cal mag excess that locked out my nutes, I only use no more than 1.5 ml per gallon of cal mag now, anymore than that I would hit lockout every time its really strong stuff. It manifested as a nutrient deficiency in appearance though. I did run the peroxide at first but my system came down with cyano bacteria and the peroxide would not kill it at all. Cyano bacteria loves oxygen and the only thing I could find to keep my system sterile was the HTH pool shock. It also does not stress my plants and its super cheap to make. I bought a 2 lb bag of it for 10 bucks and I am still on that bag over a year later. One thing that may really help is your type of water you are using. I have found that if using water with a base ppm over 200 it does not mix well with nutrients of any type. I had similar issues to yours until I switched to using RO water. It sounds like you are doing good and your pictures are good too! you are doing it right man! A lot better than me on my first run I can tell you that! As far as the humidity issues it sounds like you have a lot of humidity control already. How are your light on temps? There are a few other ways to keep humidity down as well. Making humidity sinks out of 55 gallon drums with drains on the bottom then filling them with Epsom salts would be a cheap non electric using option. The higher your ambient air temp the more moisture the air can hold so its really a tail chasing effort. The more electric machines are running the more heat, which means more moisture content in the air. In your case the solution also contributes to the problem. maybe a non electric option is a good idea in your situation.

Be wary when mixing your nutrients and also the order in which you mix them. Sometimes things happen chemically that you cant see or read on a meter. Just do a little research. Every situation is different and may require different approaches. I have learn to mix my silica and cal mag first, then my micro nutrients, then my main bloom followed by the grow nutes and only then do I adjust PH.

 

[Checkler92]

I think my system is a bit different as in how it flows. I run higher flow rates but I am in round channels instead of square, I also run a deeper channel flow as well about 1 inch depth. As far as nutrients I run the Cultured Solutions line coupled with Botainicares Silica Blast and Sweet, I use sulfuric acid as a PH down, It will not degrade like the store bought PH down and hold you where you need to be a lot longer also sulfur is a tertiary nute the plants can use. I also had a similar problem at first that looked like nutrient deficiency however it wasn't lack of nutes it was a cal mag excess that locked out my nutes, I only use no more than 1.5 ml per gallon of cal mag now, anymore than that I would hit lockout every time its really strong stuff. It manifested as a nutrient deficiency in appearance though. I did run the peroxide at first but my system came down with cyano bacteria and the peroxide would not kill it at all. Cyano bacteria loves oxygen and the only thing I could find to keep my system sterile was the HTH pool shock. It also does not stress my plants and its super cheap to make. I bought a 2 lb bag of it for 10 bucks and I am still on that bag over a year later. One thing that may really help is your type of water you are using. I have found that if using water with a base ppm over 200 it does not mix well with nutrients of any type. I had similar issues to yours until I switched to using RO water. It sounds like you are doing good and your pictures are good too! you are doing it right man! A lot better than me on my first run I can tell you that! As far as the humidity issues it sounds like you have a lot of humidity control already. How are your light on temps? There are a few other ways to keep humidity down as well. Making humidity sinks out of 55 gallon drums with drains on the bottom then filling them with Epsom salts would be a cheap non electric using option. The higher your ambient air temp the more moisture the air can hold so its really a tail chasing effort. The more electric machines are running the more heat, which means more moisture content in the air. In your case the solution also contributes to the problem. maybe a non electric option is a good idea in your situation.

Be wary when mixing your nutrients and also the order in which you mix them. Sometimes things happen chemically that you cant see or read on a meter. Just do a little research. Every situation is different and may require different approaches. I have learn to mix my silica and cal mag first, then my micro nutrients, then my main bloom followed by the grow nutes and only then do I adjust PH.

I use to water only
I recently quit using the cal mag for the same reason and like you it seemed to help you have me wondering now I’m due for a flush of the system tomorrow I will try what your saying and drop the amounts down but I have not tried it lower without the cal/mag so I’m gonna give it a shot. I was using my blue lab doser that drips right into my recirculating drain back to the res I think it drips 1 ml at a time so dilution is almost instantaneous almost and I have an aero mixer that I would say is one of my better investments for mixing and aeration that is position right below the drain. I have tested my res and channels multiple times early in the grow and o2 was sitting at 99% saturated every time. I have it run for a min every 4 min to keep that level I also have my main pump on a regulator so any excess pressure runs threw the chillers. Looking back I wish I would have put each rack onto a individual res setup like you have done So I could have tried different things and got them running better faster.
As far as humidity I got a 5 ton ac that does the work during the day the drain for it outside flows more than my ro system does lol. But at night those Dehus run constant and make enough heat for the ac to kick on so each one I add seems to make the ac run more and in return helps more and more.

I’m going to look into that sulfuric acid because I can go threw some ph down fast!!!
so the pool shock doesn’t seem to mess with the plants? And also would that have any effect on testing that the state mandates for sale of cannabis? I wouldn’t think it would but something I need to look into

 

[Smithygreen]

I use to water only
I recently quit using the cal mag for the same reason and like you it seemed to help you have me wondering now I’m due for a flush of the system tomorrow I will try what your saying and drop the amounts down but I have not tried it lower without the cal/mag so I’m gonna give it a shot. I was using my blue lab doser that drips right into my recirculating drain back to the res I think it drips 1 ml at a time so dilution is almost instantaneous almost and I have an aero mixer that I would say is one of my better investments for mixing and aeration that is position right below the drain. I have tested my res and channels multiple times early in the grow and o2 was sitting at 99% saturated every time. I have it run for a min every 4 min to keep that level I also have my main pump on a regulator so any excess pressure runs threw the chillers. Looking back I wish I would have put each rack onto a individual res setup like you have done So I could have tried different things and got them running better faster.
As far as humidity I got a 5 ton ac that does the work during the day the drain for it outside flows more than my ro system does lol. But at night those Dehus run constant and make enough heat for the ac to kick on so each one I add seems to make the ac run more and in return helps more and more.

I’m going to look into that sulfuric acid because I can go threw some ph down fast!!!
so the pool shock doesn’t seem to mess with the plants? And also would that have any effect on testing that the state mandates for sale of cannabis? I wouldn’t think it would but something I need to look into

Thats good on the RO water! I did try the auto dosers a few times with not much success. I was right were you are at right now when I began. Everything is good with your system. It seems to be a nutrient issue you may be having. I learned like you were saying about running a lot of plants on one rez, it is a bad thing. I tried it twice and had issues both times. It seems that as the solution goes through the system it is rapidly depleted by the plants. When I was running on one rez for 250 plants I had to supplement the micro nutrients with Genereal Hydroponics Flora Micro. On my regular mix there wasnt enough micro nutes in the recomended mix for that many plants. I also learned through that trial and error that each plant of medium size( like cannabis) needs on average 2 gallons of solution per plant for 7 days. So a 100 plant system would need a 200 gallon rez for optimum performance without adding nutrients everyday.
The pool shock is made of calcium hypochlorite and will not make you fail a test. I have never had a problem failing tests other than occasional powdery mildew sometimes!

 

[Checkler92]

Thats good on the RO water! I did try the auto dosers a few times with not much success. I was right were you are at right now when I began. Everything is good with your system. It seems to be a nutrient issue you may be having. I learned like you were saying about running a lot of plants on one rez, it is a bad thing. I tried it twice and had issues both times. It seems that as the solution goes through the system it is rapidly depleted by the plants. When I was running on one rez for 250 plants I had to supplement the micro nutrients with Genereal Hydroponics Flora Micro. On my regular mix there wasnt enough micro nutes in the recomended mix for that many plants. I also learned through that trial and error that each plant of medium size( like cannabis) needs on average 2 gallons of solution per plant for 7 days. So a 100 plant system would need a 200 gallon rez for optimum performance without adding nutrients everyday.
The pool shock is made of calcium hypochlorite and will not make you fail a test. I have never had a problem failing tests other than occasional powdery mildew sometimes!

Duckin pm! Finally almost got rid of it myself! Going to be getting air sanitizer soon. I got 240 plants on 175 gallon res. I’m adding 70 gallons a day! Every third day I let the res get down to about 20 gallons (min pump will pump without sucking air) then I drain and refill with fresh nutrient water. So doing a res change every three days in essence that’s been keeping it clean but been using that hydrogen peroxide make sure no algae but I’m going to start the pool shock tomorrow. How did adding the gh micro help out?

 

[Checkler92]

Thats good on the RO water! I did try the auto dosers a few times with not much success. I was right were you are at right now when I began. Everything is good with your system. It seems to be a nutrient issue you may be having. I learned like you were saying about running a lot of plants on one rez, it is a bad thing. I tried it twice and had issues both times. It seems that as the solution goes through the system it is rapidly depleted by the plants. When I was running on one rez for 250 plants I had to supplement the micro nutrients with Genereal Hydroponics Flora Micro. On my regular mix there wasnt enough micro nutes in the recomended mix for that many plants. I also learned through that trial and error that each plant of medium size( like cannabis) needs on average 2 gallons of solution per plant for 7 days. So a 100 plant system would need a 200 gallon rez for optimum performance without adding nutrients everyday.
The pool shock is made of calcium hypochlorite and will not make you fail a test. I have never had a problem failing tests other than occasional powdery mildew sometimes!

I should have mentioned that for the past few weeks I have not been using the dosers to make sure that it was not a mixing issue I was dealing with. I contacted advanced nutrients and they told me exactly how I should mix it and that’s how I have been doing it everyday by hand but haven’t seen a change on that side of thing vs the doser. But it’s probably like you said it’s just the macros because that’s what my deficiencies are mostly iron manganese and zink from what I can tell but I’m going to get some of that and give it a try

 

[Smithygreen]

I should have mentioned that for the past few weeks I have not been using the dosers to make sure that it was not a mixing issue I was dealing with. I contacted advanced nutrients and they told me exactly how I should mix it and that’s how I have been doing it everyday by hand but haven’t seen a change on that side of thing vs the doser. But it’s probably like you said it’s just the macros because that’s what my deficiencies are mostly iron manganese and zink from what I can tell but I’m going to get some of that and give it a try

I went through hell figuring out that my rez just wasn't big enough to support how many plants I had dependent on it. I ended up having to put in nutrients every day and moving to a strict 7 day rez change schedule to get to the end of that grow plus adding a lot more micro nutrients to it. I hope my information helps you out. I sure do understand trying to get it all figured out.

 

[Lussik]

Hey guys I’m trying to get on my feet with this after using soil for a few years can anyone find issues in this ? I have changed a few things and it just isn’t doing what I want at this stage

 

[freezeland2]

I have been actively attempting to perfect this method. The picture is my final design.
What I have learned.
1. Stay sterile. Use no beneficial bacteria in this system unless you are a master at it. You will end up with cyano bacteria very easily. I use HTH pool shock. 5 dry grams per gallon and then I use 1 ml per gallon out of that mixed stock solution per gallon of rez capacity every 4 days to maintain a very clean rez.
2. 2 to 3 LPM in water flow is better for cannabis. Your growing cannabis not lettuce. You need slightly more flow.
3. Water temp must no go above 72 DF ever. Must use air pumps and stones as well.
4. A balanced nutrient solution around 550 to 700 PPM has worked wonders. Even in Flowering.
5. Low stress training and netting is a must to get the most out of the system. Combine SOG and Scrog.
6. Make sure to have a replacement pump on hand and a small generator to run it in case of a power outage. If your pump goes out turn off your grow lights immediately until you get the pump running again.
7. Have good de humidification. Your transpiration rates will be insane. I stay below 50% humidity even in veg and try to stay at 40% in flower. Your not in soil so lower ambient humidity will not hurt your veg plants.
8. Shes a beast and will need constant attention, check multiple times a day. just when you think its all good something will come at you. Never not check it, ever.
9. If you are having humidity issues consider a sulphur vaporizer or you will get mold 100%. Transpiration rates will be very high.

Realize you are top ending your plants with this system and prepare accordingly.
You have to balance your inputs correctly.
Light is the main key. The more light the more everything else will be needed, water, nutes, CO2, dissolved O2 in water all of it. again I cant stress enough about a balanced nutrient solution. Use chelated nutrients.

All that being said when done correctly it is the absolute best producer of yields and potency around.
Happy growing!

Nft’s are the cats meow. Can be extremely productive. You are right about never leaving something to chance. Power outages were always my biggest fear or having a solenoid failure on the ph solution tanks. Having spare parts on hand can be the difference between keeping your grow or losing it all at the drop of a hat.

 

[JimmyCreedog]

Is active nft really that much more efficient than a dwc setup?

 

[freezeland2]

Is active nft really that much more efficient than a dwc setup?

Hell yes, but you really need to understand and know what you are doing with nft.

 

[Smithygreen]

Hey guys I’m trying to get on my feet with this after using soil for a few years can anyone find issues in this ? I have changed a few things and it just isn’t doing what I want at this stage

Other than your plants being very close I dont see anything wrong. You could end up with them fighting one another and having root overlap. When they overlap and grow together in very close proximity it can create a micro climate in your channel that is palatable to bad bacterias.

 

[Smithygreen]

Is active nft really that much more efficient than a dwc setup?

Yes it is but she can be a cruel bitch.

 

[Smithygreen]

Nft’s are the cats meow. Can be extremely productive. You are right about never leaving something to chance. Power outages were always my biggest fear or having a solenoid failure on the ph solution tanks. Having spare parts on hand can be the difference between keeping your grow or losing it all at the drop of a hat.

you said it right there. The biggest problems I have faced so far has been power outages and mechanical failures. I did try automation and it worked until it didnt lol. I have since taken everything back to manual. It is a bit more work but NFT seems to be a keep it simple stupid system. The simpler I made things the better it has worked.

 

[Smithygreen]

Hey guys I’m trying to get on my feet with this after using soil for a few years can anyone find issues in this ? I have changed a few things and it just isn’t doing what I want at this stage

Have you lost some plants and covered the holes? Is that what I am seeing? If so you may have a root issue.
Where is your water coming from? well or city tap? Doesnt matter if its RO. I will eplain more when you give me the answer.
Are you running a sterilizer and if so what and how much of it are you using?
What is your water temp?