New grower

[knight_of_ni]

I'm in the middle of my second try at a hydroponic grow... considering the yield of my first attempt, this harvest can only do better.

They say, "Experience is just a well remembered set of mistakes." Currently, I find myself lacking the experience but making plenty of mistakes. Hoping to learn, increase yields and be able to share my knowledge with a newbie one day.

So, here's to healthy harvests and groovy grows.

 

[MIMedGrower]

Welcome! From your user name i can suggest a marijuanna shrubbery!

And a second shrubbery parallel with the first one with a nice path running in between. ;-)

 

[knight_of_ni]

Hoping to advance a shrub to the mightiest tree in the forest....

I'm have a 48x48x80 tent with 2x Philizon (1500W 2000W) and a Carambola 3000W LED lights. I'm using 4x 5 gallon buckets supplied water by a 3/4" pvc top line, to each bucket, and 2x 1 inch gravity fed returns feeding into my external sump. The sump is 40 gallons and has a 1850 gph, total overkill, return pump controlled by a nifty "run dry," protector circuit that was cheaper for me to buy than build. I placed valves and pvc disconnects so that each bucket and it's manifolds can quickly be disconnected for cleaning and/or storage.

This is my first tent/grow try, I went LEDs as venting the heat from other lights would have been difficult in the small space I'm in. The hydroponic setup evolved from a 40 gallon bin, that held 4 plants, but quickly became a problem to manage water changes and growth..

Initially, I started with a simple bin with 4/6 grow pots, water and air pumps. After loosing the non-redundant air pump around week 13, and not catching it before root rot had taken its toll on all 4 plants, decided to try to build a better hydroponic solution.
At some point I'll add digital sensors/controller and camera to store real time data into mysql. It may be the thc talking but having the tent txt me with alerts seems kinda cool.

It's been some guess work, trial and error and some occasional cursing but I'm getting there....I think. It looks so EASY when reading others posts and seeing these incredible plant pictures. I've found there is truly an art to this process, so hats off to you that grow so well. Anyone else see a new storage bin at a store and wonder how it could be modified in order to grow in....geeeeeez

I'm always open to suggestion, so don't hesitate post concerns or solutions.

 

[One drop]

Welcome to the farm hope you enjoy the site , nice set up you got going , happy growing .
OD .

 

[Aqua Man]

Looking like a good setup. Welcome to the farm.

Things you may find helpful.

Yield if all goes right will be dependent on light. The more photons you can get to the plant in the 12 hours of light period during flowering the better your yield will be.

A good source of ph down either phosphoric or sulfuric acid. Avoid citric it's not nearly as stable.

A balanced base nutrient of inorganic source. Want to avoid organics in hydro.

VPD is huge when growing in hydro. See this thread for an explanation. https://www.thcfarmer.com/threads/vpd-vapor-pressure-deficit.107967/

Beneficial bacteria are great previously I ran hydrogaurd and hygrowzyme (enzymes) really beneficial to root health. I am trying a new type called RAW microbes that also contains Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (the same strain of bacteria as hydrogaurd)

Water temps: for a newer grower around 68f I run warmer like 72-73f but you really need beneficial bacteria as when thing go wrong in higher temperatures the go wrong fast. The bacteria are like a safety net and warmer temps give a bit fast growth.

Room temps under LED 77-83f should do you well.

In hydro you are going to need a big enough exhaust to deal with the massive amount of humidity that comes with fast growing hydro plants. You want to use VPD for ideal humidity.

Your system looks like aeration will not be an issue so that's great

You will need a ppm and pH meter

I have a method of water changes that's pretty easy I can explain if ya like. It will help ensure nutrient ratios stay balanced and that is a big thing in hydro.

I'm pumped to see you kick some ass. I love hydro and always nice to see someone take up this style of growing