Thinking of going hydro

[SecretJardinDS90]

Hi guys, I currently have a few soil grows under my belt, I was thinking of joining the crazy world of hydro. I know this is pretty bold question that I'm sure I will get lots of answers but what type of hydro system would you recommend for a first timer. My tents 3x3x5!

Moneys not that big of an isssue

 

[sedate]

Well how many plants do you want to run?

I generally like DWC buckets - pretty straight forward but you could prolly do better with bins or something with a few more plants if you are talking about a 3x3 floor plan.

 

[SecretJardinDS90]

Just 3 or 4 plants to try it out.

What would I need in the way of materials/equipment? I already have lights fans etc...

 

[SecretJardinDS90]

Also how would you start from seed ?

 

[squiggly]

I realize this doesn't answer your question so don't take this the wrong way:

I'd recommend you stick to soil for a bit--in my experience the best hydro growers are absolutely pro soil growers. Hydro is a step up in terms of difficulty, complexity, range of possible issues, etc. Not saying its not worth a try or that you wouldn't necessarily be amazing at it.

Beyond that it's also my experience that people who leave soil for hydro almost always come back because of flavor--not down talking hydro here, the best tasting buds I've ever had came out of water. I'm only speaking in generalities.

Either way, best of luck!

 

[SecretJardinDS90]

I realize this doesn't answer your question so don't take this the wrong way:

I'd recommend you stick to soil for a bit--in my experience the best hydro growers are absolutely pro soil growers. Hydro is a step up in terms of difficulty, complexity, range of possible issues, etc. Not saying its not worth a try or that you wouldn't necessarily be amazing at it.

Beyond that it's also my experience that people who leave soil for hydro almost always come back because of flavor--not down talking hydro here, the best tasting buds I've ever had came out of water. I'm only speaking in generalities.

Either way, best of luck!

I like our reply, it's honest. I'm curious to know what it's all about, I'm always experimenting with new things so I thought I'd at least ask. I've heard you can get twice the yield from hydro, that's kind of why I want to do it

 

[squiggly]

I wouldn't say twice--not if both systems are operating on full bore (i.e. "dialed in").

There are always trade-offs, keep that in mind--hydro is a perfectly good system to use depending on what you're after. My recommendation is only paying respect to the fact that you've already started to get comfy with soil. It might be better to master that first before moving up.

 

[LexLuthor]

I think squiggly is right, hydro is more difficult so if you wanna try it I would recommend hempy buckets. Its the easiest hydro system and is very similar to soil, you only need buckets full of perlite and you can hand water just like soil. Thats probably gonna be the best way for you to learn hydro, I just started doing hempy's recently and its alot easier then getting all the pumps, timers, chillers and all the other stuff that comes with a hydro setup. You also have to learn the watering shedule and all that stuff has to get dialed in, if you go with hempy's you will get faster growth compared to soil and its honestly soooo easy. I actually started a thread about hempy's with a tutorial so you should check it out and also research a few other setups like DWC and Ebb n Flow so you can make the right decision, but trust me hempy's will be the easiest.

 

[OGONLY]

I'd say go with coco. You can do 4 nice sized plants on your 3x3 using 2 or 3 gallon plastic or smartpots. I use 100% coco, no perlite or anything else.

Buy a 25 gallon black tote from Home Depot to use as your res, or handwater if you like. I've got a proven nute schedule I'll give to you if you are interested.

You will need a PH tester and must adjust PH with each watering. Yields will far exceed soil, and quality can be down right beautiful if done right.

 

[MonsterRobot]

I have to disagree with everyone saying soil is easier and hydro is harder... I am not a great soil grower but I always have great harvests with hydro... In my opinion Hydro is easier to control and see exactly what your plants are eating/drinking and you can adjust accordingly... I hate soil personally...

 

[GR33NL3AF]

Grown hydro for 4 years....Flo, gro and DWC...Had it dialed. I did 1 run with soil and never turned back - Good quality is much easier to achieve with soil. I had to flush for 15+ days in hydro to get the appropriate smell/taste and I flush for 4-6 days now, in soil. Coco is also an option but their is a bit of a learning curve. Usually get water all over the floor atleast once or twice in hydro, constant ph/ppm testing, sterilizing everything.... man its a headache

 

[LexLuthor]

Just because you don't like soil doesn't mean its harder. You can put a seed in a pile of dirt outside and it will grow by itself without any help. I have 2 plants outside that are about 6' tall and I only visit once every week or 2 just to add water because my bucket is so small it dries out the soil very quickly. If I would of put it into a bigger bucket or the ground I wouldn't even have to visit it as often.

Hydro on the other hand has to be controlled through just about every aspect and if someone is new to growing and they don't understand how it works, then its easier for most new growers to mess something up because like you said, its easier to control, so if you don't give them the correct amount of EC and Ph then there gonna get messed up really quick. Soil on the other hand acts like a buffer and the roots generally absorb what they need through the soil so plants will grow slower, but its harder to mess something up if you feed them incorrectly.

Just a couple days ago I found a cannabis plant growing from the crack in my neighbors cement driveway and it was about a foot tall. That would not happen in a hydro setup because a person has to feed them on a daily basis, but in dirt they just grow themselves. I do understand what your saying though, for some people it is easier for them to do hydro because thats how they learned to grow.

 

[squiggly]

I have to disagree with everyone saying soil is easier and hydro is harder... I am not a great soil grower but I always have great harvests with hydro... In my opinion Hydro is easier to control and see exactly what your plants are eating/drinking and you can adjust accordingly... I hate soil personally...

You're defining hard in a strange way.

It's harder in the sense that it requires more actions to yield the same amount. There are more measurements to be made, more environmental factors to control, more, more, more.

It's a complexity issue. In soil, you can essentially put the stuff in dirt and water it and you'll get some bud (even if its not the best). There is no such analog to that experience in hydro cultivation.

It's much easier to burn plants in hydro, you literally introduce several families of pest species (slime/ types of mold/types of bacteria) which do not thrive in soil environments. Just by complexity alone its harder--now realize that nutrient scheduling and feeding is waaaay more nuanced in hydro than elsewhere. It's a recipe for increased difficulty from soil, it just IS that way.

It's not a value judgment on either style--its more a caution for new growers. If we had to rank these things in ease of use I think RDWC and UC are somewhere on the far end near difficult--and soil is essentially the starting point.

 

[OGONLY]

Grown hydro for 4 years....Flo, gro and DWC...Had it dialed. I did 1 run with soil and never turned back - Good quality is much easier to achieve with soil. I had to flush for 15+ days in hydro to get the appropriate smell/taste and I flush for 4-6 days now, in soil. Coco is also an option but their is a bit of a learning curve. Usually get water all over the floor atleast once or twice in hydro, constant ph/ppm testing, sterilizing everything.... man its a headache

For those who are not willing to spend an average of an hour with their plants each day, go soil. If you are one who can be consistent day in and day out with your plants, and don't mind learning a little hydro is well worth it I say. Sure, there is more work involved. Like most things in life, you get out of it what you put into it.

I did a side by side on my "WIFI done right" thread almost 2 years ago. Both were grown under their own 1000k in an environmentally controlled room. Hydo more than doubled the yield I got in soil. Everything was healthy as could be in soil, but it just looked anorexic next to the coco tray. The quality of the hydro greatly surpassed the soil bud as far as bag appeal and overall aroma.

You're defining hard in a strange way.

It's harder in the sense that it requires more actions to yield the same amount. There are more measurements to be made, more environmental factors to control, more, more, more.

It's a complexity issue. In soil, you can essentially put the stuff in dirt and water it and you'll get some bud (even if its not the best). There is no such analog to that experience in hydro cultivation.

It's much easier to burn plants in hydro, you literally introduce several families of pest species (slime/ types of mold/types of bacteria) which do not thrive in soil environments. Just by complexity alone its harder--now realize that nutrient scheduling and feeding is waaaay more nuanced in hydro than elsewhere. It's a recipe for increased difficulty from soil, it just IS that way.

It's not a value judgment on either style--its more a caution for new growers. If we had to rank these things in ease of use I think RDWC and UC are somewhere on the far end near difficult--and soil is essentially the starting point.

I have been a hydro guy for over 3 years and can honestly say I have never burned my plants. As far as the molds/ bacteria you speak of, never came across them either. I had PM and thrips on my first grow only because I accepted cuts from a dirty source. Since then its been in house only as far as genetics are conserned and been pest and PM free since.

No disrespect squiggly. In fact I respect you a great deal and enjoy reading your posts. I have to disagree though with your statement that it requires many more actions to yield the same amount. Properly done hydro compared to soil is like a turbo Porche against a Nissan Sentra. I like my cars fast, because I can.

 

[squiggly]

I just feel like its easy for a beginner to learn how to deal with things like pests, nutrient regimens, and especially "dialing in" strains in soil. It's a really good place to start that work. My advice was based solely on the fact that he's already in soil--I'm just suggesting he stick with it for awhile until he's really built up a level of knowledge to where he's not much else to learn (as far as general practices go) from soil.

I guess I'm just the type of person who thinks its smart to master a more simple step before working up to the next level. Even if its possible to skip to the advanced level right away (and it certainly is), it pays dividends to practice the easy stuff so that you aren't just "good" with it, but instead you are "perfect".

I'm a scientist and a classically trained (brainwashed) musician--so yeah, I have a ton of reinforcement for that perspective. Everyone here is giving good advice, just from differing viewpoints.

 

[GR33NL3AF]

For those who are not willing to spend an average of an hour with their plants each day, go soil. If you are one who can be consistent day in and day out with your plants, and don't mind learning a little hydro is well worth it I say. Sure, there is more work involved. Like most things in life, you get out of it what you put into it.

I did a side by side on my "WIFI done right" thread almost 2 years ago. Both were grown under their own 1000k in an environmentally controlled room. Hydo more than doubled the yield I got in soil. Everything was healthy as could be in soil, but it just looked anorexic next to the coco tray. The quality of the hydro greatly surpassed the soil bud as far as bag appeal and overall aroma.

So you grew coco or hydro?

 

[LexLuthor]

Hey ogonly, you do know that coco is not hydro, it may be similar in growth, but they are 2 seperate grow styles. Coco is in a class of its own, so is soil, but hydro has a few sub-classes like DWC, Ebb-n-Flow and passive hydro (hempy buckets) just to name a few.

 

[OGONLY]

Apparently you are much more experienced and knowlegable than me Lex. I was stupidly under the impression that coco is a form of hydro. Shit, crazy how I use the same nute schedule in coco that I used in rockwool? Guess rockwool is also in a catagory of its own? Thought it was hydro too lol. Why don't you experts define hyro for me?

And after you do that explain your theory as to which is better, hydro or soil. That is after all what the op started the thread about right? Thanks for schooling me though.

 

[LexLuthor]

Apparently you are much more experienced and knowlegable than me Lex. I was stupidly under the impression that coco is a form of hydro. Shit, crazy how I use the same nute schedule in coco that I used in rockwool? Guess rockwool is also in a catagory of its own? Thought it was hydro too lol. Why don't you experts define hyro for me?

And after you do that explain your theory as to which is better, hydro or soil. That is after all what the op started the thread about right? Thanks for schooling me though.

Dooche bag alert!!

Anyways, I use the same nutrients for 100% perlite hempy's that I use for soil, does that mean soil is hydro too???

 

[420bliss]

Hey ogonly, you do know that coco is not hydro, it may be similar in growth, but they are 2 seperate grow styles. Coco is in a class of its own, so is soil, but hydro has a few sub-classes like DWC, Ebb-n-Flow and passive hydro (hempy buckets) just to name a few.

Hydroponics is a subset of hydroculture and is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel, mineral wool, expanded clay or coconut husk.