Want to do hydro

[potentcheesydick]

Hi, I have currently no experience with hydro but when you look at growth times and yield in comparison to soil soil seems pointless, although more forgiving I think I'm ready to try dwc, please feel free to correct anything that might be off but this is how I'm going about it,

5x20L plastic buckets with lids
this air pump https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blagdon-Pond-O ... 4169692182, it says it does 1000L so I take it it will handle 5 separate 20L buckets but is that too much?

No reservoir or joining pipes so not sure how I will change water without stressing plants for leaving out of bucket for too long while I ppm, ph and get temp of the water right for 5 buckets, one at a time id imagine but when I adjust ph for soil feed it takes me a good 5 mins is that a bit long for roots to be exposed to just air?

Which line of nutrients has a fairly high npk, are ph perfect and do exceptionally well? I was looking at general hydroponics now called terra aquatica they seem good but I can't them buy online or locally, I am in UK, also I know its down to personal preference but surely there's people that have used a handful of different brands and got noticeable results from one brand over another

Is rockwool and hydrotons an ideal soiless medium?

Do you flush hydro?

Is organic hydro good for high yields or better with synth?

Thanks

[Point 5]

Hydro isn't something I've tried and no plans too just seems complex (my thoughts not fact lol). Soil I'm not good enough for so I how in middle ground of coco with good results.

There are some about here that are hydro heads amd can point in right direction

[Cave Hill Cole]

Good luck with your DWC setup man. They are great when they are going..but they have a lot of moving parts and many opportunities to fail. They are kinda of like the "performance race car" of the growing world. They crank...but you gotta be doctor when it comes to the attention they need. If your just starting growing...you might want to try something a little more forgiving for your first go around. I personally dig on coco...its another hydroponic method (cocoponics), so you get the same benefits. If your set on a DWC like setup..you can do coco in a autopot setup. Autopots don't need pumps or any electricity...they like a hybrid DWC system.

I have never tried it..but there is the Kratky method of growing too https://www.greenandvibrant.com/the-kratky-method

With regards to your nutrient line...any of the big three: Canna, House & Garden, General Hydro.

[Treetrunk]

I'm new to this. Third grow. I've got one DWC and a Wilma.
I use Root riots and pebbles in the net pots. Seems to work well and I've heard a lot of negative things about rockwool so decided not to use it.
As regards nutrients I use Canna because it's easy to get and it works.
I use a Charles Austin air pump and can recommend them.
Have a look at some of the grows on here and pick up tips.
That's basically what I did and it's seems to be going OK.
You will be surprised how quick they grow in Hydro.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

[bigbadbillybob]

Kratky is a waste of time, dont bother, i tried it once, christ,...... mud was faster.....

dwc will work well, just keep an eye on temps in the buckets, and you should be ok. start at 0.6 ec and dont go over 1.2ec.
if you are planning doing this without a decent ec meter and ph pen, i wouldnt bother, it will end badly.
for nutes, ionic grow and bloom, some silicone, cal mag and ph down, is all you need.............and a hefty dose of luck.

change out the pots every 7-10 days, if you dont it will end badly. etc etc.

check out some diaries

[wutang]

My first ever grow was using NFT, and I didn't get the best out of it due to the room I was growing in. I've only started in biobiz soil and their grow and bloom and got off to a good start. I'd like to give NFT a go again as I have a nee environment. One thing in NFT i noticed on the off was its rapid growth and massive flowers! Downsides are the 20l water exchanges weekly or topping up. Compared to soil for me, it just takes a bit more patience. I started in the deep end with NFT and learnt a lot, now Im trying soil which now seems a lot easier and saving a bit more money as Im not changing reservoirs.

[potentcheesydick]

Good luck with your DWC setup man. They are great when they are going..but they have a lot of moving parts and many opportunities to fail. They are kinda of like the "performance race car" of the growing world. They crank...but you gotta be doctor when it comes to the attention they need. If your just starting growing...you might want to try something a little more forgiving for your first go around. I personally dig on coco...its another hydroponic method (cocoponics), so you get the same benefits. If your set on a DWC like setup..you can do coco in a autopot setup. Autopots don't need pumps or any electricity...they like a hybrid DWC system.

I have never tried it..but there is the Kratky method of growing too https://www.greenandvibrant.com/the-kratky-method

With regards to your nutrient line...any of the big three: Canna, House & Garden, General Hydro.

Coco is just as good as hydro? I'm doing this set up with a friend and going 50/50 he doesn't want to go all out on buying things but will half pay for everything I buy, is canna coco coco and soil or just coco husk? And is an autopot the same thing as an octopot?

That was very helpful, I don't have immediate access to internet in that my phone freezes constantly and is unreliable when trying to search info so I don't know how quickly I could diagnose the hydro errors as my tent is in the same room as internet box and can't have people out, coco might actually be right up my street I didn't consider it because I thought the best way to go was hydro but if coco grows as good as I might reconsider, I have 3 20L Airpots and 2 40L Airpots we were planning on doing 5 as we only have 5 LEDs, do you use those with coco or are auto/octopots the best bet do you think?

I think canna since it is basically in every hydro shop, I've been going by the npk in feed on the basis that more npk=more nutrients=more plant growth potential is that right?

Sorry for 1 question after another just it seems like the vital information I'm looking for is in all your experiences lol,

What are the differences between growing in coco and hydro?

I'm going to look at other peoples hydro experiences as well that's a good shout

[potentcheesydick]

Kratky is a waste of time, dont bother, i tried it once, christ,...... mud was faster.....

dwc will work well, just keep an eye on temps in the buckets, and you should be ok. start at 0.6 ec and dont go over 1.2ec.
if you are planning doing this without a decent ec meter and ph pen, i wouldnt bother, it will end badly.
for nutes, ionic grow and bloom, some silicone, cal mag and ph down, is all you need.............and a hefty dose of luck.

change out the pots every 7-10 days, if you dont it will end badly. etc etc.

check out some diaries

You make hydro seem more straightforward than I imagined it would be I like how little nutes u use, how luck though, surely there is a way to foolproof your hydro is there not?

Just checked what root riot was and it looks mega, I'm on the fence whether coco or hydro, I feel if I jump in deep end with hydro my natural instinct or desire for the plant to survive will keep me on top of deficiencies giving me a better chance second time round like soil.

Also which Charles Austin pump they have a lot I just need 5 fittings for tubing,

I'm keeping all options on the table and gradually coming to a conclusion the more I know thank you all for the experiences u are sharing, other forums aren't anywhere near as helpful or active I've got more info from 3 posts on here than I have about 30 on grasscity with a lot less sarcasm as well lol

[Nanook]

Hydro is easy... as long as you follow simple rules as BBBB stated.
I like dwc/nft and run both basically the same, ec wise, again as BBBB said.
DWC is loud, I will warn you so be sure you have a location to use it :)

[bigbadbillybob]

oh and blagdon pumps are crap, get hailea one, aco 9730 or 9740, depending on how powerfull you need them, dont get the air cooled airpumps, with fins, they make a racket.