VinShady

OK , so i have been reading for the last few days on how to hydro . The simplest and cheapest set up i could do is a 4 pot bubbler . I have the parts list in my hand out the door .

Here's where i need help , or if you could , help me understand . I have clones stashed away in perlite . I did this before i decided to give hydro a go , or i woulda used rockwool . Now from my understanding , i can remove them from the perlite and i will need to rinse off the loose perlite . Can i put the root system directly into the pots with my medium ?

Another thing i'm not so sure on is this ... I will fill up my bubbler , add the veg nutes , and then check the PH . When i get the PH correct (between 6.0 and 6.5) i then can add the plants ? After the nutrient solutions gets used , i add plain water . after adding plain water once or twice , i will need to refill with the proper nute solution ? This sounds too easy .

Should i order something like a starter hydro kit for the nutes online? Or should i try and purchase only the neccessary nutes ill need ? I'm sure walmart or lowes don't carry these products

Sure this sounds noobish , just need reassurance . I walked thru alot of the Hydro journals to get most of this info because i really didn't see a beginner to hydro forum . If there's a good link lemme know !

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Nothing i say is ever true , cuz we live in Society who does not wanna hear the truth .

C-Town

1: Yes, rinse, and place in netcups.

2: You'll want the pH lower than 6.5. 5.6-6.1 are normal pH range in hydro.
Just start with General Hydro's Flora Series. It's the most common, as far as availability, and ease of use. There are a couple of threads, regarding feeding strategies. St0ney has started one with a cool chart from the GH website, in this forum. HERE The thumbnails, in the first post, are the charts I'm reffering to.

afterburner

High there VinShady

I'm new to hydro myself, just setup a 1 plant experiemental bubbler in addition to my soil plants... Maybe I can offer a tad of reassurance.

Perlite, I've found, washes off roots reeeally easily. Depending on your medium (hydroton?) you should just be able to stick it right in there (carefully)

For hydro you want the pH at around 5.8 ish. I believe you dont want to deviate very much from that...

It is too easy...

If you've got a local hydro shop I'd go there before going online. Personaly, I reccomend the pure blend pro Botanicare line of nutes... They're hydro-organic... But any hydroponic nutrients will work great!

Remember you need to add some bio-fungicide to the water if your going organic, or if you go for chems, you can use regular old h2o2 to keep the roots healthy.

Dont forget that you need to be careful of the reservoir temp getting too hot... or too cold for that matter... 68-74 degrees is about optimal.. Too high and you'll end up with nasties growing in your water and not enuf dissolved O2. Too low and you'll shock the plants...

You can use Reflectix insulation (foil/bubblewrap stuff) to insulate your box and keep the temps more stable... Frozen water bottles a couple times a day also keep the temp down... among other methods, those are just the cheapo ones. OH and lightseal the crap out of that box, zero light should be able to get in. Aluminum tape works well for this. Or that rubberized paint.


Definetly get a PPM/TDS meter, and a PH meter! I don't have a tds meter yet, cuz i cant afford one, and I just use the reg ol pH test kit, but it definetly makes it a lot more difficult without em... Next thing I'll invest in for sure.


Umm, Hmm... Not sure what else to add besides goodluck to yah!

Afterburner

VinShady

Thanx for the info and the reassurance . Unfortunately i dont have a local hydro shop . OK , well I am gonna have to go to ebay to find a growing medium , and nutes . I bought a PH meter today for 13.00 bucks , but what is a TDS meter ?

I wanna stay away from organic . Sounds dumb , but i have taken alot in , in the last few months and ya gotta start somewhere !

I was a little worried about the temp of the water ( Hmmm could a TDS meter measure the temp of the water ?) This will be in my basement , and it stays fairly cold down there . But a steady cold . Im excited as ever , so excited i broke my hacksaw on my last cut of the 4 plant PVC bubbler !!!

PS 1 more question ... How many litres of HYDROTON do i need to fill 4 , 2 litre bottles ? Will a 10 litre bag be enough? Once again , don't i sound dumb lol When they say a 10 litre bag , i dont know if thats the weight or what ? My options are 2 litre , 10 , or 50 .

Well once again thanx for the replies and the help !

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Nothing i say is ever true , cuz we live in Society who does not wanna hear the truth .

northern skunk

grow rocks umm. 2 x 4 = 8, so a ten litre bag would be fine. they way as much as rocks would about.

tds meter, messures ppm (nutes in the water, ie: 500ppm)

get a temp guage for the water, i have a simple 2 dollar one.

if its too cold, use an aquarium heater.

i just built a 4 netpot rubbermaid bubbler myself too.

i light proofed with that black/white sheets from the hydro shop
used black tubing
two air pumps, one was a single, the other double. 5000cc or something..
3 12inch air stones.
4 x 3.5 inch net pots.
lots of duct tape

btw - organic in hydro IMO can be extremely good.

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