born042079

Ok, as you may know I am very new to the pot growing world. But let me tell you it is addicting as crack. Anyway, with grow #1 doing as well as it is (2 weeks in and 5" tall), I'm thinking grow #2 will be a hydro setup. See if you can poke holes in my plans before I start to screw things up:

I'm going to make two hydro setups, a larger PVC one for flowering and a smaller tub one for vegging and cloning. Both will be of the DWC style.

For the flowering one, I'm going to make something like the one seen here with a few mods:

http://www.hydroponicsonline.com/11plant1.htm

Here are my planned modifications:

1) I'm going to use a bigger tub (31 gallon rubber maid), and definately not clear so as to reduce algae.
2) I will be using 1 1/2" pipe for the base instead of the 1" stuff they suggest. I'm hoping it will be sturdier.
3) I am going to use 20" long lengths of 3" PVC pipe instead of coke bottles. I'm thinking that will give the roots more room to spread out without clogging up the smaller pipes. Will 20" of 3" PVC be enough for them?
4) At the top of the 20" pipes I will use the 3" net baskets that everyone uses in their hydro setups, filled with grow rocks, instead of the solo cups they suggest. Will 3" baskets full of grow rocks support my plants through harvest? Also, will 3" net baskets fit snuggly into the end of a 3" pipe or will they slide through?
5) At the bottom end of the 20" pvc pipes, I will reduce down to 1 1/2" male threaded pvc that will screw into 1 1/2" female T's and L's intead of using the soda bottle caps. I like the screw on and screw off feature for cleanup but I'm not a fan of the coke bottles, so its a comprimise.
6) Where the 3" pipe reduces down I am going to add a screen of some sorts (possibly a non-chemical-treated dishwashing scrub-pad cut into a circle) to keep roots from growing into the the 1 1/2" pipes.
7) I am going to use some air pumps to airate my reservoir.

For the second hydro setup:

This one will run on its own seperate reservoir and pump. I originally wanted to use one big resevoir for the two, but decided against it because of the different nutritional needs that the plants have at flowering vs. veg. The veg container will essentially be a shallow 10 gallon rubber maid tub stacked on top of a 18 gallon rubber maid tub. Both tubs are the same width and length, they just have different heights. The top tub will have 11 3" holes in the cover to hold the net baskets in the same pattern as the main hydro setup but much closer together. From the bottom of the tub there will be an 3/8" inlet for water pumped in from the 18 gallon reservoir below. At the top of the tub there will be an overflow outlet 1 1/2" in diameter that will flow back into the resevoir. The reservoir I intend to airate off of the same pump as the 31 gallon one.

With the second setup, I'm curious as to whether it is worth putting together a DWC for vegging/cloning, or should I just us a bubbler setup like Gimmick used in "My cannabis images"? Also, I'm not really sure as to how often to keep the pumps on/off yet. Any suggestions, comments, or reasons why I should totall scrap either setup or ideas on the timing of either one would be vastly appreciated before I go nuts and start spending money.

Thanks,

Born420

crbsailor

shouldn't underestimate the power of a bubbler! That system sounds like a big project! For timing, you'll have to purchase a timer... they have many analog and digital ones. The timer turns the pumps on and off...Some go reasonably on ebay.
Personally, since it IS your first attempt at hydro, I'd go with a few bubblers. They're much easier to maintain... don't really need timers (except for light). Remember you can have salt buildup problems with ebb and flow too, especially if the water line doesn't rise above the top of your medium. If you wanna build that thing and spend the money on it, go for it! I'm sure it'll be an adventure! Either way, if you need any help, I'll help the best that I can.

Whatcha thinking about for nutes? PBP (pure blend pro) is a good hydro nute and it's ORGANIC!!! Earth juice is too...

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crbsailor

for timing, you'll probably want to play around with it a bit. I would say 15 min every 2 hours during light cycle. If you were on 24/0 then of course it would just be every 2 hours. But if you were on 12/12 from 8am-8pm this way would be:

8 am on; 8:15 am off; 10 am on; 10:15 am off; ... ... ... 6 pm on; 6:15 pm off (and stay off until next morning)

some do it 15 min every hour, some 10 min every hour. These things depend on exposed surface area and what medium you will be using.

with the 11 bottle system you don't have much exposed surface area so you won't need to run it as often as someone with a tray. The medium won't dry out as quickly.

another question for ya: what're you using for a medium?

__________________
Those dedicated to keeping this site up and running deserve to be treated like kings and queens!!!!! THANK YOU!!!! I like the way you guys (and girls) walk and talk
They might be giants ROCK!!
By the way, everything I ever said was a lie. Don't believe it. It's a theoretical role playing game. I would NEVER do anything unlawful.

crbsailor

it's gonna be tough to focus on so many grows... check out what dizzy's doin right now, he's almost doing too much and getting frustrated... you can always build the contraption while working on your first grow and then start a journal with the new ebb and flow system. No one has used one of those systems on here before, and it'd definitely get some attention!

You thinking about starting a journal? That's the best way to get some awesome tips. What are you using for lights

__________________
Those dedicated to keeping this site up and running deserve to be treated like kings and queens!!!!! THANK YOU!!!! I like the way you guys (and girls) walk and talk
They might be giants ROCK!!
By the way, everything I ever said was a lie. Don't believe it. It's a theoretical role playing game. I would NEVER do anything unlawful.

northern skunk

good luck with everything, thats a big project!

with those big rubbermaids, make sure you light proof them. The coloured one's let light through very easily still. Get the black/white plastic sheet material from the hydro store and cover it with that and or alumimun tape.

btw- you can use duct tape for attaching the black/white sheets, but it doesnt block the light.

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