First hydro attempt. Not sure what to call this but its working

[TommyTwoTokes]

Hey guys first jump to hydro recently. I have a bag seed luckily female at 5 weeks veg under 512 watts of t8

I bought this 'kit' at the hydro shop a wh ile back. 5 gallon bucket with a slot for a power cord a submersible pump which top feeds and drips through hydroton to the 'res' 24/7. I gues its like a nft bucket or something?

She had a rough weekend, ran out of water and the pump stopped. I dropped the ppm down to 650 and flipped the lights tonight.

Im lsting her and debating on firing up the 1000 sody for this one.
She measures 34 inches across and 19 inches high. I have a 4.5 4.5 foot print to work with.

I forgot to pretreat the hydroton so the ph is all fucky. Im limping through it.

Here we go

 

[Greenwich Pope]

anyway to put that pump on a timer?
she looks a bit over-waterd, healthy and ready to explode

 

[Ursus]

id deff go to the 1000W for flower man. She'd really blow up in bud size. I'd flush your res a few times with some clean water and then just make sure she doesn't drink all the water up next time. Keep on topping off her water level.

 

[TommyTwoTokes]

hey guys thanks for stopping by.
Anyone know the official method of hydro this would be classified as?

I have 4 inches of root mass in the bottom of the 5 gallon and i usually fill with 3 gallons for the res. If the water pump goes out wouldnt the DO levels drop drastically? should I double spout the waterfall?

It looks over watered I think cause its in the middle of the dark period. lol forgot to mention that.

the ph climbs for a couple days then i add nutes and a drop of ph down everyonce in a while. 2 days and its out of water lol

 

[FreezerBoy]

Looks like a poor man's WaterFarm. Are there two buckets in one or simply a netcup of hydroton with roots spilling out into the res?

If the former, strongly consider adding an airstone to the lower bucket. Waterfalls are the most effective means of aeration but, with such a low current and short drop, aeration is minimal. Note also the waterpump will heat the water, lowering it's ability to hold DO.

If the later, you'd be better off replacing the water pump (and losing the dripper) with an airpump and airstone in the res. This will greatly increase DO in the water, both by direct aeration and lower water temps which hold more DO than warm.

 

[TommyTwoTokes]

thanks for the input guys. FB, its one bucket with a netpot/hydroton in the top. The pump pumps through a 1/2 inch line to the base of the girl. 24/7
The root mass is very nice, again im new to this so I dont know all that much.

Im thinking of getting a rubbermaid for a res. How would I go about incorporating this into this current run i have going. Do I need an air stone in the res if i properly waterfall the return? Air stone in the bucket(s) as well?

So in your picture it looks like the air bubbles drive water up and through the ring around the base of the plant?

Im a total newb but Ive been lurking around since OG.
Im already hooked. No more soil for this guy. Unless its outside

 

[FreezerBoy]

Aeration occurs through surface turbulence, the more violent the disturbance, the more DO. Waterfalls are the most effective but, an adequate waterfall is both large and loud. Air pumps are tiny and airstones quiet.

A separate res makes it an RDWC (recirculating deep water culture) but, with only one bucket, it's added complexity without additional benefit. Simply cut a hole in the top of the larger tub, pull the netpot from the bucket and move it to the tub. Consider a small hole in a corner of the tub lid to run a tube connected to an internal waterpump. This will allow you to drain the res easily when needed.

 

[Ursus]

listen to FB on this one. I have a question for you though freezerboy, do all water pumps heat up if they are run 24/7? I've had this problem before and I was looking into a magdrive pump? Just wanted to know if they can run continuously without heating the water at all.

 

[TommyTwoTokes]

Thanks FB. I have a tote sitting here with an old hole for a dwc I never tried! its approx 15gallons.
Im going to take the internal pump from the poor mans waterfarm and put that in the corner to drain the res when needed.
The only reason I was looking at a controller res was so that I didnt have to lift the plant every time I checked ph/ec.

Well see what happens now. Day 2 flower tomorrow.
What kinda ec/ppm should i be aiming for? Ive been vegging at 600-650 but now its true dwc. For flowering whats a good place to start?

The lights are out, but in the morning Ill post some new pics.

 

[FreezerBoy]

listen to FB on this one. I have a question for you though freezerboy, do all water pumps heat up if they are run 24/7? I've had this problem before and I was looking into a magdrive pump? Just wanted to know if they can run continuously without heating the water at all.

I don't know but, no heat-up seems unlikely. Will it heat up enough to cause trouble? Depends on what's in the res. Heat alone is not a death sentence but, if something else goes wrong (rot/algae etc) heat will cause it to explode.

TIm going to take the internal pump from the poor mans waterfarm and put that in the corner to drain the res when needed.
The only reason I was looking at a controller res was so that I didnt have to lift the plant every time I checked ph/ec.

I keep a waterpump in my res for just that reason. Flip a switch and pump out say 1/2 cup of water that can then be tested. You can see the hose sticking out in the lower right hand corner.



For filling, I marked my res in 2 gal increments. Lift lid 1 inch, look at the scale and I know how many gallons I'm down. I fill an ext. tub with said number of gallons and pump it into a res with an extra waterpump. I just lift the lid 1/2" to accommodate the hose but, thinking on it, if we have a drain hole up top, why not a fill hole as well?

 

[Ursus]

LOL YES. It will heat up to cause problems. I had a dwc with an airstone in the bottom of it with a pump running 24/7 and I put my hand in the res and it felt like hot bath water. like acutally HOT. The plants didn't die from the mini spa bath they got though, came out alright.

 

[Aerohead]

If the pump is submerged, you can count on it being a heater equal to the wattage of the pump.. So, a 40 watt pump is the same as a 40w heater in the water. External pumps are much better but not as easy to plumb...