A few nagging questions.. help me pleez.

[neelpeel99]

Hi guys,
After reading Aeroheads excellent grow diary https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=197502 i have decided to grow in hydro from now on after being a dirt grower for 4 years, however i have a few questions i need help with.
Im going shopping this weekend for everything i need (my current crop has 2 weeks left) so i need to know what i want before i go to the hydro shop.
So... my first question is how long do i wait between roots coming out of the rockwool and giving them some weak nutes? I'v popped over 500 seeds in soil and never lost even 1 (incredible i know!) apart from the time i reused the soil and fried 40 fem blue cheese 'facepalm lol'. It seems like the actual seed itself cant have enough energy in it to grow for long in just water, but im worried i'll either feed them to soon and fry em, or wait to long and starve them to death. I know theres no definate time to do it, but a guideline from a hydro grower would be enough.

Question 2 - bit of a daft one this, but after reading this forum for a couple of years and following about 20 grow journals im none the wiser. I want to remove the seedlings from the rockwool once they are established (as Aerohead says he wishes he had), but im not sure what to do with the roots then. Do i remove the top 1/3 of the hydroton balls, then sort of spread the roots over the balls in the mesh pot, then put the hydroton balls back on top? Or what?

The nutes i have are all soil ones so im going to buy all new nutes, iv read a bit and heard good things about this lucas formula so im going to use that. I believe its also a good idea to have a calmag booster in hydro so im going to get some of that as well.
I have just enough ka-ching and pk13/14 to do 1 more crop, but since i will be at the hydro shop im gonna just get some more. My first choice was maxibloom but i get the impression its actually lucas formula in 1 bottle so prolly not ideal. Can anyone tell me what might be a good booster to use with lucas? I dont know what the hydro shop stocks so a few suggestions would be great.

Im also gonna use hygrozyme (if they have it), supposedly good for root health. I dont have a nute meter so can anyone tell me whats a good make/model? Or what not to get? I'll get that online if i need to, so any make is fine.
My grow is gonna be as near an exact copy of Aeroheads as i can do, so any input from him is particularly welcome.
Im gonna try to keep it as simple as i can in regards to what i put in my res, cos im a 100% noob at hydro.
In summary, this is what im getting-
Nute wand
calmag
lucas formula
booster (dunno which yet)
hygrozyne
ph up/down
does this sound about right? I'll be growing blue cheese from seed if that makes a difference. thanks in advance everyone.

 

[paladin420]

I can get a couple of these NP99. I try not to disturb my roots once they show from the medium. I just set them on top of the hydroton, maybe in a little bit. At first sign of roots. Yes on the lite nutes. I hand water for the first few days, not the cube but the surrounding corn. I use the "truncheon" ppm meter works great every time. Buyin now I would get an all inclusive ppm/ec, ph, temp that constantly monitors. Watch the calmag! well water needs less than RO water IMMHO. Good luck

 

[ranta]

you cant miss with gh flora set
thats all you need

 

[PetFlora]

You might look at alternative "hydro" systems like high pressure aeroponics. Once you learn to run this set up you then only need concentrate on nutrient mixes to get awesome nuggz

hth

 

[w2008]

hi there, once there are roots coming out of the rockwool block, start feeding them low strength. i put the blocks into the hydroton and just bury them level, if you try to strip the block away you will break the roots off, the cube will keep the seedling wet in the hydroton, cheers oz

 

[jm420]

stay away from hygrozyme
Rooted clones 0-5-10
Liquid kool bloom for an additive

 

[neelpeel99]

thanx fellas, all advice is welcome

 

[iboga]

ghe 3 part....... bit of sensizyme for your beneficial bacteria and a pk booster for end ripen is good from ghe and then flush with plain water easy u cant go wrong.....just make sure u have a good ph meter and change tank every 2 weeks.. as to when to plant in system ... i get my clones from a shop and the roots are just showing on the outside of the jiffys and they go straight in and receive nutes straight away with a root stimulator for first 2 weeks and ghe 3 part then straight to flower easy good luck...

 

[snoopytime]

i prefer the GH rapid rooters over the rockwool cubes. they are organic material, more airy and spongey, if you want to remove any or all of it it is a lot easier. They are like $12 for a 50 pack i think.

 

[FreezerBoy]

If you want cube free grows, sprout cube free.

Rockwool is inert. Unlike soils or mixes it has nothing of food value for the plant. I start feeding prior to sprouting using 1/4 tsp each per gallon of GH Micro and Bloom.

Once rooted in rockwool starter cube, leave it there. Do not remove from the cube. Fill net cup 1/3-1/2 full of hydroton, place cube, fill remainder of cup with more hydroton. As the plant grows, it will rip the cube to shreds.

At this stage, I'd avoid all biologicals, bacterias and anything with "zyme" in the name. Using tap water and GH, there should be no need for calmag. Get a grow or two under your belt before bothering with boosters. For now, stick with an A+B formula and pH down. The less stuff you mess with, the less you can mess up.

Don't forget something to measure pH. Sub $100 pens are essentially toys and a crap shoot at best. I spent my money on a Bluelab EC Truncheon and a $5 pH test drop kit from the aquarium store.

 

[HUGE]

DO NOT put Hygrozyme in a recirculating system. Ditch the Hygrozyme.

 

[neelpeel99]

ok thanx fellas, iv taken it all onboard. shopping tomorrow, ill let u know how it goes.