new to hydro, wanna start? what form is easiest? dwc, ebb n flow, etc?

[thefalsediviner]

Great responses, I agree with every one of them. In addition may I suggest homemade waterfarms. The nice thing with Hempy's, DWC, and waterfarms is that they all lend to upgrading via re-circulation without having to buy a completely new system. Another nice thing about the above is the fact that all 3 lend themselves to both horizontal and side lighting rigs.

tfd

 

[djingo]

coco coir is nice hydro starter. it is not as sensitive to overfeeding etc like other hydro medium. run a drain to waste handwatering. watch ph and ec and you will have fun with it.
if you like it, next step could be rockwool, mapito or clay rocks.

 

[TREE KING]

anyone know where to get mapito in the u.s?

 

[geoponics13]

tagt

 

[atomos]

my 2 cents. do it simple! get a bucket drill a whole in the lid and put your net pot hydroton clay pellets and plant into it. fill with ph water that is around 6.0 and nutes around 300-400 add an air stone to get some oxygen into the water. check the bucket even day and check the nutes if it drops ad more nutes if the nutes are high at water. just my 2 noob cents

 

[il19z8rn4li1]

DWC all day :-D

RDWC when you get the hang of things :-D

 

[WelderDan]

After much research, I chose DWC as it is the simplest and cheapest method for a DIYer like myself.

You can't get much simpler than a bucket, air pump and air stone.

I used net pots with hydrotron, but eventually ditched the net pots and hydrotron in favor of medium-less and simplified it even further. I use a chunk of pool noodle to hold the plant in place. No more washing hydrotron and busting my ass on little clay balls.



7 dry oz from this one plant. I vegged it until nodes began to alternate (about 18 inches), so you get an idea of just how well it performs.

Is DWC the easiest? As Freezerboy put it, it's as easy as you choose to make it. But as far as simplicity goes, it's the simplest and cheapest.

I can say for sure that it does give good results when you dial it in.

 

[il19z8rn4li1]

You can set up DWC to need daily maintenance. I set mine up for maintenance twice a month. DWC is as easy or difficult as you care to make it.

My current setup i am working on I will be trying to have it so I will only have to check up on the plants 2-3 times throughout entire flower cycle.

Only mere lvls checks here and there that take no longer then 5mins :-D

Should be interesting hehe

 

[Señor Chang]

Coco & Hempy style is the easiest.

 

[MPL]

My vote is for flood tables, smart pots with hydroton and a large res. I use 75g reservoirs with 4x4s. You don't have to worry about res temps or dissolved O2 levels. It's easy to control, easy to clean, easy to maintain.

 

[TREE KING]

WelderDan, can you post a link to one of these pool noodles your talkin about? if i switch to buckets in the future i dont want to wash hydrotron either. also what strain is that your growing? nice yield

 

[FreezerBoy]

WelderDan, can you post a link to one of these pool noodles your talkin about

Here ya go

 

[il19z8rn4li1]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=pool+noodles

haha gotta love LMGTFY :-D

 

[TREE KING]

Here ya go

theres no need to get sarcastic. i already searched google but i dont know if theres a bunch of different kinds. i was trying to find the exact ones he uses cause i never heard of them before

 

[budshoteyes]

Treeking
I'd also ask wd if he has any bare pics of the pool noodle pieces in place on the lid etc! What size,brand,etc too!

I've seen and felt pool noodles of different densities!!!

 

[WelderDan]

WelderDan, can you post a link to one of these pool noodles your talkin about? if i switch to buckets in the future i dont want to wash hydrotron either. also what strain is that your growing? nice yield

Here's a link to a thread where I described in detail and with pics how it's done.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=220344

I use generic pool noodles that I get at Wally World. I think the ones I used in the thread were bought at a dollar store. They are like 6 or 7 in. in diameter and a little bigger than what I usually get at Wally World, which are more like 5 in. in diameter.

They are just plastic foam and any size will work as long as you use the instructions I gave in the thread.

The strain was a simple pollen chuck I did using a Hash Plant female and a C99 male

Since pool weather is over, Wally World won't have them, but a Pool Supply should have them in stock.

If you need any clarifications just ask and I'll explain further. Or PM me if you like.

 

[budshoteyes]

I was just about to post your link WD....it's a great read..might try it too!

 

[GP73LPC]

yup, i want to convert from net pots and hydroton and move to pool noodles...

K.I.S.S....

 

[WelderDan]

Thanks guys

I can't take credit for the idea. I got the idea from an OG member years ago and liked it so much I never went back.

I think the guy I got the idea from tied fishing line to a hook in the ceiling to support the plant. I like to be able to swap buckets, so I put a few drywall screws in the lid and tie the plant in place. I just let the bottom branches sit on the top of the noodle so it doesn't fall in.

 

[FreezerBoy]

oh, noes, I's fallin' in....