how am I doing?

[Dunknug]

hello all, after a bit of research on here this is were ive landed myself. this is my first attempt at a hydro system any pointers would be appreciated.

i do have a few question off hand first...
1) is the top to this tub going to block enough light from the roots (once i get them)
2) do i have enough air pumping into that size tub (3.5 -4 gallons) i have a 2 outlet air pump rated for a 60 gallon tank with 2-6" air stones

 

[cravin morehead]

1- i cant tell you that, only you can judge that. should probably put some reflectix on top of your res. better safe than sorry.
2-the more air the better.
my main concern with your set up is the small amount of solution your res holds. 5 gallon buckets for each plant is kinda small, imo. when your plants are in full flower mode, they will drink tons of solution/water daily. probably even enough to leave the roots dry. most bud plants can drink around 3 quarts per sq/ft of bud canopy per day. you are going to have to top off daily, if not more. as the water is used by the plants, your ec levels and ph are going to swing wildly all over the place. if you can, switch to a bigger res soon. before your plants get too big and their roots get tangled together. or hook up a controller bucket. good luck and keep on reading. all your answers are here somewhere. look at other peoples successful grows and copy it as close as possible.

cm

 

[Dunknug]

thanks cravin. this tub i only intend to use as a veg container... to get seeds and cuts going... i then plan on transplanting them to their own individual 4 gallon square kitty litter buckets (2 of them) and flower under a 150hps in a identical kitchen pantry (should fit 2 kitty litter buckets perfect)

 

[Dunknug]

this grow will be more on the micro- scale only plan on vegging clones to about 12-16" before throwing them in flower

 

[socialist]

I would consider putting them in to flower at a shorter height than what you have in mind. They will stretch at least a little and be much bigger than you think.

 

[Dunknug]

I would consider putting them in to flower at a shorter height than what you have in mind. They will stretch at least a little and be much bigger than you think.

I hope to grow 2 "medium sized plants i have about 36" of play room for flower

 

[Dunknug]

so i went with the safe route and covered the top with some foil for now till i can put a nice layer of mylar on it. its pitch black in there now so no more worries on that note. i took some better pics of the cab its in so you can see i have some space to work with.

my concern as of now is i feel like it is taking a long time for these two clones to establish themselves in the system. been top feeding them and solution is at less than half strength

 

[hobb3s93]

By blocking light do u mean inhibit algae growth? i think ull be good on algae but Just be aware of rez temps kus once its starts climbing u got cool then down again.

Before u top off check ph/temp and use hot or cold water to get where u need to go. I never let mine get above 65f, but i belive 60-63f is the sweet spot in dwc.

If u got a couple days with temps 70f of above u will see darkening of roots which i believe is root rot (or the beginning of it). I use an ice chest for my dwc for insulation purposes so thats somthing u could look into. Or just toss a frozen liter or 2 liter bottle in tied to a string.
Hope that helps

 

[Dunknug]

my temps have been around the 58-60 mark is it a bit too cold?? or kind of a colder the better deal?

 

[hobb3s93]

my temps have been around the 58-60 mark is it a bit too cold?? or kind of a colder the better deal?

Thats kinda what i ment about sweet spot. Ive been told by the guy who showed how to run dwc that 60-63 was the best for him.

But im sure ur fine, just with hotter months approaching ur gonna have to be on top of it because that bin will get hot quickly.

btw if u put ur water line up to a tiny bit under the net pot so that your hydroton is wet on the bottom side ,it will lure the roots out and then u can drop the water level once they appear.

 

[Dunknug]

I got my first roots poking through the net pot on one of the clones today... thick white and healthy looking... ill post some pics in the coming days

 

[Hydro-Soil]

2) do i have enough air pumping into that size tub (3.5 -4 gallons) i have a 2 outlet air pump rated for a 60 gallon tank with 2-6" air stones

You're actually pushing close to too much air (yes, you can have too much)... any more air and you'd see a steady increase in pH from the amount of CO2 being pumped into the water.

Might even be seeing that right now... don't know though as you've not mentioned it.


Generally.... I shoot for about 3-6watts of airpump per 10 gallons of water. You're probably triple that?? Again, not sure but it's something to watch out for.

Stay Safe!

 

[Dunknug]

thanks for the advice hydro... the pump is 4 watts, and i had miscalculated the size of my container earlier it actually holds closer to 6.5 gallons... which according to your theory would put me on the high side of your 3-6 watts per 10 gallons right?

maybe ill switch the two outlet out once i get my other buckets going.

 

[Dunknug]

You're actually pushing close to too much air (yes, you can have too much)... any more air and you'd see a steady increase in pH from the amount of CO2 being pumped into the water.


.



Stay Safe!

i HAVE noticed a rise in pH.... i disconected one of the air stones and i seem to have stabilized it. not sure if ime getting enough turbulance now though?

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Ya got a lotta pump there mon... Dual outlet pump? Put the other stone back on... just leave it out of the tank or put it in a separate jug of water (for back-pressure)

Should up the pressure on the stone left in the res...

Oxystones.... look into them, they rock. Well worth the price.

Stay Safe!

 

[Dunknug]

would you recommend the 2" or the 4" for my 6.5 gallon rez?

 

[Hydro-Soil]

2", especially with that powerful pump on it. LOL The 4" puts off mass bubbles!

Bump the feed up a bit as well. Half strength under full lighting will cause more yellowing of the lower leaves, as the plant sucks needed food from them.

Stay Safe!

 

[medicalmj]

my temps have been around the 58-60 mark is it a bit too cold?? or kind of a colder the better deal?

That's definitely too cold! I can assure you that cold temps will inhibit things like P uptake, which will cause other issues besides just classic P def symptoms. Roots themselves would prefer a much warmer temp.. like in the 70's. The problem there is O2 in solution, so 68-70 appears to be the sweet spot. Put your hand in 58F water. It's f*cking cold. You're not growing Japanese horseradish (Wasabia japonica) which grows along cold mountain streams.

But lower than 66 is problematic, whereas 75 is great if you can assure your DO (dissolved O2) is high enough. Many will argue 75F is bad, but do the research. Your roots would rather be in 75F vs 66F, it's the fact that O2 doesn't like to stay in solution when the temps. approach 75. The lack of O2 causes problems like anaerobic bacteria growth. And as you probably know it's the anaerobic bacteria that you have to watch out for.

 

[medicalmj]

From Joe Fresh's Sticky on Plant problems (note cold root temps causes P lockout):
Phosphorous Deficiency


As a rule, phosphorus deficiency symptoms are not very distinct and thus difficult to identify. A major visual symptom is that the plants are dwarfed or stunted. Phosphorus deficient plants develop very slowly in relation to other plants growing under similar environmental conditions but without phosphorus deficiency. Phosphorus deficient plants are often mistaken for unstressed but much younger plants. Some species such as tomato, lettuce, corn and the brassicas develop a distinct purpling of the stem, petiole and the under sides of the leaves. Under severe deficiency conditions there is also a tendency for leaves to develop a blue-gray luster. In older leaves under very severe deficiency conditions a brown netted veining of the leaves may develop.

Benefit: Phosphorus does a lot of things for the plant. One of the most important parts of Phosphorus is: It aids in root growth and influences the vigor of the plant and is
one of the most important elements in flowering as well helps to germinate seedlings.
Phosphorus is an essential plant nutrient, and since it is needed in large amounts, it is classified as a macronutrient. Phosphorus is a MAJOR important nutrient in the plants reproductive stages. Without this element the plants will have a lot of problems blooming without proper levels of Phosphorus.


When your plants are deficient in phosphorus, this can overall reduce the size of your plants. Not enough causes slow growth and causes the plant to become weak, to little amount of Phosphorus causes slow growths in leaves that may or may not drop off. The edges all around the leaves or half of the leaves can be brownish and work its way inwards a bit causing the part of the leaves to curl up in the air a bit. Fan leaves will show dark greenish/purplish and yellowish tones along with a dullish blue color to them. Sometimes the stems can be red, along with red petioles that can happen when having a Phosphorus deficiency. This isn’t a sure sure sign of you having one though, but can be a sign. Some strains just show the red petioles and stems from its genes.
So pretty much the overall dark green color with a purple, red, or blue tint to the fan leaves is a good sign of a Phosphorus deficiency. Having Cold weather (below 50F/10C) can make phosphorous absorption very troublesome for plants.
Many people get a Phosphorus deficiency confused with a fungus problem because the ends of the leaves look like a fungus problem, But the damage occurs at the end of the leaves. side of the leaves and has a glass like feeling to it as if it had a ph problem. Parts affected by a phosphorus deficiency are: Older Leaves, Whole plant, Petioles.

Too much Phosphorus levels affect plant growth by suppressing the uptake of: Iron, potassium and Zinc, potentially causing deficiency symptoms of these nutrients to occur def in plants. A Zinc deficiency is most common under excessive phosphorus conditions,
As well as causing other nutrients to have absorption troubles like zinc and copper. Phosphorus fluctuates when concentrated and combined with calcium



Problems with Phosphorus being locked out by PH troubles
Cold wet soils, acid or very alkaline soils, compacted soil.


Soil

Phosphorus gets locked out of soil growing at ph levels of 4.0-5.5
Phosphorus is absorbed best in soil at a ph level of 6.0-7.5 (wouldn’t recommend having a ph of over 7.0 in soil) Anything out of the ranges listed will contribute to a Phosphorus deficiency.


Hydro and Soil less Mediums

Phosphorus gets locked out of Hydro and Soil less Mediums at ph levels of 6.0-8.5.
Phosphorus is absorbed best in Hydro and Soil less Mediums at ph levels of 4.0- 5.8. (Wouldn’t recommend having a ph over 6.5 in hydro and soil less mediums.) Best range for hydro and soil less mediums is 5.0 to 6.0. Anything out of the ranges listed will contribute to a Phosphorus Deficiency.

 

[Dunknug]

medical- thanks a bunch for the input... i have put the res. on a mat of towels ( really cuts down on vibration from the airstone too) seems to have raised the temp a few degrees but i think im either going to need a heating mat or aquarium heater for a few months till it warms up around here.