my first large scale hydro

[ilovemyglass]

hey guys just wanted to start a thread about my newest grow, im gunna be bulding a 16 plant flower room with a modified nft/ dwc build, i some pics i sketched and planned out just wanted to get some input on the design and any problems i may have,

i plan on making a 4 site perpetual garden, each site will have 4 plants. so pretty much 4 mini hydro systems in one garden,

so i plant on using a nft type system with theses plastic square posts i have aprox 5x5 inches, im thinking filling them half way with hydrodon clay balls and having a water entry and exit, but also plumping and aeration hose on the bottom of the tank/post, i want something very efficient, and dont wanna run the pumps 24/7 to make it more reliable
pics below thanks for the input

 

[zamzia]

Looks interesting. Are you putting medium in the bottom of the tanks?

 

[meltybubble]

When growing NFT, there is no medium,what you are describing is more like ebb+flow, flood and drain.
Remember the bigger the rez the easier managed.
Usually having trays at an angle is all required for the trays to drain.
Be careful no pooling happens on the tray's, it can slow growth and drown your plants.
When using little to no medium, spreader matting ensures each plant can feed when required, also can anchor them taking away the need for medium, as long as the light is blocked, no need.
What intervals are you thinking for the pumps?
Are you growing from seeds or clones?
best of luck.

 

[ilovemyglass]

i was thinking of putting hydroton in side the fence posts to take up some space and protect the roots? , also i guess it would kinda be like a dwc system i wana be able to have water sit in the posts for a while so i dont have to run the water pump consistancly, would an aeration hose running the lenth of the post, and good temp control be able to prevent root rot in the posts?

 

[PetFlora]

You might want to review my grow thread for ideas

 

[Cat Jockey]

Only my opinion, take it for what it is worth. Not really NFT, as already stated - a good thing. Further, I strongly advise against locking two plant's root systems together as you are going to do, for a couple reasons.

I applaud your creativity, but advise you to shit or get off the pot - pick E&F or RDWC and run with it. As far as which system, well, the first thing I am going to ask you is what your lighting system is. I have grown both, and can tell you the situations I would use either system over the other.

You are talking about a four site perpetual harvest. Explain more your expectations for how often you expect to harvest and how much cured bud you are expecting to end up with.

 

[ilovemyglass]

im thinking about running 4 600 watts hps lights vented hoods, although i might shell out the extra cash for 1k's i also am thinking about adding a 5th site somewhere so i could i could harvest roughly a max 10 week strain perpetually and harvest 4 plants every two weeks by offsetting them, i just started germiniating a bunch of seeds for my mom hunt, hand a bunch of good bagseed,
abusive og
the white
white og ( if theres a difference?)
blue dream
jack the ripper
and some randoms and other i cant remember at the moment,
any input on some strain traits and flowering times would be appreciated

 

[ilovemyglass]

i know im not expecting pounds off each site but i want to have the system very tuned in and efficient to make a good amount of cured bud consistently

 

[PetFlora]

To be safe, I would run 4 separate systems/rezes

Also, you might want to get your feet wet with a couple of led panels, ala Apache, A 51, ...

2 of either will pretty much outperform a 600, and quite possibly give 1K a run for its' money

Now, before any of you who have not kept up with current led offerings make a foot in mouth comment, spend some time in the LED Forum

 

[Cat Jockey]

im thinking about running 4 600 watts hps lights vented hoods, although i might shell out the extra cash for 1k's i also am thinking about adding a 5th site somewhere so i could i could harvest roughly a max 10 week strain perpetually and harvest 4 plants every two weeks by offsetting them

This, again, is obviously all my opinion, which I tend to be direct with, as when I stop by weed sites now, after hanging out on them going back to the 90's, it isn't that often I drop by them anymore, and when I do, I am around for a few days and then gone. But direct and blunt to try to be helpful with my experiences with growing and with trying to help beginners set up grows and intermediate folks get better, in real life growrooms. Been in a couple or three. Home and commercial.

Tend to harp on a couple subjects, like pH. Click on that thread link and scroll to where I posted some pics (read my hydro pH stuff, too). You will see a three light veg garden there that fed a four light flower room. Two lights would have worked fine.

I see no mention of a veg room. Where you at with that, before I go further?

 

[TheCleanGame]

---Snip---

 

[Skunkpassion]

hey guys just wanted to start a thread about my newest grow, im gunna be bulding a 16 plant flower room with a modified nft/ dwc build, i some pics i sketched and planned out just wanted to get some input on the design and any problems i may have,

i plan on making a 4 site perpetual garden, each site will have 4 plants. so pretty much 4 mini hydro systems in one garden,

so i plant on using a nft type system with theses plastic square posts i have aprox 5x5 inches, im thinking filling them half way with hydrodon clay balls and having a water entry and exit, but also plumping and aeration hose on the bottom of the tank/post, i want something very efficient, and dont wanna run the pumps 24/7 to make it more reliable
pics below thanks for the input

Will the roots be submerged in the water, if so you would have to keep an air pump on...

Nft is real easy but the roots aren't in the water really, usually in tray/gulley of some kind, pumping water from your Rez down your tray/ gulley and back into your Rez ...

Check my album called NFT...

 

[drsmoke69]

glass,
have u considered growing in coco with drip lines drain to waste style. you can keep roots separated in your square pots, only run your pumps when its time to feed with some home depot drip lines or blumats, and still have your rez bubbling with air stones. simple easy and will work. good luck glass man.

 

[medicalmj]

I like drsmoke69 idea. Coco has the same air to water ratio when saturated so it is HYDRO. I am growing 2-3 per 1k on lifgt movers(2k total)in coco drain to waste in 5 gal airpots. I have a 55 gal res in the adjacent room that has to sprayers to each plant set for 8 feedings per day. I don't use an air stone any longer tho. I use a pump with a volcano attachment that sprays down. I have done every hydro imaginable and this is my fav for growing large plants. 12-16 zips each (+- 2lbs per light). These are the only pics I have now. I used to mix hydroton but now do 100% canna coco with GH 3 part flora nova as directed with the addition of 1/2 teaspoon/gal Cal-mag. Oh yeah, I have two of these things on casters that hold up to 3 of my plants. Got a drain that goes to an adjacent room sump pump. Looking at your plan you could build four of these and put your four in each and with the casters you can move each group.
And a 1k complete ballast, hood and bulbs are the same or even less around here than a 600.

 

[ilovemyglass]

i actaully have run coco before and i really liked the results but i used bontanicare cns line and i dont know how much i liked that. came out pretty dank tho. but yeah i like that idea i might do that

 

[medicalmj]

i actaully have run coco before and i really liked the results but i used bontanicare cns line and i dont know how much i liked that. came out pretty dank tho. but yeah i like that idea i might do that

What I don't like about dwc or rdwc is that root pathogens are always lurking and when they hit it, they will fuck you over.

Commercial hydro operations prefer drain to waste (DTW) for that reason. Recirc hydro in these large ops will use ozone and/or hydrogen peroxide to keep pathogens at bay.

For what it's worth, my dwc/rdwc system worked great until I started fucking around with sugars and benificials. I will probably run a rdwc again but will use only synthetic chemical nutes. I would never again use anything organic, not even floroliciuos +.

I had a hybrid system kinda like what you describe once but it sucked because I had root pathogens that were still around from my previous grow. But in theory it should have worked great.

However, after trying over a dozen styles over the past 20 years, I found what was simple, productive and what worked for me. If plant counts didn't matter I'd probably go back to 4x4 rockwool cubes in an ebb& flow table. Pack about 4 dozen in a 4'x4' table under a 1k and get 3lbs per light.

I also considered putting granulated rockwool in one of my 5 gal airpots and see how it does. I suspect it would be similar to coco. If they performed the same I'd still choose coco cause it can be disposed of in my garden easily. RW and hydroton are noticeable to those who know...

 

[drsmoke69]

cant argue with the dank, best of luck.