Transitioning from soil to hydro

paranoidnz said:

Hiya Dead,

We are in the same pool, I Just recently moved from soil to hydro.
I am not in anyway a master of either,

1st grow outside in soil, 2-3 oz off 2 plants (no idea what I was doing)

2nd grow inside under lights in soil 1.4x1.4 tent, 600hps and 400 true watt led, 14 - 15 oz dry off 6 plants (which I think is great for first time indoor)

current grow, coco/perlite 80/20 ratio, 1 gal pots, drip with the same gear above. 9 plants in a 1x1 metre catch tray, close to 4th week of veg.

did look at DWC, but I imagined having to check 9 res 2x a day, correcting 9 res 2x a day, then emptying and refilling and adjusting 9x res every 7 - 10 days, major hassle.
unless its RDWC, slightly less hassle, but then it opens up different hassles.

" Is dwc the same as a flood and drain technique"
No, very different
DWC is roots living in a closed bucket (which is its res) of nutrients & water with a supply of constant air to stop roots from drowning,
thinking its a pain to adjust water and what not

RDWC is the same as above but there is like a connector between buckets and they kinda loop going to a main res which has a water pump pushing water from res into first bucket which the water self levels and moves to the second bucket to the third etc
what a hassle

Flood and drain / ebb & flow, is exactly what it sounds like, you have a big tray or buckets set higher then your res, water pump kicks on when you tell it to, it fills up the tray or bucket (filled with a hydro medium) to a set level, then pump turns off, water drains back down to your reserve. (imagine the res you need for this)

(The above is a very basic explanation and the concept of them, filled with spelling mistakes, no need for anyone to get all butt hurt and respond like I personally offended you.)

I also wanted to do this, what made me go for a drip system was the amount of water I needed in my reserve and the amount of nutes I would need, when I think of nutes, I think of $$$

I have a 2 gallon res which feeds 9 plants 3x a day, all I do when I get home is check one bucket to see if PH is good, and maybe add a litre or 2 of water, maybe a bit of nutes every 2-3 days,
every 5 days I empty the res (not that I think it really needs to be emptied) and put that into my outside hempy pots,
circle of life is good

Only thing on my mind that I want to get right is how the water hits the medium, I want to get a even saturation from the top.
So im using 4mm flexi tube, connected to a 4mm X pipe, with 2cm of 4mm tube on the end of the 3 crosses, then a small hole on the original 4mm 2cm back from the cross, all open ended. This seems to be working.

Major tip for any drip new comers, don't be cheap get 3 Filters
One straight after the pump, one before you hit your main water inlet, and one on the return, I have even wrapped my pump in a mesh, a little bit of hassle in the beginning to stop major hassle halfway through.

I think about everything that could go wrong then plan accordingly, don't use the she'll be right attitude, neglect anything and she dam as hell wont be right

Ive noticed that all blueprints for diy builds you find look very simple, but theres the finer things they don't mention which will frustrate the hell outta you

Buying from the shop is going to cost far to much, making it yourself still costs, but you can set it up to what you want, Lets be realistic, if your a normal joe like the most of us, your not gonna build a masterpiece diy system, but you will work out exactly what works and what doesn't, the second one you build will be much better

I would be happy getting close to a pound dry off 600w hps, that's ALL good, no ones gonna say anything wrong about that at all.

from your 600 watts you were pulling .74 grams a watt (roughly)
for 1000 watts you will need to pull .89 grams a watt (to hit 2 pound)
Ive heard 1 gram per watt is the magical number, over that is someone who knows what he is doing
and I BELEIVE IN YOU
but I would be banking on 1.5 pound per 1000w to be safe (which I still think is good), since your gonna have a bit of a learning scale, imagine driving a WRX, then jumping into a F1 race car, you got a very good idea, but it will take adjustments to work it right etc...

sorry for the long rant about nothing, im at work and trying to do anything other then.............................Work

keep me updated with what you went for and your reasoning

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Douglas.Curtis said:

DWC, main concern there are reservoir temperatures and air supply.

Get an R/O filter for your water, because it'll mean you only have to learn hydro once. Moving won't mean you're switching to a water supply which behaves differently. Read up on Lucas, the formula AND his reservoir management methods (they're a set). I've been using a modified version of his nute recommendation for 15 years now. Grows great cannabis.

Read, read, read, read, read. You'll thank yourself. Read until you're answering your own questions. This is the point you want to start growing hydro, because the questions you come up with at this point will be fielded easily by the folks on the boards. Smart/educated questions are always welcome.

I love hydro

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FireIn.TheSky said:

What a horrible username.

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