Hydroponic Growers Group!

[Rangi]

Those bags are pretty cool! And what a price point!

I don't see why you couldn't leave the air running 24/7, actually. With the caveat that the air being injected is never too cold (e.g., during lights out, depending on your setup). I use a fairly airy medium blend ... coco:vermiculite: perlite = 50:25:25. So I think the dome promotes maintaining good aeration through the mix, not just providing some aeration/oxygenation from any direct water contact.

AutoPot actually says only run the AirDome during lights on, but my sense is that the R&D is done in the UK with many customers - growing various crops - operating in cooler night conditions where this could be a problem). I know two other growers running AirDomes 24/7 - like I do - with no ill effects.

Recently had some correspondence with AutoPotUSA re minimum/optimal air flow for the domes (it's not stated in their literature anywhere). Received this response:

"We recommend 15gal of air per dome per hour. If you have 8 pots you will need a 120gal per hour pump. Place the root control sheet into the base of the pot, sit the dome on top and then cover the dome with clay pebbles/perlite/GrowStones until just the last 1/2" of the dome is showing. Then ensure that you’re using a well aerated substrate to allow the air to distribute evenly through the pot. Mixing soil or coco with 50% pebbles/perlite/GrowStones works well."

[Campesino]

Awesome! Exactly what I have been looking for! Thank you

[Rangi]

You're most welcome! Trust me, I'll be asking many more questions here than I'll ever be able to answer! But when I can help, I will

[alltatup]

Zee There are these nylon bags you can get to put your pump inside so the roots don't get in.

[RagWeedDWC]

Pantyhose works great to wrap around the pumps, except when you go buy them the cashier looks at you a little weird.

[Rangi]

Zee “AirDomes” are a product made by AutoPot. They provide aeration to a soil/coco medium, being buried near the the bottom of the pot. See:

https://www.autopot-usa.com/product/airdome/

[IslandColas]

I'd pinch it off. are these 3 weeks old?

how often does that tray flood?

They’re almost 4 weeks from cutting. And they’re fed in the flower tent every two hours currently.

they've grown a couple inches in the first couple days of flower.

[Obi-Wan]

I thought about posting this on one of my journals but this is probably as good a place as any to post it. Campesino and I have talked about this before and IslandColas has eluded to it in at least one post; As far as growing in hydroponics is concerned, I am a bit unorthodox to say the least, my techniques work for me because I have an understanding of the conditions I have created in my reservoir, it is certainly not the easy, efficient , or recommended way, for a grower that is new to idea of sustaining life in an aqueous environment.

My preference for warmer water comes from my love of aquatics and my experience over the last decade managing a 175 gallon aquarium. I have run it as a fresh water tank as well well as a salt water tank, unfortunately shortly after I started growing I had to shut down the aquarium do to excess power consumption. I am currently saving money to upgrade my household electrical so I can run both simultaneously, but for now my tank sits empty. Anyways.....It should come as no surprise that I treat my reservoirs the same way I treated my aquarium.....I only do partial water changes on a weekly basis........I do this in part because I use beneficial bacteria in my reservoir and IMO and experience, a complete water change would only serve to rob my system of the colony I am trying to build. I build my colony using HydroGuard, Orca, and SLF-100. Most are familiar with HydroGuard from the GWE tutorials. Orca is the hydroponic equivalent of Great White, produced by the same manufacturer. SLF-100 is an enzyme based root innoculent that serves to clear away dead and decaying root particles that would normally attract competing bacterial strains. I normally plan for 2 full reservoir changes in any given grow...the 1st is after transition, so I can reset the nutrient ratios in the reservoir for flowering....the 2nd is when I finalize the leaching period. I say finalize because I lower my EC by .2, at what I consider to be milestone stages during flower, until I reach an EC of 1.0 or 500 PPM, at which point I dip the roots in a solution of 22 mls. of FloraKleen per 5 gallons of water for 10 minutes and then return them to a reservoir of tap water, HydroGuard, and Orca. The final period of leaching lasts for 7 days and I add my beneficial's during this period because I need a healthy root system to assist in water uptake right up until I cut the plants down.

It is my sincere hope that I can contribute to this community in a way that benefits others in the same way that it has benefited me, while understanding that I do things in an unconventional way that may not be easily replicated by others.

[Rangi]

Absolutely fabulous. Thanks so much for sharing this. I am always intrigued by “differences”; in part, because they challenge me to develop a more sophisticated understanding of the important concepts involved.

[Campesino]

Thanks for sharing! I love the insight into your practices and the theory behind it. Really interesting style - more power to you Obi-Wan !

[Baphomatt]

Thank you so much! Lots more to research!!!

(I freakin' love it.)

[IslandColas]

I thought about posting this on one of my journals but this is probably as good a place as any to post it. Campesino and I have talked about this before and IslandColas has eluded to it in at least one post; As far as growing in hydroponics is concerned, I am a bit unorthodox to say the least, my techniques work for me because I have an understanding of the conditions I have created in my reservoir, it is certainly not the easy, efficient , or recommended way, for a grower that is new to idea of sustaining life in an aqueous environment.

My preference for warmer water comes from my love of aquatics and my experience over the last decade managing a 175 gallon aquarium. I have run it as a fresh water tank as well well as a salt water tank, unfortunately shortly after I started growing I had to shut down the aquarium do to excess power consumption. I am currently saving money to upgrade my household electrical so I can run both simultaneously, but for now my tank sits empty. Anyways.....It should come as no surprise that I treat my reservoirs the same way I treated my aquarium.....I only do partial water changes on a weekly basis........I do this in part because I use beneficial bacteria in my reservoir and IMO and experience, a complete water change would only serve to rob my system of the colony I am trying to build. I build my colony using HydroGuard, Orca, and SLF-100. Most are familiar with HydroGuard from the GWE tutorials. Orca is the hydroponic equivalent of Great White, produced by the same manufacturer. SLF-100 is an enzyme based root innoculent that serves to clear away dead and decaying root particles that would normally attract competing bacterial strains. I normally plan for 2 full reservoir changes in any given grow...the 1st is after transition, so I can reset the nutrient ratios in the reservoir for flowering....the 2nd is when I finalize the leaching period. I say finalize because I lower my EC by .2, at what I consider to be milestone stages during flower, until I reach an EC of 1.0 or 500 PPM, at which point I dip the roots in a solution of 22 mls. of FloraKleen per 5 gallons of water for 10 minutes and then return them to a reservoir of tap water, HydroGuard, and Orca. The final period of leaching lasts for 7 days and I add my beneficial's during this period because I need a healthy root system to assist in water uptake right up until I cut the plants down.

It is my sincere hope that I can contribute to this community in a way that benefits others in the same way that it has benefited me, while understanding that I do things in an unconventional way that may not be easily replicated by others.

Absolutely love having you as part of the community Obi-Wan your knowledge is irreplaceable

[wheatgrass]

Wow! What a lot of info. Well I am just beginning in hydro. My first attempt. I have a cabinet with a cloner down below and flower up top. It is DWC. How do I transplant from the 2 inch net cups down below to the 3.75 inch net cups up top? The roots will be very long. Will they get damaged or just grow back through the pellets and the cup? Thanks fellas.

[Obi-Wan]

wheatgrass There is no easy way to transplant from a 2” net cup to a larger one. I suggest buying the 2” neoprene collars and cutting out the bottom of your 2” net cups. The collars will support your cuttings and removing the bottom of your net cup will allow you to remove them freely for transplant into the 3.75 in cups. I like to let my clone grow at least 4-5” of roots so I can run the roots through the bottom of the net pot. This way they start their journey with their feet in the water.

[wheatgrass]

Thanks Obi-Wan. I do have collars on the way. These are from seed. 3rd set of leaves just starting and some roots are 5-6" long. The idea of cutting out the bottoms sounds excellent. I will definitely do that.

[Cab1080]

Nice Thread. I got some questions coming. I am trying to get some good pics off my plants. I grow in hydro under LED. This thread has some pics of my setup and plants. I am nearing harvest and don't want to jump the gun. 1st time grower. Just trying get some white light setup so its not all purply.

[Cab1080]

Here are some photos. When looking through the scope pretty much all trichomes still mostly clear. Will heat and LED light effect Trichomes. I did a poor job at keeping track of this but I believe I am at about day 46 of flowering on the tangerine Dream, which has estimate of 55-65 day harvest.

Edit: Second Picture is actually critical purple not tangerine dream. Those trichomes also clear, although pretty haired up.

[Cronk]

have you tried pulling them down with string or a net? try to get the colas more horizontal, could get you some space

[Cab1080]

Great thoughts Cronk! I thought maybe the stems would be to rigid for bending. This morning I checked and I am able to bend bud over, run string around its stem and connect to the other side of box. Gets me a couple more inches room and get light to bud area that was not getting real exposed. Kudos

[Cronk]

good news

[Obi-Wan]

wheatgrass for seed starting this is a little hack I came up with using the collars in the cloner. Just cut out the inside of the collar and a rapid rooter will fit snuggly inside it.

[wheatgrass]

That looks easier to remove. So in that case you are not using a net cup at all? Thanks for your help.

[Obi-Wan]

I don’t use a net cup until I place them in the full sized grow buckets. Just makes for easier and less evasive transplants

[wheatgrass]

Great! Next round i am going to go with no cup. If you had a 3.75" collar could you go no net cup again? Or does the plant need the support of the cup? I am in a reservoir. About 26 gallons gets the water to about 2-3 inches below the cups. 600W LED. Thanks for your help!

[Obi-Wan]

I prefer 3.75”-4” nets pots for my final pot so to speak...when you start to actually veg the plant, you will want it to be in a net pot & media such as hydroton for support. I wouldn’t recommend trying to veg or flower a plant without said support.

I’ve kept plants in my cloner for up to 6 months in the collars and they don’t develop the thick roots necessary for flower regardless of nutrient strength or light provided. It’s almost like they want the resistance they get from the media and net pot in order to develop the thick roots needed for a good flowering period.

[wheatgrass]

The roots are so long i am going to have to leave them in the 2 inch cups. i will cut a hole in the bottom of the 3.75 inch net cup big enough to fit the roots through but the 2 inch cup wont fall through. Then fill in with pellets. So thanks for the idea of cutting a whole in the 2 inch cup. It lead me to my solution. And i will be using it next time.

[wheatgrass]

Thanks man. You've been a big help.

[farmerjim]

This thread is unreal...

giving recirc a try for my 2nd run... hoping to iron out the kinks to use it for the dark harvest in August too!

flowin

[Cab1080]

This is 1st grow and I think I am close to harvest or at least a portion of the grow. What I thought were new pistils forming I believe is light stress from being to close to my LED light. Has anyone else experience this? I looked at trichomes and they are cloudy with quite a few amber. It is by my estimate only day 55-58 right now.

[Cab1080]

Calyxes you say...*heads to google*

[Cab1080]

Ok..Ok. I checked those and now not so sure.

[Cab1080]

Thank you! Saved again by the forum! I added some pictures! Hard for me to get good ones in such a crammed space.