Help! New grower interested in autoflowering in hydroponic

[Nesmart]

Hi friends!

So, I'm gearing up to start my first grow. Right now, I'm doing a lot of research because research is free lol!

I've decided two things thus far: I want to grow autoflowing plants, and I want to grow in a hydroponic system. I feel like this will be the easiest for a new grower who's scrapped for time.

I've seen tutorials on growing autoflowing plants, and I've seen them on growing hydroponically. But I can't find anything on growing autos in hydro (maybe I'm missing something).

Does anyone have any experience with this?

I'm stuck on which nutrients I'll need, and a good PH measuring/balancing system.

I've seen the usual General Hydoponics Flora Grow, but is that my only option? Are there better options (and by better I pretty much mean something that is very, very simple)?

As far as PH goes, I'm totally lost. I understand the water needs to be between 5.5-6.5, but I'm confused. This whole PH thing scares the crap out of me lol! SN: the tap water here is reverse osmosis water

Here's the supply list I've come up with thus far:

Grow tent: VisoSun 48"x24"x60" ($75.99)
Hydro system: HTC Supply Bubble Brothers ($140.00) (includes six sites in 3.5 gallon buckets)
Grow light: Minger LED plant grow light 600 W ($85.99)
Bovida USA 6' fan x2 ($27.00)
Mason jars: 12 pack, quart sized ($18.99)
Thermometer: Harbor digital hydrometer ($9.99)
Comcastle battery-operated liquid transfer pump ($9.99)

Seeds:
Amnesia Auto Feminized
OG Kush Auto Feminized

Please let me know if you guys see anything missing from this setup. Any tips on nutes and maintaining PH will be greatly appreciated!

[SirSmksAlot]

Depending if you're worried about smell or not, a carbon filter might be of interest. And for testing ph I find the most simple and reliable method is the general hydroponics ph test kit. It's just liquid drops that you put in a sample of your water. Cheap and effective. Then you'll need some ph up and down solution to make adjustments. Hope that helps some

[Nesmart]

Thanks so much for the info! It mos def helps! I have been debating on whether or not I should get a carbon filter too. Can it be installed at any time? I'm trying to cut costs as much as possible, so I may not start with one. But if the smell gets too strong and adding it later won't hurt, then maybe I can do it that way instead?

I haven't grown before so I don't really know what to expect.

[DingusKhan]

Autos do great in hydro! You will have a blast. When it comes to hydroponics, it doesn't matter if your plant is an auto or photoperiod. You will do everything else the same, including switching to flowering nutrients when your plant goes into flower. I would switch to flowering nutrients when your plant stops stretching at about 4 or 5 weeks, and starts producing hairs.

Nebula has a great video on measuring and adjusting pH on Youtube. She's so hot.

[Nesmart]

"Autos do great in hydro," is music to my ears Thanks for the suggestion to check Nebula out. I'm not into girls (I'm a hetro woman), but I'm always down for good educational material lol!

[DingusKhan]

She is most certainly that, AND a bag o'chips. And consider yourself welcome here, anyway (wink emoji, if I knew how to do that).

https://www.growweedeasy.com/high-yi...nics-technique This is the tutorial you want to go through.

https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum...-electric-pump Here's a little something I kluujed together, and it grew me some pretty dank ass week.

[Nesmart]

Lol! Yeah, I actually went to check out her YouTube shortly after replying to your comment Thanks so much for the links and for all the info you've given me throughout this thread! You're awesome!

[Canuck147]

As for nutrients - I just switched from General Hydroponics to GreenPlanet - also a little cheaper

[Nesmart]

Good to know! Keep me updated

[Canuck147]

I update on the thread 'The Great Auto Showdown' check it out - lots of growers, lots of different methods.

[Nesmart]

Nice! I'll check that thread. Thanks so much, Canuck147!

[abadtrip]

I only grow autos in hydro now I have my lights on 24hrs. Light leaks into your res is one thing I noticed most ppl when starting hydro miss and can make for a real bad experence. This also includes clear airlines.
The awsome thing about autos in hydro is the root ball u can generate a huge root ball witch in turn will create a huge plant. I get upset now if i come in under 9 oz a plant.
Bubbles are a big thing u should get some nice 4 inch flat air stones and valves to control the airflow less in the beginning to full on after u have established a good root system.

[DingusKhan]

9 oz! Wow, that's awesome. Now I'm going to have to try an auto in hydro under 24hr lights.

[Nesmart]

I have heard that black airlines are best. So, what can go wrong if I don't do a 24/7 light schedule? I was thinking of going with an 18/6, but now I'm a little concerned.

[Budler]

Both will work, go for 20/4 if you want to go the middle way. They are really don’t care.

[Jacobs528177]

I just recently finished my first grow. I did dwc. Let me tell you right now you are in for a little more work than you are expecting as far as checking the ph everyday and changing nutes every week so make sure you are prepared for that. I actually used the exact same hydro buckets you are looking at and I like them but I'm thinking of coco for my next grow. If you do get the buckets make sure you cut your air lines all the same length to make repositioning the buckets easier. I set up my buckets and air pump then cut my lines so the buckets with shorter lines had to stay right next to the pump which was inconvenient, learn from my mistake. If you are looking at nutrients stay away from advanced nutrients ph perfect bs. It doesnt work as advertised and you will be balancing the ph a lot the first couple days before it finally stays somewhat stable. I plan to use gh maxi series, I suggest checking it out. I really like the nutrient ratios and the fact it is just a 1 part nute. I think it would be beneficial to you to start with the base nutrients your first grow then start experimenting with additives. If you are determined to do hydro like I was, i would suggest using pool shock which you can find out the best way to use with a little research. People will say beneficials, but being a first time grower with several pots you're bound to forget the top off once or twice and brown algae is a bitch trust me. While you're looking at lights keep in mind with LEDs the advertised wattage and true wattage are different. You will want to look at the true wattage in the specs. You may want to check me on this but I believe you want something like 35-45 true watts per square foot with LEDs.If it were me growing in a 2x4 tent I would go with 2 150 watt hps lights. Ph really isnt a big deal. Get it down to 5.6 and it will slowly creep up over a day when it gets back up to 6.3 drop it back down to 5.6. Just make sure you check it twice a day and keep your meter calibrated. I have a ph meter from hannah instruments which has a replaceable probe and calibrates with the gh calibration solutions very easy to use.

remember this is all advice from a first time grower and there is no 1 right way to grow. It's all a matter of preference and the best way to learn is to jump in head first and learn from your mistakes

[Nesmart]

Yikes! Quite a bit of new info for me on this post.

So, you have to check the PH everyday? I thought I would only need to change the water every 1-2 weeks.

When you say you're going with coco for your next grow, do you mean you're using coco in the little cups on top of the system?

I'm not that great at math, so I assumed the one LED light would give enough light to cover the whole tent. I'll have to revisit HPS lights for sure. They seem more expensive, so that's why I wanted to go with LED.

Thanks so much for your help! I see I still have a bit more research to do before I take the plunge.

[DingusKhan]

Jacobs has a lot of excellent ideas on how to set up your buckets and lines, I'm definitely going to do that from now on. Also, what he says about the importance of accuracy with regard to pH is absolutely true, and it is a fair amount of work. but I have gotten away with checking my buckets less frequently than that. In fact, I could confess to being a little sloppy, and sometimes get away with shit that is sometimes considered anathema. But this website is called "grow weed EASY", right?

In my last grow, I used MegaCrop nutrients and tap water, which fortunately, came out to 5.4-5.7. By the time my plant was big enough to fill a 2x4 tent, it was guzzling about 4 gallons of solution a day, I never "changed" the nutrient solution. I was filling it every other day. I checked the pH of the solution as it was going in, and everything was hunkydory.

[Nesmart]

And I'm trying to "Grow Weed Easy," @Dingushan lol! I'm so thankful for this site and all the knowledge you guys have. I probably would've wasted hella money if I had just jump in like I lowkey wanted to do lol!

[Jacobs528177]

Going back over your supplies list I see you have no humidity control

[Nesmart]

I thought the fans would control the humidity. Is there something else you would suggest? I want this grow to go as smoothly as possible, so I'm open to all suggestions.

[Nesmart]

Also, do you guys think it's worth it to buy an energy efficient surge protector? I'm trying to make this grow as efficient as possible. And by that, I mean beautiful, healthy plants that produce a really good yield, but is also as low cost as possible.

[DingusKhan]

Nesmart I don't think that's necessary. I've never had to do it. It might be more important in a bigger space using big, hot HPS or MH lights. My last indoor grow in my 2x4 tent under an LEC315 never needed additional humidity. In fact, when my plants gets to where they fill tent space by about 1/3 to 1/2, they are transpiring so much water vapor that my tent will felt a little muggy inside when I opened it.

And when they are too small, and happy under T5 or CFL, you're not creating enough heat to cause them to dry out so much.

[Canuck147]

I've put a bowl of water in my tent - although - I added honey and yeast - carbon dioxide produced - just another thought for you. Commercial product available for you that does that is called 'Exhale'

[Nesmart]

Thanks for your input, guys! Mos def useful info

[SirSmksAlot]

Yes you could add a carbon filter at any point. Just keep in mind when your plants get big it might get more difficult to move around your space. As for checking ph, I personally check mine every day. I ran into a problem a few grows ago where I got comfortable with not checking my ph every day and one day I came down and I was sitting at a 3.5. Could have caused some issues such as nute lock. You don't need to change the water when checking/adjusting ph. Just take a small sample of your water for testing and adjust by adding a few drops of ph up or down to your bucket and test again in a few mins to see if you've reached your desired level. Happy growing man

[Budler]

If you really want to achieve good result you need to spend more than 85$ on your light setup. I think as a first grow count with 0.4-0.5g /W used. I believe that LED draws less than 600. Maybe only 200. I don’t know the light but probably it won’t cover a huge area properly.
if it does, divide the 200 with 6 and multiply with 0.5. That’s your final yield. 16g on each plant... you can have one plant under that light and have 100 on it. Less work with the buckets. It’s your first time. pH is important but it also need to fluctuate. Make sure you stay between 5.5-6.4 and you will be fine.
I tried soil, hydro is easier for me. with a good setup you can leave the system on its own for a few days even.

[Nesmart]

Good to know! I'll look into different lights or maybe getting two LEDs. I've been hearing that HPS lights give the biggest yield, but I was trying to keep this first run on the cheap lol!

I have my fingers crossed for you too

[DingusKhan]

Budler gives great advice. You could start a little smaller for your first grow. I think either CMH or LED are great for new growers. I myself had an excellent first grow with a MarsHydro "300" watt LED, which goes for less than $80 on Amazon. I soon got a second one of those, and then a Roleadro "400" watt COB LED, which makes a nice, bright, white (not blurple) light, which is awesome for small-medium plant veg. I use that in my 2nd stage veg for when my plants are about the size of my hand until they are big enough to go into the flower tent.

Those MarsHydros grew me some really nice, sticky, STINKY buds on about a 3 ounce plant, perfect for a first timer.

[Nesmart]

I totally agree, DingusKhan! Budler's given me some great tips! I'll check out that MarsHydro light as well. Thanks, guys