Aeroponics: Need nutrient addition rates and general advice.

[Smoj]

Hi!

I'm just building an aeroponics setup and need some info on how much hydroponic nutrient solution I need. Do I go with the default recommended amount? I've also seen somewhere that a rule of thumb is to use 25% of recommended amounts. This sort of makes sense to me, but I'd rather not kill my crop.

It's a low pressure system, and I only have half the gear I need at this point.

I am running misting jets off a pump manifold I built, but the droplet size is larger than I'd like, with less coverage. Using a 1500 LPH pump, which isn't really giving me the pressure I'd like through my 20mm PVC pipes. So I'll probably upgrade the pump. I have a 2200 LPH in mind.

Also want to add a couple of ultrasonic foggers, I've heard they can generate a smaller droplet size which works well enough for aeroponics. Got two of them, just waiting on a 24V 800mA power supply to arrive. If they work reliably enough, I'll possibly only keep the pump and manifold as a backup.

Timing is an issue. Hard to find a good timer that can handle the 5s on and 3min off cycles I want to start with. But I've got one coming that should do the job. So in the meantime I'll be using a standard plug in timer (with the push down tabs around a rotary timer) that can probably give me a roughly 15min on and 15min off until the good timer arrives from China.

But there seems like there's little info on nutrient addition for aeroponics, or at least little that I can find.

Any tips?

Being greedy and impatient, I've already germinated a couple of seeds (Gold leaf*** and White Widow). It's DDay +3 and the babies are already poking their heads out of the Root It sponges I put them in. Just on plain water right now. I'll make it work.... At the early veg stage, should I wean them onto a weaker nutrient solution, before going to full strength?

With slightly different growth rates for the two different strains, I'm hoping to use training to even them out for light penetration. Got a Chinese 300W LED setup with 5W LEDs which should cover the spectrum, at least for grow. Might need to get a better setup for bloom.

I have a local Aussie nutrient product I'm using, Hy-Gen Hydro Growth A+B, but haven't mixed anything yet.

Any advice on nutrient rates, or advice in general is more than welcome.

Cheers!

Smoj

[Smoj]

UPDATE: While I was setting up the light timer for 18/6, I put the babies outside under a humidity dome (can't think what they are really called, you get the idea), so they'd get a bit of light.
They were only out there for an hour or so, but the gold leaf plant didn't seem to like it much at all. The white widow is still only just starting to peek its head out of the rooting sponge, and looks fine enough. But goldy may have suffered.

I've given her a drink, and now she's under the LEDs. Hopefully not lost...

[DW2]

Welcome Smoj,
I use General Hydroponics nutrients in my DWC grow. They have feeding schedules and amounts (ppm and tsp or ml per gal or L) for many different systems and their different nutrient lines. I do not know about the aeroponics, but the site might have some information on it and would be a good place to start.
Good luck with your grow.

[furrysparkle]

I would suggest since this is a newer method you use the open internet to research about general aeroponics and conduct your own product search. Since many growers here use mainly hydro or soil setups not many will have any experience especially since aeroponics seems (at least to me) to be incredibly difficult. I'm sure it's simple once you get going.
A safer word search would be for tomatoes since they have similar nute needs as weed.

[Smoj]

Thanks for the replies!

DW2 I've looked all over this site, and while there is PLENTY of excellent information (IMHO the best on the web), there's nothing on aeroponics. While aeroponics and hydroponics share many similarities, there are a few differences. The nutes I have don't have any info about aeroponics. Even the guys at the hydro shop didn't really know much.

Furrysparkle I've been all over the interweb looking. While there is plenty of info about setting up an aero rig, I can't get any solid info on nutrient rates. I posted here on the off-chance that someone might have either direct knowledge or anecdotal information.

Aeroponics in principle is pretty straightforward. Don't let the 'As seen at NASA' fool you... There's some video on youtube of some school kids setting up an effective rig.

I set mine up with very little money, after seeing a bunch of different plans and ideas. A tub, 1.5m of PVC pipe, pipe glue, a pump and some irrigation misting jets. It remains to be seen how effective it will be, but I have high (get it? High...) hopes.

I'm currently unemployed, spent my last coin on this (probably not the wisest move as I am now out of cigarettes). So if I can do it, anybody can. The whole setup (seeds, light, rig, everything) cost me less than an ounce of weed costs here in Australia.

Incidentally, I lost my job in the mining industry operating a processing plant for testing positive for THC almost 3 weeks after my last smoke... When the guys I know working in that industry who regularly use heroin, methamphetamines, kronic etc. get away scot free every time. I had a system for flushing the THC out of my system before going to work (I used to get two week breaks), but this time my number came up, just a matter ot time really.

I'm not dumb enough to operate $150m worth of explosive, poisonous, generally nasty equipment with literally tons of moving parts while I'm whacked. But 3 weeks????

Well... Seeing as there's no info on aeroponics here, I'll journalise my grow in the interests of science. Could be a Nobel Prize for Weed in it for me. Or a bunch of dead brown future mulch. Time will tell.

[Smoj]

OK. So day 6 of my grow....

After possibly cooking my sprouts in the sun, they are both still alive, and improving slowly. Not sure if there is any hope, but we'll see.

I have 30L of water in the tub, and I added a little less than 1/3 of the recommended nutrients to it. I gave the girls some last night. They are under the LEDs now, on 18/6. I still need to improve the lightproofing of my grow room. Ambient temperature inside my house is around 21-25C (70-77F), which is extremely mild for where I live, currently summer. Outside temps can get up to 40C (104F), even higher sometimes.

I'll nurse the bubs back to health, and see how they like this level of nutrient. This is where they will be extremely fragile. So if I can pull this off, I'll have a good benchmark for future operations. Otherwise, it's back to square one.

[furrysparkle]

I would suggest use the hydro mix at 1/4 strength then work your way up until your plants are a beautiful green and only up it 1/4 strength per week at most you want to ease your plant onto the nutes

[Smoj]

Sounds like a plan. I'm running a fraction over 1/4 strength now, and I'll see how it goes. My Goldleaf seems to be recovering nicely now. The White Widow is still being a little shy about poking her head out, but seems healthy enough anyway.

The other thing I've decided to do is to run the pump and sprays 24 hours a day, until I get my timer here. The timer I have currently only allows for 15 minute increments. While I would like to give the roots a chance to dry out a little, 15 minutes strikes me as too long, the roots would probably suffer to the point of killing the plant. So essentially, my setup will be hydroponic rather than aeroponic until I get a better timer and can set intervals and cycles at seconds, rather than the quarter hour.

Just about to make some net pots out of regular pots now by drilling them full of holes so the roots can emerge and hang down into the sprays, eventually into the reservoir. Still need to get an air pump and air stone to oxygenate the reservoir. Hopefully I'll start a new job this week, get some money in the bank (and straight out again to pay the bills I'm racking up by the minute).