HELP- first hydro build and grow

[Gator]

The little seedling survived the first 24 hrs,, I'm thinking I should have roots coming out of the bottom of the net pot by the weekend

[Wayzee]

Nice, yea it shouldn't take long.

[Gator]

The little seedling survived another night, just adjusted the pH and put the light on the timer,I hope 5.7 isn't too low

[Gator]

Added a few more clay pebbles, she's a strange color of green, but she is healthy

[Ckbrew]

It ain't easy being green, pH?

[Gator]

I set the pH to 5.8 every morning

[Bluey]

What's your EC and water temps?

[Gator]

Water is 68-73, I haven't checked what the e.c.is

[Gator]

Ppm was 733 and the water was 71° when I just checked it, I'm still trying to figure out how to read the EC

[apacin0]

The EC is going to give you a more accurate measurement of salt content (the nutes). I think as long as you follow a good nutrient schedule and mix them in the correct order and measure correctly you won’t even really need to watch EC or even PPM after you establish a good baseline. It’s fun to watch how much they feed in later stages though. The seedling looks good. Just make sure to keep the water only up to the bottom of the net pot. The bubbles will spray up the nutes and the hydroton and starter medium will wick up to the roots. They start poking down fairly quick, but can take days. Once those roots settle in the nutes, they explode. You’re always gonna chase PH in a single bucket. Adding multiple sites and creating a larger pooled volume of water will create more stability of temp and ph.

[Bluey]

But a stable pH in a hydro setup may not be as desirable as a fluctuating pH given uptake of nutes atvarying pH levels. A range of 5.8 to 6.5 works quite well for these plants.

[apacin0]

5.7-6 gets all da yum yums. At least according to GWE’s hydro ph nutrient chart. I currently grow in coco. I set to 5.7 in a 5 gallon res and never check again until I refill. Not saying that’s recommended, but it’s working alright for me. I agree with you in practice the fluctuations in ph is beneficial, but of course only within range.

[Gator]

Looking good this morning

[Gator]

Nectar for the gods nutrients aren't salt based, they're calcium based and organic

[Bluey]

Calcium is NOT organic!

[apacin0]

I just did some reading on those nutes and it seems interesting. However calcium based nutes would not read on an EC meter like salt based because calcium is conductive in elemental form, not dissolved in water.

[Gator]

I don't understand what this means

[Wayzee]

Neither do I. pH ppm and temp is all I ever checked. Probably why I had so much trouble with DWC hahaha

[Gator]

Just turned the light up to 300 ppfd, I'm hoping she starts to take off now

[Gator]

Just checked the pH and it's holding at 5.9, been there for the last two days,is that normal??

[Gator]

pH is6.0 this morning, I wonder if I should change the water in the bucket,I want the pH to fluctuate right??

[Wayzee]

I'd say it's a good thing if it staying stable. They love a stable environment. The pH levels in your outdoor garden dont fluctuate and you can grow some decent hooter plants there.

[Gator]

She's growing

[Wayzee]

Go you good thing. Must have her roots in the right spot now she can do a bit of growing up top.

[Gator]

Thanks Wayzee, I'm really starting to enjoy this little experiment,I'm hoping to get a half pound out of this plant

[Wayzee]

It's a photo yea.. no reason why you can't. I had varying results from 4-9 ounces per plant in dwc...

[Gator]

It's been 8 days since I put the rock wool in the basket and I still don't see any roots,she seems healthy and happy,I have to admit, I'm a little confused

[Wayzee]

Does sound a little strange, might need more time, maybe the Rockwool staying wet enough that roots don't want to grow, or is it too dense for the roots to permeate... 🤔