What's your biggest question about growing hydroponic weed?

[NebulaHaze]

Hydroponics is when you grow your cannabis plant in an inert medium like coco or a reservoir of water, and provide all the nutrients to the plant directly in the water.

Growing in coco coir can be considered a type of hydroponics since it naturally contains no nutrients and you must provide all the nutrients in the water. However, when you say "hydroponics" most people think of this:


When it comes to hydroponic cannabis...

Differences Between Soil & Hydro

• The optimum pH for coco and hydroponics is 5.5-6.5, while the optimum pH for soil is 6-7
• Nutrients must be provided from when a hydroponic plant is a seedling (in seedling doses to start), otherwise the seedling will grow slower because it only has what's contained in the seed itself. In soil you don't need to add nutrients for a few weeks since there's already some in the soil
• Growing in coco coir (a growing medium that looks somewhat like soil but is actually made of dried coconut husks) gives you results that are somewhat between growing in soil and growing in a hydroponic reservoir of water - you get a lot of the benefits of both

Pros of Hydro

• Plants in hydroponic setups generally grow faster in the vegetative stage than soil-grown plants
• Less likely to get bugs
• If growing in a reservoir you don't have to worry about watering your plants when they're dry, over/under watering, or removing runoff. Everyone is different but I find maintaining a hydro reservoir easier than moving the plants around or watering and using a wet vacuum to remove runoff (but we all have our personal preferences!)
• If growing in a reservoir you use a very efficient amount of nutrients since you only mix up new water a few times a month, and only toss old water after the plant has already used up a lot of nutrients, which can save quite a bit if you're using expensive nutrients and is better for the environment (compared to drain-to-waste)
• You have more control over nutrient levels, PPM, and pH - for the mad scientists among us
• Buds can feel more potent

Cons of Hydro

• Hydro usually takes more preparation/setup than growing in soil. You're providing more for the plant instead of letting the soil do some of the work for you
• Soil-grown buds may have a more complex or stronger smell than hydro-grown buds

What do all you wonderful growers think about hydroponic cannabis? Do you agree or disagree with any of the above points? Who here has grown in both?

[Green75]

The only pro I've ever noticed about hydro weed is that the set up looks cooler...

I agree with your cons tho...and add a few...cannot walk around with single plant..can't remove plants from tent at all easily...if you have multiple plants in the same container it's hard to treat just one plant if just one plant has an issue.. Hydro setups take more of height space then potted plants..hydro cost more money to set up...if you leave town a novice friend can tend to potted plants easier than hydro...if pump goes out while your at work and you have a fill to drain set up your plants will dry up quickly...you have to clean and care for the hydro setup through whole grow... I believe I could go on and on...

Looks cool tho...


My $.02

[Green75]

Yea man I put them on a leash and trot them around town..
It's the thing to do...

[Burny]

Cool. I don't guess that has quite caught on around here yet but I'll be watching for it.

[Tika]

I second Green75's comment. I walk my plants from veg to kitchen and from flower tent to kitchen.they are hand fed and groomed on a cart so I can turn them 360 for grooming, looking under leaves, etc. once done they are walked back. I did do airoponic spinach & lettuce out doors in a tent but they don't get to be 4 feet tall.

[Burny]

Hydro is by far better than dirt. So much easier. You don't have to buy any soil.perlite.or coco.. No dusty dirt to have to deal with. No catching of run off water to measure ph. No transplanting. I could go on and on about the negatives of dirt. Especially indoors. Not to mention the actual size of the plants. Just no comparison between hydro and dirt indoors in my opinion.

[Jason]

I did one dirt grow and one hydro. I'll never do dirt again. Indoor hydro all the way. I like the science project/lab aspects and my studio work lets me take breaks and check on the girls. Checking/adjusting pH 3+ times a day, adding water 2-3 times a day, journaling and mixing nutes is all fun. I would be bored shitless watching plants grow on their own month after month.
90 days from set up to harvest, in the winter, in a 2 x 2 x 6 space.
Quality is sooo superior to anything I've bought. My friends agree.
Of coarse, I'm a hobbyist, personal use only and grow about 2 plants at a time. If I was perusing another business model, a bunch of buckets might make sense.

[LuckyAcres]

My biggest question is how much power does it actually draw to run a hydro system for let's say 2 plants vegged for 2 months?
i tried walking my scrog once but neighbors were staring too much, felt uncomfortable...

[Green75]

Haha......

[CCisme]

Im curious on power also. Id bet that would be awkward and a tidge cumbersome lol But I havent dropped my scrogg cause Ill miss being able to take them out for full 360, watering, training and trimming, just easier for me.

[Jason]

My biggest question is how much power does it actually draw to run a hydro system for let's say 2 plants vegged for 2 months?.

Other than lights (I have two 300W LED's), I use two aquarium air pumps and a 6" diameter blower on a carbon air filter. I haven't noticed much of a power draw compared to the other things
I use in my studio. Which are all pretty lightweight power users.
I think the human energy involved vastly outweighs all the other energy.
I would guess the lights would tend to be the biggest power consumer in the set up. That is easy to control and figure out.

[NebulaHaze]

My biggest question is how much power does it actually draw to run a hydro system for let's say 2 plants vegged for 2 months

That's a great question! In hydro you also have electricity for the air pump (and water pump if you use one). This is what it would cost for one reservoir (x2 if you're growing each plant in a separate reservoir):

Hydroponic Pumps and Accessories @ $0.25/kWh

Amounts are for if the pumps are kept on for 24 hours a day for 30 days (720 hours):

• Air pump - 3W - $0.60/month
• Water pump - 26.5W - $5/month (optional)

Other than that its the same cost as a regular grow! However, hydro plants can grow faster in the vegetative stage than in soil, which can shave off a few weeks, which definitely saves on electricity cost over the course of the grow!

Here's some info on electricity costs and here's a breakdown of yields and electricity costs for different setups. You may have more or less expensive electricity depending on where you live and that first page will help you calculate your custom costs! I hope it helps!

[LuckyAcres]

Thanks nebula! Way less than I thought. My amperage is fairly maxed but that would work...soon as I get a couple real harvest in soil first!!! Will experiment later in life with hydro

[NebulaHaze]

If you want to try something sort of "halfway" then coco coir is great! I personally think it's one of the best ways to learn about growing because it trains you for both soil and hydro at the same time I feel like I learned a lot about plants from growing them in hydro!

[CCisme]

Not bad Thank you!

[DW2]

I like hydroponic growing over soil growing because;
A. If things (pH, nutrient/supplements,or 'critters') get out of hand, you can just drain the reservoir and start fresh. I have saved my plants (usually from self induced mistakes) several times in the past.
B. It's easier to control and measure pH, PPM, and temperature of the growing environment.
C. less possibility of bugs. Soil has to have nematodes, microbes, and other life forms in it to break down material so that plants can use it.
D. It is faster than growing in soil, I can get a crop out in 19 to 23 weeks from germination.
I have tried growing in soil and found it difficult to get any decent results. Un like my Mom, She could put a popsicle stick in the dirt, and have a tree next year!

[LuckyAcres]

That's my thing, soil, been digging the earth and growing all kinds for 20+ years, hydro plants are for ponds!!!! But I'm an eager to learn new stuff kinda guy...

[alltatup]

Hydro plants for ponds!!!! I would never put my cannabis in a pond!!!

[dontknownuttin]

I like Hydro! This plant was seed germinated March 20th 2017 FAST RESULTS ARE THE NORM!.

[NebulaHaze]

Beautiful plant!

[BuddMarsh]

I do both Hydro and soil grows and enjoy both. Both have pros and cons, but once you have a few grows under your belt you figure out ways to address the cons.

Example: This applies to me and most other people will not have this issue. Having good soil shipped to the house is costly so instead I compost and make my own soil, super soils and teas. Plants are happy and added about 3 minutes of 'extra" work a day to spin and feed the compost.

Example: For hydro getting to plants can be tough in a tent. Two ways to address this is put the plant on a lazy Susan so you can spin the plant around to get to all sides, or use the two bucket method. With the two bucket method you just need to make sure all hoses run only thru the bucket and not the lid and any training hooks are attached to the lid. Simply pick up the lid and plant place on top of the other bucket outside the tent. This makes trimming, taking pics and charging water easier.

I do find going way a little easier with hydro when it comes to watering. Premix the water and tell the person to add water to the tank till the level comes up to the line on the water level tube. If you do a complete water change just before you leave you can be gone 7 to 14 days. For soil what is dry can mean different things to people, so I just have them water a set amount and hope I picked the right amount and schedule.

I feel everyone should try hydro once just so you can see the roots grow, it is so amazing.

[NebulaHaze]

Great write-up! I love hearing from growers who have tried both

[CCisme]

Thanks that gives me a few ideas,

[BuddMarsh]

I have always wondered if like soil the size of the growing container will affect the size of the plant.

[NebulaHaze]

It does! In soil the size of the pot definitely limits the size of the plant. It's less so in coco, but in hydro you can have really big plants with a relatively small amount of root space because it all stacks on top of each other.

[Joker]

My first hydro sold me on the dwc method, for me the pros far out weigh the cons.

[gbauto]

In the past year I've had a couple of indoor RDWC hydro grows and an outdoor grow. I cobbled up my first system based on Nebula's guide and had pretty good results-main difference this year is improving drain fittings and plumbing revisions. I'm in the process of finishing up building a couple of COB arrays to replace my blurple lamps and I'll do a major rebuild on the room layout this summer to improve access for me getting to the plants-having a artificial leg is a bitch sometimes.

[NebulaHaze]

Can't wait to see it, the COB arrays sound impressive!

[BuddMarsh]

Please post about your COB array. If I ever get to expand my inside grow space I would like to build a COB array and would love to learn from what you did. :-)

[LuckyAcres]

Hydro plants for ponds!!!! I would never put my cannabis in a pond!!!

Pot in a pond that is just silly talk allta! Nah that was just landscapers humor

[alltatup]

I know; I was just making fun of landscapers humor. But maybe someday we WILL have cannabis ponds...

[LuckyAcres]

Hey we're a sensitive bunch you know! 😘😎

[Ballisticsuk]

Hydro is only as good as the water source you provide.
RO or zero tds water makes a massive difference
Soil will buffer crap water to some extent hydro won't if your starting ec is more than 0.2 then opt for RO

[Bowhunterwoody]

Dude. 6 yr old thread.wtf