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Why Hydro?

TheKieftan

TheKieftan

New member
After months of being on this forum and browsing threads for mistakes I can learn from and avoid I’ve learned many things one of which is that hydro exists and that it seems to be very complicated you have to use special nutes switch out water constantly watch ph constantly hydro seems to be more prone to root issues from what I’ve seen and you need twice as much equipment water pumps air pumps all sorts of hoses and I’m sure there’s other stuff I’ve forgotten my question is why is all this what looks like extra work worth it is hydro weed that much better I don’t know if I’ll ever grow hydroponically but I am very curious why others choose to over other methods
 
I chose Hydro because there are no locally available sources of soil. Water comes out of the tap. I don't find it hard at all. I have tried soil but failed miserably each time (again mostly due to lack of quality soil i think). The nutes are what they are their not special they are just for hydro. Yes there is extra equipment in terms of air pumps and stones but once your setup its all good. I can typically get a 1 to 1.5 lbs off 4 plants.
 

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I started with hydro and moved on to using soil with dry amendments. Water only after that and top dressing twice. Like you just said gotta do so much and have so much equipment. Yields are amazing in hydro so it's worth doing.
 
Yeah if you don't mind mixing nutrients, hydro can be worth it. I've done hydro, soil, and now I'm trying coco coir.

Hydro, I ran into too many root problems mostly due to heat. If you can keep the temperature down it's definitely worth the results. But you have to constantly monitor pH levels, mix nutrients, replace pumps when they quit, etc. I've found it handy to have an extra just in case.

Soil grows a bit slower in veg from what I've seen and the yields are just a little lower I feel like. Nothing major, just a little lower. On the other hand, the quality is amazing if you have good soil and it's much easier to maintain.

Coco from what I've noticed so far is just like both combined. I haven't gotten my first harvest yet so I can't compare the quality/quantity, but so far the growth is just like hydro, fast as hell. Not trying to hijack your post or anything, just showing these as an example. These are my first plants in coco. They just started flowering in this photo (a few days ago) and have been on 12/12 for about a week. I'm pretty excited about them, I feel like they're going to give me a pretty good yield. Can't wait to try them when they're done. I also haven't run into root issues, no matter what the temperature has got up to. I haven't been paying as much attention to my autoflowers in coco, but they only have a few weeks left so we'll see how they turn out. Only downside so far is having to mix nutrients and monitor pH. I feel like this is a better option than hydro because of the root issues.

Just my pros and cons from my growing experiences.
 

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Meh. The extra work to do a water change is only a minor inconvenience.

Hydro pros:
Larger yields
higher quality (supposedly)
instantly respond to plant health issues

Cons:
water changes can be a pain in the ass.
smoke is less flavorful
tough to find someone to look after it properly when you are leaving town for a week holiday
extra pumps cause a lot of noise
 
I have only grown in Hydro. I made this choice for one reason, I do not want to deal with the soil be it new or disposal of it once used. Reservoir changes are actually quite easy to do and used is easily disposed of by pouring on my lawn. I can change 3 or 4 totes in under an hour that includes the mixing of 15 to 20 gallons solution and the pumping out the old and pumping in the new. Added pics of what I use to do my changes. Just for full disclosure I only do a reservoir change as needed or once a month depending on stability of solution or health of plant. As for pump noise my room is in the basement I do not notice them even when I enter the room. The only noise I hear is a low rattle from the burners on my stove and it's caused by the exhaust fan which is mounted to the underside of the floor boards and inline with the stove. I actually don't mind it I can tell when fan comes on or goes off. I have 5 friends who grow, 2 grow outside and plant right in the ground, other 3 use soil indoors, I am only one growing in Hydro. In the end it's mostly a personal preference thing on what medium a grower chooses to grow in.
 

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And it is faster (five months to harvest)and a lot less problems with bugs and such (living soil has to have bugs (nematodes, etc).
 
With one soil grow and one DWC grow, the jury is still out for me.

At the beginning of the soil grow I was really liking it. Then I got into low pH runoff issues that required a lot of flushing. This was as much work as reservoir changes on my DWC grow.

I am currently watching MeEasy and his EarthDust grow. This looks like it would be the easiest but the negative is you can’t let the soil dry out. This makes it impossible to leave home for a couple of days.

For you hydro growers, how long are you comfortable with being away and not checking pH?

I want a system that you drop seeds in and leave it. 4 months later when you return home, you have well trimmed, properly cured buds sitting in Mason jars waiting for you!
 
I'm a soil only guy so far I prefer soil because it's way more forgiving soil will help you keep everything in line as long as you don't allow a salt buildup. Now that I switched to living soil I find it hard to even think about changing, yes it adds a week or two to your grow but it is the simplest, and cheapest (I use the same soil over and over) way I've ever grown. I don't worry about ppm or ph I haven't checked either one in months. If you see something that looks off instead of trying to remove anything from the soil you add something a tea normally with the earth dust but I will do a poop soup sometimes but then leave mother nature to do the work. The only thing other than water I use is potassium silicate, aloe vera, and just started doing a milk drench it's supposed to supercharge the soil critters but we'll have to see.

I do thIs for fun so I could get a wild hair and try anything once twice if I like it lol
 
Leaving my plants alone for a few days depends what stage of growth they are in. Veg and early/mid flower I’m ok with, but late flower (last 3 weeks) i feel i need to be there every day to check levels. For me it’s not about the pH, but about the water level and the plant running dry.
 
My DWC grow was done in a ridiculously large reservoir (35 gallons for 2 plants). Water level wasn’t the issue with leaving for a few days, but pH fluctuation was. If I try DWC again it will be with 5 gal buckets.
 
That's what i do MeEasy that's how i grow. I have well water only tested for bacteria now and then, it's always been safe and clean. I use my senses and growing knowledge. I try to use only plant base and animal poo juices, good composted soil, fresh perilite as needed. I have a hard time making changes that work in my grows. Except on lighting now that's a big bright new sun in my tent.......:)
 
Oh i wish there was a system like that for indoors. I guess depending where you live, outdoor growing in the right area is, sorta, like fire-n-forget growing. 😁 But I’m not sure how to train plants to jar themselves. 🤣
 
It’s weird, because to me, all I’ve focused on is hydro and i think soil is too complicated. What kind of dirt..too wet...too dry...what “poo juice”...how much perlite...air pots...smart pots....etc etc etc

Hydro is an air pump, a pail, H20, and four chemicals (3 nutes + 1 root additive). That’s it.
 
YYCannabis says you should be checking ph daily. I admit i rarely check mine between watering. Generally if you have a fairly large plant 3 days would be max if growing in a 5 gallon container. My current grow needs ~2-2.5 gallons every 3 days to refill the bucket. These girls are thirsty.
 
Checking daily is how to help maximize your results. Checking less often is totally fine, but i like to spot problems at the feed level before it becomes problems in the growth. Many nutrient issues that a plant displays is often from something that occurred several days ago (ie leaf symptoms are a lagging indicator of the problem). Checking every day helps to stop issues before they arise. 😉
 
I usually have a full set of extra buckets and fill/mix all the same time then just move my air stones over and put plant in new bucket. Literally takes me about 20 minutes every 7-10 days.
 
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