First Hydro, Just a Couple Resivoir Questions

A friend of mine is planning his first hydro grow and doesn't have internet access but wanted me to ask a couple questions:

1.) Do you have to have a lid on the resivoir?

2.) What temperature should the resivoir water be?

3.) A guy with 3 years of experience that is helping him get started recommended feeding the plants for 15 minutes every 2 hours, but my friend has read conflicting articles, some say every hour or as little as every 4 hours. What's the best schedule to keep for feeding the plants?

Thanks for any help that anyone can provide!

1. You should. The rez shouldn't get light. Algae can grow. And small gnomes.
2. 60-70ish if I'm not mistaken. Wait for further input from Brainiac Growers below.
3. That feeding schedule, I'm assuming it's either E&F (ebb and flow) or drip. I haven't grown with either, so I'm not sure. Experimentation, with your custom setup, would be key. Again, which setup are you refering to? E&F? or drip?

Best!

-turtle420 :cool:
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turtle pretty much nailed it....the size of your potters will decide how often to water.15 min. every 2-4 hours.no water during night cycle.

Dive:stoned:

don't water the last hour to two hours, of light, if you can, and you can water just before the lights turn back on.

yes 15 mins is the most common and preferred feeding duration, for aero, drip, or whatever else

i would feed once ever other hour of light, adding or subtracting feedings as plants need.

65*f is optimum res temp, 70*f is max comfort zone

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Originally Posted by dejayou30

1.) Do you have to have a lid on the resivoir?

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Yes. Otherwise you'll have issues with algae and other contaminants.

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2.) What temperature should the resivoir water be?

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65-70F is ideal. Too much lower than that and the plants won't drink. Too much higher and you get algae problems.

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3.) A guy with 3 years of experience that is helping him get started recommended feeding the plants for 15 minutes every 2 hours, but my friend has read conflicting articles, some say every hour or as little as every 4 hours. What's the best schedule to keep for feeding the plants?

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This is entirely system dependent. The bottom line is that your roots need to get some oxygen, but you don't want them to dry out either. A system that has the roots in a relatively air tight environment where the humidity stays around 100% will require less frequent watering/feeding than a system that is less air tight. So make sure you're using a schedule that's appropriate to whatever system you have.

I believe (90% sure) that it is an ebb and flow system. The water is pumped from the res into two trays holding 5 plants each. Each plant has its own basket of clay pellets which is probably 4 inches across. Thanks for all the input so far, and kep it coming!

So my friend told me he has some anti-algae chemical for the reservoir, so does he still need a lid? The only reason he doesn't have a lid is because the tub he is using was given to him and whoever gave it to him didn't give him the lid and he doesn't want to go buy a whole new tub just to get the lid. Would it be possible to use a piece of plywood or something in substitution?

He should still cover it, and try to stay away from wood it doesn't work well with hydro setups.

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Originally Posted by Divestoned

I think admitting that you sell drugs is a good idea in this case....nice work.

and for the others you cant make hash w/a male.

Dive

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Hello Divestoned, You made the above comment in a thread that is now closed and I wanted to comment back as you are incorrect. You Absolutely can make Hash with Males. Yoy but extract the THC and block dry with a bit of powered smoke and you get black hash. Extraction can be done via alcohol reflux or butane pressure wash. The Hash from these methods actually have a higher thc % than rack and scrape methods..

Just had to add my two cents..

Q