My Foray into the darkside

Hello everyone,just looking for some input.I have been sitting on the fence about going hydro for some time now (almost two years).Mostly I wanted a location where I knew I wouldnt have to move everything at a moments notice.Im still not there yet but I thought I would give it try.I will not try to re-ask some of the questions that have been asked and answered on these boards before but I am sure I will as there is so much information here its possible to miss something.Ok here we go...

I had a five gallon bucket,a 6"net pot,hydroton all just laying around and thought I would take a run at setting up a dwc system in one bucket and see how it goes.I had a little runty seedling that was almost two months old and almost a foot or more shorter that its brothers and sisters.So I grabbed one of my extra dual out let pumps,a couple of air stones and get it all set up.I made the mistake of submerging the whole root system and part of the stem.In a couple of days I ended up with a flopped over plant where it had dampened off.I pulled the poor little bugger out and saw that the roots were a black slimy mess.Oh and I am going from soil to dwc,so here are some questions and again I aplogize if these are elsewhere on these boards...

A.) The roots wont dry out if I dont submerge them?How deep or shallow should the root system be?

B.)Ph-I am using GH ph down and am really dissapointed with the results.Seems as though all it does is jack the heck out of my nutrient strength and barely if at all moves my ph. (I am using RO water)

C.) I did the in water transfer...I submerged the roots until most of the dirt came off,then in water placed the roots on top of the bottom layer of hydroton them stacked up more and placed the net pot on top of the bucket.

D.)what is the percentage of hydrogen peroxide I should be using in a 5 gallon bucket?For young plants I wanted to try to keep the ppm under 400 for sure and closer to 300ppm.I didnt use hydrogen peroxide on my previous attempt.

I know I made some mistakes but it didnt really cost me anything as the stunted little bugger was having a tough time anyways.

Cloning

I built my own areo cloner a few years ago and have fair success with it.Its 92 sites with 80 some 360 sprayers.I like it as opposed to store bought ones that I have used which create way to much pressure and force imo.I used to use Olivia's cloning solution but it regularly clogged the tiny holes in the sprayer.I used just plain tap water this last time with mixed results,it took two weeks for the last of little ones to sprout roots and I had a 75% success ratio (which sucks imo,as this is about the same percentage I had in dirt or better).

A.)any thoughts,ideas,suggestions on other solutions you all have had success with in areo cloners.

I want to thank everyone in advance for your input and suggestions.I really value the input I get off from these boards as they have saved me lots of headaches,time,and most importantly money.Take care everyone and be well,but most of all be safe.

Charles the H202 you want to use is for ? I don't judge that stuff by ppms.....store bought 3% I go with 2 teaspoons a gallon and with the heavy duty 35% I use 2ml/gallon. I like my Cannazym and Rhizotonic better though......but they are much more expensive as well.

Hey Weedhound thanks for the response,I was thinking about but never used H2O2 for the oxygen it would provide.

When you were talking about ppms were you talking about the H2O2?What I was addressing in the post was how GH's PH down just jacks the heck outta my ppm/nutrient strength and really doesnt move my ph at all or very much.

I really appreciate your input and years of experience in addressing my questions.

Oh one thing I didnt mention in the post was my water temps were anywhere from 71-75 degrees,ph 6.2- 6.4 and ppms were around 300ppm until I needed to adjust my ph levels and then the ppms doubled and I only went from 6.4 down to 6.3.

Thanks again Weedhound for the input,take care and be well,and most of all be safe my friend.

I think I use Techna Flora ph up and down....moves my pppms very little and changes ph with just a bit. I've heard other folks mention they weren't happy with GH up and down as well.

Since your water temperatures are low, I think you drowned your roots even with the air stones because you went from soil to water.

You don't need to change the height of the plant in the net pot, just change the height of the water. The roots won't dry out, that's how roots work and they will take the air they are accustomed to getting in your soil environment from the air above the water line in this case.

The water should be as low as you find efficient. Thats another thread. In the meantime just keep the water level somewhere in the middle of the bucket.

Next, why are you using ph Up and Down? And don't buy into using H2O2 for extra oxygen. It's not a slow release capsule, it burns off very quickly.

And finally, if you built your own aerocloner than you need a filter. That is the spec on those spray/mist heads. That aside, you should dip your shoot into the cloning gel or solution, and the only thing you should fill the rez of your cloner with is water with a B-1 solution. How is the gel clogging your nozzles?

Thanks for the input Weedy,I appreciate your sharing your experience with me.Ill give the ph down you mentioned a try if I can find it at my local shop.

Herbie,not sure what you meant by my temps are too low,its right about the range that I have seen on every hydro board/tutorial I have ever seen and according to some mine are at the top end of temps you would want.Also its not the gel that was clogging my sprayers but a cloning solution I was using,I rinse em' out when Im done and they are fine.Thanks for the input.Take care everyone and be well.

Hey Chuck any pix or an update bro

D:jointsmile:

wait just a second. how does one 'drown' the roots when the air stones are providing plenty of oxygen to the water? I've read up on some hydro set ups that have the plant's roots completely submerged in the solution. anyone heard of the method that uses a Styrofoam lid instead of the manufacture's lid? no matter what the nutrient levels are at, the roots will always be submerged in the solution, as the styrofoam floats on top and the plants move with the foam. the reason i ask is because i think i might be headed in a tragic direction with my babies, whose roots are not yet long enough to be entirely submerged, but in a few short weeks will be. Thanks.