Nutes? Watering schedule?

First off hey to everyone really dig the site, great info. New to hydroponics, just got seeds (Went with attitude so far so good) and am germinating, will be using a flood to drain system I am pretty sure I understand everything just have a couple beginner questions. What is the best medium to use rock-wool, pellets etc.? also trying to learn more about nutes, and watering.. or I guess if the info I have is good? From what I understand I should keep ph near 6.0 for clones and seedlings but what about flowering? Is a digital ph meter the best way to go or test strips, when watering basically from what I have researched I should time how long it takes to fill and start draining the grow chamber, is that right? Should how long I feed be about two to three times a day? Is this good info? Any help is much appreciated.. Thanks

1) Rockwool holds a ton of water and for someone starting can be real easy to overwater. I had found that for me Rapid Rooters with Hydrtron was the ticket.
2)During entire grow keep ur PH between 5.8 & 6.2
3) Digital meteris best. Test strips will get you close but not exact.
4) I use to flood mine for 15 mins 4 times a day (every 6 hours)
Oh and welcome to Hydro :)

Thanks I appreciate the words of wisdom. Last quick question is co2 a must or can I get just as good grade medicine without? Thanks again

I have never used co2 and once I learned a lil bit about wtf I was doing I have had very good results. 2 main reasons I dont use co2, 1) Dont need the extra expence and 2) I never wanted to kill anyone in my house. Using co2 in the same place as animals or people is a bad thing unless you like sleeping for a very very very long time.

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Originally Posted by tinytoon

1) Rockwool holds a ton of water and for someone starting can be real easy to overwater. I had found that for me Rapid Rooters with Hydrtron was the ticket.
2)During entire grow keep ur PH between 5.8 & 6.2
3) Digital meteris best. Test strips will get you close but not exact.
4) I use to flood mine for 15 mins 4 times a day (every 6 hours)
Oh and welcome to Hydro :)

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GREAT advice tiny! I used the slabs and did a scrog. Those slabs took days almost a week to need water. Then the slabs would leach the nutes from the water and the water would drain off,but that would leave them with nute burn and over fertilizing! Damn near lost all of them! You can keep a healthier plant with hydroton pellets,or as tiny said a mix. You can just be on a tighter watering or feeding schedule.Cause they are gonna need to be tended to in a couple of days versus a maybe a week... Big difference in health and yeild!

Ga..

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Originally Posted by newtodro

Thanks I appreciate the words of wisdom. Last quick question is co2 a must or can I get just as good grade medicine without? Thanks again

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If your passive vent is from the outside into the room then you'll have about 300 ppm for free. I think you would do fine without all the bells and wistles of the industry! Follow your heart! Did you grow killer meds the first time without cO2?

Personally I dont think ur gonna need CO2, atleast not for a couple rounds anyways. This is ur first Hydro grow and believe me u dont want to be thinking about anymore things than u really have to. Hydro is not hard but it does take more of ur time, atleast until u got ur stuff dialed in. Main things in Hydro are 1) PH!!! PH can be a very lil nasty thing to learn to deal with because it will swing allot faster than soil. Good digital meter is a must and always adjust a lil at a time. 2) Aerate your water. no explanation there. 3) Make sure your pump runs. No that is not a joke.
Hydro is simple after u get the hang of it, just pay attention to ur plants and they will tell u what they need.

In my opinion, the key to a good hydro grow is good quality fert. One that has pretty much everything plants need.
Rapid Rooters all the way. If using a seed, it's possible to start the seed in the rooter. Just stick it in and keep the rooter wet. This can be hard to do if you're gone most of the day, but try it, or just germinate in wet paper towel or such.
Good hydro grows done right don't require CO2, so forget it. I commented on a thread where the grower says he's in day 19 of flower and plants are 4 feet tall. They will keep growing until they die naturally. So you might top them when they start to get tall, like 18 inches to 2 feet.
I think Tiny is right about pH at 5.8-6.2, but don't be surprised if it walks away from you every day. 6.8 can be common. Try to control it more with fert rather than pH down. Just use the meter, 500ppm when they're small and up to 1000 or more when big. This plant actually grows well in wide pH swings, but it's probably better to shoot for what Tiny said. Just don't sweat it too much.