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I have been growing for several years now and have decided I want to try a hydroponic system. I have done some research, but am looking for some ideas for a set up. I have a bathroom I never use, so I was thinking about making it into a grow room, using the bathtub as part of my hydro system. I have never set up a hydroponic system before, is the bathtub a good place for one? This is a first for me, so any info on the setup of a system would be great! Thanks for any input.
the bathtub sounds like a good idea. that way you'll never have to worry about drainage issues of your res. simply pull the plug and off it washes into the tub (that is, if you don't intend on recycling the solution). i take it your bathroom has an exhaust fan? the problem with those is that they are generally far too weak for a hydro grow, so you might want to consider upgrading it. and having your water supply near the grow environment can't hurt either. but you should be more specific with what you intend to grow. how many plants? whether or not you're going sog or scrog? you can also use the bathroom cabinent under the sink as a clone/veg area, with the rest of the bathroom designated for flowering. mind you i have very little experience, but just thinking about it intuitively, the bathroom sounds like an ideal growing area. i'd like to help you out but you'll have to be more specific. just think about it, almost ANY indoor environment is suitable for growing as long as you have the RIGHT EQUIPMENT. what's your budget? things to consider...later
I am wanting to go the SOG route, starting with 2 clones and introducing 2 new clones into the system every month or so, eventually harvesting a couple plants a month and replacing with clones(dont want to get to many plants, just enough to support my habbit:jointsmile:). As of right now I have 1 400w HPS lighting system and 1 400MH lighting system. Both would be in the new grow room. I will be buying another 400w combo light for my mothers which are in their own room. I have an old phototron that is great for starting youngsters in. So I think ive got the lighting covered. So what kind of hydro system do you all recommend for a beginner hydrogrower? As far as my budget goes, I dont want to spend a ton of money, just enough to set up a home made system.
I'm currently doing my first hydro, its a constant drip system using a 35gal rubbermaid rez. I like it alot, the plants are growing strong as hell. using the tub is a great idea IMO. i flooded my floor once due to a faulty hose, so being in a tub would solve that. a lot of people say that DWC is the easiest way to get into hydro, you might want to look that way. my biggest issue is with overcrowding, i wish my plants were in containers so i could space them out and move them around more.
it sounds to me like you've got plenty of lights so thats good. i wouldn't think you'll have to spend too much money, i'd bet you can get some containors and hydroton, pumps, hosing, and ph up/down for $100.
good luck
farmerguy, the bathroom sounds great, the tub sounds even better... you got your drainage, your water for refills and res changes already there. I'd kill for just a sink in my grow space... if your just wanting to grow a few clones at a time You could go with ebb n flow sog...you can put together a system for cheap. and the 400 watt hps and mh would fit in the tub surround nicely..panda film on the walls AAAAAH I can see it know... I want pics of this thing put together...let me know if you need any help if you go with ebb n flow I've got some experience w/ it..but there are others who know more about the DWC.. I'm actually setting up a DWC system myself
Later D:S5:
I was actually thinking of doing the DWC setup, using the tub as the reservoir. What do you guys use to keep your plants aflot? The write up that I read says to use styrofoam but Im not sure if that will work very well. Plus it will be awfull hard to find a piece of styrofoam big enough for my tub, its one of those big oval shaped tubs with full wall mirrors around it. Anyone have any ideas on how to go about this? Should I just make a reservoir and set it in the tub? Just looking for some more ideas. Heres the link to the write ups I have found on different systems just so you know what im looking at. Simply Hydroponics - System types
Thanks
Any of the large Box stores will carry foam large enough to cover your tub
Ok so I decided to go with 5 gallon buckets inside the tub, I will be doing the DWC setup. I think I got everything I will need to start my venture into growing hydroponicly, tell me if I got everything I should need to start learning. For nutrients I went with General Hydroponics Flora series Micro, Bloom, and Gro, a gal. of each(I assume I just fert. according to their specs?). I got 2 GH ph control kits, 20L of hydroton, and 5 1/2" heavy duty net cups. I also ordered a TDS tester, although Im not exactly sure what it is for. It tells you how much nutrients you have in your system or what exactly? I suppose you just add fresh water or more nutrients to adjust to the proper lvls? I found somewhere that the readings should go from 500-600 as younglings up to 1000ppm at heavy flowering then back down to 400 last 2 weeks, does this sound correct? I figured I would get a digital ph tester a little bit later down the line. So do I have everything covered?
FG, you could get 4x8 sheets of foam isullation at Home Depot or Lowes...
If going DWC are you gonna recirc the buckets with a res...
The tds pen tells you the ppm of the salts or how much electricity can be conducted in the nutrient solution...As for how many ppms to use at any given stage of plant growth, is dependent on the specific strain..So I'd say just start off lower than what the bottle says and go up gradually with the nutes, watch the plants let them tell you if their starving, give em more. If their burning then your given them too much...
Experience with the strain your growing is the only way you'll find that sweet spot for how much nutes to give that given strain...Just remember to keep records of what you gave each different strain you grow for future reference
sorry for the long ramble..hope this helps
D
I wasnt planning on recirculating the water, mainly because Im gonna have different strains and plan on having setting it up where im harvesting about once a month so each set of plants would be at different stages. Is it important to recirculate? If so I might have to rethink. As far as my earlier post goes does it sound like I got everything I need to get started? Thanks for the input!
FG, recirculating the buckets makes it easier to control the amount of ppm in each bucket as well a the ph, keeping them stable in each bucket...
if your not recirculating then its a big hassle topping off and managing all the buckets.. it's not extremely necessary but I don't know anyone who has made the modifications and not felt like it was the one of the best things they could do. And I also know people who haven't made the mods to the w/f's and are still having troubles...
In my opinion I'd drill out the holes to fit 3/4 inch ebb n flow outlets and daisy chain each bucket together with black tubing, w/ a res, but that's just me...
. Have a look at the W/F dwc club thread it will help you out. I'm currently building a recirc DWC with 10 gallon buckets
hope this helps Farmer Guy
Later D:S5:
I went shopping today to get everything I think I will need to put together a recirculating DWC system. I bought a 18 gal. rubbermaid type of reservoir(plan on having 3 five gal. buckets), with 2 drains with shutoff valves, one to go to the buckets and one so I can drain it easy into my tub. I got 3/4" black hose to run from the res. to the buckets and fittings to tie them all together. I also got a submersiable water pump, and I have a question: Do I just set this in the bottom of my bucket with plants growing or do I need to have it in its own bucket so roots wont get tangeled up in it and cause problems? I couldnt find any air pumps today so tomorrow I plan on going and finding a few. Hopefully I will have this set up in a few days so I can start some test runs with it and get the kinks worked out. And I have 1 more question, I have mirrors on 2 of the walls around the tub that take up the whole wall, I dont need to worry about putting any thing like panda film over them do I? I was thinking of hanging panda film or something similar up on the other 2 sides to maxamize my light. Thanks for your input!
hey farmer,
as far as the mirrors go, i've heard nothing but negative things about them, though i have no experience with them myself. apparently they absorb light, making it an inefficient medium for reflecting light. might as well dish out the extra few dollars and place the panda film over them.
another thing you should consider is regarding your power usage. you say you'll be using 2 400W lights in your setup in the same room? that seems like a hazard, especially if your bathroom is sharing a breaker with other parts of the house. for example, the room it is attached to, or the hallway. you better fiddle around with the breakers and observe exactly how much power is divided into your separate rooms. and if necessary, borrow electricity from other rooms to supply your grow, that way ensuring a safe environment.
you seem to be on a roll and i hope your project is a success. later.
hey farmer, i was wondering if, in the future, you could maybe put your
messages into smaller bites, it's really hard to read through them.
anyway, if you come take a look at my imaginary garden, you will find
my progression from newbie at hydro like you to a somewhat more
experienced newbie. lol
i'm using DWC in a SOG so i think you'll find plenty of info you can use.
ya def check out bozos ingo. i got some good stuff off of it. be carefeul with the 5 gal buckets. they take up alot of room. you might want to look into to 2 gallon or 2.5 gallon. less water, less nutes, less space they take up. im using 2 gallon and im lovving it. just puting in my two sense. good luck
Ok so ive finally got some time to set up my new room. I have a question about the submersible pump running water back to the res., can I put it in a bucket with a plant growing or would this cause the roots to get tangled in the pump? Thanks
i don't use submersible pumps and unless you're planning on settingQuote:
Originally Posted by farmerguy
up a commercial operation, you probably don't need them either
if you read through my imaginary garden you'll see that i just use
air-pumps and air-stones to aerate my res.
you can even set up a recirculating, multi-bucket set-up with a common,
recirculating res with nothing more than a decent air pump.
i'm pretty sure it's Weedhound that has a thread on setting it up
yeah, here it is
http://boards.cannabis.com/hydroponi...ng-system.html
Alright, I just transplanted 2 clones into my new room and hydrosystem. The clones have been in for about 12 hours and they still look like they are alive, so far so good! I really appriciate your input and direction on getting started into hydro, thanks everyone.