Q's about homemade DRiP SYSTEM/Plant Care

Hey guys, i got some questions on growing with a homemade drip system. Here's some info on the setup.

I constructed a drip system that will hold 2 net pots containing hydroton. the res contains 1gallon of water that is being pumped by a very small fountain pump i bought from home depot. i don't remember how many Gallons per hour this thing pumps but its the smallest one they had. anyways, the water pumps up a foot long tube which has 2 spouts with 1/4" black rubber tubes supplying water, one through a dripper, the other through a 90 degree elbow that connects to the tube. As of now I am in the SEEDLING CYCLE in Rockwool so the RW hasn't even touched the hydroton yet. well, that's my setup, if u guys need other factors to answer my questions please let me know, i need as much info to grow these babies right the FIRST time :)

1. After how many sets of fans should i transfer the Rockwool cube to the hydroton-filled net pot? the net pot is about 5" in diameter. or until how many inches should i transfer?

2. Feeding schedule; how often do i feed and how long should i leave the dripers on? the light cycle i have setup is a 18/6 light cycle starting at 8am.

3. Can i leave the dripper flowing right near the root or at the edge of the pot?

4. For these 2 Plants, do i need an Air pump/Air Stone with only 1 Gal of water?

i think thats about it lol sorry if i'm precise i actually just had a blunt with my girl for our 4 year anni haha:smokin:. ANYWAYS, thanks for your time guys! looking forward to some helpful insight!

-highdogs25

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Originally Posted by highdogs25

1. After how many sets of fans should i transfer the Rockwool cube to the hydroton-filled net pot? the net pot is about 5" in diameter. or until how many inches should i transfer? The seedling is ready to be transferred to the pebbles once the roots are starting to come out of the RW....

2. Feeding schedule; how often do i feed and how long should i leave the dripers on? the light cycle i have setup is a 18/6 light cycle starting at 8am. Nutrients have to be available to the roots at all times. Start off around 300ppm's when you transfer over to the pebbles. Then increase your ppm's by 100 each week to build nute strength tolerance. The only time you want to use plain water is while flushing. You can leave the drippers on 24/7.

3. Can i leave the dripper flowing right near the root or at the edge of the pot? Place the dripper about an inch away from where you place the RW....

4. For these 2 Plants, do i need an Air pump/Air Stone with only 1 Gal of water? Your root zone will benefit from the added air....

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1 gallon for 2 plants is probably going to give you problems in the later stages of flowering. Might want to think about using at least 1-1.5gal per plant, at the very least....

Hope this helps....

CGI::::::

CGI Thanks man it helps a lot! but when i do transfer is it ok to completely submerge the rw into the hydroton or do i leave some rw above surface? i see a lot of different methods some people just place the rw block right on top of the hydroton and some bury it..

update on the SEEDLINGS-one seed case just popped off and the first baby leave sets look green and healthy :) the other is in the process of popping off i'd say by the end of the day it'll be off.

Yeah, you can place the cube right on top, buried half way or bury it so the top of the RW cube is flush with the top layer of pebbles, the choice is yours. I wouldn't completely bury it though....

You can also make a drip ring using a T with some tubing. A drip ring would be the best method of saturating the net pot with pebbles, as opposed to having it drip in one area or side....

(I can't wait to go back to hydro)....(sigh)........

CGI::::::

alright..i'll try one on top of the hydroton and one halfway, and see which one progresses better.

what king of grow setup do u have now?

and thanks again for your quick replies CGI quick and useful information

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Originally Posted by highdogs25

what king of grow setup do u have now?

and thanks again for your quick replies CGI quick and useful information

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I'm currently doing a small SOG in a cabinet using soil. Currently I'm in the market for a home so once I do buy, I'm going back to hydro. (Home values are expected to drop another 20% by December so might be a bit...) Right now I just don't have the space to run hydro the way I would like. Like you, I too am going to build my own drip system.

Got any pics of the drip system you built???

I'm here for ya......

CGI::::::

i see...good luck in finding ur new home! once you get ur grow started in there i'm sure it'll be fun as hell haha..and im pretty confident with the drip system it's somewhat simpler than soil to me for some reason. do u use buckets for the rez's? and sorry no pics as of now i'll post pics tomorrow as soon as i get this memory card adaptor i got a digital camera just no cord.

what stage are youre plants at if u dont mind me asking?\

Yeah, I can't wait to start building the system I have in mind. Will be a drip/NFT system with 12 sites minimum and I will be using a 15gal rubbermaid tote for my res....

This is the grow log I've been working on since March, currently less than a week away from harvesting.....-------> http://boards.cannabis.com/indoor-gr...-grow-log.html

What Nutes you using???

CGI::::::

thats since march? those are some nice plants for 2 months, what's ur expected yield all together?

I was thinking of going with the Fox Farm Grow Big and Big Bloom or Big Bud's brand of nutes...since i'm currently in the seedling stage i havent gotten any nutes, but they're next up on the to do list.

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Originally Posted by highdogs25

thats since march? those are some nice plants for 2 months, what's ur expected yield all together?

I was thinking of going with the Fox Farm Grow Big and Big Bloom or Big Bud's brand of nutes...since i'm currently in the seedling stage i havent gotten any nutes, but they're next up on the to do list.

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Yup, since mid March... Thanks... I usually get about an ounce per plant when lollipopping so hopefully that's what I get, if not I'm still freakin ecstatic about the size of the buds....thick n dense.....

Just get the nutes sooner than later.....

CGI::::::

here's a pic of the grow setup. i also got a dual bulb adaptor i'm gonna put in when my seedlings reach vegetative. the black plastic is just covering a second hole i cut just to keep dust/lint/dirt out of the tub. sorry to keep u waiting on the picture

Sweet setup!!! Just make sure your res is light leak proof and you shouldn't have any problems.... Light tends to get in through the sides of the net pots where the pebbles cannot cover so think about putting some of that reflective material over your res covering your pots.....

CGI::::::

thanks for all your help CGI :) and you're right, i'll cut some of the reflective out to layer the pebbles once its up and in use.

If you haven't already, you should consider putting a small fan in there to move air and bump the plants around, to prevent them from falling over.

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Originally Posted by polishpollack

If you haven't already, you should consider putting a small fan in there to move air and bump the plants around, to prevent them from falling over.

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oops i guess i missed it in the picture, but there's a small fan you can kinda see on the top right