Stinky's Crash Course in "nOOb Hydro"... Welcome to the Darkside

[stinkyattic]

lol Rock I'll come on by.

[PharmaCan]

oh, youve completed soil grows alright,,,,,

with disasterous results, genocide queen:wtf:

please-
step away from the dirt.

:S2:

[PharmaCan]

Hey Stinky, why is this in the "Grow Log" section? Could you move it somewhere that the thread is easier to find and check back in on? Like maybe Hydro?

This is a great thread. Can't wait to se how everything turns out. :thumbsup:

PC :smokin:

[stinkyattic]

It's really a log... and there are people FAR more qualified to give hydro advice!
This is a thread about watching a drrrty girl get her fingernails clean for the first time in almost 3 years, lol.

[BUZz UK]

When are we getting some pictures then eh?

[Purpetrator]

Hey Stinky,

I am in the process of building a system almost exactly the same. Hydroton, pots, tray, drip, sog. For the same reasons you are completely reusable, relatively low maintainence, etc. I have used rockwool ebb flow before with decent results. But, IMO rockwool is high maintainence. The problem that I have been procrastinating over is using strictly hydroton? You said you are running a constant waterfall which is basically what I want to do. I had my mind set and then started reading all the mixed opinions about it. Now I'm a bit confused. Is it ok to run a constant drip or stream using the hydroton, or can you still overwater, cause root rot, etc. Then the nut's, I assume for this I would need to run a dilute concentration since it will be constantly feeding the plants. Sorry for the lengthy post. Just want some good advice.

Thanks

[stinkyattic]

Those are questions I'm going to be trying to answer too.
The reservoir water is going to be VERY VERY well aerated and I don't forsee any problems with root rot, and I'm going to treat teh nutrient solution as if it is nothing fancier than a normal NFT.

[ProGroWannabe]

I think it's really cool of you to do ALL THIS WORK for the benefit of others. How selfless is that! You know stinky, you really are a solid cornerstone of this forum. I for one am very glad your here!

[stinkyattic]

Aw shush, I'm blushing. Honestly I have a shitload of fun with it myself so I'm not sure how selfless you can really say it is.

[stinkyattic]

PICS!!!
It's up and running at 1/3 capacity.
I ended up deciding to go with a 5 gallon pail res per 2 4-foot leach trays. My pump is a little overpowered so I am replacing it wiht the small sized Eco pump- cost is very similar.
So the pics show the sawhorses that it is supported on, the system assembled 'dry' without any of the drip fittings, the res and its pumps (water and air), the drip lines, and the whole system running with plants. Chronisseur's head looks okay too but I think his hairdresser is mad at him.
I'm running the Cornucopia Plus 3-part, which as the local hydro guy puts it is a twitchy and VERY strong fert for a nOOb to start with, but FABULOUS stuff, and I've been very happy using it in soil so far... we will see. Anyway I'm using the Bloom, the Necessary Plant Energy, TopMax, and molasses pH'd to right about 6.0 according to my cheapskate liquid test kit. I'm using concentrated HNO3 as pH down and conc. KOH for up.
The pump is not on a timer- it runs 24on- and there are no emitters; I plugged the ends of the flexi, cut at 45' angles, directly into the large hole in the rapidrooter plug, whcih as you may recall, I don't use for cloning. I cut a small slit instead for that.
Plants are embedded in a quart pot of hydroton and with the pump turned off may be moved freely throughout the system, allowing for the different feeding schedules of the multiple strains I run at all times. One res will be on plain water with molasses for the final flush, one is on regular plain bloom nutes, and the middle one will contain any bloom booster (probably PK 13/14) that I will be using mid-cycle.