Im doing a bubbler grow and have a few questions

[zerocool5878]

ok I planted 10 seeds after germination into rockwool and then thats is placed in clay pellets with a wick installed.

8 spouted right away another just started to sprout like a week later so its pretty far behind, Is that going to be a weak plant for sure or should i just see what happens.

each of the 8 plants that spouted are 2-3 inches tall standing straight up not like others i see where they cant stand and where just streching to the light. They do seem tall to me. I have had the lights 2-3 inches away from them. is this normal to be this tall so fast they are about 5 days old. I thought that they were really short like a 4 leaf clover. anyway should i pile up some clay pellets around them to make them even more secure? I am using 3 shoplight fixtures so its 6 48" t12 bulbs at 6500k.

next is watering I have been watering twice a day. Is that enough? The hydrostore said not to turn the bubbler on yet until they are 2 weeks spouted. true or not true.

The hydro store said that I should get when im ready to turn on the bubbler I think it was sensi veg part a and b anyone use that? He said it has like rot rot preventer and everything. He also said that he recommends this stuff called voodoo its like $95 BOTTLE but he said it works wonders on roots. makes them like double the size and he showed me polorids of his plant with and without it and there was a big difference. If its good i will get it. Anyone ever use it?

The last question has to do with leaves fist they grew a set of flat leaves, then a set of regular leaves and now they are just starting to grow another set on top of those. my question is alot of people have said you don't use nutes or anything until you have 4-5 sets of leaves. Are the flat ones counted? Are the ones growing in now my 2nd set or 3rd?

zerocool5878 Reviewed by zerocool5878 on 11-16-2007. Im doing a bubbler grow and have a few questions ok I planted 10 seeds after germination into rockwool and then thats is placed in clay pellets with a wick installed. 8 spouted right away another just started to sprout like a week later so its pretty far behind, Is that going to be a weak plant for sure or should i just see what happens. each of the 8 plants that spouted are 2-3 inches tall standing straight up not like others i see where they cant stand and where just streching to the light. They do seem tall to me. I have had the Rating: 5

[SecondNut]

ok I planted 10 seeds after germination into rockwool and then thats is placed in clay pellets with a wick installed.

8 spouted right away another just started to sprout like a week later so its pretty far behind, Is that going to be a weak plant for sure or should i just see what happens.

It will probably be a runt, but give it a shot, sometimes they catch up.

each of the 8 plants that spouted are 2-3 inches tall standing straight up not like others i see where they cant stand and where just streching to the light. They do seem tall to me. I have had the lights 2-3 inches away from them. is this normal to be this tall so fast they are about 5 days old. I thought that they were really short like a 4 leaf clover. anyway should i pile up some clay pellets around them to make them even more secure? I am using 3 shoplight fixtures so its 6 48" t12 bulbs at 6500k.

No, don't put pellets around them, use a stick for support. Rocks/pellets/etc will crush the stem even if you don't see it happen.

next is watering I have been watering twice a day. Is that enough? The hydrostore said not to turn the bubbler on yet until they are 2 weeks spouted. true or not true.

Twice a day may be a little much, especially if they're still in their rockwool. Also, if you've got water already in your bubbler and it's just sitting there with no air, that's not good. Turn on your bubbler and run a wick (cotton string is ok) into the water.

The hydro store said that I should get when im ready to turn on the bubbler I think it was sensi veg part a and b anyone use that? He said it has like rot rot preventer and everything. He also said that he recommends this stuff called voodoo its like $95 BOTTLE but he said it works wonders on roots. makes them like double the size and he showed me polorids of his plant with and without it and there was a big difference. If its good i will get it. Anyone ever use it?

For $95 a bottle, it better be *real* voodoo and make someone fall in love with me, or kill someone I don't like, or raise me from the dead.... :jointsmile:

Anyway, that's way overkill if this is your first hydro. Start simple, find what works, go from there.

The last question has to do with leaves fist they grew a set of flat leaves, then a set of regular leaves and now they are just starting to grow another set on top of those. my question is alot of people have said you don't use nutes or anything until you have 4-5 sets of leaves. Are the flat ones counted? Are the ones growing in now my 2nd set or 3rd?

Those little, first, flat leaves are not true leaves. You've got 2 sets of true leaves.

[zerocool5878]

Thanks for your help.

As for the water just sitting there. It is empty I have just been watering the rockwool. However I picked one of them up today and found that there is roots coming out the bottoms most of them r short but there was one that was bigger then the sprout over 3" long from the bottom of the rockwool.

I went back to the hydro store today. and told them what I had going on and the guy said everything sounds like its doing well.

Here is what he said to do tonight. He said hook up the bubbler and mix 1oz of part A and 1oz of part B Sensi Grow Veg. in 5 gallons of R/O water and he said fill the tub to where the baskets sit about 1/3 in the water. He said to put the bubbler on a timer to come on for 15 mins once a day. Change the solution every week and then in a week or two once there is 4 or 5 leaves set the bubbler to come on every 3 hrs for 15 mins.

As far as PH he said test it everyday and adjust it up and down if needed to keep it about 6.5.

I just want to make sure that all the info I have gotten from them is accurate.

[SecondNut]

Sounds a little heavy on the nutes for just starting with. I've never used the Sensi stuff, so I can't say for sure. For hydro, TDS is almost as important as a PH. Get yourself a TDS or EC meter*, you can find them online for $20. Look around for a TDS chart for a hydro schedule. There are different schools of thought, what I do is start out with around 400ppm and increase it about 100ppm per week until it's 1400ppm at 10 weeks, but that's just me. Do a search for "lucas formula" for something simple to follow.

Honestly, I'd use half what he recommended until you get your TDS meter, just to be safe.

I don't understand what he's telling you about only running the bubbler for 15 minutes a day. No, if you've got a bubbler system that sucker needs to be on 24/7, especially when roots are in the water. In a bubbler, the bubbles oxygenate the water and hit the roots with air so they aren't completely surrounded by water all the time. You almost can't have too much, but you can sure have too little.

And 6.5 ph is too high, in fact that's the upper acceptable end for hydro. Keep it slightly under 6.0, aim for 5.8 or 5.9.

I don't know dude, sounds like that guy is not giving the best advice. Maybe he's a soil grower or something. Buy your stuff there, but come here for advice.

[*] side note: there's really no such thing as a true PPM meter. All EC/TDS/PPM meters measure EC and only EC. When it says it's a TDS or PPM meter, it's really just an EC meter that automatically converts EC to TDS or PPM.

[Doc 007]

Sounds like the guy is mixing up his setup. You run a bubbler 24/7

1ML Superthrive per gallon is a great seedling mix for the first week or two then I just use this schedule: http://www.generalhydroponics.com/ge...irculating.pdf

It sounds like your store is just trying to sell you what is most expensive. For massive root growth us this: BioBizz Root Juice

Too keep everything free of rot or bad bacteria: Hygrozyme Portal by Sipco

[zerocool5878]

oh man well im gonna tell you what I did and hopfully its not too bad.

The bottle of A and B mixtures have a chart of ppms the lowest on the chart is 600 ppms and the would be adding 1.38 ts per gallon I did 1.2 I did the math and its about 522ppms I added. Should I dump it and remix it to like 400 or maybe work it out mathmaticly and take out x amount and replace with r/o water to compencate?

I turned the bubbler on 24/7 like you guys said. The funny thing is the guy there saw the bubbler that I made and still gave me that advice. I thought about questioning him b/c I thought that it should be 24/7 or 18/6 but I figured he knows his bussiness, Oh well I will just be coming here for advise now.

Im going to look today on ebay for a ppm meter cuz the cheapest they have them at the hydrostore is like 150

thanks alot for your help.

[herbie the love bud]

Ok, first of all about the nutes, you are probably still a little young for them right now. If they start to get a little jaundiced (yellow) overall then is a good time to start the nutes. Later is better than sooner.

Without a TDS meter you cannot do any calculations. First of all because you don't know what your base of the water is. Is it distilled water with 0 ppm? Is it tap water with 300 ppm? Did you add CalMg?

So while you don't have a meter, do this: Get distilled water. Add a tsp per gallon of CalMg. Then do 1/4 strength of 600 ppm for your nutes. If for instance the Sensi label says add xxx tsp/tbsp per gallon for 600 ppm, do one quarter of that.

Now watch for a few days and see if you get super yellowed tips. That is a sign of too strong nutes. If that happens empty half your rez and top it off with more distilled water.

Once you get your meter, come back for more advice. The next step will take a meter.

Luck man.

[zerocool5878]

I am a firm beiliver of RO over Distilled. I have been in the hobby of saltwater reef tanks for years and IMO there is a big difference in quality. I only use water directly from my local aquarium which is actually RO/DI Its basicly lab quality water.

I ordered a ppm meter I will post when it comes in.

[SecondNut]

I am a firm beiliver of RO over Distilled. I have been in the hobby of saltwater reef tanks for years and IMO there is a big difference in quality. I only use water directly from my local aquarium which is actually RO/DI Its basicly lab quality water.

I ordered a ppm meter I will post when it comes in.

That's great that you've found a source of known high-quality RO. I hadn't thought of asking the local aquarium for some, great tip! I'm going to call first thing on Monday. How much do they charge you for it?

You're right about RO vs distilled. The problem with distilled is that the quality can be all over the place between bottles/brands that say "distilled". Some is chemically purified, some is filtered, some is RO, some is processed 3 or 4 ways, etc, etc... If I'm not mistaken, the only requirement (in the USA) for water to be labeled "distilled" is that, at some point in the process, it is vaporized then condensed. There is no minimum ppm or purity requirement. But, that said, even the cheapest distilled water is better than using tap, IMHO (unless you've got some damn good tap water).

One final thing... you might want to ask to speak to the owner of your hydro shop some day and tell them they have someone giving completely bad advice. Trust me, they don't want their customers to be losing crops (which will happen if people start to follow that guy's "advice"). You have to actually have something growing to continue to buy stuff from the shop, right? Anyway, just a thought.

[Charles U Farley]

Hey Zero,
Yup pet stores and aquarium stores are great places for RO units,pumps and other stuff youll need.Sounds like you are on top of things,if I can Ill give you my two cents on the nutes you are using.Yes I have bought the 4L bottle of Voodoo for almost 200$,etc etc.I think the AN stuff works but is very overpriced but then again maybe you get what you pay for.That being said I also think their charts and suggested use is way way to high.I basically use the root stuff for vegging and cut it out when I move the girls into the flowering room,AN's chart calls for two weeks of the expensive root stuff into flowering.Im sure they know more than I do but I also think its a way to get the average grower to spend more money on their nutes.I go way way on the low end of everything they suggests,and the comment you got earlier in the post about ppm's being a bit high for your little ones is spot on.Its easy to add more if you see they are yellowing out a bit,but if you burn em' or fry em' that is hard to take back and will set you back either weeks or on your yields.Easy does it is a great way to think about it.I take notes on everything I do so that I can look back if I have to and see if I made a bone headed decision in regards to nutes if the plants are in distress. I dont really want to get into a discussion about the merits of certain nutes and companies,I just responded because I have used what you are and was hopeful my post would be helpful.Post some pics of your gals as Id love to follow along and see how everything turns out for you.I am probably a month or so away from making my own bubbler setup so I will be watching,take care,be well,and most all be safe.