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There is a lot of misinformation on this thread. That being said I don't pretend to be a hydro expert, although I do have a couple of years of actual experience that I will share here, to try and set a few things straight. My experience is only with DWC(deep water culture) and Aeroponics( growing roots in air)
Hydro is not a hard way to grow. I think it is easier. I am lazy, and I could'nt handle moving all the dirt necesary to grow indoor.
Learning to grow hydro is just as easy as learning to grow in dirt. In fact it may be easier in hydro, because it grows faster, and therefore you learn faster. There is some very excellent information on some of the other bulliten boards, just do a google search for cannabis culture.com, hyrdoponic, hg420.com, Aeroponics, DWC.
There are several things that you must do to have a successful hydro grow.
•You must use hydro nutrients.
There are two types of elements that plants use to grow. These are called the "Macronutrients" and the "Micronutrients".
Macronutrients are what you will find in normal soil fertilizers like miracle grow, and other soil type fertilizers.
Hydro nutes have micronutrients added in a chelated form, in the formula. Plants normally get all of their micronuttrients from the soil.
•You must buy a good digital pH meter.
Micronutrients are only available to the plant when the pH is in a specific range. This is the most important job you have as a hydro farmer, to maintain the pH. This can be a frustration for many people. The main reason the pH is unstable, is due to the grower starting off with poor water quality(tap water). You can grow with tap water. I have done it. You must let the tap water stand for 24 hours before you use it to let the chlorine gas-off, or use a chlorine filter. The most imprtant thing you must do if you use tapwater is reduce the nutrient strenght in your solution. Never use more than 50% of the recommended amount suggest by the mfg.
Most serious growers will end up purchasing a reverse osmosis machine for better water quality.
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