Help!!! First grow attempt using C.A.T.

[420love]

hello grasscity, 1st post cherry popper here.... lol tried to ask countless times and they aren't very helpful on icmag.com...

I want to do the continuous aeration technique with 6 plants what size tub would I need? I have a tub right now it's 30 gallon rubbermaid roughneck but I dont know if it's big enough for all the roots .... They sell a 50 gallon for $18.95 at a store near me, which is huge... biggest storage container i've ever seen - do you think this is overkill or should I just invest in it? My continuous aeration technique is just a simple system with vinyl tubing ran around the inside perimeter and threaded sprinklers spraying water on the medium and roots. It's based off the sunleaves garden of ease deluxe, the exception is I utilize airstones w/ a pump - at the bottom i seat the dual airstones on each side so when the roots are in the water they get air as well. Currently the tub I have uses only 3 inch net cups, and has 6 holes... I really dont know if it's big enough!!! i don't know if 3 inch net cups are big enough! theoretically the roots should just grow through them OK... Rather than worry about the roots getting intensely tangled and clogging the pump/blocking the sprinklers, maybe it's best to go overkill and get the 50 gallon, I will also need to return my pump to the hydroponics store and get a more powerful one! The net cups are only 3 inches - theyre pretty small... I notice people seem to use bigger cups, does it matter? and the tub is only 16inches deep - seems small. The 50 gallon I Was checking out is really deep and wide, plenty of room for root growth without them getting cramped. It might be overkill - What do you guys think? It's the Sterilite brand 50 gallon tub

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwynia...57594254162901/

Heres some pictures to give you an idea of what im working with, this is NOT my exact system... I am using a square grid of mini sprinklers threaded into vinyl tubing aimed at each net cup to splash water on them. My main #1 concern - is this tub too small for 6 plants - #2 are 3 inch net cups too small or does the size not matter? The clones I'll be getting have tiny rockwool cubes that'll fit in the 3 inch cups no sweat, and my medium is SUNLEAVES silica stone which can pack around the sides of the cubes nicely as compared to those huge hydroton balls. Silica stone is small white pebble rocks - and they reflect light better!


THOUGHTS, opinions, etc... do i need the 50 gal tub or is it overkill? i can always protect the pump with a form fitted piece of plastic. I had a good idea to enclose the pump in drain pipe or something a small piece to protect it


very similar to what im working with, i think that's the same size tub but mine seems deeper, also only 3 inch cups not the size he's using


OK i guess the question REALLY boils down to, how big do the roots get per plant? PErsonally I can see them clustering up massively in the resevoir and there wont be enough nutrients for all of them... I think the 50 gal tub might be nessacary. Do the roots get really LONG or can they be tamed into a 'fro' so to speak? Maybe I will use 3.5 inch drain pipe at the bottom so they cluster up in it, forming an even 'fro' i don't know. I just want this to work this is my 1st system!!!!!

Heres a picture of a flowering plant's roots in a dwc bucket:
http://www.1stmarijuanagrowerspage.com/8-1943-r.jpg

Doesn't seem too intensely big... Can anyone tell me how massive the roots on these things get?

JUST TOOK A MEASUREMENT from top to bottom this tub is 16 inches deep - is it gonna work? I imagine it will need to be half full of nutrient solution

[420love]

bump can i get a response please? i see other ppl getting li ke 20 replies in 1 night yet i get 0.....

k i guess i need to work on my summary/question/concerns a bit so that the general population can understand...

Heres simple for all you ppl out there:
HOW F*CKING BIG DO THE ROOTS GET?

Thanks, and you are feeling a result of about 6 hours of frustration waiting for a reply to this. I can't start growing till I work this out...

[kinky19777]

Sorry I have no experiance in growing like this....But roots do get very Big from the pics I seen . Its always better to have too much than not enough when it comes to the tub. Good luck and hopefully someone with more understanding can help you.

[coldy13]

Depends how tall you want to grow them. Need at least a gallon for every foot. So 6 plants, 4' tall would need at least 24gal.

[Igrowtomato]

The bigger the space the bigger the plants. For 20 bucks go with over kill you can let your plants decide how big to get. If you got the space and the secrecy go for it.

[420love]

sounds ok i'll just elevate the sprayer grid a bit closer to the top...that way if the roots are demanding i can fill the thing up 24 gallons ok ill just use a half-sawed big gulp cup to encase the pump then zip tie some cloth around it to keep the roots out .. ill post more pics here when&how i do this... so yea sounds cool im not growing them 4 feet but im LST and scrogging... theyll be a wide canopy

I'm considering trying aeroponics sometime, I'll be watching this thread closely to see how it works for ya. Good luck man

[mike827]

I personally steer away from aeroponic setups that use sprayers, because I am too paranoid about them getting clogged. Have you thought about making your setup a giant DWC operation? Just fill the reservoir about 1" above the net pot line until the root comes out, then lower the water level to about 1" below it. Just make sure you add one or two more air pumps so the roots don't drown.

Or, if your dead set on aeroponics, go get some ultrasonic foggers and use those instead. They break down the nutrient solution to 5 micron sized particles, which is even more effective than sprayers.

Lastly, when it comes to growing, DON'T BE CHEAP! Don't stress over a $20.00 tub, don't skimp on lighting or ventilation, etc. The biggest problem I see with grows on this site is people being cheap about their grows. If you don't have the money, or don't want to spend it, you probably shouldn't grow, because you'll just be wasting money when you can't bring your crop to harvest.

Your grow seems promising so far, keep us posted!

[420love]

thanks, i may just use 5/6 for flowering and the 6th hole will just be a veg mom or something

[420love]

or maybe ll just re make my system, and buy all new stuff when i get paid.. and use this tub as a clone/veg area... the big one will be for full sizers since i can technically grow 12 plants under prop 215. or maybe i just wont grow them out too big, scrog/lst them to a good size and im not that cheap i spent $194 on a light, and about $70 all together with the nutes and materials for this, plus PH testing kit, and all else... id say im close to or over $300 now on this. hence the need to not want to spend any more than i have to on this =)

[aerohead]

this is a cool lookin set-up 420. similar to mine but a bigger scale. i had a separate reservoir for the roots as well that did not completely contain them. the roots definitely need a lot of space. i am definitely interested in seeing how this grow works cause its like a aero/DWC system, which is what mine ended up as. so it should work great. dont worry about the sprayers clogging. it was something i worried about at first but havent had any problems with them at all. anyways good luck. ill definitely be following this grow.

-peace

[420love]

ya i just figured it out today it's kinda theoretically impossible for them to clog, because roots cannot grow against water pressure... they will maybe snake or curl near the sprayers but they will not clog them at all... and i moved the sprayers near the top of the container as close as i could to the lid so i can fill the resevoir full of nutrient water.. I am only gonna grow maybe 5/6 with it and keep 1 spot free for ph testing or maintenece w/o having to open the chamber and disrupt the plants. this is a prototype system, if it works out well I will come up with plans on how to build your own!!! I feel like an engineer

[mike827]

The roots are not what causes clogging, its a buildup of nutrients and other salts that frequently clog sprayers.

[aerohead]

supposedly the salt will build up in the sprayers. ive seen no evidence of this on my set-up. it seems that if you have a high power pump they shouldnt clog. ill pull apart my manifold after i re-veg and see if there is any build up in there.

[mike827]

Thanks for checking it out for me \

But I have a question for you aeroponic growers:

What happens when the roots hit the water? now its like a regular DWC bubbler setup, so whats the point?

I get that until the roots hit the water they are hanging in air so it's more air than a bubble bucket but what about when it dips in?