newbie questions after research. hydro mainly

[relieF]

i've decided to use caps to promote readership. usually i don't cap.

I've done some research and decided to take the plunge into the art of growing! I'm going to live in a dorm room but what the heck its a single and my project is to build the stealthiest smallest grow cabinet. (Plus I'm installing it under my raised bed so no problem).

I've decided on hydroponics with the bubbler system, but i have a couple of questions that I couldn't get answered from the overgrow faqs. Hope you guys can help.

1) is rockwool or similar necessary for germination, and what alternatives are the easiest? If I use rockwool, how do I remove the boogers after my seeds have grown enough?

2) when must the roots touch the water? how far from the rockwool/stem must the water surface be?

3) is it possible/easy to germinate in a soil pot, then transplant to the bubbler? I mean washing the dirt away and all that.

4) i plan on using a 150W HPS for the bubbler and germinating part of the cabinet. IOW the bubbler (vegetation & flowering) will be directly under the 150W bulb, and the germination sector will be next to the bubbler compartment. Does this sound ok?

5) our dorm windows are rather small. I plan on using an ozone generator to kill the stink. Whats the stealthiest way to get the air outside? Those alluminum ducts are so obvious. If you recommend something other than an ionizer, remember that i'm on a slight budget, and my room is small with little airflow.

6) i still haven't the slightest clue about what nutes i'll be using. I will purchase a pH pen and a TDS meter, but what do i need besides water? I have some solutions for pH adjustment, i just need advice on the nute solution. Where do i get the nutes?

7) i plan on getting a fairly powerful pump, so don't worry about the amount of bubbles. But my concern is in the bubbler system itself. Will the roots not rot with all that water?

8) as i will be building a very very small growcabinet with minimal wasteage, what is the estimated minimum size for this growroom in your opinion?

8) mylar is apparently a very good light reflector and i plan to use this wherever i can. But is it ok to use mylar near the lights? Would the mylar melt? should i stick to metal reflectors near the lights?

9) whats the best way to keep my plants small but fruitful? I've heard of root trimming and side lighting etc but I need more info in general.

It turns out I have a quite a few questions, i'll ask the rest later because these are the main ones for now.

K+ for answering any of these questions.

Shit my neighborhood smells like dank weeed. maybe its just other plants but it smells like weed all over this place. i'm gonna grab a beer now.

[hippie john]

i dunno if i can answer ALL that, but here it goes......


1)i germinate in jiffy plugs.

2)usually the rockwool is submerged in water in an ebb & flow system, or NFT. i've never heard of anyone using rockwool in a bubbler.

3)as easy as they come

4)veg and flower cant be under the same bulb, vegatative state is 24hours on/0 off. flowering is 12 on/ 12 off.

5)use a carbon scrubber

6)any water soluable fertilizer. 20-20-20 and a bloom booster fertilizer.

7)as long as theres tons of bubbles and no light the roots will thrive in there. loud pump? isolate noises here

8)if you do a ScrOG the yeild will be ~2 -4 oz per sq. ft.

8)i would stick to metal reflectors, just to be safe

9)same as above ScrOG


some general bubbler info

some very well done small growboxes-

http://www.overgrow.com/edge/showthr...threadid=23443

http://www.overgrow.com/edge/showthr...hreadid=229047

http://www.overgrow.com/edge/showthr...hreadid=177003

http://www.overgrow.com/edge/showthr...hreadid=272184

http://www.overgrow.com/edge/showthr...hreadid=168097

http://www.overgrow.com/edge/showthr...hreadid=242138

http://www.overgrow.com/edge/showthr...hreadid=280658

http://www.overgrow.com/edge/showthr...hreadid=126955

http://www.overgrow.com/edge/showthr...threadid=77735

some propogation stuff-

http://www.overgrow.com/edge/showthr...threadid=18381

http://www.overgrow.com/edge/showthr...hreadid=237991

General-

http://www.overgrow.com/edge/showthr...hreadid=216604

http://www.overgrow.com/edge/showthr...threadid=77145

http://www.overgrow.com/edge/showthr...hreadid=211510

[relieF]

very nice info, thanks! ur my new best internet buddy.

[barnaby_wylde]

1,2&3. u dont have to remove the rockwool, u put the plug in the pot surounded by the clay pebbles and just let the roots that have growen out of the plug spread through the pebbles and into the water. remember to keep the rockwool above the water line tho otherwise it can hold to much water near the roots and rot them. if ur gonna grow hydro then germ hydro.

4, no it dont, keep the germing and vegging plants away from the flowerin part, mayb under a small fluro. the HPS might b to much 4 the youngesters and like john sez u need differant kindsa lite times.

[relieF]

ok, i'm keeping the germinating and flowering seperate. The problem now is transplotting from soil to hydro... john says its easy, barnaby_wylde says to stay with hydro. hm.

i've decided to use a minifridge for at least the flowering cabinet. Its precolored bright white, and of course its very very discreet. size is rather small (especially the volume inside) but i think there's enough room.

10) I bought a bubbler that says "for use with 150 gallon fish tank". It doesn't say the air throughput in gallons per hour, but quick reference calculation says it'll output around 130 GPH. Is this enough for a small two plant flowering bubbler setup?

specifically its a RENA AIR 400 if you know the brand.

11) Where do i buy those pH pens and TDS meters? I'd rather not use disposable dipping solutions or anything like that. Do i need a TDS meter, and also do i need anything else to measure the nute content like ppm's or something?

thanks again.

[hippie john]

check out home depot fro the ph and tds meters (i dont use a tds meter, but what ever suits ya)

and the biger the pupm the better, that pump will be more than enough fro your needs, so you can have tons and tons of bubble wands (like 8 - 10) so you should have some very happy roots

[relieF]

yeah... i was actually thinking that my pump is TOO big. i tried plugging it in the water and it just made the water too turbulent. its like a jet massager =D.

and its expensive, so i figure i'll just return it for something more reasonable.

[hippie john]

the more bubbles the better. but take back the pump and get a little cheaper pump, and spend the money you saved on really high quality bubble curtains, you want the smalles bubbles you can get.

[relieF]

i read in a review that smaller bubbles are produced from the small airstones. i'll test them out soon, about 30 minutes.

[barnaby_wylde]

Originally posted by relieF
yeah... i was actually thinking that my pump is TOO big. i tried plugging it in the water and it just made the water too turbulent. its like a jet massager =D.

this is gr8, the roots wud love it. u prob cud get away with a smaller pump but this is wot the roots want. and remember if u want to grow more than 2 plants in anytime in the future then u r gonna need a big pump. if u can keep this pump then keep it, u wont regret it

[barnaby_wylde]

Originally posted by hippie john
the more bubbles the better. but take back the pump and get a little cheaper pump, and spend the money you saved on really high quality bubble curtains, you want the smalles bubbles you can get.

airstones r better at making fine bubbles and less hassle in the long run.