IMgreen's first hydro grow! WW/WR in a river/waterfall/bio-bucket system

[IMgreen]

I didn't realize I just posted a pic a few days ago... wonder why THAT is?

but look at THIS:

three days from here:




to HERE!

I'm just so jazzed about this hydro thing you all are gonna hafta excuse the posting every couple days!

I can't believe how fast they grow like this! And only two of them are fucked up a little!

I can't wait to get them under the hps!

[IMgreen]

that's so very very cool!

[AugustWest]

damn you hydro dudes lol.. very very nice man!

[IMgreen]

thanks AW

I was a bit suprised how fast they took off

I have read that it grows faster in hydro, but I didn't think I'd see such explosive growth this early on, especially under CFL

I have one plant about 5-6 weeks into flower, but if she wasn't down there I'd move the rig tomorrow and veg them under HPS for half the time it's gonna take now

[zababadoo]

oh yeah hydro is a hell of a lot faster than soil but good lookin plants. also they should really take off under the hps

[IMgreen]

thanks man

I am looking forward to flowering this round!

[T3h C0rps3]

Awesome setup.. Those babies are growing sooo fast. keep it up


What is the color temp for your CFL? and where did you get it from... well, where did you get all your lighting equipment from actually? lol

If I have money, then I would definitely make one of these setups, it seems to be working GREAT for you

[CaliGrower]

Can't wait to see them in 12/12! They're gonna explode under the big light!!

[BUDSLiNGER]

Hydro is the way to go man... yours look great... I started hydro so I really know no other way. Now that they are that big you can expect that kind of growth all the time.
when you switch them to the hps.. start it off up there a little, mine take a couple days to adjust from the cfl's to the hps but then its ON....
Hydro Rocks...Good job bro.. should be just a bundle of buds...

[sergio]

I'm going to the hardware store today! Damn thats not fair.


Looks great Bro. Can't wait for your smoke report.

Check out my new avatar. That's my WW.

[IMgreen]

thanks fellas!

In about a month they'll be relocated down to the flower room, maybe a tad sooner

The stats for where they are now are:
PPM 970
PH 5.8
Res Temps 20 - 22 C



T3h - That system is under a 6500k 125 watt CFL I got from a local hydro store.

The bulb ($50) and the fixture ($25 (it uses a mogul base, like an HPS) was the same price as I paid for buying 6 25 watt cfls and 6 8" clamp lights so there was no additional expense over a lot of typical cfls

GH also makes a reflector but that cost as much as the other two parts so I did not get one yet, will grab one off craigslist or ebay eventually

The parts to build the rig wasn't all that bad either $ wise, got the pump for $15 (ebay) and the big res was about $27 and the smaller one for the root zone was less than $10 (both from home depot I think)

Lines and fittings mostly came from the hydro store as well and the drain is piped from 1" pvc that I screwed and glued to the bulkhead fitting (maybe $50 for the parts that built 2 systems so far)

I spent a little bit more than that cuz I bough 2 or three sizes of lines and fittings becuase I did not know for sure how big the fill and drain lines could really be, so I tried various combination of 1/2" 3/4" and 1" fill and drain lines (also tried both solid PVC and flex tubing for drains)

Maybe $300 for enough parts and stuff to build three units including 2 400 gph pumps and an 800 gph ($60 for all three pumps, new) 3 really big heavy duty bins (about $90), two 15 gallon plastic drums and one 55 gallon one (only paid $30 for all three drums)

A simpler cheaper solution would be don't use a remote res and instead of a waterfall for aeration you could use a bubbler in the root zone.

then it's just one bin and an air pump

[IMgreen]

I just looked inon them the top of the root zone was filling up with water! (on the way to overflowing)

one of the bigger root systems had clogged the drain!

what's a good way to avoid this?

[xelatoth]

Heyya, I am curious to know how you avoided root entanglement?

Do you have the res partially seperated into sections so each plant has its own area for roots to grow with maybe a hole in each sections wall so the water/nutes can freely flow throughout?

Or, have yyou not seen this issue?

This happened to me and killed everything, and I would hate to see it happen... as your grow is looking great!

* As far as the roots clossing the drain goes, maybe you could cut a piece of plastic (from a rubbermaid bin lid) to "wall-off" the drain area, but put several small drill holes in it... too small for much of the roots to get through, but big enough for proper water circulation/drainage (maybe a screen attacthed to the hole?)

Not sure if this helps, as I am a n00b for the most part, but it came to mind...

Good luck and your plants are looking good so far

[IMgreen]

the only thing I avoided so far was a flood!

I'll have to devise something for this cuz pretty soon I wont have two plants with smaller roots to keep on the drain side...

I see what your getting at though & it gives me an idea

will keep you posted! (thanks)

[Help_Needed]

Originally Posted by IMgreen

I just looked inon them the top of the root zone was filling up with water! (on the way to overflowing)

one of the bigger root systems had clogged the drain!

what's a good way to avoid this?

Pantyhose