Few questions from a first time grower...

I use GH Aeroflo2 tables. If you're capable, you can build something like them yourself, but I got two used off of Craigslist for really cheap. These tables have lines that spray a straight stream into a trough, with variable water levels in the trough.

You should buy a PH/PPM pen and keep it calibrated. As your plants drink up the water, you'll need to check your PH/PPM as you add more water. Its important to check the PPM to tell how much your plants are eating, and that helps you know when to add more nutes.

I'm not familiar with the nuts line you mentioned. I use GH Flora series using Lucas formula.

Good luck!

 

If your experience with this setup and grow style is limited, I would definitely do A LOT of research and studying up before I dove into aeroponics growing. Before attempting to grow a plant in anything other than soil, you really need to know and understand how to grow one in soil and learn how to read the plant as it tells you what it needs or what it's unhappy with. Most people without much growing experience who start off growing in hydro, etc., usually spend a lot of time pulling their hair out because they are confused about what is going on when they have an issue...not knowing if it's the plant that is the problem or the grow setup. You definitely need the reliable pH and TDS testers mentioned in the post above or you'll be flying totally blind and will be highly likely to fail. Find yourself a VERY experienced mentor who grows with a setup like yours and read their journals and grow logs so you'll have a point of reference for your own. If you're grow experience is limited, I suggest you do a couple of runs in soil just to become familiar with the plant before moving up to the more complicated grow styles. Good luck...whatever you decide. TWW

 

Do a search for my DIY Mini-Me F & D


It's very easy to make, inexpensive and easily expandable

 

The aeroponic growing method can be very touchy!! I have never grown full term in aeroponic, but I do clone with aeroponics. Also, I have grown in DWC (deep water culture) - close to the same thing without water being sprayed on the roots.


That being said, aeroponics can produce some insane rapid growth and development to an indoor garden.


There are some downsides and hopefully you have noted them in your research! First, being just how fast things can go bad in aeroponics! if your pump goes out, or the power goes out, like it did here the other day, or you are simply checking root development and forgot to plug the pump back in...


In aeroponics everything is intensified, if your PH is off, or your nutes are too strong, even for a short time - can have profound and dramatic consequences for your plants.
http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute-beginners/1382...


The pic with plants laying on the deck there, didn't have a working pump for 8 hours... the ones that stayed up already had roots in the water, so the lack of a pump didn't bother them like the others... So in Hydro setups... like this also make sure you have an extra pump!


As was said earlier, you need a PH meter and a PPM pen to check your water in the system. This is critical! I find PH drift in my water depending on the nutes I am using at the time since nitrogen affects PH, which is actively being used by the plants.


I change my water every 7-10 days. You don't want to wind up with root rot etc... Many use reverse osmosis (RO) water, but I just use tap water. Our PPM is very low right out of the tap, so I just drop an airstone in there and bubble the water with a commercial air pump. It speeds up the process of getting the chlorine out (not so good for roots or other bennies that like hanging with the roots).


I can't speak directly to your nutes, accept to say, just follow the bottles instructions... and less is best when it comes to nutes!


Misting patterns? Are you talking about the aeroponic sprayers/ manifold? or are you referring to misting your plants leaves?


As DIY systems go, you can see one I made based on some youtube videos. The box is cheap, sturdy and can be found at Home Depot or Lows. The only problem I have had is that it leaks despite the seal around it. This is a problem for most, because the design of the lip of the box wasn't meant to keep water in, but water out... I mostly fixed the leak by getting a timer from ebay that will turn the pump on for 1 minute off for 4. This keeps my seal from getting waterlogged.


I'm not sure what aeroponic systems you have been looking at, but I haven't seen one capable of holding a seed in a piece of foam. I use foam to hold cuttings over the water, but generally these systems are designed with some sort of net basket. You would germinate the seed until you have a nice taproot, then you put it in a rockwool type plug or something similar.


/r
~GHG

 

Do yourself a HUGE favor and start out with soil. No more than you know and understand, you're just wasting your time dreaming about starting out with a hydroponics grow. You need to have at least a basic education on how to grow these plants...just grow the plants from seed to harvest successfully, before you try to start with the hydro stuff. Hydro is technical and lives and dies by things such as a slight variation in your pH, so you need a good understanding of it before you waste your time and money killing your plants. Continue to plan and dream and figure out your grow, but you are obviously not knowledgeable enough about it at this point to jump into hydro. Do yourself a favor and take the time to research and read up on the growing method options and be realistic about which is best for you...the new uninformed grower. TWW

 

I use a GH Aeroflo18 system and like it very much but would recommend individual DWC buckets for small home grows. The arroflo18 is ideal for a sea of green style and less ideal for larger, bushier griws even though you can work around it. Get it right and you hit it out of the park with aeroponics but it's easy to get itvwrong. That said, I've never grown in soil, never lost a crop and started growing in aeroponics before I knew much about growing. It's not really a poison pill to newbies. But changes happen pretty fast and you will need to stay on top of it.

 

I have run my misters for from 30 secs on to 2 or 3 mins off, up to one minute on and 5 minutes off. I have also left them on all the time 24/7 (over kill) but it wont kill anything.