I want to try something different. I want to grow in 4" PVC pipes about 24" long. The pipe would be filled with hydroton and be under a constant drip with a drain at the bottom. there is a reason I want to do this. I grow in a SOG style and once a clone is rooted good it gets put right in to budding and I seem to be wasting more room on pots and trays than I need to be. do you think I could do this in a 4" pipe or would I have to use 6". I really don't want to use 6" because it would be back to taking up to much space. I was thinking that the depth would help make up for the width. any advice or suggestions would be great. I need to be somewhat sure about this before I take my room apart to build this.
some things that i would be concerned with would be if the 4" pipes would get clogged with the roots. 6" would be better, but i think 4" will work. root balls can get giant and i've seen them generally look like baseballs, not long or lengthy. it sounds like it could get the roots to go lengthy though. really neat idea. post some pics when you get it goin.
it would look something like this. The top section is a 4" coupling glue in place so I would be able to hang them in a rack. the fitting at mid level would an overflow just in case the bottom ever plugged up. and the fitting at the bottom would be the normal drain.
i cant really answer your question, but if it is something that's feasible than it seems like you have a really great idea
I havent started my first grow yet but I have done a lot of research and it seems like total volume is what makes the difference so the up in height would theoretically compensate for the lack in width. But experimenting with new growing techniques is part of what got me really interested in looking into starting to grow weed (apart from my love for smoking it ). So experiment away! Just make sure you keep us updated as to how it works!
I think you have a great working idea there BenderBob. Cannabis has a fibrous root system and as such its development is much more inclined to grow horizontally than it is vertically, i.e. no tap root. When I read your first post I thought you were referring to laying the 4” pipe horizontally but then saw that you meant stand it up vertically. Volia! I think either way will work right on the money. As for the development characteristics of the fibrous root system, it will expand to the limits of the container it is growing in. For purposes of discussion let’s assume a 3 gal nursery container is approximately ½ cf of volume. For you to allow for the same volume of space with a 4” PVC pipe it would need to be about 5 feet long. If you use 6” PVC pipe you can shorten the length to 24” for the same volume. And volume is what matters in this discussion. I think if you allow for the same amount of volume either vertically or horizontally as you would in a 3 gal container the root system development should be about the same. That’s just my opine. An interesting hydro concept if you can source the 6" PVC cheaply. It might have a lot of potential for your SCROG and perhaps a stadium grow. Cool. reprep!
Thank you so much. I will go see what I can find in 6" tomorrow but I would still like to play with the 4" just to satisfy my own curiosity. I'm a little worried about the weight of the 6" filled with hydroton. I went today and picked up my 40gal hydrofarm reservoir. I had it in storage and think I want to use it with this set up. one way or the other I will be starting this very soon.
someone told me I should put the bottom drain about 6" up the side and put an airstone in the bottom. kind of have a mine bubbler in the bottom. anyone think it would help?
I was thinking the exact same set up literally the exact same idea man I think it wouls work u would just have to be carefule on using the glue that shit is flammable and it has crazy burning fumes but if ur gonna run an airstone u may as well just set these up like a mini bubble bucket system with a reservoirand shit recirculate it and have ur self some serious hydro.... also man can u tell me what strain u use for ur sog and how does it work I'm interested in sog growing I just want a strain that I know is gonna work thx man and + rep for the killer idea
Thanks Brownie yeah I have worked with a lot of pvc so building them will be easy. Right now I'm growing a cross of Blueberry and NL#5. but I'm still looking for the perfect strain.