Ak-48 Hydro vs Soil

Discussion in 'Indoor Grow Journals' started by pitbull420, Nov 13, 2010.

  1. Here is a lil experiment I tried with two of my Ak-48 clones.. the reason for this experiment is I've always heard how much faster and more effective hydro plants grow but really wanted to see the differences for myself... The clone in the bubble bucket was started a week later than the soil clone but both were swiched to 12/12 on the same day... I used DNF nutes on my hydro grow (Honestly I found these nutes to be the best for hydro) and Fox farm nutes and ocean forest for the soil grow... The bubble bucket was vegged for 20 days and the soil for 27 days.. The first pic is of the two side by side and you can definately see a huge difference.. The BB is 6" taller the stem is twice as thick and the leaves are as big as my hand.. I've also always heard growing in the bubble bucket is a pain in the ass but I really haven't had any problems other than the fact that I have to add water to the bucket every other day... I can't wait to see what the difference in yield will be.. I think hydro is definately the way to go...

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  2. Your experiment is not fair though.Your Hydro has enough water while your soil does not:).I see where you are going with this but to be fair you should be using some type of drip irrigation. I bet the results would be a little less different.

    Good experiment though.Good to show what can be accomplished with a grower of a certain experience level but different ways of growing.

    After your done you will probably make the same conclusion I did which is why I grow Hydro now too:D
    Good stuff man your plants look very healthy.
     

  3. Thanks for the compliment bro but a drip irrigation for soil? Wouldn't that just lead to over watering problems, high humidity and mold? I usually water my plants once maybe twice a week depending on stage of growth and add nutes as needed..I've been doing it this way for a while now and have had pretty decent grows, but I'm always looking for a better way to get a great harvest.. So I'd appriecate any info and/or secrets you may have from your own experience..Thanks again
     
  4. precisely. Drip systems on indoor dirt grows seems silly if not right into out and out bad idea territory since dirt holds water so very well . MJ likes it on the dry side and a nice loose soil that aerates well. Drips seem like a bad idea in general outside a pure hydroponic (like with orchid pebble media) setup. Too much propensity for mold.
     
  5. Good grow man... if you learned nothing else from this experiment you can at least say your better [at least in this case] at hydro... good luck finishing up man cant wait to see the harvest.
     
  6. I would have to say the main thing I've learned from this grow so far isn't that I'm better with hydro than soil, because I could acheive very similar results using soil as I'm getting with the hydro.. The only difference is it will take me twice as long to get there using soil.. I started flowering the hydro girl 20 days into veg she was only 8 maybe 9" tall at that point.. The Soil girl was 27 days into veg when she was switched to 12/12 and was around 10" tall.. they are now three weeks into flower the hydro girls 27 1/2" tall & looking great very bushy with plenty of bud sights.. While the soil girl is also looking great but only 18" tall and just not as thick as the hyrdo.. I also have two Ak-48's (in the same type of soil) that vegged for almost 2 months that I switched to 12/12 on the same day as these plants and they are almost identical to the hydro grow.. I'll be posting pics later...
     
  7. your results wont be 100% valid because there are to many dependent variables. You would need to use the same nutes for both and the same veg times, but you can still get a nice comparison for an idea on which is better. The plants themselfs are lookin great though, nothing like doing some expirments that pay you back with buds :p keep up the good work lookin forward to seeing them grow.
     
  8. Yeah I agree with you 100% but this was just a quick little experiment to get a basic idea of the differences between hydro and soil.. So That I could get a better understanding of the pros & cons of hydro growing.. Which I honestly have to say the pros definately out weigh the cons.. Growing in a bubble bucket is simple as long as you keep a close eye on ph, temp, water level & change out your res periodically.. I also used the DNF nutes in my last soil grow and have to say there was really no noticable difference between FF & DNF.. They both work great!! The only reason I went with the DNF nute for hydro is because when I tried using FF I kept getting a build up of what looked like algea which lead to me having to change out the res every 5 days.. As soon as I switched to the DNF nute the problem disappeared completely.. I really think the results would be the same either way..
     
  9. Even with the Hempy Buckets which provides the foundation of soil with better aeration I have never been able to beat growing in my DWC's. You can definitely achieve the same results and some may argue potency in the final product is better with soil, but it does take longer. Its like Rocky vs. Drago. Rocky was all natural and if you wanted to go 12 rounds with him you were done, but Drago was a technological beast artificially maxed out in every aspect of his fighting. In the end its nice to root for Rocky but Drago was the shit!!!:)
     
  10. single best argument on the subject I've ever read.

    Drago FTW!
     

  11. LOL!!! That has to be hands down the best analogy I've ever read on these boards!!! Here's acouple pics I just took(not my best pics).. The first plant was vegged for almost 2 months and is just a bit taller then the hydro girl.. The last to are the girls in this experiment.. As you can see I can get the same results with soil it just takes almost a month longer..

    Plants are all 24 days into flower
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  12. lookin really good keep it up
     
  13. AK-48 31days in to flower

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  14. This is one of the soil girls I let veg for almost 2 months..
    38 days from 12/12 switch...
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  15. A lil over two weeks left.. Time to start flushing... I tried one of the lower buds and have to say this girl packs a pretty good punch:)...

    44 Days flowering
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  16. real nice bro!
     

  17. I wanna see a side by side with the girls before you chop em please. Very nicely done.
     
  18. Here you go a side by side comparison... The first pic is of the two girls I started at the same time for the experiment and as you can see there's really not that big of a difference LOL.. The bubble bucket grow twice as big twice as fast And will more than likely produce twice the amount of buds.. The second pic is of the bubble bucket girl and the soil girl I let veg for two months.. These to are alot closer in over all size but I think the soil girl will easily out produce her the bubble bucket..

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  19. that's about exactly my experience. It's total mass that's improved. May not be double the bud but for the same effort and about the same price hydro just nets more indoors.
     

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