Hi, I’m planning on a first grow starting in September and I’d like to use hydroponics but have a few very noob questions: I will buy a grow tent, and I’ve looked at 1.2M width x 1.2M depth by 2M high. How many plants would a tent of this size take? I like the idea of a flood and drain hydro set up, but I was wondering if I can use this method with the plants in mesh pots and the roots hanging free as they would in an aero set up. Is this a tried and tested method, or just stupid? Thanks in anticipation. Joe
Hello and welcome to GC. You can grow anywhere from one plant in that tent to 9 or more depending on how long you want to veg - most growers grow 4 plants in a tent that size. Considering this is your first grow, have you thought about starting out a little simpler? Maybe coco or hempy?
Hi Mick, thank you for the welcome. I have thought about coco (I already use it in my garden as part of a compost mix). Would you think something like a 50/50 coco/perlite mix? How often would you flood that? And for how long? I’m going to build my own set up regardless. Many thanks.
How big do you want to grow your plants ? I have 2 plants per 4x8 tent . You can buy 20 or 30 liter totes . one plant per tote . Put a fountain pump in and a fish tank bubblier compressor and stone . I use Canna nutrients and only RO water .
Hey NPC, I used to do flood and drain. As far as I remember the buckets and net pot system were the same for flood and drain as they are for a DWC setup. It's just important to make sure you're flooding and draining enough to keep your roots wet and aerated but not so often that you rot them out. And of course make sure your reservoir has a Nutrient/PH/Temp meter. With hydro you need to monitor that constantly. I run DWC (Deep Water Culture) on an under-current system now which I prefer. For a tent your size, provided you have all the space you listed and your equipment isn't taking up any, I'd say you can fit 1-4 plants in there. Any more than that and you have to have smaller plants. You could SCROG 1 or 2, or grow 3-4 regularly. Make sure your tent has an air flow system that will cool it down automatically, and you will almost certainly need a dehumidifier. Good luck out there buddy.
I was thinking two plants initially but it would be nice to do four. Is that a permanent DWC system you’re describing? I didn’t think there’d be any need for a bubbler and stone in flood and drain (I’m not pro or anti either, just looking for guidance). Thanks for your reply.
Thanks for the comprehensive reply! I though root rot would have been more of a problem with DWC, hence why I was leaning toward flood and drain?
Basically the only way you're going to get root rot with DWC is if your air pump fails and you don't realize it. I keep an extra brand new air pump waiting in a box just in case. In a DWC bucket there's a large air stone at the bottom, and it runs 24/7 so that the roots always get plenty of air. It floods the bucket with air basically. Remember, in a flood and drain, you MUST aerate your main reservoir 24/7 with a large airstone.
Ok, DWC sounds interesting. I would like one reservoir supplying all tanks though so managing nutrients/ph/ec is easier. Do you recommend one plant per tote (so roots don’t entangle) or can you have two or more assuming the tote is big enough?
I've grown a few different ways, and DWC is the fastest and heaviest growth method I've used. You can only have one plant per bucket in DWC, the root growth is ridiculous. You just choose your bucket size accordingly. My setup is a DWC undercurrent system. So my two plant buckets and my control bucket are all connected together via 2" PVC, and a pump circulates the water through all of them.