first hydro set up

honestly it dosnt sound like u know what your doing. but lets give it a go lol its easy enough to pick up but u needa do some research find some nutrients that you want to use and look at there website and it will have a feed schedule but you should do it by ppm tho for clones have the ppm around 600 then boost it up to 1000ppm give r take a hundred r two

for the rubber made thing what type of hydroponics is that going to be used for (ebb and flow, aeroponic, dripsytem ect.)

 

Are doing a rubbermaid like this?


Do you have net pots and hydroton like this?



Get an Aquarium Power Head like this from walmart and put it in the bottom of the rubbermaid.


Putting the seed in the coco coir starter plug.


I put the seed to the side of the big hole in the center, so that it is not too deep, but just below the surface. Keep the plug wet until the seed sprouts


Here is a ten day old sprout that has never been fed. Keep the roots in the nute solution with the level maitained at the bottom of the net pot.


Once you start feeding, go easy on the nutes. Check and make sure before you add nutes that you have numbers correct and are not overfeeding. If you are using tap water to grow then you should never use more than 50% nutes unless you use the GH micro hard water nutes.

You must have a good pH meter to keep the solution working properly.
Go to ebay for the best deals. If you spend a little more upfront on a good meter it will pay for itself with increased yields.

 

If you are going to use tap water then the GH hard water micro would be good.

I have always used AN nutes. If you use AN nutes with tap water, then you should always keep the nute solutions at 50%.

Here is the GH nutrien calculator.
http://www.genhydro.com/genhydro_US/fchcol.html

Here is the AN nute calc.
http://www.advancednutrients.com/nutcalc3public/nutrient_calculator.htm

I have switched to Dutch Master Gold Nutes with Liquid Light foliar spray. I like DM because there is less additives to deal with.
Here is the DM nute calc.
http://www.dutchmaster.com.au/nutrient_calculator.html

GH is very simple. I have never used them, but have seen good grows with GH nutes. The three part GH nutes are used in a 3-2-1 ratio for veg, then a 1-2-3 ratio for flower. If you plan on using tap water, then get the GH hard water micro.

AN nutes are pretty expensive, and there are lot's of additives which can enhance the grow.
I have had very nice yield in DWC, with AN nutes.
If you are going to use tap water, then you would make sure you never went over 50% nute solutions as indicated by the online calc.
AN nutes are great for DWC and Aero

DM nutes are pretty expensive, but they grow sooooooo fast, and there are very few additives. They work best in an aero sysytem.
DM nutes reccommend 50-75% nutes with tap water.

All nute mfg reccommend using RO water.

It is imprtant to keep the rez temp in the 65-68ºf range, to maintain adequate Dissolve Oxygen in your rez.

The GH hard water Micro has a lot less Calcium, to prevent mg lockout.
You can do the same thing by using 50% nutes with AN ot DM.

I posted some hydro tips on the very first thread in this forum. Be sure and check that info out.
Here are some more hydro tips.
http://forums.cannabisculture.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1354421#Post1354421

The most important thing about hydro is maintaining the pH in the proper 5.5-5.8 range, and you cannot do this without an accurate pH meter.
A good pH meter($90) should be your first purchase. A cheaper meter from ebay($35) will work, but won't last as long, and/or be as accurate like a better milwakee meter.

Do not try to grow using drops or strips to try and measure the pH. They are simply not accurate enough.

I plant a couple of seeds in each pot, and thin them out when the males are detected.

Saving the best male to make your own seed is a good idea if you have a great strain, especially if your cloning technique is not down pat. Seeds are easier to make, than clones.

To determine the best male, pick the faster grower with the best smell. Rub the stems and smell your finger.

Since you can't move them to seperate rooms, cover any males with a dry cleaning bag, to prevent him from spewing on everything.

Veg your plants until they are at least 12-18 inches tall before starting the flower light cycle. The taller you veg them, the greater the yield.

Light, nutes, good water, and checking the pH regularly are the jobs of a hydro farmer.

Now get to growing.

 

If you do DWC like in the picture, you can use organics like Mother Earth Tea, etc..

The idea that organic is better, is a myth.

If you do hydro, you need hdro nutes.

My dirt farming friends, with years of experience, want my weed..WHY?
Beacuse they think it smells better, taste better, and you get very high. I'm not the one who calls all the time, begging them for theirs.

All plants use the same chemicals to produce the plant matter they need to grow.
How a plant uptakes those chemicals is no different whether the nutes are "organic", or so called "chemical".

The same elements are in the plant material no matter where the nutes come from.

Hydro nutes are designed to give the plant what it needs, in the easiest form(chelated) that can be used by the plant.

I'll put my chemical grown weed up against anyones organic weed in a blind taste test, and I will walk away with the prize.

All plants need to be flushed before being harvested.
This is very easy to do in hydro, just run plain water in your rez for 2 weeks before harvesting.
Also reduce the light during this time, to let the essential oils accumulate.
You want the larger leaves to turn yellow, as an indicator the plant is using up the excess nitrogen.

The biggest problem most hydro guys run into, is dealing with root rot, and the reason for getting RR, is low dissolved oxygen.
Low DO is almost always due to high rez temps.

This time of year it should be easy to keep your rez between 65-68ºf.
Have a pump with lot's of bubbles in the solution, and keep the temps where they should be.
Keep the nutes solution at 50%, and you will do well.

GH makes a "hard water micro" for people who use tap water. I would suggest the GH three part, with the HW Micro, for your first grow with DWC.

Buy a pH meter. Do not try to get by with strips or drops. Your not operating a swimming pool.

 

Growing in soils, the pH is not as important as it is in hydro.

Some elements are only available for uptake at very specific pH values.

Whatever nutes you use, keeping the pH in parameter is crucial.