This a new design that I have built. my fourth such system with many(hopefully all) of the past issues work out. I will get to those issues as i describe the set uo and steps.
Many things can kill your crop. Last one was damaged by roots cloging the system. Here you can see that ive inserted a \"difuser\" of sorts. these are not fixed permently, but rather held snug with a rubber washer. this, I beleive, will keep the roots from jaming the bottle neck and preventing nute flow. http://forum.grasscity.com/photopost/data/500/thumbs/Picture_297.jpg http://forum.grasscity.com/photopost/data/500/thumbs/Picture_297.jpg
Pretty impressive looking setup Looks like you could be in for great grow here. I\'ll be keeping my eye on it! good luck...
Growing without soil = hydroponics The roots are able to more efficiently take up water and the dissolved nutrients. The plus side is that you get increased growth rates, and if you set it up right you have a system which can sustain itself for fairly long periods. The down side is that you lose the stability that soil provides - you have to be careful to provide the right nutrients to the plants all the time, and maintain the ph and nutrient concentration at the right levels. There is more opportunity for problems. It\'s usually a good idea to have done a grow in soil (or have at least seen one grow) before you move on to hydroponics, so you know what to expect from a healthy plant etc. Personally, I\'m too lazy to move on from growing in buckets though I have found this coco stuff which is a kind of hydroponic medium and seems to be helping growth rate a lot.
Yes, what he said. oxegen to the roots is the biggest atvantage. speeds growth considerably. Also, the advantage of a reset button when first sign oh trouble appears. I personally kill everything in soil. when leaves brown or yellow, its just a guessing game. too much water or not enough? to much nutrients or not enough? or maybe its combination of 2 or more problems making your decison even more difficult. all these questions are easily answered by a simple flush of the system and a resivoir change. I will be flushing and changing nutes every Sunday, as I increase/adjust nute strength according to each stage of growth. But mostly GROWTH RATE......GROWTH RATE! stay tuned and you\'ll see crazy growth. I will be harvesting \"BIG FAT BUD\" towards the end of July. This is a day three shot of the same plant as above. In fact she will be our featured plant for the entire grow. notice the extra leaves already forming at the top.T.Bug
These are 400w hps and 400w MH/HPS (switchable). the Second HPS is a bit overkill at this stage, but is vital during flowering. since adding it my bud size has doubled!
You need to explain a little more how that system works to me..This looks like a flood and drain setup? Or could be a NFT setup..Its not clear.
Well, its generally called an ebb-n-flow. Its the basic concept of flood and drain, eccept there is no flood table. its design alows for a much smaller resevoir. this way it only takes five gallons to feed eight large plants. that is the min of coures, i use 10 gal to keep thigs stable during the week.
All is well. flushed system before solution change. Leaves are curling a bit due to heat. I need to replace my inline fan blade due to f-up! day 14 side by side with day 7. lots changed in a week!
I think it\'s a bit optimistic to expect you\'ll harvest in late July... Even if you flower this week and leave them for only 8 weeks you\'ll be pushing it. Anyway, looking good so far - I\'m sure we\'ll be seeing great results soon
More like begining of Aug. but only the first week. ill be putting in some co2 enhancement in sooon so, we will see. oh, and i will switch them to flower next week. its 100% NL so flowering is a bit shorter! but thanks for the input, T.Bug
This is the last week of veg for these girls. next sunday Ill switch the lighting to 12/12. The MH bulb above will also be canged out for a second HPS.