Hello all, I just started some rooted clones in a hydroponic system for the 1st time. My question is regarding how to get them started, specifically water levels and nutrients. Currently I'm just using plain water filled up about halfway (or a little over halfway) in the buckets with an air stone running in each. I have 4x 3.3gal buckets with 2gal water in it, and 2x 2gal buckets with 1gal water. Roots are just barely poking out of the bottom of the net pots, not yet touching the water. I placed them in the buckets last night, and this morning I noticed the plants started drooping their heads after the lights came on. They are under a 4x T5 HO 54w light fixture placed about a foot away from the plants and will be running an 18/6 cycle. My questions are - Should my water level be up to the net pots to start? Should my water have any nutrients to start? Should my lights be further away to start? BTW, I plan to use the Fox Farm trio of Big Bloom, Hydroponic Grow Big, and Tiger Bloom. Below is a current photo of the plants. Notice the only ones drooping are the ones in 3.3gal buckets. The 2 plants in 2gal buckets are still upright for some reason.
Bring the water level to the bottom of the net pot. You need nutrients in the water or the plant will starve. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Gotta Check the Ph levels in every bucket ... don’t let water level touch the net pot,or your plants could “dampen Off”.I would use General Hydroponic nutrients to start...go easy with the nutrition at first. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Agree 100%. The only thing I would add is to lower the light to about 6" from the tops of the plants or they will stretch worse than they already are - also I hope you plan on more lighting because that fixture won't grow six plants.
Thanks guys. I added about a gallon of water to each bucket bringing the water level up to the bottom of the pots. I also added a very light dose of nutrients and some Hydroguard, and pH'd the solution to just below 6. Will the Hydroguard prevent dampening off? Or has anyone used it before and what do you guys think of it? @MickFoster Yeah they stretched a lot this past week in the cloning machine. I'll lower the lights as soon as they perk back up. Would 4 plants be better suited for veg under this light fixture? I was only planning to veg them under this light for 2-3 weeks before moving them under a 600w HPS for flower as this is kind of a test run for me. Would that be OK? Appreciate you all. I would've just googled it but I knew I'd get better answers specific to my grow here.
Damping off is not a problem with plants that size - it happens sometimes with new seedlings. 1/4 strength nutes for now and make sure you have air stones in each bucket. What is the temp of the reservoirs? A 600w HPS is fine for flower - you can actually use it now if you like.
@MickFoster Yeah I went really light on the nutes, and running an air stone in each. The pump is 951 GPH and pushes an impressive amount of air. I was hoping between the pump and the Hydroguard bennies that it would prevent any pathogens because I can't afford a chiller and re-circulating system just yet, but I plan on going that route in the future. My water temps are steady around 73 degrees F. I've experimented with cycling in frozen water bottles and that brings the temps down to just under 70, but they don't seem to last long. Any advice?
73 degrees is not bad - if you can keep it in that area you're ok. When I ran dwc and rdwc I had a main controller that I kept frozen water bottles in - a lot easier than 6 different buckets but still a pain in the ass. That's when I switched to hempy's and coco. Good luck with your grow.
I think Hydrogaurd is the only thing that saved my plants from dying. Had to move my stuff from the basement to the garage where my reservoir temperature went from 65° to 75°+ because we had a fluke heat wave. Temperatures in the tent reached almost 100° daily. Of course this was during flower too. Shocked the plants for sure but the roots just barely went from snow white to a yellowish tinge to white again once I got the reservoir temperature under control. Definitely cover those buckets so light will be blocked out. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
@reod12x2 @ButterDiesel Thanks for the tips. I light proofed them best I can with some foil and tape, nice and dark inside. As well fixing the water levels and my plants seem much happier now - Spent more time working on that than I'd like to admit. Next time I'm definitely going to just buy some proper black buckets instead of trying to use what I have. I think the only adjustment I need to make now is switching from Fox Farm back to General Hydro. Fox Farm has caused so many problems I couldn't list them all here; but they stain my roots, cause brown slime, and clog my stones just to name a few. Never had any problems with GH, its cheaper, and I only need to use half strength so it lasts a good while. BTW for anyone curious I'm growing Candy Cream strain. Here's some pics of the mother under the Mars Hydro LED - Thanks again everyone for the help. Wish me luck