# new start, bubble bucket/first grow,PICS



## loolagigi (Jun 8, 2009)

ok, well this is my first bubble/hydro grow.  if all fails.......i am a virgin at this.  i have all the "toys" to measure accuracy in solution.  well heres a pic.....first time rockwool/hydroton/bubble bucket.  i need advice, thank you.  :holysheep:


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## Shockeclipse (Jun 8, 2009)

what kind of lighting are you using?  Is it the same you are using for germ-seedling?  keep it low if its low heat like a cfl.  Do you have your grow room under control?  Got your nutes picked out?  I just started flowering mine (about 1week in) doing DWC for my first grow so, check out my gj and it might help ya along the way.


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## loolagigi (Jun 8, 2009)

Shockeclipse said:
			
		

> what kind of lighting are you using? Is it the same you are using for germ-seedling? keep it low if its low heat like a cfl. Do you have your grow room under control? Got your nutes picked out? I just started flowering mine (about 1week in) doing DWC for my first grow so, check out my gj and it might help ya along the way.


i am using the same light to grow as germ, 400 hps.   not sure about nutes, i have some ff left overs from my soil grow.  and i have checked out your grow, and as of now, your journal has nothing in it about the germination, and placing cubes into sysytem? . thanks,


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## Shockeclipse (Jun 8, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> i am using the same light to grow as germ, 400 hps. not sure about nutes, i have some ff left overs from my soil grow. and i have checked out your grow, and as of now, your journal has nothing in it about the germination, and placing cubes into sysytem? . thanks,


 
Ok well, I had posted my germ issues in another post...I have had way too many :bong: :bong: :bong: So I will sum up my experience for you.

I originally germed 8 in rockwool cubes.  I waited too long to put light on them and they ended up really stretchy.  I added a little like 4" personal fan blowing on them, propped em up, and they strengthened up really quick.  I ended up losing four that died due to lack of h20, germed another four and made sure I kept them watered.  I literally gave em a quick soak every day or so (maybe poured like 50ml h20 per plant) and they seemed to take to it very well.  No nutes just 5.8 ph'd water.  When I saw good root growth (3 weeks in my case) I transplanted them into my system.  

They were placed into my net cup lids, carefully covered up to their first set of leaves with hydroton, and I just did real low 200 ppm nutes using distilled water.  The water level was just barely touching the bottom of my net cups.  And from there, when they got a little bigger and I was able to, I added more hydroton so cover everything up nice and stabilize the plants.  All in all the most important lessons I learned was to, a) make sure they are moist at all times, b) as soon as the first on pops, through light on it, and those are about it.  Germing is the easy part IMO and it doesn't get too much harder after that, just checking and adjusting ph and changing out the res.  I suggest you keep some sort of timeline, so that next time around you remember where you were at that point.  I know next time I am going to do 2 less plants to allow for more room to fill out, and I think I may veg them a little less, but all in all I am having a great time doing it and I am sure you will to.  Good luck in your endeavors...


ps...sorry for the long post.....I am :bong2: :bong2:  like crazy tonight


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## loolagigi (Jun 8, 2009)

you have given me the hope of advice that i needed. thank you.    i will take the cubes that have sprouted seeds, and put them under 400 hps.  and water with lowest ppm, and 5.8 ish ph.   anything else?, what am i looking for?    roots have not come out of bottom yet.


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## Shockeclipse (Jun 8, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> you have given me the hope of advice that i needed. thank you. i will take the cubes that have sprouted seeds, and put them under 400 hps. and water with lowest ppm, and 5.8 ish ph. anything else?, what am i looking for? roots have not come out of bottom yet.


 
Make sure the light isn't too close though, I was able to keep mine almost touching because I used 1 18" cfl to get them going.  Stick with it, the roots will come.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jun 9, 2009)

Do not give your seedlings any nutes yet--they do not need any food for 3-4 weeks.  Keep water in the pan you have the cubes in and let the rockwool soak the water from the bottom up.  Do not plant into the net cups until you have good roots coming out of the bottom of the rockwool.


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## loolagigi (Jun 9, 2009)

awesome replies. i have the 400 hps far enough away, like 3 feet above sprout.  it also has glass cover, and vents though the hood.  
ms hemp..............how long from sprout should the roots show?  its in a small 1.5" cube.  do i need to transfer into a 3" cube, or is the smaller 1 ok?  how many roots need to show?  wont they hit the container below them?  and also i know i am not there yet, but i am going to need advice on where to place rockwool/hydroton/solution level, in order to not drown, or deprive moisture and kill.  thanks for the awesome replies. this is the second forum i have been a member of, and allready MP rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Shockeclipse (Jun 9, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> awesome replies. i have the 400 hps far enough away, like 3 feet above sprout.  it also has glass cover, and vents though the hood.
> ms hemp..............how long from sprout should the roots show?  its in a small 1.5" cube.  do i need to transfer into a 3" cube, or is the smaller 1 ok?  how many roots need to show?  wont they hit the container below them?  and also i know i am not there yet, but i am going to need advice on where to place rockwool/hydroton/solution level, in order to not drown, or deprive moisture and kill.  thanks for the awesome replies. this is the second forum i have been a member of, and allready MP rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Its going to take a bit of time for good root growth.  I would say anywhere in the 2-4 weeks period just to be safe, and like I said be patient they will come.  I used 1.5 grodan cubes with my grow so you will be fine with those.  When you transfer to your buckets you are going to want to just has your res level barely touching the bottom of your net pots.  I used a empty one to adjust the water lvl so that I could see it was right.  Once you have them in the pots, gently fill around the sides and over the top of the cubes up to the first set of leaves.  As they get bigger add more hydroton until the pots full and that way you will be safe from light leaking into your res.  Just remember as long as it is barely touching or slightly (very slightly) below the pot with your water level you will be fine, the bubbles popping will give it all the moisture it needs to start really growing.  Keep a diligent eye on your ph and be careful when mixing nutes and you should be just fine.


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## loolagigi (Jun 9, 2009)

Shockeclipse said:
			
		

> Its going to take a bit of time for good root growth. I would say anywhere in the 2-4 weeks period just to be safe, and like I said be patient they will come. I used 1.5 grodan cubes with my grow so you will be fine with those. When you transfer to your buckets you are going to want to just has your res level barely touching the bottom of your net pots. I used a empty one to adjust the water lvl so that I could see it was right. Once you have them in the pots, gently fill around the sides and over the top of the cubes up to the first set of leaves. As they get bigger add more hydroton until the pots full and that way you will be safe from light leaking into your res. Just remember as long as it is barely touching or slightly (very slightly) below the pot with your water level you will be fine, the bubbles popping will give it all the moisture it needs to start really growing. Keep a diligent eye on your ph and be careful when mixing nutes and you should be just fine.


great advice shock!    ok, i understand 99 percent of that.  but, when you say...2-4 weeks, do you meen just lying in rockwool?   and q #2........ok, res should be just at or under bottom of net pot...do i place my rockwool on the bottom of pot, and add hydroton from there.... or do i need hydroton down first, then rockwool, then more hydroton.  on this damn comp, its hard to xplain.  but please do.    awesome response times.....whats next?


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## Shockeclipse (Jun 9, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> great advice shock! ok, i understand 99 percent of that. but, when you say...2-4 weeks, do you meen just lying in rockwool? and q #2........ok, res should be just at or under bottom of net pot...do i place my rockwool on the bottom of pot, and add hydroton from there.... or do i need hydroton down first, then rockwool, then more hydroton. on this damn comp, its hard to xplain. but please do. awesome response times.....whats next?


 
Yes, sitting in rockwool.  At least in my case, although I had some issues that I believe set me back.  I set my rockwool right on the bottom of the pot, filled around with hydroton and on top to first set of leaves.


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## loolagigi (Jun 9, 2009)

Shockeclipse said:
			
		

> Yes, sitting in rockwool. At least in my case, although I had some issues that I believe set me back. I set my rockwool right on the bottom of the pot, filled around with hydroton and on top to first set of leaves.


thanks shock......can anyone else back this up?


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## pcduck (Jun 10, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> thanks shock......can anyone else back this up?



That is how I do it

Once the roots reach your nute solution I keep my nute level at 3 gallons and just add ph adjusted water between bucket changes.


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## Shockeclipse (Jun 10, 2009)

pcduck said:
			
		

> That is how I do it
> 
> Once the roots reach your nute solution I keep my nute level at 3 gallons and just add ph adjusted water between bucket changes.


Same here


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## Super Silver Haze (Jun 10, 2009)

is your res completely lightproof?  you need to make sure no light gets in around the net pots also.  you want to keep your res temps @ 68 F.


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## loolagigi (Jun 10, 2009)

gosh 68?  thats low temp. i guess what ill do is buy 2 ice packs, and just dump one in, while one freezez, and rotate.  will that be ok?  and whats a good res thermomoter for a bucket system?  heres a picture of the first sign of roots.   still waiting for lots more before i place in system. how do i keep light away from roots before i place it in system?  its just in a cube, on top of a pan.  also....my net pot is the one that goes over the rim of the bucket. so id say its about 10" in diameter, and 8" deep. i was told to place my cube at bottom of pot, then add hydroton to top.  i cant do that...i will bury the plant, its too deep.  sooooo, what i was thinking is, a layer of hydroton first, then cube...then fill rest with hydroton.  lemme know.  thanks..


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## Shockeclipse (Jun 10, 2009)

Place the cube directly on the bottom of the pot, your going to fill _to the first set of leaves you will add more as they get bigger._


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## loolagigi (Jun 10, 2009)

how will i keep light out of the slots on the side.  heres a pic with it on the bottom.........i cant imagine the first time i surround cube with rockwool with hydroton, that i will up top row of open slots.


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## JBonez (Jun 10, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> how will i keep light out of the slots on the side.  heres a pic with it on the bottom.........i cant imagine the first time i surround cube with rockwool with hydroton, that i will up top row of open slots.



only advice i can give is too invest in ebb&flow asap!

i cant tell you how easy it is!

I bet i could make dwc easy as well, but man it would be a pain to setup.

Good luck, ill keep up with ya and see how it goes!


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## loolagigi (Jun 10, 2009)

yeah, a long time ago i wanted to go ebb and flow, and i may one day. they seem practical.  i figured 1 dwc bucket should get my feet wet as a beginer/new to hydro.  thanks for the reply.


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## JBonez (Jun 10, 2009)

Go with your gut sometimes, try things out. Ultimately it will be your own success that carries you, we can only advise.

I switched to hydro a week ago from soil. Ebb and flow is so freaking easy i wanna kill myself for not doing this sooner.

Now dont get me wrong, when i was in soil i was studying and preparing for what i needed to make hydro easy, and it paid off.

Yeah yeah, i havent got my first case of nute burn, or salt buildup or ph swing, but thats easy stuff to keep in check, drain the res and correct the problem, takes about 12 minutes start to finish for me to drain and fill the res with ph adjusted nutrient solution.

Mind you, i run RO water, pure water imvho is paramount to growing good bud.

here is a pic of my ebb&flow, i still need to put the carbon filter in, its sitting on my table, ventilation upgrade, needed a bigger filter, just gotta muster the motivation to put it up! lol

oh yeah, those little beauties are clones from my best skunk #1 phenotype, gonna sog'em and try and pull a couple lbs out of my 1000w light, we will see!


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## loolagigi (Jun 10, 2009)

cool man, thanks bonez. i like your set up. 
i am burned out in soil grows. 
this is all so exiting/intresting. 
i sound like a kid in the candy store.


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## JBonez (Jun 10, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> cool man, thanks bonez. i like your set up.
> i am burned out in soil grows.
> this is all so exiting/intresting.
> i sound like a kid in the candy store.



be excited! there is nothing wrong with that!

use your knowledge and experience from soil growing and modify it for hydro, your gonna be just fine!


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## pcduck (Jun 10, 2009)

Maybe place that plug into a 3" or 4" rockwool cube then place it into the bottom of your net pot, then fill with hydroton. IDK just a thought


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## loolagigi (Jun 10, 2009)

ok, i was going to do that.  if i allready have a root comming throught the small cube, whats the easyist way to place in a 3" cube?  maybe hollow out a square in the bigger one all the way through the 3", or leave some of the base of the 3" cube. and i am sorry if these q"s get old, but i am new to all this...hydroton/rockwool.....thanks for great response times. this site is great.  and i just washed hydroton tonight with phed water and low tds, with peroxide, its drying now. tommorow i will take pics of seedlings.


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## pcduck (Jun 10, 2009)

They make them already with a hole in them. Just for the starter plug that you have used, works great:aok:


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## loolagigi (Jun 10, 2009)

i have some, i forgot, thanks, ......i see package says...plant small into big block, no water for 2-4 days, but do not let block go dry.  does that make sense?  then it also says, ....when choosing a grow medium, like hydroton, dont water 2-4 days. does anyone practice this?


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## JBonez (Jun 10, 2009)

hydroton? more like 4 times in one light cycle! hydroton doesnt exactly hold moisture for very long. In fact, ive been monitoring dryout times. I dont want the hydroton to ever dry out, rather remain a little moist.


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## Shockeclipse (Jun 11, 2009)

Not too much of the hydroton in DWC setups will get wet, its mostly there for easy root penetration and something to help hold the plants in, at least in mine they dont.  Your going to be fine to put those right in aurrounded by the hydroton, maybe slope it up a little on the sides, your going to see new growth everyday and it won't take long at all before your able to fully cover the holes all the way.  Just do the best you can, remember you wil be changing out the res anyways every ten days or so.  Mine had a little showing for about a week and a half before I was able to cover it up and I had no problems.


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## loolagigi (Jun 11, 2009)

well heres the new pics. its seems like the oldest sprout might have grown a little new leaf, but not much root. the single "tap" root has little "bumps", i guess new roots comming off the sides? i am afraid the root may be getting light. how do i stop this? also this is sprout # 2, and set up.


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## Shockeclipse (Jun 11, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> well heres the new pics. its seems like the oldest sprout might have grown a little new leaf, but not much root. the single "tap" root has little "bumps", i guess new roots comming off the sides? i am afraid the root may be getting light. how do i stop this? also this is sprout # 2, and set up.


Remember your roots will be growing out the bottom of your rockwool so I wouldn't be all that worried about them getting "light pruned".  Ot might help if your tray wasn't reflective but I am uncertain as to this.  I would think that you will be fine because the root system will be inaode to cube as well and as soon as you were to transplant the new root growth would explode.  Mine actually grew like 6 inches in a week once I transplanted


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## loolagigi (Jun 11, 2009)

Shockeclipse said:
			
		

> Remember your roots will be growing out the bottom of your rockwool so I wouldn't be all that worried about them getting "light pruned". Ot might help if your tray wasn't reflective but I am uncertain as to this. I would think that you will be fine because the root system will be inaode to cube as well and as soon as you were to transplant the new root growth would explode. Mine actually grew like 6 inches in a week once I transplanted


can you send me a picture of a plant and its root system, ready to be transplanted in hydroton.


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## Shockeclipse (Jun 11, 2009)

Sorry I didn't take any pics of my root system before I  switched over to buckets.  I know there are some pics floating around here somewhere try searching for them


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## loolagigi (Jun 11, 2009)

well can you try to explain it. maybe a time frame from time seed sprouted, and if you have only grew clones, how many roots about were out of cubes?

do you think i should transfer my 1.5" cube with sprout in it, to the 3" cube?   and whats with all the no wattering 2-4 days, on the cube packaging label?


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## loolagigi (Jun 11, 2009)

is this a good time to transplant?  seems like i could transplant a little sooner.  http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=105865&d=1237847825

sorry i couldnt figure out to have a easier way to upload pic.


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## Shockeclipse (Jun 11, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> well can you try to explain it. maybe a time frame from time seed sprouted, and if you have only grew clones, how many roots about were out of cubes?


I had issues with mine that I beleive prolonged mine from being able to transplant but  I tell people anywhere from 2-4 weeks depending on whats going on, any issues that may occur.  It took mine 3+ weeks.  once you have several decent looking little roots popping out in more than one spot you should be fine. Remember inside the cube the roots are growing all over as well.  When you have your rockwool sitting in the net pots, the pump is going to keep that rockwool saturated with oxygen rich water, so you will have crazy fast root growth.  The first pic on page 1 of my GJ (the 2nd set of pics I think) I posted was of my root growth 11 days after I transplanted:holysheep: Click on the link in my sig to check it out.




			
				loolagigi said:
			
		

> do you think i should transfer my 1.5" cube with sprout in it, to the 3" cube? and whats with all the no wattering 2-4 days, on the cube packaging label?


I don't think you need to put it into another cube.  You just need to be patient, as soon as you do transplant it, you will be seeing super fast growth.



			
				loolagigi said:
			
		

> is this a good time to transplant? seems like i could transplant a little sooner. http://www.marijuanapassion.com/foru...5&d=1237847825


Mine were not that crazy when I transplanted, so I would say you should be fine to do it sooner.



			
				loolagigi said:
			
		

> sorry i couldnt figure out to have a easier way to upload pic.


scroll down when you are in the reply window and under "Additional Options"  there is a button that says Manage Attachments.  Click that and upload your pics.

Hope any of this helps


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## loolagigi (Jun 11, 2009)

:ignore: here it is..........pray it is a female.......


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## pcduck (Jun 11, 2009)

She will be fine, you may want to top water for a few days till your roots reach the rez/bucket.


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## loolagigi (Jun 11, 2009)

pcduck said:
			
		

> She will be fine, you may want to top water for a few days till your roots reach the rez/bucket.


will do....SHOULD I BE FOLIER FEEDING?         Thanks for the support. nerves are racked......tommorow i will add some plain water around 100 ppm, and 5.9 ph.  trying tp make sure the 3", larger cube, gets some moisture. if all fails, i will top water.  i will post pics tommorow, but probably have pics of roots for at least 3 days or more.  this seedling is about 2 weeks old, placed in system, with love.:hubba:


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## pcduck (Jun 12, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> ....SHOULD I BE FOLIER FEEDING? ....



Some growers do, some don't. I do not.


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## Shockeclipse (Jun 12, 2009)

Won't it now take longer for the root system to reach the res being in an extra larger cube it now has to grow through?


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## loolagigi (Jun 12, 2009)

Shockeclipse said:
			
		

> Won't it now take longer for the root system to reach the res being in an extra larger cube it now has to grow through?


yeah, acually my net pot has 2" of hydroton..then i placed small cube in the 3" cube, almost to the bottom of the larger cube.  i had to cut a little rockwool out of the center. then placed cube on top of hydroton, then added more.  i have my res level just beneath the 3" cube.  i top watered when i got home, will do again tonight.  does not see like much growth from yesterday, although the roots have not hit the res water yet.


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## Shockeclipse (Jun 12, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> yeah, acually my net pot has 2" of hydroton..then i placed small cube in the 3" cube, almost to the bottom of the larger cube.  i had to cut a little rockwool out of the center. then placed cube on top of hydroton, then added more.  i have my res level just beneath the 3" cube.  i top watered when i got home, will do again tonight.  does not see like much growth from yesterday, although the roots have not hit the res water yet.


I think you are going to have to top water until your roots do hit the solution, you have more rockwool that the roots have to work through and hydroton blocking some of/if not all of the splash up from your air bubbles, withat that big of a cube now I would have definately NOT put hydroton on the bottom.  Good luck.


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## loolagigi (Jun 12, 2009)

Shockeclipse said:
			
		

> I think you are going to have to top water until your roots do hit the solution, you have more rockwool that the roots have to work through and hydroton blocking some of/if not all of the splash up from your air bubbles, withat that big of a cube now I would have definately NOT put hydroton on the bottom. Good luck.


i can take it out and put cube at the bottom. should i?   shouldnt bother anything considering the roota arent through.


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## JBonez (Jun 12, 2009)

man loolagigi, i wish i would have gotten a hold of ya before you went dwc, all the issues you are having with simply getting the rooted plant into the pot and ensuring a safe root zone could have been prevented if you went ebb&flow. I mean, once you get it down, dwc wouldnt be any harder or easier, but im saying bro, in a week, my ph has been stable, ive only topped off once and the whole system is so low maintenance that my wife is actually happy im around more, lol.

you will get it man, i just wish i could help ya. But, if you want some advice, then here ya go.

As far as waiting for roots to show through the bottom???? i dont think that will make or break you, especially from seed.

I would fill the net pot with hydroton, all the way to the top. Then, take a seedling and bury it in the hydroton so you preferably dont see the cube.

Start the dwc bucket about an inch above the bottom of the net pot.

Voila!

This is how i would do it in your situation.

Ive been growing a year, but so far im a 100% for germination, rooting clones, and seeing my grows to the finish.

I havent been unsuccessful since i started, so take it or leave it, i did my homework and i just would like to see your success.


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## JBonez (Jun 12, 2009)

also, imvho

rockwool is great in all for seedlings or rooting clones, but otherwise unstable for growing in.

It retains far more water than hydroton (hydroton is much better for aeration) and has a very high ph of about 8.1 i believe.

You wouldnt want to water rockwool nearly as much as hydroton.  If a plants rootball is contained in a 6x6 rockwool cube for example, you most likely would only water once a day.

I guess it doesnt really matter in rockwool with dwc, but for max uptake, other than fogponics, i believe ebb&flow is the most effective.

hope that helps


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## loolagigi (Jun 12, 2009)

heres the pics of changing the base of the cube to the bottom of net.....the water level is even with the pot.......hydroton is not easy to  manipulate.....pictures will be added in 5 minutes......


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## pcduck (Jun 12, 2009)

I have placed my rockwool cube on the bottom, I have placed it midway into my net pot. Did not make a difference once the roots reached the rez. The time difference in the roots hitting the rez was only I think 24 hours.The roots will search and find water all by themselves, you may have to raise your water level just a bit thats all. I sorta like the 3" cube b/c it stabilizes it more when the plant is small. With DWC you are feeding the plant 24/7 how can anything be faster? People make dwc hard, not the system.


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## loolagigi (Jun 12, 2009)

JBonez said:
			
		

> man loolagigi, i wish i would have gotten a hold of ya before you went dwc, all the issues you are having with simply getting the rooted plant into the pot and ensuring a safe root zone could have been prevented if you went ebb&flow. I mean, once you get it down, dwc wouldnt be any harder or easier, but im saying bro, in a week, my ph has been stable, ive only topped off once and the whole system is so low maintenance that my wife is actually happy im around more, lol.
> 
> you will get it man, i just wish i could help ya. But, if you want some advice, then here ya go.
> 
> ...


my net pot size is very big, if i put cube on top, just under hydroton, it would have about 8" of hydroton to get through. and i dont want to keep that much water in that bucket. it would be like 4.5 gallons of water out of 5.


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## loolagigi (Jun 12, 2009)

pcduck said:
			
		

> I have placed my rockwool cube on the bottom, I have placed it midway into my net pot. Did not make a difference once the roots reached the rez. The time difference in the roots hitting the rez was only I think 24 hours.The roots will search and find water all by themselves, you may have to raise your water level just a bit thats all. I sorta like the 3" cube b/c it stabilizes it more when the plant is small. With DWC you are feeding the plant 24/7 how can anything be faster? People make dwc hard, not the system.


i am using the 3" cube.  , but now it is in the bottom of that deep pot. i like it, its less water in the bucket.  it will either grow, or perish, i am trying my damndest to keep "her" alive. time will tell................i notices mt first real set of leaves are nice and green,, but are saggy, not pointed up!


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## JBonez (Jun 12, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> my net pot size is very big, if i put cube on top, just under hydroton, it would have about 8" of hydroton to get through. and i dont want to keep that much water in that bucket. it would be like 4.5 gallons of water out of 5.



yeah, good point, i pictured it with the 6" net pot lids, i bought a bunch of them and put together a dwc system, but i never did anything with it.

why so big? a smaller net pot lid would allow you to keep a little bit more water right?

pc, can you help with this, i never tried it


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## loolagigi (Jun 12, 2009)

JBonez said:
			
		

> yeah, good point, i pictured it with the 6" net pot lids, i bought a bunch of them and put together a dwc system, but i never did anything with it.
> 
> why so big? a smaller net pot lid would allow you to keep a little bit more water right?
> 
> pc, can you help with this, i never tried it


origionally i had baught a top for my bucket, and was ganna drop a 6" pot in that, but when i went to the hydro store, i told the guy i needed a net pot for a dwc bubbleponics bucket, and he handed me the one that acually goes over the mouth of the bucket.  then i asked if he had the smaller ones, and he did, but for some reason stayed with the bigger 1.  my hydro store guy is a pain in my ***, crappy customer service.  but i have you guys.


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## JBonez (Jun 12, 2009)

pcduck said:
			
		

> I have placed my rockwool cube on the bottom, I have placed it midway into my net pot. Did not make a difference once the roots reached the rez. The time difference in the roots hitting the rez was only I think 24 hours.The roots will search and find water all by themselves, you may have to raise your water level just a bit thats all. I sorta like the 3" cube b/c it stabilizes it more when the plant is small. With DWC you are feeding the plant 24/7 how can anything be faster? People make dwc hard, not the system.



hey pcduck, I guess, from lack of experience i spoke prematurely.

I guess i feel like ebb&flow provides the best aeration, and i also believe that the plants also are fed 12hrs a day as i flood the table enough to keep em moist, but regardless, the root zone is a damp and moist safe haven for roots to thrive, Ive seen rootballs in dwc, beautiful monstrous white roots that looked very happy and healthy. But i see dwc, which is a self contained unit, so if you want a couple pounds, then you have multiple res chores to tend to. Not to mention sog is out the window, unless you do like six to a rubbermaid container, of course, a 4x4 res could be made into a big res for multiple plants. 

otherwise, i only spend a few minutes a day in the growroom, and that is for inspecting the plants, taking a res ph reading and peace out.

Ive planned a dwc system, and found it to be obsolete in my eys compared to the easy of ebb&flow, plus, its kinda idiot proof, so i said why not!

right now i can see my plants are stressed, so i lowered the ppm and they are a bit more perky. took about 10 minutes. With a multiple res setup, thats a lot of "adjusting" and it doesnt seem practical imho.

thanks


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## JBonez (Jun 12, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> origionally i had baught a top for my bucket, and was ganna drop a 6" pot in that, but when i went to the hydro store, i told the guy i needed a net pot for a dwc bubbleponics bucket, and he handed me the one that acually goes over the mouth of the bucket.  then i asked if he had the smaller ones, and he did, but for some reason stayed with the bigger 1.  my hydro store guy is a pain in my ***, crappy customer service.  but i have you guys.



im fortunate, my hydro guy is not only a cool guy, but very knowledgeable and is part of my success in a way, so yeah.

I would have went with the smaller ones, but your gonna be fine with that, heck, i would have went with 4" if they make them.

i may consider dwc for a mother plant or two, that would be a good time to use it, downside to ebb and flow is that in veg, its a little harder to keep plants that are different ages.

I have a 2x2 flood table as well, for veg, but im just gonna use it to sprout some seeds for future cuttings and selecting. When i know which plants are the best, ill keep the best for mothers.


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## Super Silver Haze (Jun 13, 2009)

Jbonez, your description of e & F is quickly converting me.  it seems that this system would be better for a prepetual harvest, only ONE res and no Temp issues.

good info

Loolagigi, good luck on your dwc grow and remember that once the roots are through the net pot and in the nutes keep the res level about 2" below the net pots.  

you may need to change the ice packs a few times a day to keep the res temps below 70 F, in ebb & flow the res temp isnt as critical.  not having to keep res cool = less work.


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## loolagigi (Jun 13, 2009)

Super Silver Haze said:
			
		

> Jbonez, your description of e & F is quickly converting me. it seems that this system would be better for a prepetual harvest, only ONE res and no Temp issues.
> 
> good info
> 
> ...


i understand hydro is diff from soil, but i have always read then when watering your soil, make sure its room temp, because cold water is bad for roots.  now with dwc, i need ice packs. not sure why?


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## pcduck (Jun 13, 2009)

JBonez said:
			
		

> hey pcduck, I guess, from lack of experience i spoke prematurely.
> 
> I guess i feel like ebb&flow provides the best aeration, and i also believe that the plants also are fed 12hrs a day as i flood the table enough to keep em moist, but regardless, the root zone is a damp and moist safe haven for roots to thrive, Ive seen rootballs in dwc, beautiful monstrous white roots that looked very happy and healthy. But i see dwc, which is a self contained unit, so if you want a couple pounds, then you have multiple res chores to tend to. Not to mention sog is out the window, unless you do like six to a rubbermaid container, of course, a 4x4 res could be made into a big res for multiple plants.
> 
> ...



Hey JB I guess it is just how hard you make the system. I am like you, not much to do in the grow room but watch them grow. Nute, ph, and change out the buckets once a week. During the final few weeks add ph adjusted water about every other day. The thing about the buckets is that you can have individual feeding programs,for each strain, which is why I guess that I like it over a e-f, but that is just me


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## pcduck (Jun 13, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> i understand hydro is diff from soil, but i have always read then when watering your soil, make sure its room temp, because cold water is bad for roots.  now with dwc, i need ice packs. not sure why?



Plants grow best when the rez temp is 68F, if you were to put cold water in the rez you would have the same result(shock)


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## loolagigi (Jun 13, 2009)

pcduck said:
			
		

> Plants grow best when the rez temp is 68F, if you were to put cold water in the rez you would have the same result(shock)


so ice packs would be overkill?   i live in fl, so heat is an issue in the summer.


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## JBonez (Jun 13, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> i understand hydro is diff from soil, but i have always read then when watering your soil, make sure its room temp, because cold water is bad for roots.  now with dwc, i need ice packs. not sure why?



the cooler the res, the more dissolved oxygen the solution will hold, this is paramount for dwc as the rootball sits in, well, water, lol.

Another downside to dwc.

 My res can get up to 83 degrees, and the plants really dont care, they eat it up! But they also get max air to the roots, so the solution doesnt have to be that aerated, i still use a couple air stones tho.


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## JBonez (Jun 13, 2009)

pcduck said:
			
		

> _*Plants grow best when the rez temp is 68F*_, if you were to put cold water in the rez you would have the same result(shock)



You mean for DWC right?

Cuz my plants are growing like they are on crack and my res is pretty warm!


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## JBonez (Jun 13, 2009)

pcduck said:
			
		

> Hey JB I guess it is just how hard you make the system. I am like you, not much to do in the grow room but watch them grow. Nute, ph, and change out the buckets once a week. During the final few weeks add ph adjusted water about every other day. The thing about the buckets is that you can have individual feeding programs,for each strain, which is why I guess that I like it over a e-f, but that is just me



yeah, in fact, i recently gave up multi strain grows in soil because i was mixing nutes for them all at once and some of them had issues. In hydro, dwc would def be the best scenario for a multi strain grow, or for keeping different mother plants.

I am growing sog with 20 clones, im shooting for 2 lbs.

and maybe you could pm me specifics about your system, id enjoy hearing about it.

thanks


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## loolagigi (Jun 13, 2009)

so freezing a zip lock bag full of water would be ok to drop my res temp?  it wpuldnt shock the plant?


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## ishnish (Jun 13, 2009)

... maybe keep some water in the fridge..?
cool but not shockingly frozen.....


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## loolagigi (Jun 13, 2009)

ishnish said:
			
		

> ... maybe keep some water in the fridge..?
> cool but not shockingly frozen.....


i dont have a thermometer for my res yet, but i stuck my finger in the solution and its def more than 68 or less.  its about 81 in the cabinet itself, soooo, i figure its about 75 ish in the res.  i will check temp tonight and get back, until them i am freezing small zip lock bags of water for now.


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## loolagigi (Jun 13, 2009)

ok, temp is 74, guess i will place ice bag in res, drain some water from the take up of the volume since i havnt recieced replies yet.


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## loolagigi (Jun 13, 2009)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5DuqLn8xN0


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## ishnish (Jun 13, 2009)

"hXXp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5DuqLn8xN0"

is what ya meant to say right?   

good show though, always nice to see how others do their thing


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## gsxr1000 (Jun 14, 2009)

hey man that sight glass is a nice idea.


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## loolagigi (Jun 14, 2009)

ph was checked, it was at 6.6, i changed to 5.5, the tds was 340, i braught it up with some superthrive to 720.........9 days old...2 days from last pics, i notice growth, damn thing is so green.....


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## pcduck (Jun 14, 2009)

I would be careful with adding to much to fast. That is a pretty high tds for such small plants. I have found that I do not need to super-charge my nutes, the dwc system does it for me.


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## pcduck (Jun 14, 2009)

JBonez said:
			
		

> You mean for DWC right?
> 
> Cuz my plants are growing like they are on crack and my res is pretty warm!



Yes DWC, but I would imagine that it would be the same for e-f, but not sure.


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## loolagigi (Jun 14, 2009)

pcduck said:
			
		

> I would be careful with adding to much to fast. That is a pretty high tds for such small plants. I have found that I do not need to super-charge my nutes, the dwc system does it for me.


 i dropped it a few hundred....i thought 7 would be too much, so now i am at 520 with 5.6 ph.  8-9 days old, i think "she" looks ok.


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## Super Silver Haze (Jun 15, 2009)

loolagigi, ive been using frozen h2o bottles to cool my res and no shock.  it is better to use ice to keep the res cool rather than deal with the problem caused by too hot of a nute solution.  you may need to change the bottles out a couple of times a day.


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## loolagigi (Jun 15, 2009)

Super Silver Haze said:
			
		

> loolagigi, ive been using frozen h2o bottles to cool my res and no shock. it is better to use ice to keep the res cool rather than deal with the problem caused by too hot of a nute solution. you may need to change the bottles out a couple of times a day.


thanks super......i am waiting for a way to check my temps.    just relized human thermometers dont work, lol. i guess if you have a temp at 78 your dead.  so my g/f is going tonight to get it.  i have bags frozen allready, so time will tell.   what do you think of my "lady"?


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## Shockeclipse (Jun 15, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> thanks super......i am waiting for a way to check my temps. just relized human thermometers dont work, lol. i guess if you have a temp at 78 your dead. so my g/f is going tonight to get it. i have bags frozen allready, so time will tell. what do you think of my "lady"?


 
Maybe ph adjust the water you are going to put into your bags first so if any leaks out while its melting, that way you won't mess up your ppms.


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## loolagigi (Jun 15, 2009)

finally got my temp guage, 83.8 with light running. so, i chucked in a phed, tds'd, water bag....i will check temp in half hour....and so on......


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## Shockeclipse (Jun 15, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> finally got my temp guage, 83.8 with light running. so, i chucked in a phed, tds'd, water bag....i will check temp in half hour....and so on......


 
whats the floor/ground like that your res sits on?  Wood? metal? concrete?  I think I maintain temps so well because mine are sitting on a concrete floor in a basement.  So I am thinking you may be able to lower them a bit by adjusting your flooring, using materials that do not absorb heat well.


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## pcduck (Jun 16, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> finally got my temp guage, 83.8 with light running. so, i chucked in a phed, tds'd, water bag....i will check temp in half hour....and so on......



Might need to get a fan blowing right on your rez, like an 1" or 2" away, that will also help with temps if the bags don't drop the temp down enough.


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## loolagigi (Jun 16, 2009)

Shockeclipse said:
			
		

> whats the floor/ground like that your res sits on? Wood? metal? concrete? I think I maintain temps so well because mine are sitting on a concrete floor in a basement. So I am thinking you may be able to lower them a bit by adjusting your flooring, using materials that do not absorb heat well.


its on wood, in a cabinet......temps get down to 66, and then hang at like 70 plus.....i have a fan in there, but theres not much room in there for anything else.


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## loolagigi (Jun 16, 2009)

still no roots.......if you go back a few pages, i showed a pic of root comming out of 1.5" cube, then transplanted into 3" cube, threw in bucket about 4 days ago, should see roots by this weekend i hope.  i do see growth in seedling, just leaf growth, no height. and "shes" green.


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## loolagigi (Jun 25, 2009)

gave up...... somethings gatta give


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## Shockeclipse (Jun 25, 2009)

loolagigi said:
			
		

> gave up...... somethings gatta give


I was trying to say you didn't need to put them into another cub especially that big of a cub.  The roots were then far away from your bubblw splashes.  That is really my only guess but I would point it towards that.  I put my 1.5" cubes right into with res level touching the bottom of the net pot and I thi k it was 7 days later I had like 6" of root growth.


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