# New hydroponic setup.  Need help getting it tweaked.



## Hedons (Sep 4, 2006)

Hi,

I'm a first time grower trying to get my ebb and flow setup optimized.

Any help would be appreciated.

For starters, here is my setup:


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## Hedons (Sep 4, 2006)

I germinated and grew my seedlings in rockwool plugs under flourescent light until the roots started to emerge from the bottom of the plugs.

After that I put the plugs into rockwool cubes (surrounded by clay pellets) into the baskets, moved them into the hydro growbox, and kept them under flouro until they were about 6" tall.

They are how under HPS.

I currently have the tray flooding 4 times per day, to a depth of 3/4 of the rockwool cube height.

Current solution consists of:  (20 gal reservior)

10 tsp Foxfarm Grow Big 
20 tsp fulvic acid
5tsp each of EN/EA. 
1 cup Epson Salt

I didn't add the Epson Salt until I noticed that some of the middle and lower leaves were yellowing.  It is too soon to see if the salt is helping.

In comparing the grow rate to a friends soil grow, this is going REALLY slow.

Does rockwool permit enough oxygen to get to the roots?

How do my nute levels look?  (I got those from a friend with a similar hydro setup).

Any other suggestions?


Thanks,
Hedons


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## Stoney Bud (Sep 4, 2006)

Hedons said:
			
		

> I currently have the tray flooding 4 times per day, to a depth of 3/4 of the rockwool cube height.
> 
> Current solution consists of: (20 gal reservoir)
> 
> ...


 
Hey, let me first say that you've got a great looking setup man! Your ACAD drawing is well done too. I see some good planning in how you set up your grow.

I would drain your reservoir, wash it clean and refill it with fresh nutrient solution. The Epsom salts are more than likely your problem. Try again without them. I've never used the type of nutes you're using. I use General Hydroponics Flora Series 3 part mix. Nothing else is needed. Whenever you start adding more and more parts to a nutrient build, it radically increases your chance of problems. The "KISS" principle works great with hydro. That's how I ended up using the nutes I mentioned. It's fast, it's accurate and it's simple. Nothing to track, no levels to measure.

Good luck man, let us all know what you do and how it works, will ya?


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## Hedons (Sep 4, 2006)

Stoney Bud said:
			
		

> Hey, let me first say that you've got a great looking setup man! Your ACAD drawing is well done too. I see some good planning in how you set up your grow.
> 
> I would drain your reservoir, wash it clean and refill it with fresh nutrient solution. The Epsom salts are more than likely your problem. Try again without them. I've never used the type of nutes you're using. I use General Hydroponics Flora Series 3 part mix. Nothing else is needed. Whenever you start adding more and more parts to a nutrient build, it radically increases your chance of problems. The "KISS" principle works great with hydro. That's how I ended up using the nutes I mentioned. It's fast, it's accurate and it's simple. Nothing to track, no levels to measure.
> 
> Good luck man, let us all know what you do and how it works, will ya?




Stoney Bud,

Thanks for the compliments!  Maybe next time around I'll solid model the whole setup in Pro-E. 

I think I'll take your suggesting for the next grow attempt.  I only added the Epson Salt within the last few days, and that was due to what might be a magnesium deficiency.  

Any thoughts on whether rockwool cubes permit enough oxygen to get to the roots?

What ratios are you using the Hydroponics Flora Series 3 part mix in?  How many ml per reservior gallon are you using?

Thanks,
Hedons


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## Stoney Bud (Sep 4, 2006)

Hedons said:
			
		

> Stoney Bud,
> 
> Thanks for the compliments! Maybe next time around I'll solid model the whole setup in Pro-E.
> 
> ...


 
As long as your root system has grown outside your rockwool cubes, they should be no problem to you. When your system drains, most of the water drains from the cubes as well.

With the Flora 3 part mix, it has a table on the label with mixing instructions that say:

Grow - Mirco - Bloom
1=5ml per/gallon

Cuttings and seedlings: 1/4  1/4  1/4
Vegetative Growth:  3  2  1
Flowering Growth: 1 2 3

I have an experimental grow going now, (you can read about it in "Stoneys Snow White Grow Journal", and I'm using a 3,2,3 mix to satisfy my plants nitrogen needs, but this is a day by day experiment I'm doing.

One of the reasons I like this stuff is because of the ability to alter the mix as needed for problems.

If you use it, remember to mix the micro nutes into the water jug first, and then the other two. Failure to do so will cause lockout.

The problem you're having sounds like a nitrogen deficiency to me. Let me know how you fix it will you? I would bump the nitrogen up a tad to see what it does. That's one of the things I like about hydro. You can adjust almost instantly for problems.

Good luck to you man.


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## trillions of atoms (Sep 4, 2006)

make sure your ph stays a solid 5.4-5.8 and check it constantly. how much air do you have in that rezz?? the more the marrier! keep that light low to keep streching at a minimium and try supercropping or stem pinching if you dont already.

like said before, lay off all the epsom salt for now and try bumping up the feed solution if you havent fed them much now...

i dont like rockwool because it holds alot of water which cn lead to root rot.

also rockwool causes the ph to rise mostly and fluctuates often

i prefer hydroton to rockwool hands down... as its resuable after a good washing (sometimes messy) but saves money...its got lots of areation and keeps a pretty neutral ph.

we need pics to better asses the problem.


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## Hedons (Sep 4, 2006)

I will put all this advice to use.  Thanks!

Trillions... I fill the reservoir up almost to the top.  (20 gal).... I also have an airstone in there.

Should I change something?

Thanks
Hedons


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## trillions of atoms (Sep 4, 2006)

as long as you have a good air pump you should be fine, check your airstone every month er so- the stones tend to get week and crumble under pressure after a while....i like lots of air in my rezz when i grow hydro.


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