# Want to build small aeroponics system



## akirahz (Feb 4, 2008)

I've been doing some research on DIY hydro systems, and i think a small aeroponics system is what i'd like to try.

If im not mistaken aeroponics just has a nute solution and an airstone right? there is no drip system or water pump. The plants float in the resivoir which is some sort of solution.. 

im not sure i need to be educated on how that works.. is it just plain water with water soluable nutes youd normally dump in soil?? Like for instance my bloom burst plant food..  or does it have to be some sort of special nutrients meant for aero/hydro? 


Heres something about the size i would want, just like this unit here:






Emilys garden has a 2 gallon resivor, and as you can see the plants sit in it., but there is no feeder or water pump with lines sticking in each planter.. this is the system that iw ant to build, and one just about the same size, if not smaller

does anyone know any DIY guides to just this sort of thing? or oculd someone help me with what type of nutes i need to put in the water and the type of solution thats best for vegging AND flowering cannabis?


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## Growdude (Feb 4, 2008)

I think you want DWC, direct water culture.
That just uses a air pump and airstone and the plants roots hang into the nutes.

I would not use plant food for house plants (blue or green powder types)
Use hydroponic nutes I use Floronova grow and bloom its easy one part nute just mix with water and works great.


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## akirahz (Feb 4, 2008)

Ah thanks alot grow dude, that was a fast response!! okay so i def want DWC then, i have an air pump, and an air stone (lots of fish tanks.. kind of a fish fanatic..) i have many small containers as well, with lids even.. problem is i have no way to cut the holes i need for the planters.. plus the containers i have are currently not light proof.. hmm


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## Growdude (Feb 4, 2008)

Here is a sombody's DIY right up, looks good but I dont use DWC

http://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/18301-diy-dwc-cannabis-growing.html


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## snuggles (Feb 4, 2008)

akirahz said:
			
		

> Ah thanks alot grow dude, that was a fast response!! okay so i def want DWC then, i have an air pump, and an air stone (lots of fish tanks.. kind of a fish fanatic..) i have many small containers as well, with lids even.. problem is i have no way to cut the holes i need for the planters.. plus the containers i have are currently not light proof.. hmm


 
If you have a drill you can go out and buy a hole saw, just figure out what size netcup and get the appropriate size for the drill. Home Depot, and Lowe's carry them. If not try heating up a knife of somesort and then use that to carefully cut the hole, PITA but it works. I'm assuming the containers are plastic too...lol. Good luck.


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## akirahz (Feb 4, 2008)

snuggles said:
			
		

> If you have a drill you can go out and buy a hole saw, just figure out what size netcup and get the appropriate size for the drill. Home Depot, and Lowe's carry them. If not try heating up a knife of somesort and then use that to carefully cut the hole, PITA but it works. I'm assuming the containers are plastic too...lol. Good luck.



I have a drill, its a green hitachi haha, but unfortunatly i do not have the charger for the battery, so its worthless right now. I do have a few hole saw bits, i doubt they are the right size i would need because they appear gigantic, sheesh this one must weigh 5 lbs -- anyway that hot knife idea sounds interesting because yeah they are all plastic, relatively thin plastic as well, i think i'll get my buddy to help me, he was able to make real nice purrfect fan holes in his rubbermaids (for airflow) and thats thicker plastic then anything i plan on using, just dont know if its as tough though, rubbermaids sort of bend and flex easy, the lids on these small sterilite containers are pretty tough in comparison.


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## akirahz (Feb 4, 2008)

Growdude said:
			
		

> Here is a sombody's DIY right up, looks good but I dont use DWC
> 
> http://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/18301-diy-dwc-cannabis-growing.html



Holy moly!! thats a real easy simple DIY right there, sheesh why aren't more growers doing this, i might be able to get me a setup built today, if i can get some net cups that is -- does wal-mart have net cups? i have a lowes, a wal-mart n thats about it  -- i got long air sticks, i guess they are air stones but they are kinda large. Is it possible to use like fish gravel (that has never been used) as hydroton? or the medium i mean, or is there a medium you can go buy at like a local wal-mart or lowes that'd work? Or do i gota order the stuff ? I'll probably order the floranova stuff since we have no hydro shop of any kind around here.


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## ClosetGrow420 (Feb 4, 2008)

wow that looks awesome, AK man do this, I would love to watch this grow journal


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## snuggles (Feb 4, 2008)

akirahz said:
			
		

> Holy moly!! thats a real easy simple DIY right there, sheesh why aren't more growers doing this, i might be able to get me a setup built today, if i can get some net cups that is -- does wal-mart have net cups? i have a lowes, a wal-mart n thats about it  -- i got long air sticks, i guess they are air stones but they are kinda large. Is it possible to use like fish gravel (that has never been used) as hydroton? or the medium i mean, or is there a medium you can go buy at like a local wal-mart or lowes that'd work? Or do i gota order the stuff ? I'll probably order the floranova stuff since we have no hydro shop of any kind around here.



I actually have a bunch of these, totes five gallon buckets, it's cool but there are other units too. I use this mostly for hydro moms now. Is gravel pH neutral? I would think so since fish like stable water, just make sure. If it is then you could use it for sure. You could use anything as far as medium goes as long as it stays moist but not soaked and is pH neutral....net cups and other things I have only seen in hydro shops, since you are ordering nutes get some net cups, spend a little if you have it...cause you need a pH meter and some sort of EC/PPM meter if you want to do it right. My advice is always make sure you are set up to be successful, otherwise the money you did spend goes to waste. Good luck with that, and after you get one set-up give us a peek...please

Here's one of my 5 gallon buckets...don't mind her she was a little stressed...she had to be moved...LOL
http://www.marijuanapassion.com/Gallery/showphoto.php/photo/1555/ppuser/8399


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## akirahz (Feb 4, 2008)

Would pH strips work for testing the pH? 

yikes.. those ec/ppm meteres are kinda pricey  is there a cheap alternative? like PPM strips?? :rofl:


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## snuggles (Feb 4, 2008)

Strips work, BUT if you are a guy we suffer from some sort of color blindness...its true don't laugh. Anyways the strips can work but the colors are so close and you have to make sure that you look at them under the proper lighting, as for a PPM meter, nope no strips that I know of really. But the pH IMO is more important in the beginning. PPM is used mostly when you have to top off the container. If after a week the res. is half empty/half full and you want to add more nutes how do you know what to add if you do not know the EC or PPM of the water...well if you don't have a meter you can top off with straight water. it won't kill the plant but it will not be fully fed either, you lose a little potential but it's OK IMO. I would concentrate on the PH first. Also if you have some problems it will be hard to tell without the PPM pen BUT once again easy fix is to flush and start a new container. A little long winded but you get the point IMO pH you NEED PPM you don't but it's a heck of a lot nicer if you have it. I spent 150 USD on both of my meters, it was money well spent. Math is easy if you do this, a half ounce on the street is like 150 USD, so were the 2 meters. good luck


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## akirahz (Feb 4, 2008)

http://www.cheaphydroponics.com/cart/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=181

that pen doesnt look too expensive there, only 35, would that be suitable solution to a ppm test meter??

Yeah, i forgot about being color blind  

I wonder if i could just create my own net cups.. ya know what looks like a net cup.. cup holders sort of do, only they are tapered .. hmmm


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## snuggles (Feb 4, 2008)

Looks good to me, I persoanlly don't know the pen or brand but it says it's PPM. Also why not, maybe take a cup of some sort and make some nice holes in it. But they are relatively cheap I think like .25 cents or something. Yeah the strips are OK, but I started that way...my water was always 5.7 till I got a meter then I realized it was more like 6,5 the whole time..LOL. Some of us have it worse than others and if you look at them under different lighting you see different results...lol.


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## I'ma Joker Midnight Toker (Feb 4, 2008)

akirahz said:
			
		

> Holy moly!! thats a real easy simple DIY right there, sheesh why aren't more growers doing this, i might be able to get me a setup built today, if i can get some net cups that is -- does wal-mart have net cups? i have a lowes, a wal-mart n thats about it  -- i got long air sticks, i guess they are air stones but they are kinda large. Is it possible to use like fish gravel (that has never been used) as hydroton? or the medium i mean, or is there a medium you can go buy at like a local wal-mart or lowes that'd work? Or do i gota order the stuff ? I'll probably order the floranova stuff since we have no hydro shop of any kind around here.


 
Hey man, if you're going to order the TDS pen, etc you might as well get your net cups, medium, etc from them too. I would use Hydroton for your medium, not gravel rocks. If there's no shop close to you order it online and do it right the first time, you'll have less problems...Discount Hydroponics and Horticulture Source are good places as well.....read a lot on this forum as there is so much info to help you...*Good Luck*.


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## kasgrow (Feb 4, 2008)

I agree with snuggles, get a ph meter first. I had the same problem with test strips. I was way off because the colors can be hard to read. I wouldn't worry too much about tds right now. Hydro nutes have measurements so you don't need a ppm meter. Just mix them a little weak at first. Nute levels won't matter much if you ph is too high. Most tap water is around 7 or neutral and hydro works best in a range of 5.5 -6.2 depending on strain and growing stage. You will also need calibration liquid for your tester.


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## akirahz (Feb 4, 2008)

well looks like ill need more cash then before i actually grow in it.. but i will construct the unit hopefully tonight.. ill have to wait until next payday to buy Hydro nutrients of some kind, medium, and net pots.. if i can find a pH meter for under $50 id prob buy it.. ill probably buy some pH down since it just sounds like ill be lowering pH often.


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## akirahz (Feb 4, 2008)

I think instead of netpots i'll use some 3oz solo brand bathroom cups, cut a 1/8th inch hole/holes and i might see if i can use ceramic beads (small ones) as a medium? is that possible? I mean they leak water, would hold the plant in place, and is 100% neutral as far as any erosion or minerals go


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## snuggles (Feb 4, 2008)

I dunno if the solo cup would be strong enough...for real. If I was you I would build the unit see how it works for you. Wait until payday and get what you need, the meter and netcups are one time buys. The nutes aren't but you need them. Set yourself up to succeed, hell not that I would ever condone selling an illegal substance...but if you did a favor for someone you'd make the money back.


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## akirahz (Feb 4, 2008)

snuggles said:
			
		

> I dunno if the solo cup would be strong enough...for real. If I was you I would build the unit see how it works for you. Wait until payday and get what you need, the meter and netcups are one time buys. The nutes aren't but you need them. Set yourself up to succeed, hell not that I would ever condone selling an illegal substance...but if you did a favor for someone you'd make the money back.



i got the 3oz solo cup idea from the greenman pages (he reccomends them)
http://www.greenmanspage.com/guides/hydrosystems.html

but since they are so cheap ill prob just order some net cups, i dont know what nutes to go with .. most look real low on the nutrients.. 1-3-4 , 0-3-2  .. sheesh thats not very rich in nutes is it.. so which one of these thats cheap (like the maxigrow and maxibloom from general hydroponcis) that powedered stuff will that work? says it can come in 1.5lbs

heres a pic and link to the nutes im thinking about getting (money is a big factor, i just dont have much of it)






http://cheaphydroponics.com/cart/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=236

would that work? getting the gro and bloom? OR would this stuff work?





Florabloom
http://cheaphydroponics.com/cart/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=222

would either one of these work?


P.S. i've never sold marijuana in my entire life yet, ive only given it away free of charge.


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## snuggles (Feb 4, 2008)

Those numbers are good, they don't need to be high the NPK numbers are more of a proportion type deal it doesn't matter how big the numbers are. So that being said I can tell I use Botanicare Pro Blend (organic), Fox Farms, and House and Garden Nutes. It's more of a question of taste and if they can be used in hydro. Some people like organics some like chemicals it's up to you really. Personally if I was you though I might steer clear of the Fox Farms for your first hydro, good stuff but can be dangerous for the first time...strong stuff. But everyone is different. I know you don't have much money but the Botanicare pro Blend is really nice and gentle and still grows some nice big healthy plants.

Also the nutes you have there are also good. Like I said it's a matter of taste really.


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## octobong007 (Feb 4, 2008)

question on the dwc...is it better than drip?


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## snuggles (Feb 4, 2008)

IMO yes I think DWC is better, you can always combine the two...LOL.


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## lax4wm (Feb 4, 2008)

Ak, I have two single plant 5 gal DWC's going right now, personally I lucked out going with Technaflora's BC Boost, Grow and Bloom.  Not only are they organic, but they are ph adjusted and on top of that have directions of how much nute to use per gallon for if you want :600, 750, 900, 1050, 1300 PPM.
So if you do the math and err on the side of caution as in less is more, you should be fine.  I have had no problems yet, it is only my 2nd grow, and first hydro.  Check out the GJ and feel free to ask any questions.

For a medium I chose Hydroton, the seed started in 1" rockwool cube.  I would go with net pots because I think you'll want the stability but that's up to you.  

Good luck with your grow!!!!

http://la.gg/v/Hydro_Setup_026.jpg/  <---my setup.  I have since then light proofed the buckets using black garbage bags.


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