This will begin the journal for my first hydroponic garden and first garden of any type in over 15 years.. Thanks in advance to all of the kind, knowledgeable people on here who take time to help our community with tips and help on this site..
I have found myself in quite a spot as I had originally planned on running the stock; CAP Ebb and Grow (2 gal) system.. After purchasing the CAP system, I was advised to change the setup to 5 gallon buckets *with 6"inch net pots and 5"inch air stones in each bucket.. I was told the idea is that you get much more unrestricted root growth by using the net pots instead of 5 gallon of hydroton and supplying plenty of extra oxygen to each bucket which remained at the "full" level ( which was about 1-2"inches from the bottom of the net pot) where the airstones bubble and spray a fine mist on top of the water.. I was told to almost reverse the Ebb and Grow typical water schedule and to set my controller to remain on "fill" cycle with "drain" cycles set to 15 minutes every 4 hours. I "am told" this will give the roots the very best opportunity to uptake oxygen; literally taking away the water for only 7-12 minutes depending on drain times (which have been modified as each bucket has two 1/2" water lines to increase fill and drain times, as well as providing a redundant placement of plumbing in the event of root clog, or any other unforeseen event that would prevent feeding of nutrients; aka- Insurance..
Now, the only problem is the person who pointed me down this road is MIA and I don't really know what I'm doing.. I know I'm reading ALOT and trying to learn but each day there are new questions..
IF ANYBODY HAS SEEN OR RUN A SETUP LIKE THIS, PLEASE ADVISE ME ANY TIPS AND IDEAS YOU HAVE PLEASE.. I HAVE INVESTED LOTS OF MONEY AND LOT MY EDUCATOR.. I NEED YOU GUYS ~
Here are some of the early pics of the system as it came to be. I only had a few set up at first; however, as this journal develops so shall the garden we hope.
Here is a list of all products the room and equipment:
The Room is a storage area inside of a 2 car garage; totally sealed - no windows, locking door..
6 X 9 X 9 = 324 sq. ft
Equipment:
1 1000 Watt MH/HPS dual
6" Air Cooled XL Hood
6" 450 CFM Exhaust Fan
12 Site Custom Monster Ebb and Grow / RDWC Hybrid System
CAP CGC-1 Total Greenhouse Controler
5 lb CO2 bottle connected to CGC-1 for optimum discharge times
Large 6 Gal Capacity Humidifier - (NO HUMIDITY IN MY REGION) AZ
CAP HUM-1 Humidity Controller
110 LPH Commercial Air Pump ( Custom Cooled )
12 5" air stones
12 6" net pots
1 2ft Dual T5
Botanicare Aerojet Cloning machine *** Recently acquired as an 8 site system, as I am running a 12 site program, I am going to simply find a good rubbermaid top of the same size and cut-out 12 either 3-4 inch" clone sites..
I started with the good ole recipe for success from BC nutes (It comes with the CAP system) - Anyway, I ran low quick with the 30 - 40 gal fillings so I am now using House and Garden's AquaFlakes A&B only (I'm in week 6ish of veg).. I do use 3ml per gal of Mad Farmer's Oxygenator (after a slight issue with root sadness, lol) LOVE THIS STUFF..
I am running the low side of the scheduled nutrient mix and reading an avg. 450-500 ppm.. Safe Levels in my experience..Well here are some random pics for now, It's late as hell so I will organize them later..
I should have the room somewhat complete in the next few days and all 12 buckets a bubbling ~
I open ALL suggestions and comments as this is truly my 1st hydroponic setup and I got deep off in this stuff. HELP ~~ LOL
