Thinking of going hydro, but not sold.

[Seraph]

Hey everyone,
I really want to try to make a DWC hydro set up. I have a decent understanding i think of how to build it. What I really want to know is this the system for me? I have never grown before and was thinking of just going the soil route, but Hydro seems like a good way to go.

I would appreciate any advice from anyone.
I have the room to do it indoors and was only looking to grow a few plants.

Thanks everyone,

 

[Tyrone Hamilton]

I'm pretty happy with mine... it'd be easy to make... look at stealth hydro.

 

[Hightide805]

usually people recomend to try soil for your first grow, but hydro isn't that "hard" to maintain like some say

 

[Seraph]

I think I am going to give the Hydro a shot. I think I may make a new thread and keep people updated as I go. Thanks everyone for the quick tips.

 

[MJAYRIDAH]

Im currentlyusing soil right nw and while i like it the lure of hydro does keep calling me

 

[MJAYRIDAH]

go hydro my book is telling twice the yeild.....just make sure u flush real good

 

[Ms.Fox]

Soil or hydro... This is a very important question. I started out doing soil grows and continued on to do a hydro grow. Through experience I came to understand what makes me happy. Soil makes me happy. I get more enjoyment.

Try both methods. See which one you prefer. ;-)

 

[OldMedUser]

Hey everyone,
I really want to try to make a DWC hydro set up. I have a decent understanding i think of how to build it. What I really want to know is this the system for me? I have never grown before and was thinking of just going the soil route, but Hydro seems like a good way to go.

I would appreciate any advice from anyone.
I have the room to do it indoors and was only looking to grow a few plants.

Thanks everyone,

I started using DWC in 2001 using big blue RubberMaid tubs and never looked back. I got phenomenal growth using 6-4ft fluorescents mounted on a sheet of plywood with the ballasts mounted on the back, hanging from pulleys and chains.

Rather cumbersome but worked like a hot-damn. Then I did the same thing with a 400W EYE Hortilux for veg and a 1000W SunMaster in a MH ballast for flowering. I didn't see any difference during veg but with 20 square feet of flowering area to light the SunMaster was the bomb. I'm would be heading toward LEDs and CFLs these days as they are really coming into their own.

This kind of system IMHO is best suited for inorganic hydroponic nutes. Keeping the temperatures down was no problem for me as mine were in the cold room down in the basement where air temp never gets above 60F. The air temp in the grow room stayed where I set it and in the summer I would put the tubs directly on the cement floor. If the temps got too high you would stand a good chance of getting root-rot as the warmer the water the less dissolved 02 it can hold. Once the 02 gets low various fungal and bacterial nasties can get hold easily. I used 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide @ 0.5ml/l or 2.0 ml/USGal every week or so to prevent this.

If you're using organic compounds in there the organics and/or the peroxide will neutralize each other. Actually, the peroxide will oxidize the organic compounds until either the peroxide is used up or all the organic goodies you put in there are destroyed. A waste of money for both and there won't be enough peroxide to kill the nasties.

When using this type of system keeping an eye on the environmental variables is crucial but not onerous. If you're using quality hydro nutes the pH doesn't wander much as they are usually buffered. Anything between 5.2-6.2 seems to work just fine. I aimed for 5.6 but I'm not anal about it. A decent pH pen and a TDS or EC meter will set you back a couple of yards but are well worth the investment. Check you water and if possible use RO or distilled.

For your own supply a couple of tubs will be able to keep yourself and a few friends as medicated as you deem fit.