Hi all,
I'm helping a friend suffering from Lupus to setup his own medicine box (2' x 2,8' x 6', 250W hps).

I've always grown in dirt and I'm asking you, the hydro guys, which is the lowest maintenace/highest reliability hydro system.
Since he's quite weakened by the Lupus and I will be around once every 2 weeks, I'm asking for a no-mess and no-fuss, really forgiving solution.

Commercial availability via web order within EU would be a nice feature over DIY.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Later.
Dr.T. & BigMic

Flood and drain tables using lucas formula.

I use lucas and my reservoir stays pretty stable, you don't need to change reservoir through a grow just addback RO water and adjust EC using a 1:2 ratio of GH micro and GH Bloom, I also add 2tsps pf epsoms at first res fill.

ATM I have changed my res 3 weeks in but will use this same res for all flower unless it does a real woopsie on me.

Thanks snadge,
can you make a prediction on how often this "filling" operation must be done?
Consider that he will grow 6 indica plants in 5sqf space, fed by a 30 gallon res.

Later

Thanks peps1,
daily care could be a problem for him, especially with pH and EC meters, i.e. quite "complicated" actions.
I would consider easy2grow six plants kit.
My only fear is that the soil will always be moist, and never go through a wet/dry cycle as a good gardening practice.

Later

http://www.greenshorticulture.co.uk/detail...272&cat=266
Wilma system with clay balls, about as easy as it gets.

If growing hydro with any automated system then its essential ph and ec readings are monitored, especially with small reservoirs as these are more susceptible to change

Also growing with compost in an automated system is a pain and not advised, especially if you want to use organic nutrients

Owd

I agree with you, the design of the wilma is a pain to change reservoirs as well, the autopot system seems a cool idea but it also seems a pain to change the res, if the OP is ok with res changes for his mate every 2 weeks the autopot could be the way to go.


BTW I find daily pH and EC checks to be beneficial to the learning curve, I find that from analysing swings of pH and EC you can tailor your nutes to your plants, giving you an extremely low maintenance regime.

Another thing to think of is if using autopots in compost is that organic nutes are a no go over longer periods of reservoir change

If you're there every fortnight then he won't have to do anything but get in touch if anything looks amiss..

Drain to waste. (Yeah I know soil is technically dtw but...)

No such thing as a perfect system, it's a matter of choosing what bad points you can live with.

Hempy buckets: easy to move the plants but the runoff is a hassle. I now have garden trays with a drain fitted but they need mopping up every few weeks. Without drainage it would look like a stagnant pond in less than 2 weeks. Guess how I know this.

Bato buckets: In effect they're plumbed and automated hempy buckets. The neatest solution for you I think but the plant positions are fixed,

Of course the res will have to last 2 weeks. Say 4 plants, 2 litres per plant every other day, so 4 litres per day average, res needs to be a minimum of 60 litres, call it 100.

I like the lucas formula because it's 'one mix fits all', there will be an ec and pH that takes them from sprout to harvest.

Thanks snadge, peps1, lazi, owd.
Yes, every system has his drowback, but daily EC/pH care is unworkable for him.
So the autopot would be the right balance.
Maybe he will go with drain to waste in 8 litre square pots filled with coco using Canna nutes schedule, even if not technically hydro.

I will let you know.

You will still have the EC and pH issues with coco, i know its not ideal but soil Autopots with no organic nutrients is going to be the most workable compromise

Autopots are not without their problems though the growers that sort those problems seem to stay with that system. I really like the zero runoff part.

A few users have said that having an air pump in the res can mean the difference between success and failure.

Will you be posting a diary of the build and how you do the grow?

NFT is the way to go when it comes to low simplicity!

Great lazi, the airpump in the res would be a nice feature!
Concerning the diary, I currently have my own going, and taking care of this "forthnight" one would eventually be a problem.

I will do my best to keep you informed every now and then.

Later.

Hi macscooter, NFT requires daily EC/pH check and it doesn't fit the requirements, thanks anyway for your suggestion.

depends on the size of the tank tbh and if you know your strain ..what it likes ...then you can leave it for days

anything that has nuts in water only will need checking if you want the best from it

to my knowledge, all hydro requires close monitoring of ph and ec levels. id say for simplicity, cost, and being away for weeks at a time, a drip-system in soil would be best. they also sell a light hanger for 27 usd that you hook up to your light and it goes up n down like blinds in a window. tie a height-marker string to it.. and theres the simplicity for your friend when they stretch during transition into flower. any opinions from the more experienced are welcome, as im not too familiar w/ drip/soil.

good luck n happy tokes
americasmostblunted

Only the recirculating ones. With drain to waste there is a little bit of trial and error getting the nute mix correct but then it always gets mixed that way, no need to measure ec and pH ever again.

due to concerns over the noisy pump i'm looking at one of those easy2grow systems from green's

i think they will also save on height (which is restricted & currently have a setup with the res under the pods)

can they be used with just clay pebbles?

I don't think so, they're basically cheaper autopots aren't they?

So will need something that can wick and the res high enough for gravity to do its thing.

DWC system with pressurized drainage (bottom drains back to reservoir) and Lucas Formula nutes. I have to service my system every 20 days. That would be an easy way to get things in hand. Scratch the 250 and go to 400 and you'll have a system that will give satisfaction for years to come.

Total cost? Less than $100....

is there an alternative to soil? so i could use the same feeding technique to what i use (with just clay pebbles in flood n drain)?

I know they've been used with perlite, perlite/vermiculite, coco and coco/perlite.

ok, so if i used the either of the above (to soak up water/feed) in conjuction with clay pebbles (for drainage) - would this be the same as just using pebbles in the sense that i wouldnt need to change my hydro feeding schedule?

what im trying to say is would it be as simple as hydro in the sense that all i have to worry about is mixing correct EC and adjust PH accordingly in the water resevoir?

i guess to simplify what im saying would perlite/coco/verm effect PH or nute uptake?

(sorry for the questions but im having to have a massive growroom overhaul and want to keep things as and simple as possible - ive just learnt how to feed in hydro flood n drain with pebbles and im looking for something that i can "transfer my knowledge" rather than start the learning process from the beginning again)

hope im making sense

been looking into this easy2grow lark some more.

i think i've just answered my question in the previous post

the system, is it a "drip re-circulating" one?

if so then i can use seramis clay granules - which is ph neutral.

am i on the right track here? hope i havent got the description wrong ?

if so, i think ive found a solution. can you clarify this please?

cheers

In effect they're an automated passive hydro system except it's not 'drain to waste' as there is no waste. There is an inch of nutes at the bottom and they get no more until it's all gone. Then they get another inch.

In practice, the ec and pH going in is either correct or it isn't. Nothing recirculates so nothing to adjust apart from the initial mixing of the res. Some people use a few inches of hydroton at the bottom as a type of shelf, can't remember why. I'm at the limit of my understanding here, having never used them but the results I've seen are good and once the initial niggles are sorted, it stays sorted.

i need things explained in layman's terms! i dont know the difference between passive hydro and drip re-circulating

my guess is i'd need to call greens to ask advice - are they any good on advice? my growshop seem more interested in selling you anything rather than give good advice.

dunno if you found your solution but after reading thread i would grow in rockwool granules or slabs. they take an age to dry out so you could get away with feeding not as regular as other medium. i would dtw but there doesnt have to be any, just soak rockwool enuff. and it could easily be automated. make up feed, check ec + ph once and good to go for weeks depending on rez size. i use 100L

Passive hydro means that there are no pumps, it's all done by hand and/or gravity. So hydro that uses pumps are 'active' but the word active doesn't really get used, it's just called hydro and there are many different forms of (active) hydro.

Autopots aside, with passive hydro you pour the nutes into the plant pot and the excess runs out of the bottom as waste, hence 'run to waste' or 'drain to waste'. Costs more in nutrients but pays for itself with healthy and easy to maintain plants. The new nutrients flush out the old nutes, keeps everything sweet and about as skill free as it gets.

No waste at all with autopots and going by user reports sometimes they need to have just water in the res rather than nutrients to act as a flush.

Recirculating drippers is as the name says, the nutes RE-circulate through the system using a pump, meaning a control resevoir and the drippers are there to slow the flow of nutrients down to the desired rate.

hi mate! iv just changed from DWC to the auto pot system, this system is so easy to use i would recomend it to anybody. its that easy to use that they use it in primary schools to teach the kids abt growing ther own veg. you just simply fill the tank, set the ph and thats it untill the tank needs refilling!!!! peice of piss mate

definatly use an air stone in the resivior mate!!! stops the water going stag and puts much loved co2 into the water. i changed my res from the standard 45ltr tank that comes with it to a 100ltr res so i can visit my plants less. AIR STONE AND PUMP IN THE RESIVIOR IS A MUST. this has to be the easiest system to use on the market Click to view attachment auto pot in use, can post more pics if required??

I'm sold on autopots as well. Once the plants are established all I do is fill the tank once a week using a hose pipe from the bathroom tap, add nutrients and adjust ph and thats it for another week. As mark111111 said, an air stone in the res is a must and for flushing at the end of the grow I just add ph adjusted water for the last 10 days. Simple

I have 16 double autopots, 32 plants, with 2x100 litre tanks up in the loft so once I've got the stuff up there, Coco coir is a lot lighter than soil, all the hard work is over

I am using coco/perlite at the moment but I have used soil/perlite with good results.

These can be a problem unless your entire light fixture is very light. I had one and tried to use it with a 600W fixture/hood (hydrofarm) and it just wouldn't do the job.





umm, isn't that supposed to be O2 mate? At least that is what I use air stones for in me compost teas and reservoirs.

bang on mate. so easy once the plants roots are long enough to feed themselves. you will not regret going with the auto pot!! i changed from DWC wich is so tie'n( you have to be in there twice a day checking the ph and ec and constant fucking about) to the auto and find myself wondering why i never used it in the first place. the auto pot is never going to give you the kind of yield of DWC, but if you want "lazy" auto is the way for you and your friend

Why use ph adjusted water at the end surely ph just stops nutrient lock out which isn't a problem when flushing and adds P (From NPK) to the water if you use ph down, lemon juice would be fine but again why bother?

to the lads using autopots:

can you transplantg 3inch rockwool cubes into autopot clay pebbles/coco/perlite so they are fully rooted ready to roll!?

are the easy2grow 8.5 ltr square pot big enough or do you advise sticking with the bigger 15 litre autopots?

3 plant autopot = £70

6 plant easy2grow = £80

Hmm... what you reckon?

Looking at 2-3 week veg so i suppose the bigger pots unless you go the sog route with minimum veg.

Err - 'pH' is a measure of how acid/alkaline a solution is (with 7 being neutral). 'pH' isn't an actual substance that contains Phosphorous (P). Lemon juice affects pH because it contains Citric Acid which will drive nutrient solution pH down.

Isn't PH down phosphoric acid, I assumed most people used this