I just ordered an NFT table today as it was with in my budget. but I have a few questions.

1. how often and how long for, do you have nute pump on for and air pump?
2. am I best using rock wool cubes and clay peebles?
3. what is the most likely thing to go wrong with this system?

Hi nu jerzey devil, what type of NFT is it?

anyhoo when I was doing hydro I left the pump on all the time, I used rockwool cubes on a spreader matt held in place with corex(sp?) cover and the only problem I had was with low temps in tank lowering nute uptake

Thanks Hughie

Getting a nutriculture gro tank gt 604.

Why do you need to get them held in place? soz if this is a stupid question
I am getting a water heater with the setup so hope I wont have to many probs.
How loud is the nute pump?
I take it you dont use clay peebles then?

I used to use 604's mate but we are talking years ago when they first came out,the pump is very quiet.

I ran 4-400watt hps over 2--5foot tanks pump on 15 min every 2 hrs.a bit like flood and drain never had any problems last 8 years. now trying l e d lighting/ intend doing a diary and a comparison of two identical plants in pots, should be interesting just going to load a photo into to my album of a two week old seedling grown under led light. a lot to learn

I once dispensed with the corex cover and grew the plants in pots with a dripper system,havent got any pics of it though,I was just experimenting at the time

Loving those pics they look good

what medium do you use?

Hi njd, you put the cubes through holes cut in the tank cover, the cover stops light getting to the roots, once the roots form a decent mass under the cover they can support themselves the cover holds then in place until then, it also keeps them upright as the plants grow.

Then mate I just used rockwool cubes,if I was going to do NFT nowadays I would use Hugo blocks I think they are called?Theres loads of expert NFT guys on here,I am sure one will be along later to advise you better,I only grew in NFT for a year.

good good atleast I can save money not buying clay peebles.

So I take it then Hughie the plants roots grow into the corex which help it stay upright?

I will ask about those hugo blocks.
Do you need an air pump I have one already just wonder if they were worth using?

Where you Folks happy with the yeild you got? I am going to use canna nutes as I already use them in soil

Hi njd, the roots grow into the spreader mat on the lid of the tank. the corex cover sits on top of the lid and supports the cubes and stops light getting to the roots,
you will see better how it goes once you have the tank

Was begining to think that my self Just trying to get it worked out in my head before I get it. Do these systems come with the corex or do you have to buy it seperate?
When I seen it I could only get to see the top tray as he had ran out of stock

You should get the cover with the tank mate

and theres me thinking you can only get 6 palnts in each tank.

Have your pump on 24/7 ...at a trickle to start an increase as plants grow.

Rockwool 3" cubes work well in the 604.

Make sure your run/off is ok..you can increase it by putting 2 x£1 coins under the pump end this will give you a better tilt.

Enjoy your nft.

p&q

Hi

This post should answer many of your general hydro questions and a few others too...

http://www.uk420.com/boards/index.php?s=&a...st&p=793251

ATB

Stan

hi nu just coming to my 4th wk in flower i have the gt424 its a good syatem but its hard to drain every week in bloom so u can keep ur nutes right, ive gone for hydrogardens sure 2 grow 4 sg70 its called, look at my thread in general questions under how many is good, pic on there, the table sits above to res makes it well easy to change.

Reguarding Drainage:

Cut a piece off a garden hose stick it in a bucket and syphon it out any dribble left a large sponge or old towel mops that up and refill.

You can put something under the tank at one end that will tilt the water forward too.

p&q

Or use the pump that you've got sitting there in the tank.

Always been an NFT man. I would suggest air pruning your plants before you place them onto your tables. This helps prevent the 'lag' or loss of vigour when they are put in place, when fed for the first time. The cubes you use will also determine how much solution is absorbed. My personal favourites are Cutilene cubes, these cubes seem to promote better root growth and do not waterlog as quickly as Grodan. I have also used STG cubes (Sure To Grow) its a good medium but seedlings/clones will need watering 'from the top' when they are on the tables, until root growth establishes itself in the capilliary matting.
Check that the nutrients you are using are suitable for use with an air pump/stone.
You can run your pump 24/7 right from day one when you air prune. If you do not air prune, then I suggest an intermittent trickle until root growth is seen out of the cubes or vigourous growth starts 'up top'.
The main purpose of the corex is to keep light out and humidity in. A humid rootzone is essential to good yields in NFT,somewhere between 18 and 20C with a relative humidity of at least 85%.
As for problems in NFT, cleanliness is the key. Keep everything clean. Root Rot can be a problem because the roots have virtually no protection from bruising and damage. Pump failure, obvious I suppose. Due to the nature of NFT the plants have nothing to keep them upright. Depending on the eventual planned height of your garden, I would suggest spanning Pea and Bean netting across the whole garden. If a plant falls roots will become damaged and it will affect every plant being fed from that particular resevoir. An efficient enzyme is essential unless you are using H2O2. A dollop of applesauce will tell you if your enzyme is doing its job.(Not in your resevoir ,but in a cup with an equal amount of enzyme.If the resulting liquid after 24hrs is still lumpy then your enzymes not working, if its watery then it is).
NFT is high maintenance, but high reward. By the same token, any plant is only as good as its enviroment. You may have the worlds most finely tuned NFT system but if they aren't in the correct enviroment with some CO2 they will never achieve their full potential.
Have fun and welcome to a whole new world. Stick with it its worth it.
Sorry, but written English is not my chosen subject.
Hope this helps.

Wow thanks for all the great info folk's looks like I will be in good hands

sorry for sounding stupid but what is air pruning, have only grown in soil so far. I under stood everything else but air pruning

the shop I go to only sells B'cuzz, Mapito and gordan cubes which would you advise using?

THANKS FOLKS

Air pruning is done by placing your cubes on a grid or mesh, air must be able to circulate all around the cube. When a root emerges from the cube the tip of the root dies off. The death of this root tip triggers more roots to grow inside the cube, where the moisture is. When using this method you have to be careful they never dry out. When clones/seedlings are placed into the pre soaked and drained cubes, they should be o.k for 3 or 4 days. Feeling the weight of each cube is the best way to tell when they need a feed. When feeding, always dip the cubes into your solution about half way, then place back on grid or wire tray. Once the plants get to the stage that they need watering every day they are ready for the NFT tables. Air pruning ensures explosive growth from the cube, as opposed to the usual 2or 3 tap roots, there should be loads, quite quickly. These almost root bound cubes seem to cope much better when placed on the tables with the pump on full time 24/7. This is merely my opinion, gained through experimentation and experience. As for which cube is I can only say Grodan would always be on the bottom of my list. 'Soggy crumble-cube' as a friend of mine calls it. Hope this helps.

Right here is the situation.

I had done cuttings and used root roits. they had rooted so I went to get a hydro setup and the shop never had any that I could afford in stock so he had to order it up. I am getting the setup on monday I hope.
In the mean time I got some soil and potted the cuttings up so that they could carry on growing till I got cubes and setup.
I was planning on washing off the soil and putting the root riots in cubes and doing the veg in the nft table.
but from reading your post it sounds like I should do air pruning till I go into flowerig?

If cubes are well airpruned I only veg for 2 or 3 days on the tables. Washing off tge roots is not my favoured practice as too much damage can occur. I have a friend who recieved a large number of clones that had been potted on into 3 inch pots with soil and perlite. Rather than wash them all he simply cut the bottom off each cup/pot , picked a rough hole out of his rockwool cube and transplanted the whole cup into his cube. Worked a treat. You could try that if you have not put them too big a pot already.

put them into pots on wednesday, the pots are to big 6 inch atleast. I am hoping there isnt going to be much root developement but its just hoping
I had 3 inch pots but never thot to use them.

so you only air prune for 2-3 days? then put them in the Nft and flower? or veg.
I need to keep these vegging for 3-4weeks as I have no space in flower room

Alrite nu jerzey devil.I used to use a wilma and a flo gro but got given a multi duct nft and holds 8 plants.so decided to give the nft a go in a scrog grow first time nft and first time scrog.I'm like u I know nothing about each of them but it all went in on Wednesday night I set the feed timer to deliver for 15 mins every other hour and got a water heater set at 21c and a air stone just hope it works out as well as my usual grows go.so where both nft virgins hope it rewards both of us.

I am starting to wonder what I am letting myself in for. I can see me being chained to the fcuking thing I feel like a fish out of water

I am thinking I should of went with an easier system but its to l8 now to worry.

mine isnt a multi duct its a tray. keep me posted on how you got on. see the plastic covering that you get round the cubes, do you take that off

No, not generally. Some raise it a little so that roots can grow from the side of the cubes easily.

To see about preparation of cubes see: http://www.uk420.com/boards/index.php?showtopic=186875


Just go for it... I suspect some of the horror stories you've heard (esp. about pythium) tend to happen after few grows - mum's & equipment have become a little tired & worn and patches of infection and general dirtiness begin to appear.

I (and many others I read of) didn't have any problems for the first 3 or 4 grows.

As you probably know - everything happens faster in hydro generally - plants grow & die faster so it helps to keep a keen, regular eye on things & act promptly if you see something happening.

Personally now I've got the hang of it & got some basic routines established I don't think hydro is so much work. I do find it more boring & mechanical than when growing in a pot with soil/coco etc. I think that's just a personal thing of mine...

ATB

Stan

Thanks I am going to go off for a read at those links you gave me.

OK - here's some more from the bookmarks I collected when I started in hydro.

Managing pH: http://www.uk420.com/boards/index.php?show...12&hl=drift (see also the link I gave in post #16)

Managing/Interpreting EC (TDS) readings: http://www.uk420.com/boards/index.php?showtopic=117075 (see also the link I gave in post #16)

Cleaning your system & kit: http://www.uk420.com/boards/index.php?auto...showarticle=542

Happy Reading...

Stan

For ph I have a ph tester and ph up and down so I think I will be ok on that.

EC however is a diffrent case. I dont have an ec meter I was just going to add in the amount that it said on the bottle
dont have a water temp tester either was going to just set the water heater at that temp and hope for the best

No ec truncheon

When I done nft I used ionic nutes and their advice was 7ml per litre. In a 60 litre res I would av fried them & run outta nutes in a fortnight (their plan)

Get a decent truncheon mate youll need it.

p&q

the cheapest one I can find is £50 and its money I aint got at the moment

Yeah iv always left the rockwall plastic wrap on in all my grows with rockwool don't know if it's better to take it off.but that's just the thing iv always done.I do use a ec truncheon iv done a mix off a feed from the manafacture's feed chart and it was way to high just as a test of there instructions but if I did not of had a truncheon they would of been fried.

If you really can't afford it then go very easy on the manufacturer's recommended dosage and increase it very gradually (if at all). I found NFT to be easy, as long as you have the necessary gubbins, without them it's very easy to fuck things up very quickly.

The sleeves are kept on as they encourage the roots to grow downwards....I think.

p&q

I will be able to get a ec meter when I put them in flowering. but its the 4 week vegging that I am needing to do before that, that worries me.

I will just do half the recommend amount of veg nutes till I get a meter. and buy an aquirium thermometer and leave it in the tank

They also help maintain the structure & shape of the cubes ('cos the feckers collapse & go mushy after a while - I'm currently not a great fan of rockwool... I've seen enough of it to last me a lifetime)

Stan

Do a diary when the time comes mate & Im sure youll get help thro the veg stage.

Enjoy your nft.

goodluck!

p&q

I forgot - I also started a thread some time back about spare kit it might be useful to have around in case of emergencies (eg a pump failure in NFT can be a big deal so having a spare might be a good idea...): http://www.uk420.com/boards/index.php?show...=149234&hl=

Sounds like you're on a tight budget ATM so I guess that might be something for later...

Stan

Keep looking, I got one for £16, tried online?

No point I dont have a bank account or credit card.
I have to go to the shop and buy it :-(

I got the call, the call I had been waiting on to go pick up my Nft table only trouble was it was at ten mins before they shut
so I will get it tomorrow.

I have got to say a massive thanks to everyone who posted replies and links. the info was great and enjoyed reading

Oh yeah another problem: How do you keep plant vegging in hydro with out them becoming monsters
Or would I be best vegging them properly for 4 week and topping them so they dont get too big. only got about 4-5ft max head room

Easy answer is use the lucas formula, in veg they look like runts and 12/12 stretch is about double not the usual triple but maybe not the best for a first time in hydro, smaller window for the acceptable range of ec/ph ime. Sort of a leap of faith to use a nute formula that's the same for veg and flower with no flushing and strictly no additives but it works well enough. Basically 8ml of GH micro and 16ml of GH bloom per US gallon. Getting into it means you can look at all those additives without being tempted. Like being a Eunuch in a harem.

In practice, the best ec suits your lighting and climate, the more they can grow, the stronger the nutes they need but the label instructions will put you in the ballpark. (pH is decided by the system used, 5.2 is liked by some large scale nft growers iirc but others disagree.)

Measuring syringes are good enough, one for each bottle and follow the labe for dosage. Mark the full res and top up with tap water as needed. When you've used a volume of top up water that equals the res volume, it's time for a new res. If that is say 18 days plus, then make the res changes every fortnight.

If you can manage a scrog, that's a high yielding way of dealing with lack of height.

For pH you can use the £3 test kits, once again, will get you into the ballpark and if the plants look great, then the ec and pH is splendid too, or at least they were until a few days ago.

A res heater without a balls on certified accurate water thermometer? I have painful memories of rotting roots breaking off in my hands last time I tried that. Roots too cold = slower growth. Roots too warm = Pythium.

Was going to keep water temp at 19oC.

will need to lookin to the Lucas formuale, I am resrictedd to what my grow shop sell. and they seem to do canna mostly or advanced or bio bizz , palagron and some others but cant remember the names

what company is GH?

General Hydroponics - as used by NASA

What size of water heater do you need to buy for a 45L grow tank 50/100/150 or 200 watt?

50w

Sorry too ask questions in ur thread nu jerzey devil.what nute temp would people have in there nft reservoir iv always stayed at 21c in my other hydro systems what's the general oppinions on this?.