1st large scale hydro system, looking for the easiest to start with??

dont want to bite off more then i can chew on my 1st attempt so looking for the best sytem to suite the hydro begginer, i have lots of experiance with soil and coco and a little experiance with a dwc setup i was thinking drip irrigation ?? any suggestions , and i was thinking of doin about 50 plants in a 3 meter by 2 meter tent

If your starting out for the first time? The any diy flood table setup would be perfect!
Even a ebb & grow system or a titan flow & grow system will work to.

These are simple setups and they run on auto pilot for the most part.

Ebb + Flow

I jumped from soil to aeroponics which has had a huge learning curve. Greatest potential, most sensitive. Cuts weeks out of your grow becas of the growth rate.

I did aero loved the progresion of it! Would i go back to it no way! Why i like having a life and the first time
You come home from work to dead plants you will feel the same way. Just to many thing to go wrong spray
Heads, pumps going out, power going out

For a big scale grow I would go with flood and drain tables or recirculating top drip. Just keep using coco in some pots and flood and drain or top drip thatt bad boy.

thxs for the info guys ima do my homework on the flood and drain sytems using 10litre air pots x6 600 watt lights only thing that concerns me now is the amount of humidity it will create having that much water flowin around, also my mate told me about something called auto pots ima look in to that to have any of you heard or used them ?

If you use a res with a lid you should be fine on humidity just make shure you got good fresh air movement

ar ok, using a 12inch rvkL1 but im using an adjacent room as a buffer rather then sending it directly out of the window or vent its not perfect thoe gets very humid sometimes, i wanna ask you about nutes as its something iv still not nailed down can never make my mind up and always change every grow i was gunna use canna a+b, canna boost, pk13/14, a.n. carbo load, rox and a.n. overdrive but iv got a bottle of a.n.big bud and could go an buy other nutes if needed id prefere to use up wot iv got but.. i dunno rly, my harvest are never rly massive and the weed is never rly rly strong but iv been told its "the tastiest bud" theyv ever smoked im sik of being a bit dissapointed at harvest with the amount iv got once its dried and reduced thats y ima use rox this time, wot would you do ??

http://www.autopot.co.uk/autopot/3d-animations-walk-throughs/autopot-greenhouse-using-the-1-pot-system
think this is the one for me, no timers very simple and iv heard good things about it from a couple of mates, wot do you think ?

DWC = Water 1-inch below pot. Oxygenated the water & roots. If the power goes out you still have a few days to rectify the situation. I go 4-5 days without even looking at her.

The MOST forgiving grow system!

Only use air pumps. Water pumps fail constantly.

25 years ago I experimented and was able to make a "Spitter"

1 small airline hole in the bottom if the bucket. run airline in and tee it in the bottom of the bucket. As air goes through the line, it siphons water from the bottom of the bucket due to the increased water pressure in the bottom. The air then pushes small amounts of water up and it will continuously "Spit" the top of your growing medium.

1 5-gallon bucket
1/4" Airline
1-grommet
1-tee
No emitters, valves, stones, nada!

It works! Try it & let me know what you think!

I grew cantaloupe last summer with 1 spitter unit.

I was going to patent it, but it's just so damn simple... They would laugh!

sounds clever and quite simple considering the benefits but its not for me, i need automation and reliability i think ill get with the autopot system i was looking at, did u ever get leaks with the hole in the bottom of the bucket in your spitter pots?

Ebb & Flow without a doubt. Started out with the recirculating top-feed drip myself and wouldn't go back. Drippers get clogged not to mention the system is far more intricate and complex than a simple flood and drain table. Oh yeah... E&F has had much better growth rates for me. The only plus side to drip is that ppm and pH don't fluctuate much at all, which is great if you're constantly going out of town for days at a time.

MrMoores said:

sounds clever and quite simple considering the benefits but its not for me, i need automation and reliability i think ill get with the autopot system i was looking at, did u ever get leaks with the hole in the bottom of the bucket in your spitter pots?

Click to expand...

No. 5/16" hole with a grommet and clear aquarium tubing. I use the same small hole/hose for my DWC 5-gallon bucket. I use the same hose as a water gauge.

I made a cloner bubbler with a Folger's coffee plastic can. That hole leaked due to the thin sidewall. I use automotive adhesive and no more leaks.

I do use drip pans though. A leak is almost inevitable and I hate floods!