First hydro grow

hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
Rollitupuser said:
Will I still be able to grow measuring only ph and tds?
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Yes. Read like Hell. A lot of info on this site and a lot who know what to do to help. But read! pH can be adequately tested with paper test strips from a swimming pool supply. They are cheap, need no calibration and use no batteries. They will not let you down. Use the money to buy the best EC/PPM meter you can. Suggest Hanna (cheap but good) or Blue Labs (high dollar for a reason).
 
Dumme

Dumme

Well-Known Member
Lol, It helps to do a little digging before going directly to live forum help.

Less riff raff to make a jokes at your expense.

I personally like to use Bluelab testing equipment.
 
Dumme

Dumme

Well-Known Member
To start,

Get on of these:

http://www.horticulturesource.com/product_info.php?products_id=4523&gclid=CjwKEAjwwbyxBRCS74T049iEp0wSJACkO5v1o0sZmvt-IcyIo3ch4van5rjnfNcXtcvOi-S1Y_PFYBoCt1Hw_wcB

Then go to the local fish store to get a colour coded tester until you can afford something like:

https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&client=ms-android-verizon&sa=X&biw=360&bih=264&tbm=shop&noj=1&ei=9iIwVv7CLMyz-QG-srOgBg&q=bluelab+pen&oq=bluelab+pe&gs_l=mobile-gws-serp.1.0.30i10.132768.136171.0.137893.11.11.0.0.0.0.263.1725.0j2j6.8.0....0...1c.1j4.64.mobile-gws-serp..6.5.1058.6ryJ5cVGGKU#spd=6392498381967405445&spud=0
 
R

Rollitupuser

New Member
Can you tell Me what exactly I need to be measuring though?
I purchased a gh flora series go box for now I also got a 32x32x63 grow tent I want to set up in my room with a dimmable 400w air cooled hood.
Thanks for all the info!
 
Dumme

Dumme

Well-Known Member
In hydroponics, for a plant to survive it needs O2 enriched water with proper pH, and nutrients. I'm a true believer in "kiss" when learning what you're doing with hydro. (keep it simple stupid)

When finding a strain of cannabis, make sure it's an easy one to grow, lIke Northern Lights. Like other flowers, a rose is easier to grow than an orchid. The medium just complicates things even more.

Just like in soil, the nutrients measurement's (or dissolved solids) are important to keep track of. This is done with the measuring of "PPM"s (parts per million), if in the USA, or "EC" (elictrical conductivity), in Europe. If you follow the directions on the nutrients you bought to the "T", you should be ok, but most people change those numbers (N P K) based on the age of the plant and if it's in Flower vs Veg. The "Truncheon", by bluelab is just and easy, no calibration needed way to test those numbers. Do you NEED it to grow? Not iif you follow the feeding instructions perfectly, but it will makeep life soon much easier.

The second thing you'll need for testing is for pH of the water. This is probably the single most important part of growing, so that's why people recommend getting a high quality pH testing kit. I recommend, again, the pH pen from bluelabs. It also will tell you the water temperature.
 
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herballuvmonkey

herballuvmonkey

Well-Known Member
Do you know a baseline ppm for yiur plants by stage or week? If not you should find one. Each strain is different some like their solution hotter than others. Yoy will figure out your strain after you grow it for the first time. Ph in hydro best at 5.8 or 5.9. If you veg for 4 weeks try this:
Week 1 150 change the water evry 10 days.. 2nd set if 10 days 259-300 3rd set of 10 days 600. Run 4 days of neutral nutrients before you flip to 13/12. Start flower first 10 at 600 2nd 10 at 800 3rd 10 at 1k, now shit gets tricky depending on who you talk to and your strain. I normally go all the way til the fourth change at 1200. Day 46 ti be exact. Then 1 week of clearing solution. Then 3 days of straight water then harvest. Thats just a base for you. You have to tweak it for yourself. The only strains i grow are blue mystic, aurora indica, bubbleliciius and jock horror. Good luck!!!!
 
Dumme

Dumme

Well-Known Member
herballuvmonkey said:
Do you know a baseline ppm for yiur plants by stage or week? If not you should find one. Each strain is different some like their solution hotter than others. Yoy will figure out your strain after you grow it for the first time. Ph in hydro best at 5.8 or 5.9. If you veg for 4 weeks try this:
Week 1 150 change the water evry 10 days.. 2nd set if 10 days 259-300 3rd set of 10 days 600. Run 4 days of neutral nutrients before you flip to 13/12. Start flower first 10 at 600 2nd 10 at 800 3rd 10 at 1k, now shit gets tricky depending on who you talk to and your strain. I normally go all the way til the fourth change at 1200. Day 46 ti be exact. Then 1 week of clearing solution. Then 3 days of straight water then harvest. Thats just a base for you. You have to tweak it for yourself. The only strains i grow are blue mystic, aurora indica, bubbleliciius and jock horror. Good luck!!!!
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I think it's important in thr learning process to go through a cycle and learn from there. I think he'll get confused if there's a feed schedule, on the first grow. If he follows the instructions on the nutrients, he shouldn't have a problem. Learning, to me is more important then flower yeild, in the whole picture.
 
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R

Rollitupuser

New Member
No I don't got a baseline I could use all the help I can get so thanks man! I got some feminized seeds from the single seed centre white lemon, sweet cheese, wild thailand ryder & a few free afgan kush x black domina what do you guys think?
 
Dumme

Dumme

Well-Known Member
Rollitupuser said:
No I don't got a baseline I could use all the help I can get so thanks man! I got some feminized seeds from the single seed centre white lemon, sweet cheese, wild thailand ryder & a few free afgan kush wild thailand ryder x black domina what do you guys think?
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White Lemon- ~9 week flower
Sweet Cheese- ~9 week flower
Wild Thailand Ryder- ~9-10 week flower
Afgan Kush- ~6-7 week flower
Black Domina- ~7 week flower

I'd start with the Afgan Kush with the shortest flowering time.

Lack of experience may effect your ability to be patient.
 
herballuvmonkey

herballuvmonkey

Well-Known Member
Understandable dumme. I just wanted him to have a medium to low feed shesule so he wont make the mistake i made years ago, i got into feeding the hell out of my plants for wahile. I was running solutiomns as hot as 1600 with no burn. But i was burning thru nutrients ljme crazy changing water out every 5 days. Then i started researchjng and playing with different levels and since i ise gh exclhsively ive got it down for my strains. I think sometimes peole get into growing so many different strains without focusing on anfew. When you focus on a few good ones you can really dial them in.which really helps when you are trying to maximize your grows.
 
Dumme

Dumme

Well-Known Member
It's my understanding that General Hydroponics was bought out by the Scotts Company in 2014 (Lowes Hardware). I personally stopped stopped using them on principal.
 
R

Rollitupuser

New Member
Dumme said:
White Lemon- ~9 week flower
Sweet Cheese- ~9 week flower
Wild Thailand Ryder- ~9-10 week flower
Afgan Kush- ~6-7 week flower
Black Domina- ~7 week flower

I'd start with the Afgan Kush with the shortest flowering time.

Lack of experience may effect your ability to be patient.
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Sounds good I'll do that then. I still gotta look into ordering those Bluelab tools then I can get my set up started.
 
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