new to hydroponics help please?

this is going to be my 2nd grow and i was thinking about trying a hydroponic grow this time. i am using a 36 inch x 20 inch x 62 inch grow tent. knowing that i am new to this any suggestions on which style i should try or that would fit in a tent my size. I've already done a lot of research but still want to get advice from people who know what they are talking about. i have a 150w hps light.

I would suggest an ebb and flow type set-up with the tray sitting on the res. I have had great success with it in my first year. Height may be tight though.

My first and only hydro setup is a waterfarm system. It's a lot of work to set up and maintain but I've had great yields.

My buddy has a similar system and has great success as well.

first of all your 150w aint gona light the entire tent area, you will need 250 watts even then it will be hard to spread it 36" longitudinal you can go with hps if you used part of the tent.
as for the system, if you can fit a res under it, i recommend flood/drain if not i recommend dwc. cheers

Your best bet for your light is to probably due a flood and drain but they can be costly to run and set up. If i where in your situation and couldnt get a bigger light i would go with a custome DWC/NFT system. Buy a 30 gallon tub with a lid from any hardware or home good store, make sure its sturdy. Cut 6 holes in the top a little bit smaller then your net pots. Get a small water pump to put in the res below and run a pvc drip line on top of the plants to feed until the roots hit the water. I keep the drip system the whole time becasue it airates the water as well. Just throw a few airstones in the res along with the water pump and run 24/7. Center the light directly ontop of the tub and you will be able to grow 6 pretty good sized plants. should look something like this when your done . The after your plants get to a good size then just switch your lights, use more nutes, and it should look something like this . Becasue you have such a big space with a small amount of light, you will never be able to fully utilize the space until you get a bigger lamp. Try this, its pretty easy to build and produces great results. When the plants get big enough you can transfer then to individual 5 gal buckets with just the air stones and they will do just fine. Let me know if i can help with anything else!!!Good Luck!!!

How is a 150w hps not enough for 36 x 20 I had same size tent back in day, had a 150hps and a 125w cfl and off 2 plants in dirt I'd get close to 8 Oz's I'd average 6

I recommend you look at my last thread Stripping Back the BS...

I developed a single bucket system that is way trick.

I combined 3g buckets (but recommend 5g) + net pot lids + 160 gph pump + 6" Hydro Halo Drip Rings= ~ $35/bucket

The system worked great. The things that held yield back was not enough light during mid veg- first 15 days of flower, and insufficient gallons of nutes due to only using 3g buckets

Pics are not of the complete system, but are elements. Cut hole in net pot lid to run tubing up to drip ring (or go with cheaper drip rings). FYI they all clog so have a few spares to change out while you soak the clogged ones

thanks for all the info and help everyone i appreciate it. at this point i think im going to try do a DWC grow. any opinions on 2 plants in 1 tub? or am i better off with 1 plant per bucket? also i've read around and have found all different answers on how often to change the water any suggestions for a beginner like myself?

At least once a week

Again i am a real nube! I run a 100L res with 6 plants. I tend to watch my Ph and when it starts to drop i change the water. I typically change every 7-10 days. Near the end like 3 weeks before finish i tend to have to do it every 5-7 days. I dont wait to see plants stressing though 😳.