Single plant top drip system, continous drip OK? (First time indoor)

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PhatDaddy

Member
I am about to start a top drip, single plant setup with LST / SCROG. I was visiting my local hydro shop, very easy to talk to.

I was going in expecting to get a bit of info and parts for DWC, but was recommended to do a top drip system. And would also be easier to drain and refill the system compared to DWC.

Now, I seen the little kit he had to sell, just attach an aquarium pump, and the water flows up. Now, he was telling me that I wouldn't need to have the water pump on a timer and could be run continuously as long I have proper drainage.

Now my questions are the following:

Can I do continuous drip with this?
What medium should I use? Hydroton or Coco?

I am personally leaning more towards Coco, as I have a tiny grow space (19.5" sq 5' high), as I want to maximize yield.

Input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
pharmacoping

pharmacoping

Active Member
hydroton,continuous drip are awesome ....and you will have a monster in a few months. cut the top off of her and clone it before flowering
 
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PhatDaddy

Member
pharmacoping said:
hydroton,continuous drip are awesome ....and you will have a monster in a few months. cut the top off of her and clone it before flowering
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What about Coco? Would I be able to do the same with Coco?
(The shop gave me a 20 min DVD on Coco, so I guess I'm more partial to it since I been programmed with all those great benefits! haha)

And thank you very much Pharmacoping!
 
pharmacoping

pharmacoping

Active Member
cuukoo for coco....stick with tried and true. the only two times I've ever had issues in my grow room 1) at a friends urging I tried coco, then quickly changed back to clay, and 2) last year I tried Sensi Bloom instead of Dutch Master Gold and saw the first deficiency of my life in a whole tray of plants. I wont try anything else.
some people swear by coco. and some use molasses, too.
 
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PhatDaddy

Member
Hmm, sounds good, and since it's my first indoor grow it would be a better idea to go for what has more documentation on it also.

Thanks again. I'll have a journal up soon, just trying to figure out what LED panel to get in my ~400$ budget.

Cheers
 
Bigz2277

Bigz2277

Well-Known Member
PhatDaddy said:
Hmm, sounds good, and since it's my first indoor grow it would be a better idea to go for what has more documentation on it also.

Thanks again. I'll have a journal up soon, just trying to figure out what LED panel to get in my ~400$ budget.

Cheers
Click to expand...
hit up newegg.com ya they do have some grow stuff. saw a 1000w hps cooltube kit (ballast reflect bulb hangers) for like 250 bucks.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA05F03B2004
free shipping as well.
also comes with a timer. lol
 
hydrosoil78

hydrosoil78

Active Member
the organic matter in coco retains water for some time, but hydroton just drains and dries out when you stop watering. It seems good to have organic matter and rocks or particles of different sizes in the medium, they give lots of surface area for roots to exchange ions .
 
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PhatDaddy

Member
Bigz2277 said:
hit up newegg.com ya they do have some grow stuff. saw a 1000w hps cooltube kit (ballast reflect bulb hangers) for like 250 bucks.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA05F03B2004
free shipping as well.
also comes with a timer. lol
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I'm in Canada and the US side doesn't ship this way, and 1000W would be an oven for my closet, I have just under 2'sq. haha

Hydrosoil,
You're right, I forgot about the Coco holding the water, meaning if I'd do that I would need to have it on a timer right?

If I were to use Hydroton, do I put anything else in there but that? Or that's fine like that as long it's always dripping.

Now the main concern with that is, what if my air pump dies while I'm away for 5-6 hours? How will my plant do without water?

I was thinking getting a higher output pump with a Y splitter and pressure control, one to go on the bottom of the nute tank to give air down there, and one to pump the water up to the plant. Or would two pumps be ideal, considering that would need two pumps to die for a catastrophic event. I would think that having bubbles and extra air in the nute tank would help?
 
Bigz2277

Bigz2277

Well-Known Member
PhatDaddy said:
Unfortunately I'm in Canada and the US side doesn't ship this way, and 1000W would be an oven for my closet, I have just under 2'sq. haha

Hydrosoil,
You're right, I forgot about the Coco holding the water, meaning if I'd do that I would need to have it on a timer right?

If I were to use Hydroton, do I put anything else in there but that? Or that's fine like that as long it's always dripping.

Now the main concern with that is, what if my air pump dies while I'm away for 5-6 hours? How will my plant do without water?

I was thinking getting a higher output pump with a Y splitter and pressure control, one to go on the bottom of the nute tank to give air down there, and one to pump the water up to the plant. Or would two pumps be ideal, considering that would need two pumps to die for a catastrophic event. I would think that having bubbles and extra air in the nute tank would help?
Click to expand...
ah ok. ya i have a micro cab as well. i use 2 150w hps sun system compact grow lights. ~90 $ each
 
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PhatDaddy

Member
I was actually thinking growing with an LED system. I'm willing to spend up to 400$ at my door for something decent. I'm going LED because of a few things, one I'm a giant LED fan and have always wanted to do that, and the other is heat generation, and finally power.

On Ebay i found a few 400W HPS systems with digital ballasts for 200 at my door with 2 bulbs and fan tube, but the heat from that bad boy would heat my house beyond livable.

I'm stuck between the Pro-Grow 260W or the Blackstar 240W. Although, the Blackstar 240 uses 135W actual, and the Pro-Grow 260 uses 215W actual. Although you can see it in the price..

290 for the Blackstar, and 410 for the Pro-Grow.
 
Bigz2277

Bigz2277

Well-Known Member
PhatDaddy said:
I was actually thinking growing with an LED system. I'm willing to spend up to 400$ at my door for something decent. I'm going LED because of a few things, one I'm a giant LED fan and have always wanted to do that, and the other is heat generation, and finally power.

On Ebay i found a few 400W HPS systems with digital ballasts for 200 at my door with 2 bulbs and fan tube, but the heat from that bad boy would heat my house beyond livable.

I'm stuck between the Pro-Grow 260W or the Blackstar 240W. Although, the Blackstar 240 uses 135W actual, and the Pro-Grow 260 uses 215W actual. Although you can see it in the price..

290 for the Blackstar, and 410 for the Pro-Grow.
Click to expand...
read up on aircooled reflectors. almost no heat output
they also sell these things called icebox's at hydro stores. its a watercooled unit that you can add to aircooled, making it 99% heatproof. I am a fan of LED's as supplemental lighting but not a 100% led fan, but i can say that it is your grow. so as long as your girls and you are happy that is all that matters. ^__^
 
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PhatDaddy

Member
Those are pretty nifty I must admit. I think I'm going to stick with LED exclusive though, yield may not be extreme, but it'll make me happy, and hopefully my ladies.

But it might mess with my plan of a angled SCROG, since it's in such a small area, make the screen in a V shape to let it spread out more.
 
sorethumb

sorethumb

Active Member
i wanted continius drip too. plants hated it i am useing hydrotron and pebbles they grew from seeds fine great even.
but as they setup there roots they started getting kinda weak looking. so i just water them with the sump pump i still have it flowing on the
side away from them. but they r looking better now i didnt want anymore to die. i lost four from swithing to aquaponics too much too little urrrrr lol
 
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