So I'm a semi-new grower, have been at it for almose 2 years. I am upgrading my setup and I have a 12x13 room that just got closed cell spray foam. The mini split and natural gas co2 generator are getting installed in a couple weeks. I will be starting off with 4 1000w HPS lights for this flower room. I also have a 6x9 tent that will be utilized for veg as well as a 2x3 tent for clones. I am so incredibly sick of growing in soil due to hand watering in a cramped space and honestly the time commitment as well as waste! I want to run hydro and I can't seem to grasp how to set up a perpetual grow this way. Like how do I move the plants from veg tent to flower room when growing in hydro. I was originally thinking rdwc but I'm open to suggestions.
Switching to hydro
- Thread starter MissTHC
- Start date
GBAUTO
Well-Known Member
Do you have access to a drain in that room?
I've been growing my meds using a 4 site RDWC system for 4 years now and I have to admit it's been a steep learning curve.
I can tell you that I don't like systems that use 5 gal. buckets and strongly suggest using totes instead.
The reason I asked about the drain is that I would consider using dtw trays and coco.
I am running coco in my pheno tent and it grows just as well as my hydro setup.
Once you have found the amount of solution the plants are happy with, it's simple to set up an automated watering cycle.
I've been growing my meds using a 4 site RDWC system for 4 years now and I have to admit it's been a steep learning curve.
I can tell you that I don't like systems that use 5 gal. buckets and strongly suggest using totes instead.
The reason I asked about the drain is that I would consider using dtw trays and coco.
I am running coco in my pheno tent and it grows just as well as my hydro setup.
Once you have found the amount of solution the plants are happy with, it's simple to set up an automated watering cycle.
I have a bathroom in the adjacent room that doesn't get used at all. I could run a hose through the drywall and drain into the shower. I am on well/septic so I'm nervous about dumping nutes into the system. As it is so far I have been using the sump pump that discharges into the backyard. Unfortunately that's on the other side of the house.
Rurumo
Well-Known Member
Your setup sounds awesome, I'm envious! Coco can definitely be reused, there are some good threads on it here somewhere. I've reused it three times max, was scared to try a 4th, and there was not much difference between grows. I use organic base nutes, but add some salt based ferts during bloom, so honestly, I'm not sure if 100% salt based ferts all the way through would build up more. I also use enzyme products to hopefully break down some roots, but truthfully, I think they don't matter. When I'm done with a batch of coco, it goes straight into my outdoor garden-wonderful stuff.
xtsho
Well-Known Member
If you're switching to hydro because you don't want to be lugging bags then I would go to a water only setup like DWC/RDWC or flood tables with rockwool. You'll still be dealing with used media if you go coco and although I prefer hydroton which can be washed and reused that's another chore. With rockwool just toss it out and start with new ones.
One thing you'll want to do to make it as easy as possible is run a water line into the room as well as a drain which @GBAUTO already mentioned. You don't want to be lugging buckets of water around.
How to move plants around is going to depend on what form of hydro you choose.
Good luck.
One thing you'll want to do to make it as easy as possible is run a water line into the room as well as a drain which @GBAUTO already mentioned. You don't want to be lugging buckets of water around.
How to move plants around is going to depend on what form of hydro you choose.
Good luck.
.Smoke
Well-Known Member
World Of Hempy
:leaf:World of Hempy:leaf: Welcome to the World of Hempy thread. Here we can discuss all things Hempy related and share hints and tips. I'm hoping for lots of member participation with pics of your own efforts. I'll do my best to answer any questions about my experiences and I hope you all...
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.Smoke
Well-Known Member
Aka. Hempy
Kinda but I was more refering just to dwc self contained buckets!
jonnynobody
Well-Known Member
You have a well thought game plan for your upcoming ganja factory. You're about to grow some serious dope my friend
I made the switch to hydro about 7 years ago due to back problems. Hauling dirt in and out of my house every 9 weeks in a perpetual garden is a deal breaker. Add in the bug larvae and typical soil growing pains I had to make the switch to dutch buckets, and I'm glad I did. No knock on soil gardeners by any means. It's the way god intended the plant to grow and produces the best tasting flowers on the planet. My back just physically can not deal with the logistics of moving all that dirt. I grow in water to waste 5 gallon buckets with #4 chunky perlite as my medium. The buckets are super light and easy to move. The medium is light and easy to work with. I wouldn't have an aversion to running 1 or 2 soil plants, but doing 15 or 20 in my whole flower room is just not something I could swing. I water with a wand and pump on a key chain remote every 2 days. It's definitely not automated, but convenient enough I don't complain much. And because there are no pumps or timers in this style of hydroponics your plants will not suffer significant or irreparable harm if the power goes out for 5 or 6 hours. I would suggest RO water if you have not already installed a unit. I'm sure you already have though 1) Clip desired clones
2) Place in clone tote 2" net cups with foam collars to root for 10 days
3) Transplant into a mini dutch / hempy bucket container. I use 32 ounce foam cups from the gas station, $1 1 gallon trash containers from dollar tree. Whatever floats your boat. Ultimately they are transferred into 5 gallon black dutch buckets once the root system is thoroughly established. They are flowered from there. The 5 gallon buckets take about 1 gallon of water every 2 days in flower. 1.5 gallons for the big ladies. Heavy drinkers sometimes need once per day watering in the final 2 weeks of flowering. Haven't had that happen in awhile though.
I veg them for 2-3 weeks in the 1 gallon containers and then transplant into their 5 gallon final homes.
![20200911_191451[1].jpg](/data/attachments/3821/3821118-660af87c12895aba78ad64c5413c9a3e.jpg)
Here you can actually see the buckets from the last few that had to finish a bit longer on my last cycle.
Attachments
jonnynobody
Well-Known Member
Goddam smoke! Your shit always looks so clean and plush. I feel like I need to go downstairs and tidy up every time I see your garden
Always nice to see your work. I'm sure we've talked about this before, but are those all just different sized hempy buckets including the totes? Or are those totes DWC? I love those pallets every time I see them by the way.
.Smoke
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the kind words.Goddam smoke! Your shit always looks so clean and plush. I feel like I need to go downstairs and tidy up every time I see your garden
Everything there is hempy. 1 gallon buckets in the new seed starting box I made, 4gal black buckets, and 10gal totes going to be used exclusively for the large/tall strains.
jonnynobody
Well-Known Member
Is that automated watering and waste water management I see with grommets and tubing? I desperately need some form of automation in my flower room. It's so tight in there now I'm having difficulty accessing plants even with the wand. If I could grommet the drain hole and run tubing to a single waste water tote that could be pumped to my sewer drain that in and of itself would make my life significantly easier. Seeing someone else having actually done it might just give me the kick in the ass I need to get 'er done. For some reason I have an aversion to grommets and tubing because I've no experience with it, but it seems fairly simple to work with. Even for a simpleton like myself
.Smoke
Well-Known Member
The system is 100% automated.Is that automated watering and waste water management I see with grommets and tubing? I desperately need some form of automation in my flower room. It's so tight in there now I'm having difficulty accessing plants even with the wand. If I could grommet the drain hole and run tubing to a single waste water tote that could be pumped to my sewer drain that in and of itself would make my life significantly easier. Seeing someone else having actually done it might just give me the kick in the ass I need to get 'er done. For some reason I have an aversion to grommets and tubing because I've no experience with it, but it seems fairly simple to work with. Even for a simpleton like myself
I put a description of it up after I got it all figured out.
Link here if you're interested...
World Of Hempy
yeah I’m not a fan of the dust. It always makes me sick after breathing it. It mixes better when everything is wet also. I have to do this sorry Use your N-95 mask and you will never have to worry about the dust ever again!
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jonnynobody
Well-Known Member
I'm going to review how you did it so I can do the same. Thank you for the link .Smoke. I'll start rounding up the supplies between now and the end of my next flower cycle. Then after my next harvest I can integrate everything into the flower room. I'm pretty stoked about it. It's probably the most important evolution my flower room has made in some time. Automation. It just sounds nice
Wow great looking setup! So you veg for a few weeks in perlite then transplant? I'll have to look into that. I assumed the perlite would kind of fall apart when trying to transplant.You have a well thought game plan for your upcoming ganja factory. You're about to grow some serious dope my friend
1) Clip desired clones
2) Place in clone tote 2" net cups with foam collars to root for 10 days
3) Transplant into a mini dutch / hempy bucket container. I use 32 ounce foam cups from the gas station, $1 1 gallon trash containers from dollar tree. Whatever floats your boat. Ultimately they are transferred into 5 gallon black dutch buckets once the root system is thoroughly established. They are flowered from there. The 5 gallon buckets take about 1 gallon of water every 2 days in flower. 1.5 gallons for the big ladies. Heavy drinkers sometimes need once per day watering in the final 2 weeks of flowering. Haven't had that happen in awhile though.
View attachment 4719100
View attachment 4719101
View attachment 4719098
I veg them for 2-3 weeks in the 1 gallon containers and then transplant into their 5 gallon final homes.
View attachment 4719126
View attachment 4719127
View attachment 4719130
Here you can actually see the buckets from the last few that had to finish a bit longer on my last cycle.
View attachment 4719128
I'm about to scour that post your setup is sweet
I can go through the drywall to the bathroom for water and drain hoses
RO was the first upgrade I made. My tap water is around 330 ppm and going to the store to fill up 5 gallon buckets got real old real quick! That being said would I be able to simply move those hempy buckets from my veg tent to the flower room when they are ready to flip?You have a well thought game plan for your upcoming ganja factory. You're about to grow some serious dope my friend
1) Clip desired clones
2) Place in clone tote 2" net cups with foam collars to root for 10 days
3) Transplant into a mini dutch / hempy bucket container. I use 32 ounce foam cups from the gas station, $1 1 gallon trash containers from dollar tree. Whatever floats your boat. Ultimately they are transferred into 5 gallon black dutch buckets once the root system is thoroughly established. They are flowered from there. The 5 gallon buckets take about 1 gallon of water every 2 days in flower. 1.5 gallons for the big ladies. Heavy drinkers sometimes need once per day watering in the final 2 weeks of flowering. Haven't had that happen in awhile though.
View attachment 4719100
View attachment 4719101
View attachment 4719098
I veg them for 2-3 weeks in the 1 gallon containers and then transplant into their 5 gallon final homes.
View attachment 4719126
View attachment 4719127
View attachment 4719130
Here you can actually see the buckets from the last few that had to finish a bit longer on my last cycle.
View attachment 4719128