Top feed hydroton in buckets

myke

myke

Well-Known Member
I have a small recirculating system,pump runs 24 hrs.
Does it matter how much flow or gph ea bucket gets?
Any benefit from say cycling the pump?
Im going to try on a plant by removing the feed line every couple of hrs and see.
 
Waterfarm is just rdwc in one bucket,roots live in bubbled water.
Im in 100% clay. So just wondering if I could run into problems with feeding 24/7

Any advantage to giving them a dry out time?
I should have made two different systems so I could compare.
 
Run pump 24/7 do not cycle
use good size rez 30g min.
Keep water line on roots and off stem, run 2 lines one on each side of bucket
run a couple inches of water in bottom of bucket with air stone,
key to this system is water temp, air temp, oxygen, RH in bucket and outside and lighting, each one can make a big difference
If your unsure of RH in bucket put mister in the bucket about half way up, the finest mister you find, or if you want to get advanced run ultrasonic foggers
 
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southguy thx,airstone in the bucket with water up a couple inches, just might try that.
 
Also you want just a soft feed of water out of the top feed lines , also keep the water lines down in the rook to about the bottom of the stem anyhow , you don't want the water near the top of the rock .
 
Try it see what you think, I*'m not a fan of then but that just me , water on the top leads to light, agile and is much easier for bacteria to find a home, gnats like it to., it also brings the roots to the surface which you don't want. I don't like covering my buckets would rather have air flow. but see what you like best
 
Air flow? You mean air stone?
I could run just straight hose on each side and bury an inch.
 
myke said:
Air flow? You mean air stone?
I could run just straight hose on each side and bury an inch.
Click to expand...

No what I meant was I don't like putting anything on the top of my bucket or over the rock to cover it , I like to keep it open so there is lots of air flow through the hydroton
 
Results will vary. A flowing system where roots are constantly exposed to nutrient solution will grow at a constant rate after adapting to constant feeding and the environment, lights humidity, temp etc. Of course that can also change when you change a variable, solution mix, lighting, etc. The speed of the pump should make no difference as roots will always have access and not be deprived of nutes. On the other hand if you cycle the pump you will begin a feeding pattern where the plant will begin to crave at certain times/intervals and grow in spurts vs the steady consistent growth. I have done both of these methods and found results to be strain specific. Some plants benefit from the cycling and show massive growth spurts while others became deficient and lacked vigor at several different stages of growth. I say try both methods using the same strain and see how your plants like to eat. I have found so Mary plants to be heavy feeders while other don't really feed at all but still turn out killer. The best advice I can give you is to track your results.
 
So it took 6 hrs yesterday for a 10" plant to strart wilting with the feeder hose removed.
Today it looks no different then the control plant.
Ive since drilled holes in the side of the pots and have 2 hoses in ea.Think Ill stick with that.

Any advantage to drilling a bunch of 1/16 holes in the bucket side from middle down say?

edit to add.I also have few roots sticking out the bottom now.
 
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