first hydro set up

Temps auck here for the next few res temp will be a concern

Res outside of the room????
Yeah. 68-72 is good.
LH.

Yea res is going to be outside in separate un climate controlled area

they will be in a tent eventually

Freeze bottled water and drop them in your res.

I had freezer a gallon and some small ones will check it in morning and keep an eye on it

Well bottoms of bags are still wet, as is about from 3" from the top inside sides of bag seem dry took one out bottom is def soaked. Will check ay 7 as that was last flood. All 3 are looking good for being removed from dirt and moved to the bags of mix.

am thinking that maybe an air hose on top of the basket bottoms to give constant air to aid in drying and mixing nutes as it floods? A 6 outlet pump and another for res maybe or just split off the one

any and all thoughts are welcome. I really want to make sure the roots are air pruning that's the whole point of this

If the bag is in the 3 1/2 gallon bucket I don't think they will air prune. Part of air pruning is exposing the roots to air and light.
Smart pots on my deck air prune themselves but if I put them in a five gallon bucket the roots don't prune they wrap around the outside of the smart pot below the top of the bucket.

I wouldn't be concerned that the bags are still wet underneath as long as they aren't sopping wet where they are dripping water(a lot) when you pick them up. You want the medium to stay moist so that the roots don't dry out. Plus when the plants are in place they will be drinking up that excess water inbetween flood cycles

Ya they don't drip even when I squeeze the bag should be good then. Other tent and ballest just showed up

So how can I get them to air prune or do you think it is pointless?

Flooded em like an hour ago think 1 a day may be good for now all 3 looking good considering the abrupt median change

Right on right on.
If they r not sopping wet. You may babble to get away with 2 feedings.
If you feel like pushing it.
I wouldn't be concerned of air pruning in the system. On a table or something as such.
Your on the right path sir.
LH.

probably start 2 tomorrow, got computer back so will have pics back now and all three are still alive and upright gave em some cal mag and some clone ex i think its called


checked bags again bottoms were a bit drippy still around 12pm, they are the 3 with hydroton lining the bottoms the top of the bas is pretty dry first 2-3" then starts to get wetter

What's your coco to perlite mixture.

I wouldn't be too worried bout the top 2-3"
This though keep in mind. Next time u plant. Those top 2-3". Stays dry so now u know to put em in a lil deeper.
LH.

Ok all these were well over 3" roots and hit em with a little root hormone so should be good. Just worried about drainage on 2 floods wondering if myne a few razor slits I'm bottom of bags

these are between 1/4-1/3 perlite other three I have ready are 1/3 perlite with perlite base maybe an inch. Possibly will let those bottoms dry a bit better


seedlings are looking a bit unhappy but alive. Auto crit cheese looks miserable has riots coming thru 3" peat cup no idea what to do with that was intending to rum 6 satori looking unliklybunless one is a clone who knows at this point

Do you have any spare bags. If so take one n fill with water see how it drains on its own. This could be slowing the drain or allowing it to drain slower n thus allowing the coco to suck more in. Due to gravity bottoms soaked n wetter as u go up to dry tops.

So slits may be n ok idea. But then you loose the filter fir any particles wanting to flush out bottom.
Now for the perlite based. Bags. That could be an issue as well. Perlite does hold a decent amount of moisture. So the wicking process will apply there.

Think of lining a tray with hydroton or perlite with some warer in the Bottom n plopping rw or perlite pellets on top of it. As the pellets/rw drys out it wicks moisture from bottom. Allowing you to kinda forget about em for a couple days with no worries if drying out.

I mixed my coco at 60-40 perlite coco. And 50-50. Both seem to be good
I'm currently using 50/50 in my hosts n clones. I'm having to water every day
But smaller containers.
I noticed at this 50/50 mix it will soak the water but within 20-30 mins it looks dry. Then once I take a hand full it feels dryer to the touch. Not leaving hand wet. But if I squeeze it. It darkens n allows moisture to drip out not much but alot less then I figured.

These seedlings I hope seen in system. You got any pics. Or a better description on what there doing.

I think IMHO if you were to mix more perlite net time around. Or make some up just to experiment with. You will notice a huge difference.
LH.

Yrs pics are on the way pc crashed just got it working backing every thing up on a xhd incase it shieeets the bed again looking like an hour till I can get to them

And yes I agree a 50/50 may be better and also I understand the points about bottom layer and slits I could empty a bag for drain test

ok here we go, that last individual plant pic was right at transplant looks great now

did a flood 4:45 to 1" from top let it sit for 10 mins then a 20 min drain