First Hydroponic Setup

[ugmjfarmer]

I am going with a home built ebb n flow setup:

The Basics:
4 Plants
Closet 22" x 34" - 8' Ceiling (37.5 Cubic Feet Volume)
400w Sun System 5 HPS Ballast/Reflector w/ 4" Vent
Sylvania HPS Bulb (2100k/50,000 Lum)
Eye Lighting 400w MH Conversion Bulb (4500k/32,700 Lum)
4" Duct cooling w/ 95 CFM Cage Fan (Vented into Attic)
Black/White Vinyl for sealing the closet into a chamber
Adding a CanFilter 2600 4" Carbon filter at flowering


The Hydroponic Setup:
Rubbermaid 10 Gal Res
Cat Litter Box Grow Tray (22" X 17" X 7")
Ecoplus Air 1 Plus Air Pump
Ecoplus 185GPH Water Pump
Ecoplus 8" Airstone
1/2" Vinyl Tube
AmHydro Fill/Drain/Overflow Fittings
4" Stonewool Cubes
Hydrotron Expanded Clay Media 10L

I will be using the following nutrients:
B.C. Grow 1-3-6
B.C. Bloom 1-4-7
B.C. Boost 3-2-0
Awesome Blossoms 2-11-11
Thrive Alive B-1
Thrive Alive B-1 Organic
Sugar Daddy
Root 66

The first plants are going to be kinda a mystery at this point. I'm a ways away from seeds. My first goals are to clear out the closet, cut the exhaust hole, clean and sanitize, build the setup and hang the light.

I think the prime things I have going for me will be starting from seeds in rockwool and growing them under a 400w MH during veg in the hydro setup. My plan will be to grow either my favorite NL, or try something more boutique.

At this point my hopes are for 4 month grow times and 300-400g dried weight. That seems pretty aggressive, but maybe not. If anybody can think of anything that I'm missing, please add. Also if you think the light is going to be too big and 4 plants will be squished, please let me know. I always have the room to go ScrOG, but I'd like to just grow some 4-5ft tall monsters.

 

[MrPuffAlot]

Dont even bother/start with out a PH/TDS meter.. the end.

 

[smokybear]

You're definitely going to need a PH/TDS meter. Also, I think that 4-5 feet tall is too much for a 400 watt. It has penetrating power but not that much, I think. I would say about 3 feet tall is max for a 400 watt. 300-400 grams dry is a bit generous also. 1 gram per watt of light is a great goal to shoot for but in actuality, about a half a gram per watt is closer to what you will really get. Dont get me wrong, a gram per watt can be done but all aspects of your grow setup must be perfect. Anyways, sounds like you have a good start so I'm anxious to watch this one. Definitey get the meter and keep us posted. Take care and be safe.

 

[lyfr]

You're definitely going to need a PH/TDS meter. Also, I think that 4-5 feet tall is too much for a 400 watt. It has penetrating power but not that much, I think. I would say about 3 feet tall is max for a 400 watt. 300-400 grams dry is a bit generous also. 1 gram per watt of light is a great goal to shoot for but in actuality, about a half a gram per watt is closer to what you will really get. Dont get me wrong, a gram per watt can be done but all aspects of your grow setup must be perfect. Anyways, sounds like you have a good start so I'm anxious to watch this one. Definitey get the meter and keep us posted. Take care and be safe.

:yeahthat: i just harvested my 34in. plants from an ebb and flow,400hps grow matter of fact. i kept my light 8-12 in. above canopy and i only kept about half of the lowest buds...but i am pretty picky(the rest go to the hash/brownie bag). you will get much more top grade bud if you do 2 to 3 times as many plants and only grow them to about 24-30 in tall IME. or get an air cooled 1000w and grow em 4-5 ft. my best grow the tallest plant was about 20in but i had 24 of em in a 2x4tray

 

[ugmjfarmer]

I'm not willing for my first setup to go with a 1000w. Sure, it sounds good in theory. I'll shoot for whatever the strain can give, but I have seen where things max out. I think the biggest thing will be going 4-5 months from seed. 2 months Veg, 8-10 weeks flower.

As always though, things could go wrong. I'm no so sure about the TDS meter though. I think that I can do the math with a good formula and follow the instructions and get great results. I'll be using good old fashion PH fluid for measuring.

For starting, 1/2 strength. 1 week. Flush.
3/4 strength until 12" tall. Flush
full strength grow until 2 months maturity. Flush
full strength bloom 2 weeks. HPS in, 12/12. Flush
Extra strength bloom 6-8 weeks. Flush
run pure water, 10/14 until just right. Flush. Cut, hang in grow room in dark upside down with ventilation on. Manicure, put in jars. Done. Make hash and brownies, and enjoy some.

I'm interested to know if a complete n00b like myself can actually get good results. It seems almost too simple really. But then again there is some great youtube education that I've been studying.

 

[widowmaker]

Get a ph and tds meter and save your self the trouble. You could get both on ebay for 40 bucks! Unless you plan on changing the rez every time you add nutes then you could skip the tds but its gonna be a biotch. You never know how much nutes your plants are taking in and just adding nutes to your existing nutes is a BIG gamble, unless you change the water everytime. Also a ph METER will save you about 3 hours adjusting the ph and be alot more accurate. Sorry but growing hydro aint as cheap as soil.

 

[MrPuffAlot]

I'm not willing for my first setup to go with a 1000w. Sure, it sounds good in theory. I'll shoot for whatever the strain can give, but I have seen where things max out. I think the biggest thing will be going 4-5 months from seed. 2 months Veg, 8-10 weeks flower.

As always though, things could go wrong. I'm no so sure about the TDS meter though. I think that I can do the math with a good formula and follow the instructions and get great results. I'll be using good old fashion PH fluid for measuring.

For starting, 1/2 strength. 1 week. Flush.
3/4 strength until 12" tall. Flush
full strength grow until 2 months maturity. Flush
full strength bloom 2 weeks. HPS in, 12/12. Flush
Extra strength bloom 6-8 weeks. Flush
run pure water, 10/14 until just right. Flush. Cut, hang in grow room in dark upside down with ventilation on. Manicure, put in jars. Done. Make hash and brownies, and enjoy some.

I'm interested to know if a complete n00b like myself can actually get good results. It seems almost too simple really. But then again there is some great youtube education that I've been studying.

hydro isn't like soil grows. when you come back and ask why your
plants are so small and/or why your leaves are all fudged up and you'll
gonna be wasting a lot of time. Its because your playing guessing game.
Hydro growing is an exact science. believe me.

you are supposed to check PPM and ph after you add nutes and water.
Nutes happened to change water color/tint. Then what good is your
old fashion PH kit gonna do?? Plus they are so subjective with color
you never know.

IMO a good TDS/PH meter is the 2nd most important thing in a hydro
grow. being so invested already. I dont see why anyone would skim
on something so important.

GL

 

[lyfr]

I'm interested to know if a complete n00b like myself can actually get good results. It seems almost too simple really.

youll do a lot better if you follow advice from experienced growers. you grow 5 ft plants with a 400 watt 70% of your bud will be mid-grade at best, youll spend hours of extra time manicuring mid-grade, yaeh, manicuring is fun...till you cant move your hands, or turn your head(neck), or stand up straight(back). IME if you mix GH nutes by their directions, you will be runnin a very hot mix and probably burn your plants. with no tds meter you could be starting with 150+ ppms from tap. add that to your already hot mix and i think you will have problems. i cant say nothing about the ph fluid, thats what i use and i have not had and ph issues yet. you get things wrong with hydro you can probably lose a crop with one bad res.
i aint blastin ya brother, ive just seen it before. i wish you the best of luck and am tryin to save you a couple headaches.

 

[lyfr]

hey ug, just thought id mention that IMO all the advise youve gotton above from everyone...makes sense to me.

 

[Timmyjg6]

If i were you bro i would do a 1 month veg with say 6 plants on Rockwool slabs, 3 plants per slab and double stack your 4" Rockwool... with home made drip system using ionic nutrients..

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Can't stress too much the importance of a good ph and ec meter...What is going to be the source of your water? The tap? Do you know the ppm of your tap water? The ph?

"It seems almost too simple really." It isn't. You want extraordinary results on your first grow, however...You have just over 5 sq ft to work with. The vertical height doesn't matter if you are running a 400W light. You have a light that will penetrate only about 2'. You have no way of checking and monitoring your ph or ppm. You are packing 4 plants into a space that allows about 1.3 sq ft per plant and you want 75-100 grams per plant?

I would recommend that you forget about yields and concentrate on learning to grow. It would be great if you could just throw up a 400W light in a 5 sq ft closet and get almost a pound, but in truth, that kind of yield takes special techniques and a lot of experience. Don't be too greedy. Enjoy your grow and learn.

 

[ugmjfarmer]

OK great advice! thanks to everybody. I'll trim back my expectations (hard to do) and get a PH/TDS meter. Makes sense to me, honestly.

However I'm dead set on an ebb n flow (flood/drain) setup. Simplicity sake it seems right to me. As far as source of water, I don't trust my tap. I'm going to use Distilled water. I think I'm going to purchase advanced nutrients now. The science, thats the tricky part. And I love getting my feet wet.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Test your tap water, it may be okay. I have an RO, but my tap water is about 50 ppm, so it is not worth it to RO it.

If you want simplicity, the ebb and flow is not the easiest or most trouble free. I think that distinction goes to DWC bubbler buckets.

Good luck and keep us informed about your grow. Warning--growing can be addictive.

 

[lyfr]

Test your tap water, it may be okay. I have an RO, but my tap water is about 50 ppm, so it is not worth it to RO it.

If you want simplicity, the ebb and flow is not the easiest or most trouble free. I think that distinction goes to DWC bubbler buckets.

Good luck and keep us informed about your grow. Warning--growing can be addictive.

i think a lot of it is personal preference. id rather change the water in one res(ebb-n-flo) than 4 buckets...but then ive always done ebb-n-flow so im very biased as i love e-n-f! i think you can have great success with either/or...and i know nothin about DWC(just for the record!)

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

i think a lot of it is personal preference. id rather change the water in one res(ebb-n-flo) than 4 buckets...but then ive always done ebb-n-flow so im very biased as i love e-n-f! i think you can have great success with either/or...and i know nothin about DWC(just for the record!)

LOL--And just for the record, I know nothing about e-n-f. I just know that DWC is exceptionally easy. I like to do a perpetual harvest thing--every 10-14 days a plant comes out of the flowering room and another goes in to take its place. So, it works for me to have individual buckets for each plant, as they are different heights and have different nutrient requirements. I think that you can have great success with either, too. It is just what suits your needs.