1st Time Hydro Grower Needs Some Help

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Budsterman

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Okay, I started a grow journal for this grow, however, I didn't think it appropriate to post this there.

Yes, this is my 1st hydro grow, but it's not my 1st grow. I've been doing soil for a couple of years now, so I have everything there.

NOW.... I've been doing much reading on hydro, I have currently 4 plants in DWC buckets that are doing very well. Wait, let me correct that. I have 2 plants in bubbleponic buckets and 2 plants in bubbleponic bucket with a drip system that feeds them 3 times a day for 30 minutes. These 4 plants are happy and seem to really enjoy their environment.

What I am getting ready to do is take 4 cuttings from my head band that I have in soil and 2 cuttings from my Extrema in the Bubbleponic Bucket, root those and put them into a 50 gallon Aeroponic System I built.

Now the thing I DO NOT UNDERSTAND is this ppm thing. I have 2 brand new tds meters, so I tested my well water and it reads 215. Okay, I understand that. My water's disolved solids are at 215ppm. So, I want to start my clones off at around 450ppm at first. So how do I do this? Do I count the 215ppm that my water is and just add my grow nutrient until it reaches 450ppm? Or do I discount the water's 215ppm and add 450ppm of grow nutrients bringing the total ppm to 665?

Please explain this to me. I know it's simple, but I don't know the proper formula.

Here's a link to my Extrema in the DWC Bucket. My 1st success at Hydro.
I'd like to tak 2cuttingsfrom her. Too soon?
http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=177016&stc=1&d=1317187990

Here's a link to shots of my Head Band I want to clone.
http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=177014&stc=1&d=1317187990
http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=177015&stc=1&d=1317187990
http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=177017&stc=1&d=1317187990

And here are 2 pics of 2 others in buckets. One is a New York 47.

grizzy 006.JPG


grizzy 007.JPG
 
Do I count the 215ppm that my water is and just add my grow nutrient until it reaches 450ppm?

Yes, like that.

But 450ppm for unrooted clones is high IMO.

Unrooted clones dont need too much water. It might be better to buy some bottled water so you can start from lower ppm.
 
Parcero said:
Yes, like that.

But 450ppm for unrooted clones is high IMO.

Unrooted clones dont need too much water. It might be better to buy some bottled water so you can start from lower ppm.

Thanks for stopping by and hitting me up Parcero. Okay, now I know. But I was only using the 450 as an example. The only thing my clones are getting is some Olivia's Cloning Solution and a couple of drops of SuperThrive. That's it.

So let's say that I root all my cuttings, where should I start my clones off when I put them into the Aeroponic Sysyem? At what ppm?

I guess that's more of a feeding schedule, huh? That's basically all I need. A good feeding schedule. So talk to me people......... What's best for this?
 
IMO, you need a better source for water or you need to treat your water to bring the ppms down. What kind of nutes are you using?

We cannot tell from your pic of the extrema whether or not it is large enough to be cloned? Can you take a pic from straight on (not from the top) so we can see how many internodes you have?
 
Hey THG! Been a few years!!!

Okay, here are your pics. The plant is about a month old and it's 11 inches tall. I just wanted to take 2 cuttings from her.

As far as nutes.... I use the Dyna-Gro line. I hav grow, bloom, Pro-Tekt and then I have Cal-Mag, SuperThrive, MicroBlast.....

Better water source??? Well, I have a house filter but I turned it off last week because I was too lazy to change it. Will that bring the ppm down some? I have no clue. Will have to change it in the morning and check a sample. However, I'm considering buying a R/O water filter from Lowes.
Will it really make a difference??? This well water is pretty good. Feels and
tastes very good. No chlorine, and ph is at a natural 6.8

Your advice has ALWAYS been good and you taught me quite a bit back in the days!

Thanks THG!!!

001.JPG


002.JPG
 
I would try the 215 ppm water and dont use the cal-mag.

Ive used city water that high without problems.
 
Budsterman said:
Hey THG! Been a few years!!!

Okay, here are your pics. The plant is about a month old and it's 11 inches tall. I just wanted to take 2 cuttings from her.

As far as nutes.... I use the Dyna-Gro line. I hav grow, bloom, Pro-Tekt and then I have Cal-Mag, SuperThrive, MicroBlast.....

Better water source??? Well, I have a house filter but I turned it off last week because I was too lazy to change it. Will that bring the ppm down some? I have no clue. Will have to change it in the morning and check a sample. However, I'm considering buying a R/O water filter from Lowes.
Will it really make a difference??? This well water is pretty good. Feels and
tastes very good. No chlorine, and ph is at a natural 6.8

Your advice has ALWAYS been good and you taught me quite a bit back in the days!

Thanks THG!!!

Hey back :ciao:

When I said better water source, I meant that you may have to buy water or install an RO. Well water can have some real nasties in it. Most of the nasties are in solution and cannot be filtered out. Since you obviously drink this water, have you had it tested to see what the 215 ppm is composed of (could be lead, arsenic, heavy metals, etc)?

Or like Growdude said, you could try it. You are basically giving your plants 215 ppms of unknowns--you will probably have to try it to see if your plants will be okay with it. I personally like starting with relatively clean water for hydro.

Is there a reason that you do not orient your pics correctly? I am an old lady and have a hard time looking at sideways pics...
 
No THG, I have not had my water tested. I just recently moved from a big city in NYC to a small country town that has NO city water. Only well water for these houses here.

This will be my 2nd grow here. The 1st is just finishing up, but they are in soil. I have a few Russian Rocket Fuels, a few Blue Himalaya Diesels, A few AK 47s and like 2 Speedy Gonzalez. All are autos and they are doing really well.
The 4 plants I have going in DWC buckets are doing well also. I have posted pics of all and they are doing well. Sorry for the sideways pics. I took some shots like that to get the whole area in the pic. You wanted pics ofthe nodes, so I did my best considering the camera I was using.
You think that I should have the water tested? I'll probably only be here another 6 months until I buy my house somewhere further in country.

GrowDude, why didyou leave out th Cal-Mag?
 
Budsterman said:
GrowDude, why didyou leave out th Cal-Mag?


I believe Cal/Mag is only really needed if you use RO water....otherwise you may or may not need it. You are already starting out with a high ppm so I wld think the less additives you can get away with the better. Your water might already hve plenty of Cal and Mag in it. I wld consider getting your water tested....having a ppm that high wld make me nervous drinking that water. Jmo
 
Hamster Lewis said:
....having a ppm that high wld make me nervous drinking that water. Jmo

Really Hammy?... The city water I had for my first couple grows was always around 200 ppm (@.5 conversion)

And yes I thought it best to leave it out because Im guessing thw well water has enough.

If it leaves red rings and stains its iron, if it leaves white then its prob. Ca and or other things, but well water does not mean nasty, some wells are just fine. imo

Cant go wrong with a test either.
 
I guess I am just spoiled and a lil bit paranoid....:)

My ex inlaws had well water and I hated drinking and bathing over there. The water stunk and tasted funny....maybe that left a bad taste in my mouth for well water....pun intended.:D
 
Hamster Lewis said:
I guess I am just spoiled and a lil bit paranoid....:)

My ex inlaws had well water and I hated drinking and bathing over there. The water stunk and tasted funny....maybe that left a bad taste in my mouth for well water....pun intended.:D

Yeah, I know what you mean. My friend ha well water down in Va and that crap was totally disgusting! It left a white film in your hair when you took a shower and it smelled weird. I was like, "bro, how the freak you live like this?"

But the well water here tastes crisp and delicous. I'm gong in the basement now to change the house water filter. I was too lazy and just bypassed it one day when i should've changed it. Lets see if that drops the ppm some.

So I'm going to leave out the cal mag for now.
 
How do I have my water tested and how much does something like that cost?
 
Budsterman said:
....Sorry for the sideways pics. I took some shots like that to get the whole area in the pic. You wanted pics ofthe nodes, so I did my best considering the camera I was using.
You think that I should have the water tested? I'll probably only be here another 6 months until I buy my house somewhere further in country.

GrowDude, why didyou leave out th Cal-Mag?

You should be able to use the same program that you resize your pics with to turn them 90 degrees so they are oriented correctly. You cannot always take pics in landscape view, so all programs have some kind of simple procedure to turn the pictures.

Well water often has calcium and magnesium in it.

As far as getting your water tested, it is your call. I generally do not drink well water unless it has gone through an RO.
 
Here in NC, you can go to the city or town that is the County Seat and go to the social services office and they have kits that you can use to take a sample to bring back to them. They send it to be tested and send you a sheet that has the breakdown of everything that is in the water. Not sure how much it costs but I don't think its much. :)
 
I forgot to say that for nute scheduling, I generally start out at about half to 1/4 of the manufacturer's recommended dose that is either on the bottles or on a supplied sheet. I try to get my TDS to around 200ppm for newly rooted clones for about a week, then bump up to 400ppm for a couple weeks(depending on growth), then as the plant shows that it is taking off growing I bump up to 600ppm for 1-2 weeks. I top out at about 800-1000ppm depending on the plants(while in veg).

Then when I switch to flower, I drop back to about 600ppm grow nutes and add 400-600ppm of bloom nutes for the first 2 weeks of flower. After that I drop the grow nutes and go to just bloom nutes at around 800-1000ppm.

This is my schedule for the Technaflora's "recipe for success". Each brand of nutes is a bit different, and the plants' needs are different from strain to strain. I suspect that my schedule is fairly typical for most peeps in hydro, just with variations for plants and brands.
 
Thanks Hush Puppy. I decided to listen to THG (like I've always done) and
went out to Lowes to buy an R/O filter. $150.00 + tax! However, that 150
will save me a lot of guesswork and uncertainty.

Yeah, I hear a lot of people talk about combining their nutes. Me??? I don't
do the bloom/grow mix. Never have. HOWEVER..... Hydro is totally new to
me so I'm open to suggestions.

Now I just have to hook this thing up tonight and I'll be working with some
super clean water!:D

001.JPG
 
That's cool :cool: I didn't know that Lowes sold an RO filtration system. That will certainly eliminate any water issues.

One thing to remember with hydro versus soil (well a couple things really). first is with nutrients, You are giving nutrients almost straight to the plant rather than feeding the soil and having the soil feed the plants. You will be micro-managing everything your plant eats and drinks. monitoring PH is critical, and adjusting the PH and TDS go hand-in-hand. You can't adjust one without checking and adjusting the other.

The other thing to remember is that what's great about hydro is that everything happens fast, and what's bad about hydro is that everything happens fast. :hubba: You will find with hydro(as opposed to soil) there isn't much of preloading the soil with nutrients that slowly get chelated and supplied to the plants all along. You give them their nutes and they eat it up fairly quick. That is the reason that many people mix their grow and bloom nutes for the first couple weeks of flower. It gives the plants a little extra Nitrogen to help it stay green to the end of the flower cycle.

Big green grow mojo for yer first hydro grow :)
 
Hushpuppy said:
The other thing to remember is that what's great about hydro is that everything happens fast, and what's bad about hydro is that everything happens fast. :hubba: You will find with hydro(as opposed to soil) there isn't much of preloading the soil with nutrients that slowly get chelated and supplied to the plants all along. You give them their nutes and they eat it up fairly quick. That is the reason that many people mix their grow and bloom nutes for the first couple weeks of flower. It gives the plants a little extra Nitrogen to help it stay green to the end of the flower cycle.

Big green grow mojo for yer first hydro grow :)

Thanks for the mojo HushPuppy! Sure could use all I can get on this 1st hydro grow. Yeah, ph is important. But the great thing about my Dyna Gro nutes is that it KEEPS the ph at 5.8-5.9. It's come to a point where I don't even check the ph after I change the buckets out. While the ppm drops, the ph stays the same. It's amazing. I did some research online about Dyna Gro and found out some great things that I never knew because I was in soil. This nute line saves me so much time!!! You DO NOT have to do any ph adjustmnts whatsoever!!!

But I would like to pick your brain a little HP. Hope you don't mind if I PM you directly sometime.
 
That Dyna Gro sounds good. I'm suprised I haven't seen it on the hydro shop sites, but I haven't been looking for it so I may have missed it. Yeah you can PM me, no problem. I can't guarentee my advise is always good but it is free. :)
 

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