Hydroponic Top Dripper Question

[jasosebee]

Hello everyone im new to the forum and have a quick question i was wondering how long to let the dripper run?

I know it suppose to be three times a day
but im not sure what to set the timer on.

I've been getting different answers some say one minute other say an hour.
any help is appreciated.

thanks

 

[jjsunderground]

that sounds tricky...id say keep a vigilant eye on your plant and determine your intervals on how she looks. other wise id say it depends on of your drippin on a soil bed or your using rocks or hydro corals. im actuallyl trying to find out how to grow the simplest to use hydro unit right now so i dont have much knowledge in the hydro area. dont mean to waste your time..lol. :hitchair:
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[jasosebee]

thanks for the recomendation
i'm planning on using the clay pellets.

 

[shadetree]

Depending on your setup, I would say as long as you keep your solution oxygenated and had good drainage, you could leave them on 24/7.

 

[the widowmaker]

what size water pump do you use and do you know what drippers your using.

A 4 inch rockwool cube will hold no more than a quart so you can feed it 24/7 if you like but your not going to get any extra water in that cube. Personally I like to let my cubes dry out a little bit because by doing this the roots get all the oxygen they could ever want and the growth rate is good.

By over feeding and keeping your medium too wet your giving your plant less air to the roots than optimal.

 

[Growdude]

I run mine one hour on one hour off.
Ive been told you cant over water in a drip system using hydroton (clay balls), your roots are constantly exposed to oxygen.

I know other that run drippers 24/7 in rockwool also, seems like that would be to soggy but it works for him.

 

[the widowmaker]

I run mine one hour on one hour off.
Ive been told you cant over water in a drip system using hydroton (clay balls), your roots are constantly exposed to oxygen.

I know other that run drippers 24/7 in rockwool also, seems like that would be to soggy but it works for him.

It will still just grow fine, overwatering in rockwool is virtually impossible, i'm just talking about a restriction on air that decreases growth rate.

 

[octobong007]

ok, i'll add to that question...how much rockwool should be used? it comes in slabs and a couple different sizes. for example, if i only use the rockwool that was used in my cloning (1x1 cube), can i just stick with that? on system i dont know if i'm doing ebb, drip, or dwc...still in the air. and the medium is hydrotron.

 

[shadetree]

I don't think "soggy" rockwool will hurt anything, just as long as there is plenty of oxygen in the water...DWC's work very well and the roots are always in water...

 

[the widowmaker]

I run mine for 30 minutes every 4 hours. I've changed to that schedule. Seemed like they grew to tall on the 15 minutes every hour regime. Check my grow, I've outlined my setup in the first post.

Theres no set in stone way bro, everyones got their way, my drippers are limited and deliver no more than half a gallon an hour. When i get it all hooked up i will be running for 2 hours per day.

 

[umbra]

I will add that there is little point to run the pump when the lights are off

 

[jasosebee]

Thanks Everyone for the help!!!

I think im gonna go with the "one hour on, one hour off" method.

Just to let the rockwool to dry out slightly.

and not stay completely saturated all the time.

 

[jasosebee]

One More Question?

Would it be better after the seedlings have grown a good root structure in a 1x1 rockwool cube, to move them to a 4x4 cube then put them in the net pot and cover with hydroton?

OR

Just move them to a net pot in the 1x1 cube and cover with hydroton?

Would it make a difference either way?

 

[octobong007]

I will add that there is little point to run the pump when the lights are off

why not?

 

[umbra]

why not?

the plants don't really consume nutes when the lights are out. im not saying that they dont grow when the lights are out. but no light, no photosynthesis plants continue other processes during dark period, but not consumption of nutes

 

[shadetree]

But, you wouldn't want your roots to dry out either...using rockwool, it may not be a problem, but hydroton will dry out pretty good in 12 hours...

 

[octobong007]

But, you wouldn't want your roots to dry out either...using rockwool, it may not be a problem, but hydroton will dry out pretty good in 12 hours...

exact reason i was asking. i've gave my ladies "flushes" in past, put them to bed for the night and woke up to jungle sized bushes...it only turned them on. now dont get me wrong, i aint argueing ANY facts...i'm taking alot of things, combining them, and only wanting to come out with a perfect system that will produce 100%...i dont think thats too much to shoot for, this site has put me at 100% soil grow quality...now i want the strength of the hydro:hubba:

EDITED: when i say i gave my ladies flushes, i'm talking about my soil grows to clean out any salts and i think it gave them a WOOHOO...but that was soil.

 

[Growdude]

But, you wouldn't want your roots to dry out either...using rockwool, it may not be a problem, but hydroton will dry out pretty good in 12 hours...

Hydroton holds more moistiure than you think, its very porous.

 

[storzbickel]

why not?

i would like to add to what Umbra said:

RH should be rising during the dark time as it is, lower temps-

If you feed during the dark time you are adding more humidity

it is better to feed when the lights go on, so that by the time they turn off, alot of evaporation has already occurred and you can keep an optimal RH during dark periods.

 

[octobong007]

i would like to add to what Umbra said:

RH should be rising during the dark time as it is, lower temps-

If you feed during the dark time you are adding more humidity

it is better to feed when the lights go on, so that by the time they turn off, alot of evaporation has already occurred and you can keep an optimal RH during dark periods.

ok, i'm not disputing anything, i want to understand...high humidity at night aint good sometimes? after fog drops at night, how are the plants the next day? there booming...

now remember, i'm NOT argueing...just looking for reasoning...its the only way i know how to learn. on your quote, you said "RH should be rising dueing the dark time"...if your giving nutes, your adding moisture...so the rh "would" be rising. now i'm getting confused...