Thinking about Hydro

[Track]

So, I've successfully built my first hydroponic bubble cloner and after spending 3 hours repotting my plants in 5 gallon pots with 100 liters of soil.. I thought maybe I could move to growing in hydro as well.

I've been doing some research on the subject and this is what I've figured out.

Growing in hydro is the same as cloning except that you need some sort of medium (I use no medium for my bubble cloner), like those coco balls and/or rockwool, and you need to scale the amount to grow bigger plants just like you would in soil. Is that right?

Now, you need a reservoir or a tank which will either pump the water to the top of the plants or spray the water under the plant while the plant is slightly submerged.

So, in all, is hydro better because it allows the root system to extent beyond the airpot and because it makes it easier to feed the plant with nutrients without the buffer of soil?

In which case, what is the difference between hydro and just leaving a plant in a pot full of water? Is it the air that is being pumped inside via the air stone? That would cause root rot, wouldn't it? So, how does hydro prevent this if the roots will inevitably become drenched in the water as they grow?

Thanks for the input!

 

[jingo]

Hey Track
I'm just starting to make the move to hydro from soil. I'm doing deep water culture which is working well in my situation. I use GH nutes and follow a schedule I picked up at growweedeasy.com.

I like DWC because I don't need to cool the reservoirs since there's no pump to heat the water. I also don't have to worry about one diseased plant infecting all, since they have their own reservoirs.

If you had a big enough bucket you could grow a plant with its roots just in water, but the plants use up the o2 in small buckets. Not enough o2 is bad for cannabis plants roots in soil or water. So you have air pots and fabric pots to get more air to roots in soil, some people even pump air to the roots. I find it doesn't require much air for my DWC setup since water temps don't exceed 70f.

 

[pcduck]

In which case, what is the difference between hydro and just leaving a plant in a pot full of water? Is it the air that is being pumped inside via the air stone? That would cause root rot, wouldn't it? So, how does hydro prevent this if the roots will inevitably become drenched in the water as they grow?

You need dissolved oxygen in the water. That is the reason for the air stone.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

As pc said, it is all about the dissolved oxygen in the reservoirs. In actuality, the roots are not drenched in the water--they are growing in a mixture of water and oxygen. The more bubbles, the better. For a plant to thrive, you really need to have the water look like it is boiling.

I personally like using individual DWC buckets although it entails more work than a recirculating system that serves a number of buckets. There are plusses and minuses to each. I pretty much do not do any kind of aeroponics. I seem to just have too many problems with the misters and the pump heats the res up too much.

 

[Hushpuppy]

The reason ffor the rockwool, clay pebbles, or coco medium to be used with hydro is so that the weight of the larger plants is supported by something. This helps to keep the plants upright and protects the main root-ball center. The roots actually will not rot even when kept in continuous water submersion (as long as there is ample oxygen getting to the roots). I had a friend who did several runs of hydro where he had water continuously running into the pots of coco in which his plants sat. The water ran out the bottoms into enclosed totes where the roots extended down into the "semi-reservoir" of each tote in which the pots were suspended. It hen drained back into the main reservoirs where it was aerated continuously before being pumped back up into the pots again.

It worked quite well for him but it had its own challenges. In some ways hydro is better than soil, but in other ways it is more difficult. It really depends on the type of individual you are, and what you like to do. I personally love growing in coco/hydro, and I doubt that I will ever grow in any other method as I just enjoy and am comfortable with that method and the results I get with it.

 

[hippy59]

I grow in cocoa as well and love it, but I hand water from the bottom by adding to the plates on the bottom ( I have feed from the top but its ard to water just enough to keep the cocoa in place without greating hugh craters, and I don't like the idea of sand on top.). but I have been thinking of going to a more hydro type setup by just buying a flood table to flood about 5 inchs instead of the 1.5 inchs which would put more nutes into the pots, push out more old air for freasher air, and jusy be a lot easier

 

[hippy59]

sorry my spelling sucks. hope ya understand.

 

[Hushpuppy]

I understand completely. I thought about doing the same thing with mine. Just get a fflood table and put the coco pots on the table. It would work great if you are using the coco with the smart pots. The only thing I don't like about the flood and drain tables is the fact that it is all open which allows for more evaporation which increases humidity. That is why I like to use the enclosed totes where the pots are setting down into a hole cut in the lids of the totes. This allows the roots to grow out of the pots and hang down into a small reservoir-like space inside the tote where it is dark and wet. This allows the roots to grow and spread out without the worry of them drying out.

 

[lyfespan]

Going with a DWC set up on a plant next round