Grow Mediums Help Needed: Intro to DWC Nutrients. Recommendations?

[PhilGarcia]

Hello! I plan to grow a single plant in a bucket DWC bubbler and have no clue about hydroponic nutrients. What are the main types of nutrients? I have read about ones for the vegetative phase, flowering phase, etc...but can't find any kind of "Hydro Nutrients for Dummies" reading material.

Would any of you hydro-vets be willing to guide an FNG? What are the main types of nutrients and when would you use them?

Thanks!!!!!!

 

[peaceloveandbud]

Everyone has their preferences. Start with a three part Micro, Grow, Bloom series. (GH, Botnicare, and Advanced Nutrients to name a few)

 

[SmashedByHashish]

General Hydro has a two part product called FloraDuo...very simple to use and works great too...

 

[Bromeo]

A few nutrient companies have starter packs avelable. I have found most are a very affordable option.

 

[grey dog2]

have a look at any one of seymour buds dwc grows he is the master and he lists all the nutrients he uses and gives out loads of useful info for the beginner and experienced grower i followed his method and ended up with 206gms off 1 plant

 

[AutoToker]

Use the GH 3 part formula, $30 a gallon, cheapest I've seen on the market and works the best with the formula I provided you. This was not created by me, but a 30+ year grower, very similiar to the Lucus formula.

So OK - feeding schedule week by week. This is the GH weekly feeding program, slightly tweaked. I will only call out the volume of each part per gallon of water in the following manner: grow, micro, bloom, ppm range. Example - 5-2.5-2.5-400/800 would mean 5 ml grow, 2.5 ml micro, 2.5 ml bloom and a ppm of 400-880. Remember it's per gallon. You Euro's can easily convert to liters. 4 liters is just a little bit over 1 gallon. It should also be noted that I use the hardwater micro due to my tapwater. I suggest using the hardwater micro in place of the regular micro if your tap water is over 200 ppm total or you have over 70 ppm Ca. RO water users should use the regular micro.
Veg -
week 1 5-2.5-2.5-400/600
week 2 10-5-3- 600/800
week 3 12-6-3 800/1000 (continue week 3 formula if additional veg time is required.)

Bloom
week 1 6-6-10- 800/1200
week 2 3-7-12 - 1000/1400
week 3 3-8-14 - 1000/1400
week 4 3-8-16 - 1000/1400
week 5 (discussed in detail below*)
week 6 0-7-20 - 1000/1400
week 7 0-6-20 (see bleow**)
* During week 5 if not using a booster like Superbud, Bushmaster Kabloom etc. run 2.5-7-18. I use MOAB (Mother of All Blooms) or BushMaster at 50% of recommended strength, and use 1.25-3.5-9 for the fert base.
**If running an 8 week strain you should only run the ferts during week 7 for a maximum of 3-4 days. This gives you 10 days for flushing. I should note that if I use ferts for a few days in week 7, I take the lants over the 8 week mark. Personally I flush for a min of 14 days. But 10 is bare minimum imo/ime.

The ppms work out almost exactly. I tend to lean toward the lower side of the range, unless I have a really heavy feeder that I know can handle it.

At every ressy change out I add in 5 drops per gallon of 35% food grade H2O2. During flush use ph adjusted water at 5.5-6.0
I will add epsom salt at week 1 of bloom if the plants are heavy feeders AND I see signs of an Mg def. Otherwise I won't use it. The only time I have ever had Mg def is during transition. The GH 3 part is a little low on Mg, but the PBP and Canna nutes are way lower.

Now- how to control your PH...
There are a couple factors that cause your PH to drift. The most common is running the nute solution too strong or too weak. If it's too strong, your PH drops. If it's too weak the PH rises. You have to find the balance point. If you find that the formula above is say, a little strong, and say you have a 20 gallon ressy, mix the nutes for 18 gallons. If it's a little weak, mix it for 22 gallons. You follow?
The other common mistake is mixing your nutrient solution and trying to adjust the PH right away. You have to allow time for the ph buffers in the nutrient solution to do their job. Mix the nutes up, and bubble or circulate for 12 hours before even looking at your PH. You will find the PH to be almost right on target.
I use little or no ph adjusters. (Except during flush). I use tap water, with a starting PPM of 300-400 and a starting PH of 7.4-9.0 (Thats crazy you say! The water is too hard, you will never get stable PH and you will have too much Ca, causing a lockout of Mg!) Bollocks I say.
Every week, on Friday I drain the ressy and fill with plain water. I let that run overnight giving the plants a little flush. This also allows the chlorine and ammonia to evap. On Saturday morning, I mix the nutes into the ressy. I DO NOT adjust ph at this time. Let that run as is overnight. On Sunday morning, I check ph and adjust if needed. Usually don't have to.
Doing things this way has saved me from constant PH drifts, and using about 150 ml of ph down every ressy change, and a little here and there throughout the week to keep it in the desired range. Now, the most I ever have to use is about 30 ml.if any at all. (I have a 35 gallon ressy btw) My Ph stays at a constant 5.5-5.8.

If you are still having PH issues using the above method, an alternative is to PH adjust the plain water to 5.5 BEFORE you add nutes.


If you have any questions just PM me, I don't check the threads alot.

 

[dman78]

Canna Aqua A+B veg and Canna Aqua A+B flores,Canna Rhizotonic,Canna PK13/14,Canna Boost and Canna Flush,use 1/4 strength of the recommended dosage for the first 14days then up it every week,that should see you right

 

[AutoToker]

Canna Aqua A+B veg and Canna Aqua A+B flores,Canna Rhizotonic,Canna PK13/14,Canna Boost and Canna Flush,use 1/4 strength of the recommended dosage for the first 14days then up it every week,that should see you right

This is a new grower. Keep him on something simple... Check out my tutorial on "Hempy Buckets", I'd advise that to any first time hydro grower. It's a passive hydro system and produces trees! Just do a search on the site for "Hempy Buckets". Trust me, my first go round was DWC, and I got such bad root rot, and mad other issues. Hempy Buckets are the way to go.

 

[Man In The Jar]

@ AutoToker would you be able to put up a link for that tutorial...





MITJ

 

[AutoToker]

@ AutoToker would you be able to put up a link for that tutorial...





MITJ

For some reason the article is missing. I contacted the moderator who made it an article, but here it is again....


Here is a guide that was not created by me, but I followed it and I have 5 plants running in five 5 gallon buckets and they are exploding with growth!

You may ask what is Hempy hydro? It’s a simple passive Hydro system and research shows that the Hempy way of growing has been around since the early 1980’s.The system uses no electric water pumps or air stones. If you look online, most Marijuana grow sites post discussions on how to grow using the Hempy style system. You can grow Hempy style in almost any container that will hold perlite. The system is very simple to build and is very user friendly. Almost everyone you talk to states to how well it works and how easy it is to get the system up and running!
So let’s talk about what you will need to build your very own Hempy bucket grow system.
There are many ways to modify a bucket or a household planting pot. We will cover a couple a ways to build a system and cover some basic materials you will need.
You will need a drill, a 1 inch wood cutting drill bit, a large bag of perlite, a ruler, some glue designed to bond plastic together, and some heavy duty fiberglass screen. For the glue, you can use a product called Goop made for plumbing because it is designed for water applications. It can be purchased from most hardware stores in the states. If you live outside of the states then make sure whatever you use is designed to be submerged in water and stays pliable, like silicone for fish tanks. You will also need a 3 to 5 gallon bucket.

Now take your tools mentioned above and let’s get started making a hempy bucket.
Take a 3 to 5 gallon bucket, with no holes in the bottom. Measure from the bottom of the bucket and go up 2 inches and make a mark. You can use painters tape to make the mark or you can just use a magic marker to mark it. Now go up one inch and make another mark. When you get ready to drill, put the tip of the drill bit in the center between the marks and drill out your 1 inch hole. Remove the remaining tape after drilling the hole.

Once the hole is drilled, take and cut a piece of fiberglass screen a little larger than the hole you drilled. Take your glue/adhesive and apply some around the hole on the inside of the bucket around the edge of the hole. Make sure you go out about a ¼ of an inch around the hole. Take the piece of screen you cut and place it on top of the glue and lightly press it down so it bonds to the adhesive and the bucket.
The Screen is used to keep the perlite in place but let the excess water run out. After you have finished gluing the screen you want to let it dry for 24 hrs.
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[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']The purpose of the hole is to create a reservoir that holds the liquid in it while the plant draws nutrients from it as it grows. When you water, the excess will run out the hole but still leave 2 inches of liquid nutrients in the bottom of the pot for the plant to feed from. What you are doing is duplicating a water table just as in nature. The plants roots will go right down to the reservoir. You get great root growth and large firm buds because of it. The 2 inches provides a high enough level for the nutrients to last three to five days between watering.
Towards the end of flowering, the plants may need watering more frequently do to more nutrient intake as the buds finish putting on weight. The recommended grow container size is 3 gallon bucket for plants that you plan to flower after they reach about 18 to 24 inches tall, and then they finish out at about 3 to 3 ½ feet tall. The 5 gallon buckets are best for plants that you start flowering at about 24 inches or taller who will finish at about 4 to 5 feet in height. You should use a black bucket or dark blue bucket to keep light from causing algae growth inside the bucket and around the roots.
After the glue has set up for 24 hours it is time to add perlite to the bucket and add your plant, but here are some important points about planting to remember first.
There is a lot of dust in the perlite when it is new and just out of the bag. You need to rinse it in a large spaghetti strainer or some other strainer. You want to rinse the dust out first so it doesn’t all settle into the bottom of the pot when you water. If you don’t rinse the perlite first it will create hard white sediment in the bottom of the pot which is not good for the roots.

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Remember that the resovour holds the Nutrients and water mix. You should only have to water about every 3 days. I plant either clones or seeds started in a starter plug. The plants get there water and nutrients from the reservoir in the bottom of the pot. Only water till water starts to come out of the hole that you installed, The hole is for the excess run off, then you stop watering.
I use a pan under the bucket or you could place them on flood table of some sorts that all the run off can drain into.
Remember if you are growing using the Hempy method, as with any grow method that it's always better to start out with less Nutes than to much so as not to burn your plants and build up to what the plant likes....

You can also start your clones and seeds using the above method on a smaller scale.
Start by using an 18 oz plastic cup. The trick is to take the cup and make a “V” cut about 1.5 inches from the bottom then push the “V” in and the perlite will stay in the cup but still drain the excess nutrients off. You will need to place a pan or tray under the cups to catch the excess liquid. You can start your clones in the cups using Rapid Rooter plugs. Place the soon to be rooted clone in the cup and cover with perlite. Seeds should be started in a Rapid rooter plug before you cover them with perlite. After the seeds come up and the clones have rooted, you want to vegetate for about 4 weeks in the cups under florescent bulbs before you have to transplant into pots.
SEE PICTURES BELOW

After 2 to 3 weeks of being in the cups the roots will have developed nicely. Now back to getting ready to plant the newly rooted clones into their final pots. Take the new Hempy pots that you have made and fill them to about ¼ full. Then take your plant that is in the party cup and tip it upside down and gently squeeze the sides of the cup so it loosens the perlite, at this point it should be easy to remove plant from cup. Shake the roots out gently so they hang down. At this point the roots should be at least 6 to 8 inches in length. Hold the plant by base of its stem and lower the plant till the roots just touch the perlite in the bottom of the grow container... This is important, because the reservoir in the bottom will be wicked up into the perlite and feed the roots. Now, gently start adding some perlite to the final pot being careful as you pour it around the roots until you have it filled to the top of the pot. Now take some plain PH adjusted water. You want to adjust it to about 5.5 to 6.0 and then water the plant till you see water coming out the hole that you drilled into the side of the pot, or water collecting in the tray under the flower pot. After watering a few times you will catch the hang of it and know how much to water so just a trickle of fluid drains from the pot. The best way to tell when to water your hempy buckets is when the buckets or pots or what every container you decide to use starts to feel light, which means the perlite is drying out, but not so dry that the plant has started wilting. With a little practice you will get the hang of it. For the first week use PH adjusted water only so as to give the plant a week to get over the transplant shock, and then you can start back with the feedings. Hydro nutrients work well in this system. Important, If you are trying hydro for the first time, start feeding at half strength or less and work your way up so as not to burn you plants with too much food.

Here is a picture of some Bubblelicious I grew Hempy style. You will also notice the hole in the bottom of the pot...the final product growing Hempy!!!





And a few more shots of plant grown like this.