Hey everyone. I am looking for a good guide for hydroponic growing. Any experienced tips or links to guides will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I use DWC and feel it is much easier than using dirt or other media.
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Welcome and happy growing.
I’m doing RDWC myself. Ask away. If you want to get someone’s attention use the @ sign in front of their name: @TDubWilly is a highly experienced hydro grower.
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Well then @TDubWilly id be obliged to hear any advice u may have for me getting started with my first hyrdo grow. From the best way to germimate seeds for this type of grow to specific nutrients they will need, lighting… Any and all u are willing to share. 
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@peachfuzz is a hydro guru. He has been busy lately but he may pop in to help u. I just started aeroponics myself
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I do hydro. If there’s anything you need, just ask. If I don’t know, I bet I know who does. I have a 2 plant system and use the GH Maxi Series of nutes.
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What type of system did you have in mind?
This is what i ordered. I havent received the package yet tho. So not 100% how big it is. I thought it said 5×5 feet.
Can you share the Amazon link please
I found it. That tent is 2x2x4. That seems pretty small to me, but I’ve never grown in a tent before. I just got a tent for veg, but it was a 4x4x8. Maybe someone with tent experience can help. @MattyBear @Bogleg @TDubWilly
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You will have many failures and they will teach you more than books, internet, or forums
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I can probably help you out. I looked at the details for the kit on Amazon - couldn’t find any specifics on the light itself. Do you have any way to measure how much power the light is drawing?
One thing it looks like is missing that you will want/need is an exhaust fan, like this:
For the grow itself, because the tent is 2x2x4, you’ll need to be VERY cognizant of height issues - it will be very challenging to keep plants short enough in that space, especially with that light. That light will likely kick out quite a bit of heat and probably can’t be closer than 12" to the plant.
You also can’t mount the light directly to the ceiling of the tent - you’ll likely need at least 6" from the ceiling so you have enough room to run some ducting from the exhaust fan into the tent above the light.
Which reminds me, to go with the fan, you’ll also need probably want some 4" flexible duct hose:
So… all that being said, I can definitely help you through this process if you want to start a journal and tag me into it. When you get ready to start, I would consider dropping two beans, but only planning on growing one in the tent.
Do you have seeds already? Do you have a plan for how you will germinate the seeds and nurture them through the seedling phase?
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Didn’t take you long to reel in some really good hydro growers, you’re in great hands!
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Lastly, if you are set on the 2x2 tent space, which is totally fine btw, you might consider an upgraded light. This would be my recommendation:
That light will produce less heat, give you more head room (can run plants closer to it) and output way more photons (light) than the one in the kit. Just a thought.
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I am loving all the feednack and advice. Keep it coming everyone. Ordered my seeds here. Got Auto flower northern lights . my plan was to start small . this is for personal use only and i really want to be able to get good before jumping in head first and trying to have more than a couple plants at one time. The light in the kit i thought it said was 300w LED . i keep hearing thats not enough.
Germination is an area where i would love some advice as well. The best to germinate for a hydro grow… Everything i read says soil to germinate is best but then wouldnt i have to transplant sprouts into net pots or something?
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Led lights are marketed on hopes and dreams for the most part. The manufacturer would like you to believe the light has greater capabilities than it really does. Try not to worry about the model number or how many watts they are, see if you can find how much light they put out.
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The start is usually the same: seeds into a custard cup of distilled water with 4 or 5 drops of 3% peroxide. Wait until tails appear (48 hours or less, usually) then into rock wool or rapid rooters. Once roots are visible the seedlings can be introduced to your hydro setup with a top feed drip until roots reach nutrient bath. Then discontinue top drip.
@TDubWilly, @Bogleg and @peachfuzz are all great resources for hydro.
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It took me a couple (three really) grows to figure out how to germinate and move seedlings into veg in hydro. My first grow I actually germinated and seeded them out in dirt, then washed all the dirt off the roots and put them on 3.5 gallon buckets with 6" net pot lids.
That worked out fine, but takes more work and attention to detail than necessary.
Now I use a bubble cloner (basically a small DWC system with a bunch of 2" holes in the lid) to transition the plants from seedlings to veg. Germination to Veg steps from Bog:
- Drop seeds in small glass of water with a few (4-5 drops of 3% drug-store variety Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2)
- Once seeds crack open and a tail emerges, I wait until the tail is around a 1/2" or longer, then I put them in Rapid Rooters (https://www.amazon.com/General-Hydroponics-Rapid-Rooter-Replacement/dp/B0002IU8K2/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=rapid+rooters&qid=1552404416&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1)
2a) I pre-soak the Rapid Rooters in a mild nutrient solution (I use the General Hydroponics Flora Series nutrients) of around 200-250ppm - PH’d to 5.8.
2b) I squeeze out (wring out) the water in the Rapid Rooters so they are damp, but not dripping wet
2c) I tear the Rapid Rooter open vertically (top to bottom) so I can slide the seed and root into it without issue (I use tweezers to handle the germinated seeds)
2d) I place the seed in the Rapid Rooter approximately 1/4" from the top
2e) I tear off a small piece from the bottom of the Rapid Rooter and use it to cover the little hole on the top of the Rapid Rooter
2f) I put the Rapid Rooters in seedling trays like these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LX0JBUU/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
2g) I put the tray on top of a seedling heating mat (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P7U259C/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and keep them at room temp until they sprout out of the Rapid Rooters - Once they sprout from the Rapid Rooters, I spray them with a bottle of PH’d plain water (no nutes) twice a day until they show roots out the bottom/sides of the Rooter - ideally I am looking for at least 2" of roots - at this point I keep them under 24 hours of light
- Once they have long enough roots, I place them in my bubble cloner:
4a) I continue to foliar feed them with plain water until the roots make it to the water in the tote. Once that happens, I stop foliar feeding
4b) At this point I have switched my lights to 16/8
5. Once the roots get long enough in the bubble cloner for their final home, I then move them to their final spaces, and then go back to foliar feeding (now with a seedling nute solution around 200-250ppm) until their roots make it into the water in their final home.
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Still waiting on my beans to arrive but everything else is coming right along. Getting my room extra clean and set up for my magic bean stalks … Been doing tons of research and watching videos of different opinions on different subjects. Taking lots of notes as well. Pretty much going to school on the matter. Lol. I took advice on lights and ventilation and going to build a table for my buckets to sit in and my tent to sit on to give me more height.As well as help with keeping my buckets cool and better protected from the heat. Ill start my journal soon. Thanks again everyone for all the help so far!!
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I took your recommendations on lights. So im good there. I think i will end up purchasing another one just like it actually to have 2 since im not using the tent for my actual grow area anymore. However my hydro set up says to change the water in each of my buckets every week. Tips on the best way to do this @dbrn32
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