NFT hydroponics questions (and answers)

[Joe King Park]

Thanks Grover
I'm Itching To Go Hydro After These Cheese And Ortegas Finish
I'm Also Thinking , After The N.H.S Trees Outdoor Have Been harvested On Getting Myself A Budbox " Skinny " And Being Able To Veg . I Always Use The Outdoor Light In Early Spring Through Summer . Winters A Whole Different Kettle of Fish Though , And Even Though I've Been Very Fortunate Up Til Now , Growing A Whole Selection Of MNS Strains , The Veg Room Would Be A Good Addition.
Six Plants In A NFT424 Or Six Plants In 20 Litre DWC Jugs ?
The Ortegas Are Sexing ( Four Out Of Seven Are Female So Far And Have Grown From Seed On 12/12)
The Cheese ; Very Low Leaf To Bud Ratio. Long Thin Branches Stretching In Every Direction
Slowing Them Down With Twist Wire And Rails
Not Sure , But I Think They May Finish Before The Outdoor N.H.S ( October ) And Daddy's Girl ( Late November )
I Think The Wilma System Put Me off Hydro Systems ( Or The ?? Waterfarm )
The Wilma Provided Poor Aeration And The Waterfarm Used Way To Much Clay Pebbles And The Aeration Was'nt That Great
In The Image Showing Two Sets Of Cheese Roots , You'll Notice You Don't Need 20 Litres Of Pebbles To Hold Down Your Plant ( In Fact I've Got Away With Five (5) Pebbles !!
NFT , With Regular Resevoir Changes is A Very Easy Way Of Growing , As Is DWC
With NFT I Would Change And Flush EVERY 7-10 Days
And With DWC I Would Religiously Change The Nutes And Flush Every 5 Days
Heres The Image Above Those Roots
And Some I'm Growing Now
Joe

 

[wonkadonk]

Hi guys, This is my first post here. I've been lurking fora short while absorbing some valuable infos. Thanks

hey Pluko - I kinda meant swings in the source (ie tap) water as opposed to swings in the nutrient solution..it just helps to know where you are starting from...with hydro, the water is everything.

Where I'm at, the water is generally excellent. But a while back I had big problems. I was growing in dirt, using previously successful genetics, methods, and materials. Then they all started getting sick, and sicker. It took a while to put the pieces together, and figure out it was the water. For a couple weeks they had been working on the water lines about a block away, but it didn't dawn on me till later what had happened. I was taking a shower, and noticed the water smelled a little funny. We figured they must have used something in the lines when they were upgrading, or doing whatever they were doing.

Since then, I use two water filters in line, designed to remove chemical contaminants. The filters slow the line to a trickle so it takes 15-20 minutes to pump out 30 gallons. But I haven't had any more water problems.

 

[Billy Liar]

Hi everyone,
hope all are well....
Back to the Nutrients Q... Which nutes are best etc?? what are the differences?
Short answer they are all pretty much the same... and as long as they contain what the plant needs, and the plant and its roots are in a happy place, then ALL the plant needs will be "made available".. I think we've covered most things about the parameters that hydroponic plants flourish in (the "Happy Place")... Namely; temps, DO levels, Water Quality, Nutrient concentrations, and Ph levels...
The main differences between nutrients from different companies, is Quality of the sourced minerals and complexity of how they are mixed together before we buy them... (I'm not referring to any Organic nutes here). So IMO we should receive the same results from any brand of nutes that contain all that a plant requires... Its up to us (the Growers) to provide a place that the plant thrives in.. Nutes are Nutes!!!
I do prefer Canna nutes due to price and the fact that Humic and Fulvic acids are already in there (see article by Dr Lynette Mogan, the hydro fox), seems a good honest approach to me..
I dont prefer them because they are "better" than any other companies products...

pluko
canna auqa has the abilaty to maintain a stable ph unlike canna hydro which im sure you no is more suited to run to waste

they both worked fine for me in these type of systems, like I said its more about the complexity of the manufacture... If enough NPK and all other necessary nutrients are there then they should be available to the plant.. I find it odd that canna say its more stable, then in the same breath say to let the ph drift over the period of time between res changes.... I dont really care much about the technical spiel that nutrient companies give about how they make the nutrients... What I think they (Canna) are actually saying about canna aqua is that the individual ingredients are compounded together so no matter what the plant takes from the mix, whats left will still be exactly the same... instead of the plant using all the N first then only P and K will be left??? if its true that the plant takes what it needs, this shouldn't be necessary should it???

On the subject of my Tap water and its poor quality, we've had a LOT of rain recently, and the levels in the reservoirs have gone up, and as result the quality of my tap water has increased also... I think I was right about the cause of the shitty tap water.... LOL All this and I've just received My first RO unit.... Hehehee

wonkadonk
welcome to MNS. good luck and happy growing, there is always help at hand here.=)

I hope I haven't made hydroponics seem more complicated here???
I've tried to explain the safe working parameters, and to simplify. we may need a summary.. anyone want to tackle whats been discussed and outline the points to remember?? would make a good reference tool... I get the feeling if I do it it will be longer than this whole thread... LOL

Not trying to dismiss any comments, but would like to clarify I've never done any organic soil growing, so my comments here can only pertain to Hydroponics with synthetic nutrients....
I'm also quite happy to be proved wrong/re-educated on any points I've made in this thread... I'm just sharing what I've picked up and put together over the years...

peace
BL

ps the twin towers didnt like the venturi, or vice versa...

So Sensi13, hows the nute comparison going???

 

[Panacea]

Great thread!
sensimilla: Did you get any results from the comparison?