I'm ordering some 3 gallon beto buckets and I already have some hydroton pellets so I'm wondering what are the pros and cons on using perlite with paint strainers or cut bigger holes in the tops for the beto buckets (dutch buckets) and use hydroton pellets in net pots. The other thing I'm wondering about is whether to have a continuous flow with air stones or flood and drain with no air stones.

Anybody have a good chart or site for nutrient amounts? Thanks

I'm struggling with growing Zucchini in a 5 gallon bucket indoors. It starts off well but is starting to yellow around leaves and they are starting to wilt.

Using Masterblend tomatoe formula with esom salt and calcium nitrate in the 12 grams, 6 grams, 12 grams ratio for 5 gallons. PH adjusted to 6.0. I have an 80 watt LED 6500k shop light on it for 12 hours per day.

https://preview.redd.it/cvyj5p83rxwc1.jpg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5e9bfba17aa36c7ca5aca905adb93b302bdb79e5

https://preview.redd.it/0sfqho83rxwc1.jpg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=35394ea57b0207fd1fdfa17e9ba8a01e66709bef

i'm kinda interested in growing via RDWC. not needing to deal with soil medium and directly providing nutrients and oxygen directly to the root systems seems great to me.

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I've been looking at this being my transition from coco to rdwc and while it's not technically rdwc, it does give me a step forward since I can just drill some holes and PVC piping and such. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JRRJVSJ

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Is this a good idea? should I maybe just save up for a more expensive system instead of taking small steps? Just looking to grow in my 2x4 tent so that's probably two 5 gallon buckets and a reservoir outside that i can monitor and maintain the water [or a giant tote that can fit both plants, but idk how well that would work with two root systems.]

https://preview.redd.it/jg0cmljhvdwc1.jpg?width=1106&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=72a4492373369a5f4c3e2da9416850ba0c105f5c

According to a certain YT video, this is the proper grommet to use when you want to put a 1/2" PVC through a plastic Home Depot 5 gallon bucket. This is from Grainger and the part number is: 3mpl8. I called the 800 number and they said the Casper, WY store had 2 (packs of 50) in stock. I drove 90 some miles and the guy at the counter said no store in the country has it. I went to Home Depot and they were of no help. Neither was Menards. I can't seem to find it on ebay. Can anyone point me to a link on ebay that has the right type of grommets to buy?

Stronger PAR levels to the canopy

LED lights result in stronger Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) levels at the canopy at the same wattage as an HID system.

PAR is the amount of usable light for plants during photosynthesis. Some experts call photosynthesis the most important biological process on earth.

The right LED lights for plants have several diodes that produce different colors of photons without moving the plant or changing the bulbs. Metal halides and HID lights produce a spectrum that wasn’t necessarily geared towards cannabis plants.

1. Unrivaled Energy Efficiency 

HID lights produce infrared heat spikes that increases the room’s ambient temperature and makes lights hot to the touch. 

LEDs don’t have this infrared heat spike, so they operate much cooler than HID systems due to heat sink technology. When the diodes are kept cool, energy is used more efficiently. 

It also takes less time for LED lights to warm up, so they spend more time operating at their maximum output. LEDs don’t require power boxes and separate cooling systems. 

With the energy saved, LEDs spend their energy providing usable light to the canopy and not adding extra heat to the grow space. 

1. Longer Life Span

An efficient grow light has an extended life-time. 

Where some lights shut down after dropping below a certain output, Fohse’s LED lights dim and continue to operate with less energy while still delivering high PPF levels. 

This increases the lighting fixture’s lifetime, providing years of use from one fixture with no replacements. 

1. More Control

HID lights have limited spectral options, but LED lights can be programmed to emit different spectrums of light by season. 

A flower room would benefit from having an end-of-summer and fall light spectrum while  vegetative plants do well in spring or summertime light spectrums as this is what naturally occurs outdoors where cannabis originally existed. Fohse’s touch screen control system comes with spring, summer and fall spectral options to cater to the unique needs of the plant throughout its life. It also features sunrise and sunset functionality and the ability to customize schedules.

1.  Less Maintenance

HID systems are complicated and usually include multiple parts like:

• Cooling units 
• Hoods
• Separate lenses

LED grow lights are user-friendly. It is simple to hang and operate LEDs because they require less external parts and are self-contained. 

A flower room would benefit from having an end-of-summer and fall light spectrum while  vegetative plants do well in spring or summertime light spectrums as this is what naturally occurs outdoors where cannabis originally existed. Fohse’s touch screen control system comes with spring, summer and fall spectral options to cater to the unique needs of the plant throughout its life. It also features sunrise and sunset functionality and the ability to customize schedules.

 5. Less Maintenance

HID systems are complicated and usually include multiple parts like:

• Cooling units 
• Hoods
• Separate lenses

LED grow lights are user-friendly. It is simple to hang and operate LEDs because they require less external parts and are self-contained. Fohse LED grow lights hang from an easy-to-install hook. The lights can be daisy-chained to each other and into our touch screen control center. 

Fohse’s lights don’t require parts other than a hook, cord, and controls. You just hang it and plug it in.

6. Higher Yields

Scientists are currently evaluating where the threshold for light intensity is in cannabis. While certain cultivars will be limited to lower light levels, others thrive under high intensity so long as the facility maintains balance with the other growing parameters. One study has shown that there is a direct correlation between PPFD increases and increased yield and quality in certa

Hello, I am a high schooler in an Engineering Capstone program where we work to come up with a solution to a problem of our choice. My partner and I participated in CTE's Your Place in Space Competition and were one of the 8 national winning teams.

Now, we're developing a business plan related more towards general hydroponics and need to gather some information and feedback to decide what direction to take. We'd appreciate it if you would fill out a google form we made. It doesn't matter how much experience you have with hydroponics and there are optional sections. It wont take long (under 5 mins) and will help us a lot, thank you.

If you have any suggestions on adding to the form or fixing it you can either mention that in the form or on this post.

Link to google form: form

Hi,

I’m using an X-Stream aero propagator for Amnesia cuttings. Planning to use GHE Tripart with soft water. How much of each nutrient should I add? I read I should start at 100 ppm using the ppm500 scale. And what should the pH level be? Also, should the pump spray continuously or cycle on and off?

Thanks for your help!

I'm trying to do about 1,200 tomato and pepper plants this year with drip irrigation and I want to make my own bulk substrate. Just curious if anyone wanted to share where they get some of their supplies.

I'm off grid so I have to collect rain water. We typically get a lot of rain in the spring so I have a 275 gallon tote on either side of my garage. (and then one extra plus a 400 gallon steel tank). The problem is I get algae in the tanks when the sun shines so I have to cover them with black plastic. Then the wind tears it up but that's another problem. Anyway I measure the ppm with a cheap meter and I get 77 ppm and 154 us/ms (whatever that means). Anyway I can store extra water in the extra IBC and the steel tank. The steel tank gets rust so I guess I have to rinse it out and keep water moving through it.

So here's my questions:

1. Will a little algae hurt my hydro lettuce and tomatoes?

2. Is 77 ppm too high? (I can drive an hour to town and get 4 ppm water for .50/gal)

3. Is a little rust bad for hydro?

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Hi everyone! I need to discover how to make a Bato Bucket/Mason Jar hybrid system. I know this is off the 'passive topic' but maybe someone can point me to the right info. We need to make a dutch bucket sort of system with quart jars or a bit larger plant containers so we can keep them more or less auto-refilled from a larger nutrient reservoir. I have looked for ages- with not much luck. I would really like to find a way to keep the plant containers filled with tubing and non-pump system, Rather if I can figure out something where the water level stays relatively constant, relying on capillary action. I know there are some very clever brains out there who can help us. :-)

I’ve been fascinated by hydroponic planting systems for about three years and I’ve been researching and looking into it for a while now and I decided since it’s spring I’m going to try it. I have an apartment balcony that gets amazing sunlight direct and indirect (there’s shady spots.) so I’m going to try my hand at some basics, I’ve grown houseplants hydroponically before, garlic, green onion, pothos, Ivy and I had a cat grass my cats used to chew on for a bit before moving. My plan is to start with a few basic companion plants (cherry tomatoes, lettuce, kale, basil, rosemary, belle peppers just some ideas.) that I know I would definitely use/eat and maybe some flowers just because. I have all the resources, I just need to actually go out and do it! Any advice or insight is greatly appreciated :)