LEDgardener

Hey all,

I’m looking to upgrade to a legit hydro solution and would like some help from more experienced growers. Currently I’m doing some Kratky buckets and manually feeding plants in soilless mix but I want something better in time for legal cannabis here in Canada.

I will be growing in a 4x4 tent and would like something somewhat automated because I have to go out of town for work occasionally for a few days and it’d be great if it could handle itself for those few days.

I have the tent and lights but am not sure what route to go for the hydro system. My budget max would be $1000CAD. What do you guys think?

Is sound an issue? I'm shopping around for exactly the same reason as you are LEDG out here in Alberta, Canada.
My system is in our basement and is not allowed to be a priority over my family's quality of life. Some of the RDWC and Aeroponics systems are noisy buggers; pumping loudly and spraying hard against thin plastic/PVC. I'm weighing that against the fact they tend to have the best response from plants of the available hydro systems from what I've anecdotally heard and seen.
I'd also point out that the stabilizing nature of Coco Coir and your wish for automation while away might lead you to more of a drip or ebb/flow system. DWC and especially Aero can be more unpredictable as plants can go wrong much more quickly in them. A friend and a timelapse camera you can check in on might just fix those issues for you.
Lastly, I highly recommend applying for your AMPCR permit here in Canada to increase that plant limit from 4 to 49. Clones and seedlings are included in that plant count.

Thanks for the thoughtful answer. I too have to be somewhat cognizant of noise but my basement is unfinished so we’re never down there and we can hardly hear anything from upstairs. That being said, noise shouldn’t be an issue unless it’s really obnoxious.

I was looking at Bluemats, Flora Flex, and RDWC. What’s the consensus on drippers?

My vote goes for coco+blumat tropf.

As I've said here before, It's not perfect, but pretty close to it.

No noise, no mechanical/electric parts that risk failing, no "sudden death syndrome" of rapid pH fluctuations.

You set it up and just let it go. The plant effectively regulates how much water it gets, so it's never under or over watered, and it adapts with the plant as the plant grows. The less you fidget with it the better it works.

Things I've learned over time with this set up:

1) Straight coco coir. No clay pebbles, no perlite. Those confuse the blumat carrots, and are probably responsible for floodings I've had in the past.

2) My rez is made of two 100L garden-garbage bins I bought from the hardware store. Bigger tanks mean less pH fluctuations. Keeping them covered (I have a styrofoam circle floating on top) also helps. No air bubblers: the coco in a fabric pot is aired enough, aerating the rez causes pH fluctuations.

3) My fantasy is to have the dehumidifier put out all of the water directly in the rez, and have an automated pump system to regulate pH and nutrient levels. Then, I believe, it would be truly perfect.

blumats are awesome!!! just have a big enough reservoir if you need to leave for a week and a flush valve if you run nutes thru it

if you want a really simple automated way of growing, look into flood n drain ( ebb n flo ) with coco.. you set up a 3x3 tray in your 4x4 tent with a 30gallon res under it and set some timers!!!
most people set it so 2-3 times a day for 10-20 minutes the nutrient solution fills tray to pre set level( were you set the overflow/drain to be).. plants wick it up in the coco and then it shuts off and drains back into the res. basically you just add water till you have added the amount that was in there to start, and then make a new batch for the res. then flush at end with just water.

most nutrient brands will work... some better with coco and F&D than others.. it's another learning process.. I've seen people use canna a&b... jacks 321....Advanced nutrients 3 part... veg+bloom etc etc...

major benefit with flood n drain is way less fungus gnat problems... with it wicking from the bottom the top of pots don't get over saturated... so there's no or minimum algae for them to feed on..

down size.. like any automation.. power outages!!! or forgetting to plug back in the res pump after ya did a res change! at lease it's more forgiving than aeroponics or rdwc.. you loose power for a few hours with either of those two, your screwed!! flood and drain you can at lease hand water if need be.

Well, I see a couple of you guys like Blumats so I’m gonna try out the little 12-carrot gravity kit. I’m getting them setup tonight and it’s quite a process!

Gotta boil water to make sure it’s not aerated, then soak them, and the little sheet in the kit said something about using an eye dropper underwater to squirt water into some holes or something.

I’m confident it’ll be worth it though and I’m excited to see how they do.

I've been using a dripper system with coco. I don't know if that's the best option, but I was a bit concerned about the possibility of salt buildup with Blumats in coco coir. Is it really that big of a problem? How do you fight against it?

LEDG wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 18, 2018 2:02 am

Gotta boil water to make sure it’s not aerated, then soak them, and the little sheet in the kit said something about using an eye dropper underwater to squirt water into some holes or something.

yep... less air the better.

yep.. air bubbles can get trapped up in the plastic top behind those small holes.. the dropper will force it out.

did ya go drip emitters kit? or just the carrots?

alienfarts687 wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 18, 2018 3:30 am

I've been using a dripper system with coco. I don't know if that's the best option, but I was a bit concerned about the possibility of salt buildup with Blumats in coco coir. Is it really that big of a problem? How do you fight against it?

main way to fight it is flush valves on the main runs and flushing the lines regularly... I haven't run a salt line thru mine yet, but it has no problem with kelp and teas etc... warm water also helps when flushing main line.

if the tees or the smaller feeder lines get plugged, just replace it without removing the carrot.
It's nice to always have extra tube, tees, shut-off/flush valves and a carrot or two on hand.. just in case.

Jolly Green Giant wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 18, 2018 4:25 am

main way to fight it is flush valves on the main runs and flushing the lines regularly... I haven't run a salt line thru mine yet, but it has no problem with kelp and teas etc... warm water also helps when flushing main line.

How do you go about flushing when it's all connected to a rez? I've never flushed