Hydro Ebb and Flow, 600w mh lights, how long to veg

Illegalbreather

Illegalbreather

Well-Known Member
JohnDee said:
IlleGal,
Actually I believe White Widow is 40%sat/60%indica...but it's all how you respond to it. I had a really lanky sativa leaning WW pheno that was wonderful to grow and smoke. Lost the Momma when I moved but I did make a few crosses with it.

You asked about my project. I have the basic frame roughed in. Next is to build a door, light supports and all the misc. framing before wrapping the whole thing in plastic. So maybe 1/4 done but it's a low intensity project since I won't be able to start a grow till after a family trip in the spring.

I was going to ask you how much room you have between the top of the res and bottom of the tray. If height is going to be an issue each grow, perhaps you could drop the tray to optimise vertical space. Just a thought...
Peace,
JD
Click to expand...
Hi J.D.

Was able to cut three inches off the legs of the table. Gave some much needed room. I also picked up a sheet of mylar. Owner of the hydro store had a good suggestion and I took it. I spray glued the mylar onto four foam insulation sheets four feet high. duct taped the edges so I can quickly remove them and set them back up after tending to the grow. :weed:
 
JohnDee

JohnDee

Well-Known Member
Good Morning IlleGal,
When I built my trays I didn't think about the height issue either. I just built it for easy access to the res and at a good height for working on the plants. But since my tallest plants were only 2', it was never an issue. Some of the commercial hydro systems actually put the tray right on top of the res which seems extreme. I don't know how they expect you to maintain the res. Anyway, that 3" gained may come in handy. I like the moveable wall Idea too. Fine tuning a grow area is almost always is indicated. Hope the new room construction is going well...
JD
 
ninjagrowguy

ninjagrowguy

Active Member
waterdawg

waterdawg

Well-Known Member
JohnDee said:
Good Morning IlleGal,
When I built my trays I didn't think about the height issue either. I just built it for easy access to the res and at a good height for working on the plants. But since my tallest plants were only 2', it was never an issue. Some of the commercial hydro systems actually put the tray right on top of the res which seems extreme. I don't know how they expect you to maintain the res. Anyway, that 3" gained may come in handy. I like the moveable wall Idea too. Fine tuning a grow area is almost always is indicated. Hope the new room construction is going well...
JD
Click to expand...
Lol My res (DIY) is under my tray and i never thought of it as extreme. Actually JD I really never have to maintain my res while doing a run (well not yet lol). Access is gained if needed by lifting the the top tray off, my systems are smaller then average F&D setups but they take up less of a foot print. Is there things I should be doing to my res that i'm not? I just refill weekly and rinse it out a bit each time. I just dump in the exact amount of everything at once when filling. I keep pretty good notes so I know, for instance, i need 50ml's down in veg, etc. And great idea about the styrofoam and spray glue illegal! That may work great for myself re clone box :).
 
JohnDee

JohnDee

Well-Known Member
Good morning Peeps,
Actually, I'm sort of a lazy guy and what I do is to wait until the system is flooding, then dip out a sample from the flood tray. I test that sample for ph and ppm and try to make any corrections in the solution I mix to refill with. I do that every other day. Once you get the strength right...then the plant should take in water and nutes at about the same level and ppm shouldn't change. I do have to peep into res to check the level though. I also add solution by pouring it gently on the tray and allowing it to drain to res through the tray drain system. voila! lol

Hey, I've been having an interesting discussion with some guys about a system in use by a Hawaiian horticultural professor Bernard Kratky, (search for Kratky mrthod). It's a res system with no aeration. The theory is that as long as some of the roots are in the air (to absorb oxygen) then it doesn't matter if the roots are dangling in non-aerated solution. He grows lettuce and other veggies. It explains how a Hempy bucket can work w/o root rot. I found it quite interesting.
Later,
JD
 
MuckyDucky

MuckyDucky

Well-Known Member
JohnDee said:
Good morning Peeps,
Actually, I'm sort of a lazy guy and what I do is to wait until the system is flooding, then dip out a sample from the flood tray. I test that sample for ph and ppm and try to make any corrections in the solution I mix to refill with. I do that every other day. Once you get the strength right...then the plant should take in water and nutes at about the same level and ppm shouldn't change. I do have to peep into res to check the level though. I also add solution by pouring it gently on the tray and allowing it to drain to res through the tray drain system. voila! lol

Hey, I've been having an interesting discussion with some guys about a system in use by a Hawaiian horticultural professor Bernard Kratky, (search for Kratky mrthod). It's a res system with no aeration. The theory is that as long as some of the roots are in the air (to absorb oxygen) then it doesn't matter if the roots are dangling in non-aerated solution. He grows lettuce and other veggies. It explains how a Hempy bucket can work w/o root rot. I found it quite interesting.
Later,
JD
Click to expand...
From what I have read if the temps are cool enough in the res then no air is needed with the ebb&flo because the roots can get enough oxygen when it drains but..... the higher the res temperatures, the lower the res oxygen content and then you will have a higher risk of nasties growing in the res. IMHO why take the risk? I run 2 air stones in mine & no nasties so far.:joint:
 
JohnDee

JohnDee

Well-Known Member
Hi Mucky,
I wasn't aiming that specifically at E&F systems...just some general knowledge. However E&F systems are inherently well aerated. When I bought my pump, it came with a whole variety of fittings. One cool little device was an inline 1/2" fitting with an air fitting coming out the side. So I inserted it between the submersible water pump and the tray...then moved the airline tubing to that fitting, and plugged the air pump into my Ebb and Flow timer so the nute solution was only aerated as it was pumped up to the tray. (removed the airstone altogether). Worked great and it was nice not having the damn noisy air pump running all the time.
JD
 
MuckyDucky

MuckyDucky

Well-Known Member
JD, Are you talking about a fitting like this?
View attachment 2977346

If so, the one that came with mine must be a 5/8" or something. My 1/2" tubing was too small and 3/4" was too large. So, then you just plug the air pump into it and time it with the res pump?
 
JohnDee

JohnDee

Well-Known Member
Mucky,
Your link doesn't work. This was a few years back and I can't recall exactly how it all connected, but it fit inline on my 1/2" hose from pump to tray. And had a tiny Tee fitting to connect to a standard airline hose. Once connected, the idea was that all the air was pumped directly into the hose as the nutrients were rising to the tray. And yes, it was plugged into the main submersible timer so it only came on during flood times. Worked great...no res problems, no root problems. I used it like that for at least three runs before I shut down at that location.
JD
 
MuckyDucky

MuckyDucky

Well-Known Member
Thanks JD, I have been having problems uploading photos but I think it is a similar fitting. I will try that the next round. Besides stopping some of the noise it could help slow the evaporation in my res... and that would mean a little less work maintaining it.
 
JohnDee

JohnDee

Well-Known Member
Mucky,
I just ran 15 minute floods...4 or 5 times during lights on. None when lights are off. I never thought of the evap. issue...I can see where it would help with that. My trays were 3x3 and filled pretty fast.
JD
 
MuckyDucky

MuckyDucky

Well-Known Member
Good stuff JD. I have been turning the pump on for 5 minutes every 3 hours & flooding about 3 minutes , (5 times a day), in 12/12 plus 2 times at night. If I cut the 2 times at night and got rid of the air stones it could really save some maintenance and PH/PPM chasing.
 
waterdawg

waterdawg

Well-Known Member
So you guys add air in an ebb and flow because why? I was under the impression that plants got all the air required when tray was empty. Is that wrong? I have no clue. but dont run air at all, flooming takes care of it! Hows the girls doing illegal. Have you taken any cuttings yet?
 
MuckyDucky

MuckyDucky

Well-Known Member
waterdawg said:
So you guys add air in an ebb and flow because why? I was under the impression that plants got all the air required when tray was empty. Is that wrong? I have no clue. but dont run air at all, flooming takes care of it! Hows the girls doing illegal. Have you taken any cuttings yet?
Click to expand...
I have been running air stones 24 hrs a day in the res because I understand that nasties can grow in a res if the temperatures get too high. Adding oxygen can keep them from getting started. Also, when the res drains and the roots become wet then the water that is on the roots will also have a lot of oxygen in it.
 
MuckyDucky

MuckyDucky

Well-Known Member
waterdawg said:
So you guys add air in an ebb and flow because why? I was under the impression that plants got all the air required when tray was empty. Is that wrong? I have no clue. but dont run air at all, flooming takes care of it! Hows the girls doing illegal. Have you taken any cuttings yet?
Click to expand...
I have been running air stones 24 hrs a day in the res because I understand that nasties can grow in a res if the temperatures get too high. Adding oxygen can keep them from getting started.

IMHO just adding a few big air bubbles to your res when flooding is like farting in the wind.
 
ninjagrowguy

ninjagrowguy

Active Member
I run airstones in my res for a couple reasons. Mucky stated one reason, to prevent non benificial bacterial and fungal growth, but I also use it to prevent sediment from settling. Keeping your nutes moving helps more consistent spread of nutrients when flooded. You won't have different ec/ppm throughout the water. If your pump rests on the bottom of your res, the initial water flooding will start with a different concentration and change as the water level in the res changes. Adding airstones helps keep the water and nutrients stirred up, also keeping from "hotspots" and "coldspots" when testing your res. J.d. had a good idea about testing once it floods, but I can't always make it into my room right at first flood.
 
MuckyDucky

MuckyDucky

Well-Known Member
ninjagrowguy said:
I run airstones in my res for a couple reasons. Mucky stated one reason, to prevent non benificial bacterial and fungal growth, but I also use it to prevent sediment from settling. Keeping your nutes moving helps more consistent spread of nutrients when flooded. You won't have different ec/ppm throughout the water. If your pump rests on the bottom of your res, the initial water flooding will start with a different concentration and change as the water level in the res changes. Adding airstones helps keep the water and nutrients stirred up, also keeping from "hotspots" and "coldspots" when testing your res. J.d. had a good idea about testing once it floods, but I can't always make it into my room right at first flood.
Click to expand...
Oh yea, same here. I add water and nutes directly to the res and by the time I lower my PH/PPM probe the bubbles have it mixed... My res sticks out in front of my table just a couple of inches for filling testing and I can get the lid off of the res for maintenance if my unit fails..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top