Kingofpoon
Active Member
very impressive hell raizer those look great never seen some one actually finish a drip system around here just talk then they go to dwc
Such thing as overwatering top feed hydro?
- Thread starter ran4it2
- Start date
hellraizer30
Rebel From The North
funny you say that cuz Im leening toward the dwc, but I started with soil then moved to top feed drain to waist, so the dwc just another learning curve, thanks for the
positive feed back
choempi
Well-Known Member
Flood and drain, recirc, efficient
ran4it2
Active Member
alright thanks alot hellraizer im goin to pick up my timers right now and do a 30 on and 3 hr off and no water when lights are off and see how they do.
poindexterous
Active Member
I once did a top feed round in perlite with feeder hoses peeing 24/7 with no signs of overwater, and perlite holds much more water than hydroton.
poindexterous
Active Member
Are the rockwool cubes getting irrigated? Maybe they need direct top feeding? I've only ebb&flow'd with rockwool but even then I cycled hourly with no sign of overwater. Funny how water can both deliver and/or deprive oxygen. Sometimes a constant stream is the best thing. Hard sayin' though?
choempi
Well-Known Member
overwatering dude, your schedule is still too much, 30 on every 3 is almost 4 hours a day, insane unless you have a very large plant...
researchkitty
Well-Known Member
This is the worse system I've seen. Just flood the buckets from teh bottom up, throw away all that stupid drip nonsense and flood the tray 2x-4x a day for 15 minutes. Continue as you do, and like the last 20 posters here suggested, you'll continue to overwater the roots, not water the medium properly, and not get results.
ran4it2
Active Member
You are full of just negativity. If I wanted to do ebb & flow I would have done it my res is only 18 gallon where as if I did e&f it would be 40 gallons and thAT isnt an option. There are many off hydro options and I want to do top feed. People do water farms all the time and never run cycles on their plants. I'm sorry I even posted this thread due to all the negative comments and too many different opinons. Some say 24/7 others say cycle 3-4 times
poindexterous
Active Member
Yeah, your system is a totally a legit method, and looks well designed at that, you're just working a bug out, and top feed has a number of advantages over ebb and flow which is why I have used it for years, there's always people here who are very negative. I think once you have roots down into the hydroton you'll be fine, it's just the transition. What if you moved those feed rings so they dribbled directly onto the rockwool? I think rockwool needs frequent fresh oxygenated nutrients to not get stagnant. I used to place plants in rockwool 3x3 cubes on top of perlite and have my feed hose pee right on the cubes hourly and they quickly rooted into the perlite. Now I use an ez-clone and no longer use the cubes.You are full of just negativity. If I wanted to do ebb & flow I would have done it my res is only 18 gallon where as if I did e&f it would be 40 gallons and thAT isnt an option. There are many off hydro options and I want to do top feed. People do water farms all the time and never run cycles on their plants. I'm sorry I even posted this thread due to all the negative comments and too many different opinons. Some say 24/7 others say cycle 3-4 times
ran4it2
Active Member
thank you thank you thank you thank you.!!!
words of encouragement are always great
Im just super frustrated. I did it to be 30 on every 3 1/2 hours. and no water when the lights are off. so thats other 2 1/2 hours of water per day. I checked and im getting some new roots coming in on most clones. some are slowly shooting them out i think they just need to be adjusted to the water schedule. I got all the drip rings to actually drip by poking bigger holes in all the rings! and its actually dripping like I wanted to from the beginning. I would just have them pee on the cubes but they are tiny cubes i think 1x1 but now that I fixed the drip ring problem I'm hoping for non drooping plants by the end of tomorrows light cycle!!! I'll keep everyone updated on how its goin. I see now how I was over watering but I guess its cause they are small clones. I still dont get why people are successly with 24/7 drips and I couldnt? I was under the impression that if my hydroton wasnt constantly getting wet my plants wouldnt be getting the sufficent water they needed. Im a novice when it comes to this hydro stuff but I guess you learn from your mistakes. Hopefully people werent wrong about the 3-4 hour cycling cause my plant temp is usually like 75 f so hopefully they dont dry out on me when i leave tonight.
choempi
Well-Known Member
well put K...
choempi
Well-Known Member
now you getting it brothank you thank you thank you thank you.!!!
words of encouragement are always great
Im just super frustrated. I did it to be 30 on every 3 1/2 hours. and no water when the lights are off. so thats other 2 1/2 hours of water per day. I checked and im getting some new roots coming in on most clones. some are slowly shooting them out i think they just need to be adjusted to the water schedule. I got all the drip rings to actually drip by poking bigger holes in all the rings! and its actually dripping like I wanted to from the beginning. I would just have them pee on the cubes but they are tiny cubes i think 1x1 but now that I fixed the drip ring problem I'm hoping for non drooping plants by the end of tomorrows light cycle!!! I'll keep everyone updated on how its goin. I see now how I was over watering but I guess its cause they are small clones. I still dont get why people are successly with 24/7 drips and I couldnt? I was under the impression that if my hydroton wasnt constantly getting wet my plants wouldnt be getting the sufficent water they needed. Im a novice when it comes to this hydro stuff but I guess you learn from your mistakes. Hopefully people werent wrong about the 3-4 hour cycling cause my plant temp is usually like 75 f so hopefully they dont dry out on me when i leave tonight.
choempi
Well-Known Member
not so much the time but the amount of the drip, you got pics? Drip rings can be a fussy method, but if it is a drip every 30 seconds or so, ok, but I think OP is running his drip heavy, so a timer at more spaced intervals will be better. A large established plant is a big diff, but he is still setting his roots.
researchkitty
Well-Known Member
I'm not full of negativity, I'm honest and to the point. I can tell you how cute the system is and how adorable your plants look, but the problem is it isnt and they arent. You have an 18 gallon reservoir for a flood tray that requires 40, and a drip system not even close to the center of the root mass for plants of that age. The reservoir will create ph and ppm fluctuations at that small size, and the drip system will only flood part of the buckets you have that are also way too oversized for a drip system too.You are full of just negativity. If I wanted to do ebb & flow I would have done it my res is only 18 gallon where as if I did e&f it would be 40 gallons and thAT isnt an option. There are many off hydro options and I want to do top feed. People do water farms all the time and never run cycles on their plants. I'm sorry I even posted this thread due to all the negative comments and too many different opinons. Some say 24/7 others say cycle 3-4 times
I want you to grow the best weed possible, and for everyone to grow the best weed possible. Dont come on a forum with a problem and then expect everyone to tell you everything is fine, when you have problems. We're here to help you fix them and be better at everything.
With that said, here's how to *fix* the system.
1.) drill holes in the bottom of those buckets if they dont already have them
2.) Buy and ebb & flow flood/drain adapter kit.
3.) Buy a reservoir for underneath the tray, or alternatively one that is under the trays height but on the side such as a 55 gallon rez filled to 40 gallons.
4.) Set the timers on the fill pump to fill the tray until its full, and then drain back out.
5.) Remove the drip system entirely
6.) Grow weed and have fun smoke, and no problems.
Its not negativity, it's constructive criticism.
choempi
Well-Known Member
this chic grows!I'm not full of negativity, I'm honest and to the point. I can tell you how cute the system is and how adorable your plants look, but the problem is it isnt and they arent. You have an 18 gallon reservoir for a flood tray that requires 40, and a drip system not even close to the center of the root mass for plants of that age. The reservoir will create ph and ppm fluctuations at that small size, and the drip system will only flood part of the buckets you have that are also way too oversized for a drip system too.
I want you to grow the best weed possible, and for everyone to grow the best weed possible. Dont come on a forum with a problem and then expect everyone to tell you everything is fine, when you have problems. We're here to help you fix them and be better at everything.
With that said, here's how to *fix* the system.
1.) drill holes in the bottom of those buckets if they dont already have them
2.) Buy and ebb & flow flood/drain adapter kit.
3.) Buy a reservoir for underneath the tray, or alternatively one that is under the trays height but on the side such as a 55 gallon rez filled to 40 gallons.
4.) Set the timers on the fill pump to fill the tray until its full, and then drain back out.
5.) Remove the drip system entirely
6.) Grow weed and have fun smoke, and no problems.
Its not negativity, it's constructive criticism.