I'm trying out a hydro grow for the first time and I'm worried that I will lose control of the nute regimen and lose the plants.
But at worst, it will be a learning experience. At best, I'm afraid that the plants will be so huge that they will outgrow my tent.
I'm using two 20L buckets with small mesh pots in the lid and an air pump and air stone to aerate the water.
I have a small aquarium heater and a digital thermometer in the buckets to monitor and adjust the temps of the nute water.
The tent is 80 x 80 x 180cm and has a carbon filter, extractor fan and a 400W MH light in an air-cooled reflector.
I'm growing autoflower seeds- a Northern Lights and an Auto Jack, an indica and a sativa. One of each. They have a flowering time of 7-8 weeks, according to the seed packs. I'm also growing a white widow auto in a soil bucket as a backup in case I screw up the hydro grow.
It's winter here and the temps will be in the 0-7C range for the next few months and the tent is in an unheated garage, so my worry is too cold nute water rather than too hot.
So far, I'm testing the buckets with water and they maintain a temp of 20C with the system running and lights on and the aquarium heaters on. They are adjustable, so I could push the temp higher if needed.
When the light is off, the buckets don't lose more than 2 degrees.
I'm going to use canna aqua veg and flores nutes and maybe some root additive at the start.
I plan to use a 20/4 light cycle throughout the grow, with the dark period during the middle part of the day to keep the temps more constant throughout the night.
My main questions before starting out are about getting clear guidelines on the basic min/max ranges needed for pH, EC, nute water temps and grow room temps.
If anyone could please advise me on these, I would be grateful.
But at worst, it will be a learning experience. At best, I'm afraid that the plants will be so huge that they will outgrow my tent.
I'm using two 20L buckets with small mesh pots in the lid and an air pump and air stone to aerate the water.
I have a small aquarium heater and a digital thermometer in the buckets to monitor and adjust the temps of the nute water.
The tent is 80 x 80 x 180cm and has a carbon filter, extractor fan and a 400W MH light in an air-cooled reflector.
I'm growing autoflower seeds- a Northern Lights and an Auto Jack, an indica and a sativa. One of each. They have a flowering time of 7-8 weeks, according to the seed packs. I'm also growing a white widow auto in a soil bucket as a backup in case I screw up the hydro grow.
It's winter here and the temps will be in the 0-7C range for the next few months and the tent is in an unheated garage, so my worry is too cold nute water rather than too hot.
So far, I'm testing the buckets with water and they maintain a temp of 20C with the system running and lights on and the aquarium heaters on. They are adjustable, so I could push the temp higher if needed.
When the light is off, the buckets don't lose more than 2 degrees.
I'm going to use canna aqua veg and flores nutes and maybe some root additive at the start.
I plan to use a 20/4 light cycle throughout the grow, with the dark period during the middle part of the day to keep the temps more constant throughout the night.
My main questions before starting out are about getting clear guidelines on the basic min/max ranges needed for pH, EC, nute water temps and grow room temps.
If anyone could please advise me on these, I would be grateful.
