Mephisto Genetics Waterfarm Mephistos - new testers - Fugue State, Forum Stomper, Orange Diesel, Strawberry Nuggets

[water farm]

haha @calliandra @Ryker604 I did indeed go with the shorter Strawberry Nuggets and that is right, no Forgotten Cookies this round, just Artisanals

Waterfarms are very simple and if you google 'waterfarm video' you will find many results but here is a quick diagram

The air pump forces nutrient solution from the bottom of the reservoir up the tube where it runs around the 0-ring and drips through holes spaced in the bottom of the O-ring back over the media (hydroton) and you have a recirculating system. You can run the pumps on a timer, I am running mine 15 minutes ON 45 minutes O during veg stage and will probably increase it to 30 ON 30 O during flower. I have run them ALWAYS ON many times in the past with success, but I am learning that this may not always be ideal, and I'm experimenting with running the pump on a timer...

I also run a second airline into the reservoir with an airstone attached to the end which really helps to aerate the nutrient solution to the benefit of root growth. I run the airstones 24/7 once the roots hit the reservoir.

Day 7 from seed
Into the Waterfarms!

Fugue State

Forum Stomper

Orange Diesel

Strawberry Nuggets

Family

Cheers AFN !!

 

[Ryker604_BT]

Thank you for the info, I'll probably be shooting you up with some questions during the grow if you don't mind . Here's one now :smoking:: if I get that right, the plants will at one moment drink up the nutrient solution? And then you will fill it up?

Seedlings are looking excellent, nice job .

 

[Roasty McToasty]

haha @calliandra @Ryker604 I did indeed go with the shorter Strawberry Nuggets and that is right, no Forgotten Cookies this round, just Artisanals

Waterfarms are very simple and if you google 'waterfarm video' you will find many results but here is a quick diagram

The air pump forces nutrient solution from the bottom of the reservoir up the tube where it runs around the 0-ring and drips through holes spaced in the bottom of the O-ring back over the media (hydroton) and you have a recirculating system. You can run the pumps on a timer, I am running mine 15 minutes ON 45 minutes O during veg stage and will probably increase it to 30 ON 30 O during flower. I have run them ALWAYS ON many times in the past with success, but I am learning that this may not always be ideal, and I'm experimenting with running the pump on a timer...

I also run a second airline into the reservoir with an airstone attached to the end which really helps to aerate the nutrient solution to the benefit of root growth. I run the airstones 24/7 once the roots hit the reservoir.

Day 7 from seed
Into the Waterfarms!

Fugue State
View attachment 857156 View attachment 857157
Forum Stomper
View attachment 857158 View attachment 857159
Orange Diesel
View attachment 857160 View attachment 857161
Strawberry Nuggets
View attachment 857162 View attachment 857163
Family
View attachment 857165

Cheers AFN !!

Thank you for the explanations! Been curious how those work.

 

[water farm]

Thank you for the info, I'll probably be shooting you up with some questions during the grow if you don't mind . Here's one now :smoking:: if I get that right, the plants will at one moment drink up the nutrient solution? And then you will fill it up?

Seedlings are looking excellent, nice job .

Cheers @Ryker604 ! I don't mind answering questions one bit and always happy to discuss this passion with others

so YES, the plants will drain the levels as they feed, and this will happen very slowly as the plants are small and more quickly as the plants grow larger

so one needs to:
monitor the solution levels in the reservoirs (observe the level in the see-through drain tube outside of the reservoir without disturbing anything) -- top off as necessary
monitor the pH -- keep it 5.5 - 6.5 (I just shoot for YELLOW with the GH indicator ~ pH 6.0)
monitor the ppm (how I do it) -- add nutes as required

I do full reservoir changes weekly (the drain tube spins, so you just turn it downwards to drain the reservoir) and otherwise just top off as needed. Nutrient ppms obviously fluctuate between top-offs as the plants feed which helps you know how much the plants are requiring.
Fortunately I do find that GH FloraNova Bloom is quite pH stable ~6.0 between 500 - 1200+ ppm so messing with pH isn't much of an issue after the seedlings get going and you are feeding them close to 500ppm. I don't even check it after 500ppm unless I feel like I need to for some reason.

 

[water farm]

Thank you for the explanations! Been curious how those work.

you are most welcome @Roasty McToasty !! glad to have you along brother!

 

[Ryker604_BT]

Cheers @Ryker604 ! I don't mind answering questions one bit and always happy to discuss this passion with others

so YES, the plants will drain the levels as they feed, and this will happen very slowly as the plants are small and more quickly as the plants grow larger

so one needs to:
monitor the solution levels in the reservoirs (observe the level in the see-through drain tube outside of the reservoir without disturbing anything) -- top off as necessary
monitor the pH -- keep it 5.5 - 6.5 (I just shoot for YELLOW with the GH indicator ~ pH 6.0)
monitor the ppm (how I do it) -- add nutes as required

I do full reservoir changes weekly (the drain tube spins, so you just turn it downwards to drain the reservoir) and otherwise just top off as needed. Nutrient ppms obviously fluctuate between top-offs as the plants feed which helps you know how much the plants are requiring.
Fortunately I do find that GH FloraNova Bloom is quite pH stable ~6.0 between 500 - 1200+ ppm so messing with pH isn't much of an issue after the seedlings get going and you are feeding them close to 500ppm. I don't even check it after 500ppm unless I feel like I need to for some reason.

Thank you for the nice info mate . Have you ever used soil or coco to grow? What would be the major differences for you? I'm doing a bit of research on hydro setups, would love to try sometime, that's why I'm being a bother :smoking:.

 

[water farm]

no bother at all man! I have never used soil or coco for cannabis, I suppose the major differences would be the cost and time involved in working with the different media and containers...

with waterfarms everything is simply washed and re-used. I would not say "indefinitely" but I have been using the same hydroton and waterfarms for years without issue. you can get parts / part kits for the waterfarms on the cheap as well. not to mention the concept is very easy to DIY if you don't want to buy the waterfarms from GH... I suppose the amount of time spent watering plants in soil or coco vs 'topping off' in a waterfarm is about the same but I can't speak from experience...

 

[water farm]

Day 9 - yay internodes lol

fugue state

forum stomper

orange diesel

strawberry nuggets

family

 

[Seabass]

Beautiful photos. Those babies are sinking those tap roots, can’t wait to see them in 2 months!

 

[Seymourbud]

@water farm, thanks for the info on the water farm hydro units. It has me doing some evaluations versus my current setup, especially where time and effort are concerned. I still can't get over the picture of the solid block of roots that were removed after the harvest. Such healthy roots are bound to produce epic buds. Maximizing the plants potential with minimal effort, I'd like to think I'm all about that.