Hydro, Talk amongst yourselves.

[Evergreen]

Just wanted to know most poeples thoughts on hydroponic herb, I kinda feel like is just made so greedy people can make money faster, it seems like really bad food, you know try some lettuce grown in soil and then try some grown hydroponically, it tastes like crap. And can you even call herb grown hydroponically real herb??? I believe the farther we stray away from natures recepie for success we are losing something and it is QUALITY. I have a friend who grows the REal deal Pure Kush it is some of the most expensive herb you can find around the bay area. But the bud doesnt look real, it looks like herb on steroids! I am not trying to bash hydro growers at all and I hope i dont offend anyone. I just believe that herb is best grown in soil and not using nasty ass heavy metal/salt laden solutions. Just like my food I eat the very best chicken and meat, and vegetables as well it is all organic. . . . . . .
more on this later.

[YukonBikerGuy]

Well, I have never grown hydro but IMHO, some of the best bud I ever smoked came from growing in hydro, and while I know what you mean about taste, that is a result of the skill of the grower. I have had good and bad tasting hydro weed. As far as nutes go, I use both liquid hydroponic food, and some organic nutrients, growing in a soiless mix in containers. The organics add the taste and smell and the hydro nutes make it grow like mad. So I guess I'm midway between soil and hydro. I dont grow for money, and I still want my herb to grow big and fast, am I greedy too? Lol, well maybe I am, but so what? Its a human condition. Everyone wants thier herb (or lettuce) to grow big and fast, regardless of the reason for growing it. This doesn't mean that quality has to be sacrificed. I think the true problem is that commercial growers dont care enuff about real quality, regardless of thier methods of growing, or what they are growing, whether lettuce or cannabis. If everyone had to consume only what they produce, none of us would have to eat crappy tasting lettuce, or smoke sub-par herb. My 2 cents, thx for the opportunity for an early morning rant. :)

[Evergreen]

thank you for ranting, now that i read it. I may seem a little bit bitter but let me clear the air. I am not saying that all hydro growers are greedy and that you can never get great tasting herb from hydro. I have tasted some really insane stuff from hydro and some growers believe that hydro is the key to taking the herb to the next level. But I am a organic man, I eat and smoke organic and I believe that eating organic is a key optimal health I know people who have cured themselves of cancer by eating organic and drinking carrot juice everyday. I also know people who never eat organic and they look really unhealthy and when they get sick they take synthetic drugs to get over a natural health problem. So why not smoke organic???

[thenewguy]

my view is that both have their place in the world but my 2 favored methods of growing are soil-less & organically supplemented compost. people in the city (ie. apartments) have a hard time removing large amounts of soil(or getting it inside without being noticed), so it's easier to just send the used shit down the drain & reuse the hydroton.

compost can't exactly be made in bulk in an urban area without being detected, or becomes suspicious when you are hauling it inside the house. i have tasted some amazing buds from hydro and they sell 100% organic hydro nutrients as well. a good grower will flush their shit well in advanced and make sure there are no residual tastes but some people in the commercial business don't give a shit like you said, & just cut it down with all the nutrients built up in the plant still. people like that give hydro a bad name.

now personally i am a soil-less grower (i use pro-mix bx) & i use liquid nutrients or compost to supplement for nutrients... i live in a very rural setting and make compost all the time without anyone thinking anything about it or even seeing it half the time. i couldn't imagine trying to do it in the city, not enough room. on top of that, bringing soil/compost from outside to inside is not a good idea without pasteurization. without it you will bring in all sorts of bugs & shit.

being a soil-less grower is still considered partially hydro IMO because peat moss & coco are not actually "soil", & liquid fertilizers are used to supplement nutrition. i like the Pro-Mix BX as a base for my medium but i also grow my shit outdoors & thats why i can use a 50/50 home made compost/Pro-Mix medium. now you can add bone & blood meal, guano & castings to pro-mix but it's still not an actual soil growing but it would be considered organic, same if you use just pro-mix and organic nutrients in liquid form.

just my 2 cents

[Bullethead21]

Im actaully looking to venture into this and see what its all about first hand. Ill tell you all the outcome in a few months...

Any recomendations for some small starter kits? Ive seen a few online that look ok for about 180 bucks.....

[koalaphin]

Organics is a buzzword right now, it can be applied very superficially. For example, who ever thinks of heavy metals like toxic mercury in soil? It's a great thing to strive for, but another example would be my friend who is trying to get his grow show off the ground but he is getting pathetic yields of moldy bud. I keep telling him to use promix, and a very simple 3-component hydroponic food of the highest quality. He is in awe of my yields but he keeps insisting that he just has some kinks to work out.

The same simple recipe produces nuggets that here in northern california people are raving about! Even the old heads up on the mountain smoked some of my buds and ranked them in the top 5 they had smoked. Not to stroke an ego, just to say that hydroponics is great because it removes all of the variables! You know exactly what goes into the plants and it is the only way to take advantage of the expensive indoor grow lights and equipment by producing reliable, consistent quality.

[aqualungs]

Yeah boi, pro-mix bx + guano + earthworm castings+ bio bizz liquid organics line (grow,bloom, top max)+ some perlite= delicious nugs. This is what I have been using and am very impressed with the results. My opinion on hydro is that it can be some bomb herb, and a good idea if your in the middle of a city or somewhere where you think it could be "heat" bringing bales of promix into. Personally though you can't beat the taste of soil grown organics.

[Evergreen]

I have definitely seen really good hydro and I understand that it is sometimes smarter if you are living in the city. I guess it really depends what you are striving for.

[Evergreen]

I agree yukonbikerbuy it is all in the skill of the grower and how much they understand the cannabis plant. As we all know it can take a few years to fully understand how growing in soil works, as it also can with hydro before you are really growing high quality cannabis.

[YukonBikerGuy]

---and it (hydroponics) is the only way to take advantage of the expensive indoor grow lights and equipment by producing reliable, consistent quality.

It most certainly is not! I grow Terraponically with some supplements, and I get reliable, consistant, quality results from my expensive indoor grow lights and equipment. See my posts and gallery for reference.

[koalaphin]

what is terraponics, Supernatural brand's grow bags and stuff? They were the ones using that term a lot. But you are not hand watering pots full of soils are you? I was generalizing in a way.

[johnnyballbag]

Depends how you look at it. Just because a particual nutrient isn't 100% natural, doesn't really tell us shit. What are your thoughts on distilled water? Would you drink it? It's still just water....but the distillation process is by no means natural. Yet it's still very pure water, even more so that natural spring water. I think a lot of people forget what hydroponics really is....it's simply a delivery system, nothing more. And a lot of nutes are naturally derived, it's not as if they're all man made chemicals. The only thing man has done is simply put the nutes in a form that is readily available. A lot of organic supplements and such are pure bullshit, especially when used indoors. Most plants don't spend a lot of time growing when they spend their life span indoors, as opposed to the longer times of most outdoor operations. So a lot of the things "organic" growers add to their soil doesn't even spend enough time in the soil under proper conditions to even become usable by the plant. Find someone who's been growing for a long time, preferably someone with organic and hydro experience. Bet they'll tell you it's all in how it's grown, handled, dried, and cured. I love all the people who walk around honestly thinking they can tell the difference between organic and hydro just by smoking. I think it's almost kinda cute, haha. My two cents.

[Hennessy1414]

Im actaully looking to venture into this and see what its all about first hand. Ill tell you all the outcome in a few months...

Any recomendations for some small starter kits? Ive seen a few online that look ok for about 180 bucks.....
please make your own! so much cheaper look on grasscity.com

[johnnyballbag]

And not only cheaper, more tailored for what YOU need. Plus you'll learn a lil more by building your own system, kinda makes you appreciate the whole process a lil more too.

[Hennessy1414]

And not only cheaper, more tailored for what YOU need. Plus you'll learn a lil more by building your own system, kinda makes you appreciate the whole process a lil more too.
yes:)...........

[Bullethead21]

I built 2 system as kinda of a test. I Built a 18 gallon verion and a 10 gallon version.

Its just like the BUbbleponics systems but I dont have a submerst pump pumping the oxy filled water to the net pots. I could find the pumps ok, but I couldnt find anything that would allow me to split off into either 2, 4, or 6, ways to attach the tubes that go from the pump in the tank to each net pot to feed the root zone directly. This is much beter to me because you dont have to fill the tank all the way up and use much less water and nuts.

I will prolly sell the 18 gallon system as its to big for me. It would be great for growing 2 to 4 monster big plants. I used 4 inch net pots. The 10 gallon is more my speed as we will prolly grow very small to medium size plants of different kinds ranging all the way to tomatoes!

Let me know if anyone is interested. Its a complete system minus lights & medium for the net pots (rock wool cubes, hydroton).

So i have to fill the tank (18 Gallon Tank) all the way to the top with water and nuts so as the net pots are completly under water (up to the lid of of the net pot of course) when I put the lid on.

It seems to be working ok. I gotta get better nuts.

[Hennessy1414]

I built 2 system as kinda of a test. I Built a 18 gallon verion and a 10 gallon version.

Its just like the BUbbleponics systems but I dont have a submerst pump pumping the oxy filled water to the net pots. I could find the pumps ok, but I couldnt find anything that would allow me to split off into either 2, 4, or 6, ways to attach the tubes that go from the pump in the tank to each net pot to feed the root zone directly. This is much beter to me because you dont have to fill the tank all the way up and use much less water and nuts.

I will prolly sell the 18 gallon system as its to big for me. It would be great for growing 2 to 4 monster big plants. I used 4 inch net pots. The 10 gallon is more my speed as we will prolly grow very small to medium size plants of different kinds ranging all the way to tomatoes!

Let me know if anyone is interested. Its a complete system minus lights & medium for the net pots (rock wool cubes, hydroton).

So i have to fill the tank (18 Gallon Tank) all the way to the top with water and nuts so as the net pots are completly under water (up to the lid of of the net pot of course) when I put the lid on.

It seems to be working ok. I gotta get better nuts.
what kinda lights did u use thru out?:smoke1:

[LostCoaster]

some terraponic (?) herb, handwatered with the highest quality nutes in promix. Is that what people mean when they say terraponic? Anyways. . . Chemdog flushed for 20 days, pictured @ 61 days. Extreme RO water flush leaves nothing but piney chemmy funk.

And super silver haze, 56 daze.

[Bullethead21]

NIce buds LostCoaster!! Looking good mang! I bet it taste even better......:snake:



what kinda lights did u use thru out?:smoke1:

Usually use a 400w HPS/MH system. The ballist will support either a MH or HPS bulb. I usually use a HPS bulb only.

Ive read that growth speeds are off the charts when using a HID system with these type "Bubblers".......

But I also read that the dual spectrum light kits that sell for less than 100 bucks work extremly well with this type system also. They have 2 lights in this type system, one for growing and one for flowering.

The magic seems to be in the way the oxygen filled water/nuts is delivered directly to the root zone of the plant 24/7. The lighting system is important...but you can get by with much less expensive light set ups with these Bubbleponic type systems IMHO......:smoke1:

[johnnyballbag]

"The lighting system is important...but you can get by with much less expensive light set ups with these Bubbleponic type systems IMHO....." Keep in mind photosynthesis. It'd be counter productive to have a high performance hydro system with mediocre lighting. Kinda like having a ferrari and putting 87 octane in it. Give your plants the very best nutrients available, put it under a crappy light, and watch your crappy growth rates. Another thing to remember, in the BEST of conditions indoors, you're only going to achieve maybe 1/4 of the intensity of the sun. Don't skimp on lighting and tell yourself you'll make it up with a hydro system. Your garden is only as productive as the weakest link in your garden.

[YukonBikerGuy]

some terraponic (?) herb, handwatered with the highest quality nutes in promix. Is that what people mean when they say terraponic?

Nice buds LostCoaster.

Terraponics is growing in a soiless grow medium, kind of 1/2 way between soil and hydroponics. I use sunshine mix #4 (or promix) and 1/3 perlite in 3 gallon pots. Gives excellent root structure, gives me the ability to turn the plants and shuffle thier position if I need to, and I can easily flush the pots (the mix drains and drys easily), and I use mainly hydroponic nutrients, with a few supplements, hand watered.

[Bullethead21]

Did you see the specs in my post? Are you saying a 400w HPS light system is skimping for a 3 to 6 plant Bubbleponic system? I think that would be ample lighting especially for 10 sq ft space? What would you recomend??

Thanks!


"The lighting system is important...but you can get by with much less expensive light set ups with these Bubbleponic type systems IMHO....." Keep in mind photosynthesis. It'd be counter productive to have a high performance hydro system with mediocre lighting. Kinda like having a ferrari and putting 87 octane in it. Give your plants the very best nutrients available, put it under a crappy light, and watch your crappy growth rates. Another thing to remember, in the BEST of conditions indoors, you're only going to achieve maybe 1/4 of the intensity of the sun. Don't skimp on lighting and tell yourself you'll make it up with a hydro system. Your garden is only as productive as the weakest link in your garden.

[johnnyballbag]

You mention using a 400, then you say something about a "dual spectrum light on ebay for $100." If it's dual spectrum and only $100, what kind of light is it?

[LostCoaster]

there is a lot of basic information I think you have skipped over. Plenty of established forums online with years of growing info cached. I like to help but I learned everything I know from days and days studying online and also experience.