Habman's going Hydro!

habman · Dec 27, 2006

Ok so it's been almost 3 weeks since I started my hydroponic growing of peppers.
Phew... hydroponics is complicated...well yes and no.
Hydroponics itself is very simple. They are lots of good free guides on the Internet, the Chileman's got a very nice guide http://www.thechileman.org/hydro.php

I won't pretend to know what I'm doing. I don't claim this will be a guide for hydroponics. I'm just telling you what I've done and my humble opinions. Nothing more nothing less.

I got an ebb and flow Baby Bloomer hydroponic system from American Hydroponics.
It's not exactly what I wanted but the price was ok. 150$CND comes fully loaded with pump,litmus paper, food( veg and flower), rock wool, clay pebbles, pots, drains and tubing.

I really wanted to build my own ebb and flow but I got tired of looking for parts and stuff and got sweet talked into the baby ebb and flow at the hydro store... D'OH! I'm too impulsive!
So now I got to live with it. I have no complaints, it gets the job done. I had to drill an extra hole at the bottom to be able to change the nutrient solution and bought an extra 18L bucket to dump the used solution.

What I really wanted was to build an Ebb & Gro Multi-Pot Hydroponics System.
No need to buy the system, you can easily build it with your own specs.
This link explains the principle. http://www.hydroponics.net/items/details/multiflow.asp

Here are a few useful links to start your own hydro

http://www.instructables.com/id/EQBFMQANUAERV7BV0D/?ALLSTEPS

http://www.simplyhydro.com/system.htm#EBB AND FLOW

http://juuri.org/growing/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=61

http://edurink10.tripod.com/hydroideashobbyist/systems.html

habman · Dec 27, 2006

Even after only 3 weeks there is a big difference.
Both pepper plants (unknown variety) are the same.
They were started at the exact same time.
Currently both plants are under an 85 watts CFL.
The pepper plant that was transplanted in the hydro was falling behind.
When I first transplanted in hydro almost all the leaves fell off. Lost all the flowers.
I was sure it was going to die but after about a 1 1/2 week , it starting to grow back.

Non hydro pepper plant

3 weeks in Hydro pepper plant

more pics...

My baby bloomer hydro system

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong with the non-hydro plant. Too much water? not enough? I also add liquid sea weed supplement every week.
One thing for sure it's a lot easier in hydro then in soil.

imaguitargod · Dec 27, 2006

Hmmm...what's that plant in the bottom right pot(back)...

habman · Dec 27, 2006

imaguitargod said:
Hmmm...what's that plant in the bottom right pot(back)...

That's midget savory. Not doing too well just transplanted it about 2 days ago. What else did you think it was

ABurningMouth · Dec 28, 2006

Cool
Very Nice.

TXCG · Dec 28, 2006

Looking great man, I got my 2 2' T5 lights I wanted. Next comes a hydro setup. Can't decide what to go with, ebb and flow does sound nice but i was thinking maybe a DWC. Looks like your plants are loving it.

habman · Dec 28, 2006

Txclosetgrower said:
Looking great man, I got my 2 2' T5 lights I wanted. Next comes a hydro setup. Can't decide what to go with, ebb and flow does sound nice but i was thinking maybe a DWC. Looks like your plants are loving it.

I'm no expert but I believe the DWC (Deep Water Culture) is not the best option for growing peppers.
It's very good for lettuce and shorth duration culture but long length culture can lead to root problems even if you put a bubbler.
You can easily make the system better by converting the system to a Ventura Action Drip System.
Not much more expensive, you only need to buy a tube and poke holes into it or buy a dripper.

http://www.1-hydroponics.co.uk/top-tips/drip-irrigation-large.htm

NagaMad · Dec 28, 2006

habman said:
I'm no expert but I believe the DWC (Deep Water Culture) is not the best option for growing peppers.
It's very good for lettuce and shorth duration culture but long length culture can lead to root problems even if you put a bubbler.
You can easily make the system better by converting the system to a Ventura Action Drip System.
Not much more expensive, you only need to buy a tube and poke holes into it or buy a dripper.

http://www.1-hydroponics.co.uk/top-tips/drip-irrigation-large.htm

This plant was grown in a DWC, a custom made 35Lt Barrel, and it grew to be a monster.

Plant when transplanted to DWC, July 2006

Plant 1 month later!

habman · Dec 28, 2006

NagaMad said:
This plant was grown in a DWC, a custom made 35Lt Barrel, and it grew to be a monster.

Wow amazing!!!
Ok like I said I'm no expert
When I said DWC may not be the optimal system for peppers I was thinking of keeping the plant in an hydroponic system for 6-8 months maybe even a few years. Are the plants still in the DWC?
Then again with so many peppers to try, it may not make much sense to keep it for such a long time.

What kind of pepper is it?
Looks like you are using canna fert. Do you recommend this fert more then the other ones?
The light looks like HPS. Do you grow only under HPS? Don't get me started with lights.... I'm totally obsessed with lights!

imaguitargod · Dec 28, 2006

Holy Unwashed Underwair! Look at those roots!!!!!!!

NagaMad · Dec 28, 2006

Wow amazing!!! Thanks for the comment

Ok like I said I'm no expert

Neither am i, can you believe this was my 1st attempt at hydroponics?

When I said DWC may not be the optimal system for peppers I was thinking of keeping the plant in an hydroponic system for 6-8 months maybe even a few years. Going by the rate of growth i got from DWC, for a plant to grow 8 months in a DWC you would probably need a spare room just to keep it in. :lol:

Are the plants still in the DWC? No, at the end of my season, september, i had to stop my hydroponics. Initially i was going to transplant them, from the photo 1 was a red savina and the other a peach had, in to 15Ltr pots but the plants were huge, 2.5to 3 feet wide and 1.5 to 2.5 feet tall and growing every day they were in the DWC, so i gave then a severe trim. To cut a long story short i couldn't keep them, so they were given away.

Then again with so many peppers to try, it may not make much sense to keep it for such a long time. True, i'm always propagating new varieties

What kind of pepper is it? The one in the pics is a peach hab

Looks like you are using canna fert. Do you recommend this fert more then the other ones? Yeah, your eyes are pretty sharp . It is Canna fertiliser but i was using canna 'aqua' nutrients; there specifically made for hydro. I was also using the whole line of canna nutrients: Boost Accelerator, Cannazym, PK 13/14, Rhizotonic and Growth Technology's Liquid Oxygen and BioBizz Topmax. You dont have to use all of them, you could just use part A & B and take it from their.

As for any recommendations, i don't really have any. I guess you have to find out what works for you. Canna was ok for me but for next season i am conducting a study. I'll be using the Canna Nutrients and BioBizz nutrients to check which ones better for chilli growing. BioBizz is highly recommended by a chilli growing expert, so i want to see for my self. I'll be using BioBizz: Bio-Grow, Bio-Bloom , Fish-Mix, Alg-A-Mic, TopMax, RootJuice and BioHeaven.

The light looks like HPS. Do you grow only under HPS? Don't get me started with lights.... I'm totally obsessed with lights![/QUOTE] HA Ha ha, you remind me of me when i 1st got into hydro, was obsessed with everything regarding the subject.

You probably wont believe me when i tell you, the lights are CFL! I use CFL for both my seedlings and for growing my established plants. But dont take this statements as a recommmendation for CFL, these were the results i got; if you were to use the same you might get better or worse. However, i am considering upgrading to HPS just to check what results can be obtained but with HPS you might have to use MH or a 'growlux' type bulb; so that you get all spectrums of light a plant needs.

Thanks for the comments, adios.

NagaMad · Dec 28, 2006

imaguitargod said:
Holy Unwashed Underwair! Look at those roots!!!!!!!

I know there mad huh?

When i gave the plants a trim, i cut the roots off just below the bottom of the net pot and stuck them to a pice of string using clear tape and used them as a fake beard :lol:

I think i have a photo somewhere....

imaguitargod · Dec 28, 2006

NagaMad said:
I know there mad huh?

When i gave the plants a trim, i cut the roots off just below the bottom of the net pot and stuck them to a pice of string using clear tape and used them as a fake beard

I think i have a photo somewhere....

Now THAT I want to see!

marcosauces · Dec 28, 2006

about a fake mullet for the guitargod..

TXCG · Dec 29, 2006

Right on, I'm growing under T5 fluorescents and CFLs right now, and I was hoping I wouldn't need to upgrade to HPS or MH simply cause I don't want to have to deal with the heat. I think i have like 12,000 lumens worth of light going in the closet right now (2 2' T5s at 2000 lumens a piece, 2 42 watt cfls at 2700 lumens a piece, and 2 23 watt cfls at 1700 lumens a piece).

Stay tuned for the hydro system to follow shortly, its still being designed in my head, but now I'm leaning more towards flood & drain or kinda drip system, so I won't have to have quite as much water at any given time. I'm thinking about a 15 gallon reservoir for a 4-6 plant system with the res on bottom and plants on top.

Someone showed me a great design for a drip recirulating system they built from 4 or 6" PVC pipe w/ holes cut in it for net pots that is a kinda recirculating almost drip system except his puts out way too much water to be considered dripping lol. Picture a 3 foot length of pvc pipe horizontal w/ 3 mesh pots sitting in it from the side. It is at an very slight angle and drains out of the end of the pipe back down into the res below it. Pretty cheap to build it seems. I'll throw together a ms paint drawing tomorrow some time. I think I'm gonna hold off on starting any more seeds til I get my hydro system set up.

Guy Holman · Dec 29, 2006

Hi

I set this up earlier in the year buthave still to use it.....got thr wrong nutrients and live a long way from Toulouse where I had to go to replace it....anyway I have opted for an aeroponic system. Pretty basic this litle unit, but its intended to be a trial system for a bigger unit with a little more umph in the pump department.

I started out with a supermarket shopping basket with very handy lid that my father got me a few years back from the obvious retailer..lol

I already had some cut offs of drip irrigation supply pipe and a few spare (if such things can ever be really spare)angled junction pieces to boot, so I just made a rectangular frame to fit about 2 inches from the rim of the open bucket. To this i attatched a down or rather up pipe from a small aquarium pump to supply the rectangle. More drip irigation kit came in handy too, four small 90° misters were planted into the pipe to cover two pots that were eventually to be supported in the lid.

The unit contains 18 litres of nutrient and has been run for a week with just plain water, as I had originally used very fine misters to spray the pots but the pump was just not up to the job. The 90° sprayers are much easier to run with a small pump and seem to keep the pot area really well covered. .

Now all I have to do is get some damn plants into it....I now have all i need but have been waiting until after the christmas and new year stint!!!

Now its back to my own personal drip system....

Do go and have a very fine New Years of your own.

All the very best

Guy

NagaMad · Dec 29, 2006

Hey Guy, How have you been? Have you been getting my PM? Can you please post a reply on this thread as to whether you have received my pm's? Thanks

Nice aeroponics unit!

Sorry iamguitargod but i wont be posting the pic of me with the 'root' beard

Im currently working on plans for a new DWC, so hopefully i should have some good pics for next season. The only problem is, which plant do i put in the system so that it can grow to be a monster?

Here a pic of a Maui Purple grown hydroponically, but later transplanted to soil.

Tony · Dec 29, 2006

Hi Habman,

Glad you liked the hydro guide. As already pointed out, deep water
is good for fast growing crops as the roots tend to rot from their
constant submersion. Most of the planets lettuce is grow using this
method but it is poorly suited to chilies unless you oxygenate
the nutrient well.

There are other methods, like flood and drain that are also very
cheap to run but produce better results for less work.

Keep us updated on your progress, I'm always interested in
case studies to guage the benefits and pitfalls of each type
of system in the search for low-cost, effective hydro systems.
It's very easy to spend a lot of money with hydro and produce
result only marginally better than soil.

Tony.

RedThumb · Dec 30, 2006

NagaMad said:
Here a pic of a Maui Purple grown hydroponically, but later transplanted to soil.

That's a beautiful plant. How does it taste?

habman · Jan 14, 2007

Update

Added mylar and another 85 watts CFL (3000K).
Changed to flowering Nutrient solution.
Got PPM and PH meter.
Nutrient solution is at ~1030PPM with ~5.90PH solution Temp is ~72F

Hydro and non-hydro pic

Top view of hydro pepper

Flower -- Can anyone ID this plant from the flower?
Possibilities are :Cuaresmeno(jalapeno),serrano,Habanero cancun and Chilaca.(I got the seeds from the market last time I went to Mexico so could have cross)