Quote:
Originally Posted by GpsFrontier
Hello PaulF,
You did a great job on a budget. As for the temp that might be a bit cold. 52 with the lights off (night time) shouldn't be much of a problem, although 65 when the lights are on (daytime) will probably be a bit cold for everything other than the lettuce. Especially the peppers that I believe are a warm weather plant, and prefer temps 80 degrees (F) or above. You might experience slow growth, and/or a lack of flowers/fruit on them.
Also I would wonder about the water temp, temps below about 65 degrees (F) will also add to slow growth. You can use a fish tank heater to help keep the water temp's in check. Just get one that has a adjustable thermostat and try not to set it above 72 degrees. Also make sure it stays submerged in the water, but not in contact with the plastic tubs. Water temps above 75-78 can add heat stress to the plant, above 80 can cause the plant to stop or abort fruiting.
Personally I think you will find that cucumber and tomato plants will be to big for that space. What is that black tube looking thing the bubbles are coming out of? Does it stay down at the bottom of the tub without weights? |
Thanks for the advice GpsFrontier! I really appreciate it. I am thinking that maybe a little space heater might benefit greatly. Home Depot sells an oil filled space heater for about $40 that I think would be quite safe in my little grow room. I think if I set it for 72 degrees F it wouldn't have to work very hard at all to keep that room warm.
I thought the 4'X4' room would be quite big enough but now I am not so sure. I am afraid the tomatoes and cukes are going to get huge!
Your question about the black tube in the bottom of the bucket is answered below!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ralphkaz
I believe its one of these:
36" Permeable Flexible Air Stone - EZ Hydroponics & Organics
On another note - do the totes need to be so deep? seems like you will have a hard time getting the lids on with how they are bulging out. Also - perhaps to help the temps you could add some insulation over the concrete walls (behind the mirrors)? otherwise GREAT JOB! I'm getting ready to start my first DIY hydro setup and I love seeing pics of others projects! |
You are spot on ralphkaz, that is the very same flexible air tube that currently sits at the bottom of my DWC tubs. And to answer GpsFrontier's question, yes they do stay submerged without any weight on them. I'm not so sure that an air stone wouldn't be better though. They don't seem to put out a massive amount of bubbles but they do work decently. So I guess I really can't complain.
As far as the depth on the totes go, I bought 20 gallon totes for my project. I did this because everything I read online said that once your plants really get to rocking and rolling they will eat up
nutrients FAST and you will go nuts chasing your Ph. So the idea is that with a huge
nutrient reservoir you can go a couple of weeks before you flush and refill them. Hence the reason I plumbed in the drains. As far as the reservoirs bowing, for right now once the tops are snapped on they hold their shape. Once I have established a good root system I plan on reducing the nutrient level. Right now the nutrient solution comes right up and the bottom half inch of the pots is submerged. But once the roots are established I plan on reducing that so they can get more oxygen. In other words the roots will be exposed to open air before they get submerged in the nutrient solution.
Early this morning I transplanted some of my cuke seedlings. I took them from the seed starter trays and very carefully rinsed all the peat off the roots. I was shocked at how large the root system was for something I planted from seed less than two weeks ago. I then planted them in my DWC pots and gave them a light shot of weak nutrients. Within two hours the leaves were deeply curled, obviously from the shock of transplant. Two hours after that the leaves had straightened out and they were looking healthy again. By late evening they appeared to have grown a lot since this morning! We will see what tomorrow brings.
Here is a pic from early this morning just after the transplant took place. I think they look great. I should have taken a picture before the MH light shut off because I swear they grew noticably over the day.
