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Hydrofarm System


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Old 06-30-2010, 07:27 PM
hydro65 hydro65 is offline
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Default Hydrofarm System

Does anybody have the Hydrofarm system and can help me out. This is my first time with hydroponics, and I NEED help. How long do I keep the tray flooded. I figure I would do two cycles to begin with, but how long does the tray stay flooded before I have the pump shut off and drain. The instructions do not say. Maybe this question applies to all ebb systems. Also, the instructions said to change the solution once a month, is that good enough.

Please help ASAP!

Phil

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Old 06-30-2010, 09:19 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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I am not familiar with the Hydrofarm system, but from what I have seen on line when I looked them up, the plants are basically suspended above the reservoir if what I found is what you have. The reason that they don't give flood cycles for the system is because that really depends on many factors like type of plant, plant size, heat, humidity and even type of growing medium as well as how much growing medium there is. What it comes down to is it just needs to be on long enough to wet the growing medium (but can remain on longer), and not off so long that the growing medium drys out but remains moist (not soaked). When it's off it allows the air and oxygen to get to the roots or they will likely suffocate (depending on type of plant), some plants don't mind wet feet, and others not so much.

I would suggest playing with the timer. Anywhere from 30 on and 30 off, to 15 on and 45 off, or 15 or 30 on and 1 hour off to 15 or 30 on to as much as 2-3 hours off. Again it all depends on all the factors combined, and you will need to keep an eye on things to see what works the best for your plants. Also as the plants get bigger it looks like the plant roots will be able to grow down into the reservoir in that system (if it's the one you have), as the roots reach the water level they will be able to wick up water directly from the reservoir without the pump even being on. In witch case you can cut back on the pump some. Stick your finger in the growing medium regularly to check for moisture, and don't let the plants begin to wilt from lack of water.

As for the nutrient changes, well that is always a subject for debate. Every grower has there own personal preferences, so there is no hard and fast rule there ether. And again there are factors to consider like size of the reservoir (how many gallons), type of plant, how big the plants are, as well as how many plants. Generally I would recommend to new hydroponic guarders to change the nutrients every 1 or 2 weeks, at least in the beginning until you get used to seeing how well the plants grow. That way you are much more likely to notice nutrient problems later, like plant growth slowing down, discoloration etc.. The larger the reservoir is in relation to how big the plants are, and how many plants are feeding on the same reservoir, the less likely you are to have nutrient deficiency from the plants using them up between nutrient changes.
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Old 10-13-2010, 07:13 PM
TheBigTomato TheBigTomato is offline
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hey hydro65,

the watering frequency of an Ebb & Flow system generally is determined by the media being used.

Hydroton or grow rocks do not hold water so it will have to be watered often, once an hour, minimum.

soil-less media, peat or coco can hold much more water than hydroton so watering less often is OK, once every 2-3 hours

Rockwool holds a lot of water so it will need less watering per day then the others, once every 3-5 hours

the watering duration should be just long enough to wet the media.

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