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My Very First Setup


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  #1  
Old 10-14-2014, 03:06 PM
Bigdaddy216 Bigdaddy216 is offline
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Default My Very First Setup

Hello All Well Finally I Have My Small Setup Up and Running ... For Now Now I'm Starting Small Trying To Grow One Plant (Cucumber Indoors) In My Kitchen.. DWC 1 Air pump ! Air Stone, Using 3.5 Gallon buckets, Made Grow Tent , Climate Running Humidity 51 to 54% , Day Average Temp 82 & Nite Average Temp 73 to 77,, 2 Light Setup For Now cfl 1 65w, warm 2700k and 1 85w 5800k daylight but one slight set back Cuke plant Was Planted On 10-4-14 and popped up on 10-7-14 and as of today 10-14-14 One plant not lookin hot kinda spotty other ones looks good can some one help me tell me if I have issue thank you...Click image for larger version

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  #2  
Old 10-18-2014, 06:19 PM
oTOMMYo oTOMMYo is offline
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Hi bigdaddy

Iv just recently started dwc......im just wondering what your water temps are because i had a few issues with mine and bought chiller.
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  #3  
Old 10-18-2014, 07:49 PM
Bigdaddy216 Bigdaddy216 is offline
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Current Climate; Humidity 45% & Temp 81 & Water 65 to 66,, but I have new problem now the true leaves have hint of yellowing round edges also current fertilizer is at half strength
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Old 10-19-2014, 06:32 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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The first two leaves will always die and fall off quickly. They have served their purpose to the plant by then. Half strength nutrients for plants that size is plenty. Humidity could be higher though. Especially for seedlings. Try using a humidity dome to hold in humidity. 70%-80% humility would be much better for seedlings. Just make sure air temp under the dome doesn't get to high or you will have another problem.

P.S.
I'm sure you already know, but that lighting will quickly become inadequate as the plants get bigger.
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Last edited by GpsFrontier; 10-19-2014 at 06:36 AM.
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Old 10-19-2014, 07:52 AM
Bigdaddy216 Bigdaddy216 is offline
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Originally Posted by GpsFrontier View Post
The first two leaves will always die and fall off quickly. They have served their purpose to the plant by then. Half strength nutrients for plants that size is plenty. Humidity could be higher though. Especially for seedlings. Try using a humidity dome to hold in humidity. 70%-80% humility would be much better for seedlings. Just make sure air temp under the dome doesn't get to high or you will have another problem.

P.S.
I'm sure you already know, but that lighting will quickly become inadequate as the plants get bigger.
Thanks For The Advise...Yes I Know Lighting Will Need to Be Greater I plan to Buy 8 Tube T5 Week After Next, As For Humidity I Have Warm Mist Humidifier , My current Lighting Is 85w cfl 5,800 lumens Daylight & 65w CFL 2700k Lumens 3,900
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  #6  
Old 10-19-2014, 08:11 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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You are trying to grow fruiting plants with florescent lighting. If you want to actually get good produce from it you'll need to switch over to HID lighting. Or step up your florescent lighting 10 fold. Florescent lighting looses intensity very quickly, and you will need to surround the plant with lighting from all sides (not just from the top). For my money I would switch to HID. That is unless your supplementing the florescent with natural sunlight, then it might work if the natural light is good enough.

P.S.
I know it's not the best news, but I wouldn't be doing you any favors if I didn't warn you about potential problems before you experience them. Also you don't need to humidify the whole room, just the seedlings. A humility dome doesn't cost anything to run, but it seems you would need two of those humidifiers to get the rooms humidity up to 70%-80% humility. Don't skimp on air circulation as the plants get bigger either..
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Last edited by GpsFrontier; 10-19-2014 at 08:28 AM.
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Old 10-19-2014, 09:10 AM
Bigdaddy216 Bigdaddy216 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GpsFrontier View Post
You are trying to grow fruiting plants with florescent lighting. If you want to actually get good produce from it you'll need to switch over to HID lighting. Or step up your florescent lighting 10 fold. Florescent lighting looses intensity very quickly, and you will need to surround the plant with lighting from all sides (not just from the top). For my money I would switch to HID. That is unless your supplementing the florescent with natural sunlight, then it might work if the natural light is good enough.

P.S.
I know it's not the best news, but I wouldn't be doing you any favors if I didn't warn you about potential problems before you experience them. Also you don't need to humidify the whole room, just the seedlings. A humility dome doesn't cost anything to run, but it seems you would need two of those humidifiers to get the rooms humidity up to 70%-80% humility. Don't skimp on air circulation as the plants get bigger either..
Hey Don't Fret.. To Hear The Real Deal Is Best... For Me its About Cost$ $$$ Plus To HPS & HID Are Very Sensitive & Needs More Care Plus To Run Them Cost Wise Is Double Of Which I Want, I Have Seen People With Good Results But Never Show Or Explains Steps One needs To Take Or Go Threw Growing Under T5 (432watt x 40,000 Lumens).. My Setup Is Only 2ft x 4ft x 6.5ft... Also I Run Fan 24/7.. I'm Doing This To Learn And Because I Have Nothing To Do
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  #8  
Old 10-19-2014, 09:17 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Everything is a learning experience. I have too many things to do at the same time. But hay, I still try...
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Old 10-19-2014, 09:27 AM
Bigdaddy216 Bigdaddy216 is offline
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Quote:
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Everything is a learning experience. I have too many things to do at the same time. But hay, I still try...
And My First Time I Tried In Soil Man I Didn't D So Hot Period! Lol Either I Over Watered or Had Mealy Bugs Then Started Seeing aphids Then I Said xxxxxx That And Made Switch To Hydro Seems Like This Better For Me But I Thank You For Taking Time To Give Me Ur Input
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  #10  
Old 10-19-2014, 10:24 AM
oTOMMYo oTOMMYo is offline
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Just what everyone else said you'll need more cfls as side lighting or stand up fluorescent tubing. The hps lights are hot and you will need to vent all that heat away from your box. But the cfls can produce great fruit . ..the two yellow leafs are called ....erm ...i forget? (congtigons) ??? But they act as food for the young seedlings......its natural for them to yellow and die off

Happy growing.....have a look into getting some good bacteria ( bennies ) for your water .....there good for roots and nutrient uptake and eat all the old dead organic stuff in your water and bad bacteria. Good luck
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Old 10-19-2014, 06:08 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Ya, you can grow fruiting plants with florescent lighting, but not worth it in my opinion and for my money. By the time you add all the florescent tubes you'll need for good plant and fruit growth for that kind of plant, I don't see there being any benefit to using florescent. That many tubes will cause a heat issue as well, and when you add up all the wattage, you can just as easy use HID for the same energy cost (if not cheaper).
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Old 10-19-2014, 08:53 PM
oTOMMYo oTOMMYo is offline
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Cfls are cooler than hps ...i cant use hps because the space is too small id need a cool tube and vents. ..so i stick to cfl.

Iv got 400w cfl .....if i use 400w hps my plants will fry...i don't know why.
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Old 10-19-2014, 09:32 PM
Bigdaddy216 Bigdaddy216 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oTOMMYo View Post
Cfls are cooler than hps ...i cant use hps because the space is too small id need a cool tube and vents. ..so i stick to cfl.

Iv got 400w cfl .....if i use 400w hps my plants will fry...i don't know why.
Because HPS Has High Power Demand I'm Guessing Also Thy Are Brighter And Will Make You Blind Those Are For Serious Growers With Ton Of Plants,, I Used To Work In A GE Warehouse they had tons of the HPS they shipped out that's how I knew.. but I to have small space in fact my 2ft x 4ft x 6.5ft setup is in my kitchen one bedroom apartment I planed my setup for just 2 plants at a time that's why I want T5 HO,, I been searching for info all day found that T5 HO 53w has 5,000 lumens so 8 tubes be 40,000 lumens on par with and 250w HID setup and cost a lot less
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Old 10-20-2014, 10:47 AM
oTOMMYo oTOMMYo is offline
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Exactly ...those big time grower's need hps for big grows ...but the cfl are good for homegrown stuff

The experts ussually say the cfl are shit..
.but theve never used them ( some anyway lol)

Hps are way to hot for a small grow.

You can get them really close as well with no worry of burn.lol
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  #15  
Old 10-20-2014, 10:59 AM
Bigdaddy216 Bigdaddy216 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oTOMMYo View Post
Exactly ...those big time grower's need hps for big grows ...but the cfl are good for homegrown stuff

The experts ussually say the cfl are shit..
.but theve never used them ( some anyway lol)

Hps are way to hot for a small grow.

You can get them really close as well with no worry of burn.lol

Tommy Let Me Ask You This .. Is It True You Have To swap Out Ur Digital Light Timer Like Every Year? Guy At Hydro Store Told Me This I'm kinda leary Maybe Im Wrong
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Old 10-20-2014, 12:30 PM
oTOMMYo oTOMMYo is offline
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Tommy Let Me Ask You This .. Is It True You Have To swap Out Ur Digital Light Timer Like Every Year? Guy At Hydro Store Told Me This I'm kinda leary Maybe Im Wrong
Iv never heard that before, all i use are the plug in timers. Some hydro shops would tell you to swapped your timer ever day if they could get away with it. Its the same with hydro nutriens.....everyone i know only use half of what is recommended on the packet of measurements....youve got to carefull ....dont fall for the hydro brand names.
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Old 10-20-2014, 01:01 PM
Bigdaddy216 Bigdaddy216 is offline
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Originally Posted by oTOMMYo View Post
Iv never heard that before, all i use are the plug in timers. Some hydro shops would tell you to swapped your timer ever day if they could get away with it. Its the same with hydro nutriens.....everyone i know only use half of what is recommended on the packet of measurements....youve got to carefull ....dont fall for the hydro brand names.

That's Wtf I Thought I Gotta Watch Those S.O.B's lol Funny Thing is they prices are dam near double of other places where i live I don't have to many choices where to shop unless I order online...Question how often do u Replace Your CFL/T5? Every Year or Two Years?
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Old 10-20-2014, 03:50 PM
oTOMMYo oTOMMYo is offline
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That's Wtf I Thought I Gotta Watch Those S.O.B's lol Funny Thing is they prices are dam near double of other places where i live I don't have to many choices where to shop unless I order online...Question how often do u Replace Your CFL/T5? Every Year or Two Years?
They are double ....if not more.

I get mine from the photographic section on ebay or amazon , 1 hydro 115w cjl----£20 <<<<< that's what they cost in the hydro section.

1 PHOTO 115w cfl <<< note the PHOTO....£5

Its recommended to change once a year which is fine by me , i just use the old ones for side lighting or seedlings .( seedlings don't need as much light.......they wont go to waste.

You might want to look into flower boosters PK 13/14......DONT FALL FOR THE BRAND MY FRIEND!! Lol

Check out mono-potassium phosphate powder on ebay or amazon......its PK 13/14 but without the brand and is stronger......good for the flower stage of your growth

What is it your thinking of growing then ???
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Old 10-20-2014, 04:36 PM
Bigdaddy216 Bigdaddy216 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oTOMMYo View Post
They are double ....if not more.

I get mine from the photographic section on ebay or amazon , 1 hydro 115w cjl----£20 <<<<< that's what they cost in the hydro section.

1 PHOTO 115w cfl <<< note the PHOTO....£5

Its recommended to change once a year which is fine by me , i just use the old ones for side lighting or seedlings .( seedlings don't need as much light.......they wont go to waste.

You might want to look into flower boosters PK 13/14......DONT FALL FOR THE BRAND MY FRIEND!! Lol

Check out mono-potassium phosphate powder on ebay or amazon......its PK 13/14 but without the brand and is stronger......good for the flower stage of your growth

What is it your thinking of growing then ???
Here update ; Humidity 65% Tent Half Open Half To keep It That Way Or Humidity go up to almost 100% & Temp 81f .....Things seem okay looks like no progression of yellowing round edges . maybe it because I added some more nutrients and pinch of salt but here take look
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Old 10-20-2014, 10:54 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Quote:
T5 HO 53w has 5,000 lumens so 8 tubes be 40,000 lumens on par with and 250w HID setup and cost a lot less
Comparing lumen output of florescent lights to HID is like comparing apples to oranges. The biggest difference (besides light wavelength spectrum) is how far from the bulb those lumens can actually go. With florescent lighting that range is very short. That 5,000 lumen rating is only at the bulb, it's drastically lower anything beyond 6 inches to 1 foot. That's not the case with HID. The light intensity of hid reaches much farther (4-5 times). As an example, at about 3 feet from the plant, florescent lighting will have almost no value to the plant. With HID, at the same 3 foot distance the plant will still get 50%-60% of the bulbs output.

I have only seen one person grow large healthy fruiting plants like cucumbers, melons and tomatoes. If I were to want try growing those kind of plants using florescent, I would do it exactly the same way. Every light fixture was mounted vertical (straight up and down) facing the plant. They were 4 foot long twin bulb fixtures. Now he did modify his light fixtures to overdrive the energy output. But he was also using T8's, but if your using T5's, you'll have roughly the same light output as his overdriven T8's. He placed these light fixtures vertically every 2 feet along the row facing the plants, and on both sides of the rows as well. He had so many of these lights in his basement, it heated his whole house during the winter. Now, given your space of 2ft x 4ft x 6.5ft. To do it the same way it would take 6, 4 foot long twin bulb T5' light fixtures. One in each corner, and one on both sides right in the middle at the 2 foot mark.

Now for costs. I can get 4 foot long twin T5' light fixtures at Home depot for about $40 (bulbs included). $40x6= $240, and that doesn't include the cords and plugs you'll need to wire and plug in the lights. Including tax, electrical cord, and plugs, the lighting setup will cost roughly $300. Those 6 twin bulb fixtures take two 53 watt bulbs each, that's 12, 53 watt bulbs. 12x53= 636 watts being used. I pay 9.3 cents per kilowatt hour, and you can use this energy cost calculator to run your own numbers.

636 watt florescent lighting (18 hour light period)
Light setup $300
Daily energy cost------------------$1.06
monthly energy cost (30 days)-----$31.80

Even your lower light less effective 8 tube plan would still use 424 watts
Daily energy cost------------------$0.71 a day
monthly energy cost (30 days)-----$21.30

Now using HID for the same space. Two 100 to 150 watt bulbs will give better lighting than the florescent and cost much less.

Two 100 watt HID bulbs
Daily energy cost------------------$0.33
monthly energy cost (30 days)-----$9.90

Two 150 watt HID lights
Daily energy cost------------------$0.50
monthly energy cost (30 days)-----$15.00

That's why I say for my money, I would much rather use HID for large fruiting plants rather than florescent. Any way I look at it, I'd get much better light intensity, and cheaper energy costs. I'm not interested in growing a $6 cucumber when I can get them at the store for 89 cents. Can you grow them using less florescent lighting. Sure but due to low light levels you just wind up with smaller under developed fruit. The less light, the smaller and more under developed they will be.


P.S.
A watt is a measurement of heat energy, and no mater what, a watt of heat is still a watt of heat regardless of the type of bulb. 400 watts of florescent lighting puts out the same amount of heat as a 400 watt HID. Why it seems like it's cooler is because the heat (watt) source is more concentrated in one place with HID. You need multiple bulbs spread over a larger area with florescent, so it's not concentrated in one place. If you go outside on a sunny day the sun feels warm on your skin. But if you take a magnifying glass and focus the light in one spot on your skin, it will begin to burn. It's the same amount of heat, you just concentrated it in one spot. In a space like that 4x2x6 area you should have ventilation anyway. Placing the fan's at the bottom blowing upward will help push the heat out the top as heat rises anyway.

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Last edited by GpsFrontier; 10-20-2014 at 11:08 PM.
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