Hydroton????????

ISO2BWELL

OK folks...after seeing Filthy's pics, I just GOTTA try this aeroponic/hydro/dwc stuff!

I've got much of what I need to build my first hydro grow box, but lacking what Y'all call "Hydroton".

Are there alternative products? If not (ie:Hydroton is best) can I get it at a pet store (used maybe in aquariums?) Other sources aside from me driving 50 miles to the hydro shop?

(Having to work instead of out playing with my plants really sucks...

ISO

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Giggles

There are many options to use instead of hydroton. I will show you some but I have never used anything outside of hydroton so as for the effectiveness of said products I don't know. In fact some one uses drive way gravel, I think it was kP.

perlite
pea gravel
silica stone...http://htgsupply.com/products.asp?ca...bcategoryID=47
soiless mixes...http://htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=46642
etc.

ISO2BWELL

Thanks Gig..I've got a bag of Light Warrior that I had planned to try some of in soil mixes (blending with Ocean Forest).

Cool, that saves me a long drive downriver. Now, if I can just settle on WHICH method to use!

Been looking closer at the DWC for the first grow...but also have my eye on an aero set-up of a different sort.

ISO

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Giggles

I mix Light Warrior and Ocean mix, it's great. I believe the soiless stuff is best in ebb and flow. I like the simplicity of DWC, what kind of aero stuff?

ISO2BWELL

Not sure ...yet.

Sadly, I am one of those guys that gets a wild-hair up his arse and comes up with all manner of wacky schemes..and I'm finding my immersion into this indoor gardening is much the same. I never had even the slightest interest in "gardening" in my life...until I figured out that you CAN grow stuff indoors and ya don't have to get down on yer hands/knees (torture to my body) and work in the dirt.

I do most all the work I do on my plants at waist level or just below...this saves the back muscles getting stressed (too many injuries over too many years!) and I've found I can pretty much work at it all day. So far, I am enjoying the hell out of it all, and there is enough "untested" ways of doing this that I'll never run out of new, insane ways of growing stuff.

Got to get the "basics" down first. Growing soil now, but the aero/hydro or DWC looks much more effecient, but involves more design time for any system. (unless I buy a pre-designed set-up for too much $, but where then hell is the fun of doing it all yourself????????)

What would you suggest for a beginner?

ISO

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Giggles

For a beginner, which is what I am too for the most part I would advise getting a 10 gallon tote or 5 gallon bucket. Drilling holes in the lids, one for a bucket mayber 3 or 4 for a tote. Buy an air pump for cheap at a pet store, buy one or two airstones. Fill the unit with water and nutes, insert air pump and stones and bam start a plant or 3 to 4 if you do the tote. It is a lot easier to start small and simple. If you have problems it's easy to troubleshoot. Fletch builds a lot of things, tons he's good at that. But for a first timer I would not reccommend his build, a lot to troubleshoot for a first timer. Then after the DWC plant(s) are done see if you still want to upgrade. You will learn a lot about hydro first time through if you keep it simple. Two things to remember, leave room for your plants if doing a tote..Stealth Hydro uses 6 sites in their unit, try to grow 6 MJ plants in there...lol. And make sure whatever it is you build is light proof or painted dark.

I just think for a first time DIY hydro project you should keep it simple, learn the nutes, the pH stuff, etc. Basically get a system down and then worry about an aero build. You can really do quick grows if you start from clone, veg a max of two weeks and then flower. You could go longer in the veg but for your 1st plant keep the veg short...the stuff grows like wildfire...lol

FilthyFletch

you can get hydroton online cheap.Ebay has it, htg has it, wormsway has it, altgardens.com has it.10 lb bag goes along way.I use maybe 2 lbs in my large aero setup and maybe 1/2 or 1/4 lb in my 6 site aero setups I sell

btdt

CLEAN....unpainted lava rock has been known to be used as a substitute...sourced from a nursery. The drawbacks here, I'm told, are that there can be contaminents hiding in the pores of the rocks... and that contrary to hydroton which is round, the abrasiveness of the lava rack can aslo be a concern/can be hard on the finer roots.

pea gravel. Hard to keep a clean res/keep things from clogging up.

ornamental river rock...tumbled rock....marbles... I even taught a hydro class to thrid graders here where we set up a bubbler and an ebb/flow and used LEGOS as the growing medium to show em that in true hydro the medium is ONLY a place for the roots to grow into/around for airspace....nothing more.

I would caution using peat/Light Warrior/dirt...etc....anything that HOLDS moisture can easily lead to fungus/root rot/etc and will likely stay too wet. The REAL secret of the DWC or drip in these buckets (IMO) is being able to MOVE the solution...either via bubbles...or via drip and the water running down the root column.

Either way...the exchange of air/water in both instances happens time and time again within the system. In soils/heavier mixes where you cannot water in "cycles" due to probable overwatering, you lose ALL of these benefits, IMO.

LOTS of people grew in CLEAN rocks before hydroton. CLEAN being the key word. IMO. Also avoid LIMESTONE and some other rock is just too damn HEAVY.

hydroton is REUSABLE..so the outlay of cash is a one-time gig. should be about $35 for 50 liter bag.

good luck man!

Giggles

Hydroton is the way to go IMO. Anyway btdt said one thing that peaked my interest...anything that keeps the water running down the roots. I have started using misters/foggers in my DWC, a lot of people are telling me that it is not neccesaryand they are right but I found it better than a drip...no hoses to clean EVER. I am running an experiment now I have three plants in DWC and one has a fogger, the fogger one is kicking some serious arse at the moment. The fogger is technically an aero device, it makes the water into little beads. Meaning that the roots are sitting in res. nutes and getting nuted water delivered to the whole root system without cutting off any O2. I believe that this system requires less water and less nutes...a good thing. bd1975 is also a believer in this. From my early experimentation with this fogger I am very excited a whole grow will tell the true tale though.

If you want to see my seedling that sprouted about one week ago go here, this is the one with a fogger
http://greenpassion.org/showthread.php?t=813&page=3

btdt

Sounds interesting. I know the company Deep Water Innovations

http://www.deepwaterinnovations.com/

has had a 45 site "fog"/mist cloner on the market for a few years and I hear they work well. There's also one from another company that looks like a small space ship...a round/plastic thing that also takes advantage of the fog approach.

My only thought about full term DWC in a 5 gal bucket with a fogger is that my buckets are nearly FULL of root mass...and the airstone chugs away UNDER that mass no matter what. I'm still using the Waterfarm drip column in combo with the bubbler...so I get that "NFT" type action I spoke of as the water runs down the root itself. With a mister or fogger I think it might be a challenge to keep goin once full-on growth set in.

Somebody try it and let's see! wink..wink...