My first grow, it is probably far too complex but I am trying to keep it simple, for the plants.
So here is what I will be mixing into grow inside a Vivosun 5-gallon grow root bags 3 layers:
Grow bucket:
Soil mix- top layer
-1.5 Fox farm ocean forest
-.5 ocrra compost (half 40lb bag)
-.5 Becks mulch soil (40 lb bag)
-2 lb medium size Hydroton
Coco mat- middle layer more of a buffer to hold soil above water line
5” BBQ lava rockto hold coco layer above water line
Setup:
-Tent 2x4x5
-315W Cmh
-Growing two white widows plants centered then outward
-1.5” scrog net
-30-gallon clear tote center snap tote (marked at 5” for lava rock in buckets)
-inside tote two soil buckets placed side-by-side then grown opposite directions
*tote will be used to hold water for DWC with four airstones, one in each pot and one on each side
Fertilizer:
Veg- fish water only for DWC and soil
Flower- a tea of seabird guano and kelp to water column. Dechlorinated water to soil with 1/4 water column mix
There is a reason for my “first” grow (one time hydroponics 15 years ago got only like 2oz) making things so complicated, that’s to keep everything so simple. I am trying to best mimic natural conditions while utilizing my understanding of aquaponics and the nitrogen cycle. This will not be a sump setup the first time, even with certain fish being like koi being rather hardy, I do not want to risk contamination of their tanks or an risk to an animal. Eventually, I would like to sump this to really automate the system.
In my thinking, the roots should be plenty strong enough to snake into the water through coco, but so long as I water soil first, most should stay on top of coco mat. This
Tell me what I am going to mess up? Tell me where I am going to run into issues? If there are better organics I can add, please let me know.
Big thanks to friend @Unkindtay for giving me lots of advice and ideas, I just had to make more complex
Ive done something similar, he’s on the right path, except i used lava rocks at bottom, chunky petlite, just above, a pure coco mix in the middle, then to top it if a 70/30 coco/peatmoss living soil, without it being a dual root system i suffered dramatically will a iron deficiency , i didnt know @Bogleg did aquaponics kool, im not saying im right just a thought, also if he’s got his system plumed it would be nice to get everthing up and running so he can start geting hus system cycled, good luck my friend
I appreciate that - thank you. However, the grow I have going right now is anything but amazing. Heh. If I get 8oz I’ll be surprised. Misjudged when to move my plants into the tray from the cloner… should’ve let them go longer in the cloner. I also switched nutrient lines and am seeing some leaf issues I am not very pleased about… but if this works out I think I’ll be set for a few grows.
Sorry to hear that my friend, we live and learn last year my entire gorrilla grow went south, literally, floated down the rio grande, flash flood, i had no hope, the only thigs left were my game cams
I ended up doing the pots slightly different than expected, more coco mix to keep the soil up above water line. I am going to look into the chunk perlite next time as another layer. I made my first bucket last night, things of course had to change a little as I went.
I placed the airstone in center of pot and put down my lava rock, ended up using a full 10lbs for one bucket as first layer. Then I cut the coco liner (CL) into a large square about 2” larger than bucket on all sides, cut corners off and fit into pot,. I then used the 4 cut corners to add a second layer of CL where the soil will be heaviest. The idea isn’t to prevent all soul entering the water column, just to prevent it from becoming sludge during the grow period. I stuffed the first layer with soil, gently compacted it to push coco out, then took a 4” strip of the CL and wrapped it around the inner edge of the pot outside the first liner, essentially extending it edges to hold soil. Stuffed CL pieces where I saw gaps as best I could without over compacting.
I only got one pot done, I thought 10lbs of lava rock would get me further than it did. The 5-gallon root pots are wider and shorter than a 5g bucket. This meant my soil has gone down to about 2 gallon total
I just tagged you on other members that have grown in different systems, unfortunately they haven’t posted in a while, sometimes life gets in the way, but its is possible, to grow in ap systems
I appreciate that. I have seen people successfully do it, I am hoping to find a way to maximize it all quickly. My main theory is that nitrate being a natural compound, can be absorbed at the plants max rate without risk of burning. The biggest issue I see myself having is during flower when nitrate consumption drops
Im fairly new to aquaponics but havebeen growingl marijuana for a while now, and love fish, have worked at a fish farm, but no aquaponics was going on there , i started a small system to see if ican do it before pouring in money,plus im cramped and dont have space , also dont live in a pot friendly but state to grow outdoors, eventually i will make a system, im develpoing my organic growing skill to accommodate into aquaponics , since chemical fertilizers can hurt the fish, im excited for you, hope all goes well and if any questions i will answer what i can with my limited knowledge. Bye the way, it wax thd best buds ive grown and smoked,
I’m in the same boat, unfriendly state, so anything I do is small scale right now. I keep all kinds of fish and that’s where I drew my inspiration, no matter how high the ppm of nitrate, the fish will suffer but not the plants. If this goes well just adding water, I hope to figure out a way to eventually just make the grow a refugum after a sump. Even then, I worry about adding chemicals, so everything will need to be organic and fish friendly
Awsome my friend, you got fish experience and that’s what counts, ive experimented with short fin mollies,locally caught from brackish water, sugarcane runoof ditches, i figured, if they can take that punishment,they will do fine in my aquarium, and they sure difd. Unfortunately i had to leave out of state and returned them back to there environment.
