Free Hydroponic Marijuana Growing Guide
Marijuana Hydroponics Free Online Guide
Indoor-Hydroponic gardening is a lot like building a house, you have all the necessary supplies to build the house: wood, nails, brick mortar and equipment. You have your blue prints, but this does not make a house. It makes a pile of rubbish. You have to put the supplies together in the correct order with skilled labor in order to end up with a house. In a sense, this is what Indoor-Hydroponic gardening is like. You must know how to properly utilize your supplies and equipment, and this is what a guide like this is for. It enables you to finish with a house instead of a pile of rubbish.
About this General Hydroponic Marijuana Guide
This guide will generally focus on improving marijuana through the use of Indoor hydroponics. The basic techniques mentioned on this site are for the medicinal uses of cannabis. If you want to learn every trick we have discovered to become as efficient and effective as humanely possible read THE HYDROPONIC BIBLE. We recommend that you read this site page by page, consecutively if you are a first timer, but it is not necessary.
Cannabis, more commonly called weed in the states has been around for an estimated twelve thousand years. Just like any other crop, the human race has learned how to manipulate and stimulate the plant to improve its quality. The cannabis plant contains over 463 different known compounds and chemicals, some of which are harmful and some of which are perceived to be helpful to humans. The cannabis plant thrives naturally in tropical climates like South America; a climate that Indoor-hydroponics emulates.
Marijuana Hydroponics
At the heart of cannabis cultivation is the cutting-edge growth technique Hydroponics. Hydroponics is, simply put, growing plants without soil. The discovery was made years ago that it was not the actual soil that marijuana plants needed in order to grow, but instead they needed the mineral nutrients contained in the soil. Basically hydroponics is just another way of providing all the nutrients needed by a plant. These nutrients are supplied to the plant in a liquid solution that is absorbed by the roots. Thus now it is well known to most gardeners that all plants have the same basic nutritional needs and as long as these nutritional needs are met, soil is no longer necessary. In fact, normal soil may harbor pathogens and other harmful organisms that can damage marijuana plants.
An additional benefit of marijuana hydroponics is that the plants often grow faster and healthier because nutrients are immediately available, and therefore can be assimilated quicker.
This method of marijuana cultivation can be very rewarding, in many ways, but can be most demanding. If you have a legitimate reason to grow marijuana, you should try to do it hydroponically and indoors, but remember it can be very demanding and is not for the genitally lazy.
The Improvements of Marijuana Hydroponics
We have heard about an increase in the potency of marijuana when you grow hydroponically! Is this true? Yes! Potency increases when cannabis is grown hydroponically. The whole point of hydroponics is to push the potency of the plants to its highest potential. Hydroponics allows you to manipulate the plants to grow the amount you want, with in reason of course. After a number of times growing a neophyte gardener will learn how to actually push a specific strain to its maximum production capacity and maximum potency level.
The most prevalent and important advantage of an Indoor-Hydroponic garden is the control over the growing environment. Unlike outdoor/soil gardening, where everything is dependent on the seasons and the weather-you are able to control the atmosphere, becoming liberated from the natural environment. Control is the most valuable tool in the cultivation business, and an Indoor-Hydroponic garden defines control. Albeit, it is next to impossible to control every aspect of growth, but hydroponics affords you greater control of your plants growth-opposed to other methods of growing of course.
One of the most visceral advantages of Indoor Hydroponics is the extremely high survival rate of plants. Normally Indoor Hydroponic plants have an 87% survival rate compared to outdoor-soil gardening, which is between 15% and 35%. Undoubtedly, this means you will not have to compensate, as much, for the anticipatory loss of some male plants, by adding a lot of extra plants in the beginning. The advantages of the survival rates alone should be enough to convince you to choose Indoor-Hydroponics.
The most notable advantage in using the Indoor-Hydroponic method as opposed to other conventional methods is the amount of time you salvage maturing the plants from seedling to flowers. On average, the rate of growth has been observed to be two to three times faster than growing by any other method. The brevity of the growth time also has a hidden advantage; it lessens the possibility of major errors. It also means you can produce more grams of bud, in a shorter period of time.
Advantages of Hydroponics:
How A Marijuana Grow Room Should Be Set Up
Now this is where we divide the boys from the men. This is where the real work begins; the laying of the pipe, so to speak, the hard work. The base and foundation of any grow operation is setting up the grow area. One of the first aspects, pertaining to setting up a grow room; to consider, is the possibility of environmental instability. For example, you do not want to place a grow room in an environment that fluctuates from extreme cold to extreme hot. Hence, it is exceedingly important to secure a locale that is relatively stable, with regard to the natural temperature and humidity of said area. If the natural environment, where you intend to grow, has extreme changes in heat or humidity, then should not attempt to grow in that vicinity. It is a stark fact that such fluctuations in the environment cause plants to either die or become ill. It is also just as important to inspect other natural, but unwelcome, aspects of the environment like: bugs, pests, mold-these too can heavily impair your plants.
After finding a suitable location for your marijuana grow-room, you should check to make sure you have the necessary equipment to control the atmosphere. The necessary paraphernalia to control an area are: a light supply, correct water and nutrient supply amount, air movement, and a ready source of carbon dioxide. If required, it is also important to have environmental control devices (i.e. dehumidifiers, heaters, coolers.)
Beginning a Marijuana Grow Area
Once you have all the essential equipment, it is time to prepare your growing area. Initially you must seal off every opening that would permit outside light to enter the grow room. Seal every single window/opening up with black plastic and duct tape. In the event black plastic must cover a window that could possibly be seen by some hungry onlookers, you should place blinds in front of it, to produce the illusion of a plain dark room. Hopefully your company has enough money to bypass all of this and just grow it in a secure facility. If so, disregard the hungry onlooker reference.
After you have assured that no light will enter or escape, it is time to install any light reflective material, i.e. white paint or Mylar. Paint is less expensive, so use that if you are trying to keep your overhead costs down. If choose white paint, simply paint over the stable plastic-which should be fastened to the wall. If on the other hand, you choose Mylar, or any other type of material. You must fasten it to the wall, on top of the black plastic, with nails, staples, or thumb tacks.
Once you have completed the installation of your reflective material(s) you should install your light system. Positioning your light system usually requires hanging your lights, with chains, from a ceiling-or attaching it to a light mover. Your light system must be interchangeable with other spectrums, and must be able to be raised, or be lowered, according to the height of the plant. In other words, it should be easy to adjust, change, or otherwise move-without disturbing the cannabis plants.
One of the simplest techniques, used to make it possible to interchange light types, is to create temporary rafters. To do this you need to fasten two-by-fours to the walls of the room, with metal supports that are obtained at any local hard ware store. Subsequently, you fasten screw-in-hooks to the bottom of the two-by-fours, facing downward, so that chains can be hung from them. Next, you place climber hooks on the end of the chains that will be connecting directly to the lights. Now, you just simply hook up the lights to the correct ballast and keep them hanging at a relatively low position. This will allow you to adjust the light source up or down and it makes it very easy to exchange light sources. This advice is pretty much void if you are using a single light source, which only needs to move vertically, and dose not have to be exchanged with any other spectrum.
The next step is to install your ventilation system (this is discussed in a later chapter in detail), so refer to it. The general idea is to have air circulation, to prevent the air from becoming stale, and to shift heat from inside the grow room to the outside. At minimum, your ventilation system needs to perform the three functions mentioned above.
Cannabis Carbon Dioxide System
After you have taken care of the ventilation, it is time to install your carbon dioxide system. It is imperative to make sure that the carbon dioxide will be distributed evenly throughout the marijuana garden, and that it is only distributed when the ventilation system is off. In order to insure even distribution of CO2 you should purchase a distribution kit. This kit is composed of thin, hole- containing tubes, that are draped atop the grow room. It is not tremendously necessary to purchase a distribution kit, but you should figure a way to evenly distribute theCO2 if you choose to add it to your grow room.
At this point you have your CO2 system in place, if you are choosing to install one. Now it is time to ensure the CO2 only distributes when the ventilation system is off. There are three ways to do this. One you could uses electronic timers that turn one system on when the other is off; or two, you could manually turn the CO2 on when the ventilation is off. The second choice requires your undivided attention, daily, and is time consuming. While we prefer the first method it is really your preference. The third way is to hook everything up to one of those expensive control boxes that automatically disperses CO2
Now it is time to position your grow system. Make sure you have all the parts necessary, and have assembled the system. It is important to contemplate the placement of your system, before you actually put it in. Make sure you can easily access the reservoir(s) for exchanging water, nutrients and adjusting the pH. Once you have determined the right position, and have installed your system, you need to make sure it does not leak. Run pretest to confirm this.
Subsequently, you want to install your gauges, control boxes, thermometers, and dispersion kit controls-included. Install these in easy to reach places, so that you can change or adjust them with little interruption to the plants. Many have found that it is helpful to place these along the walls of the hydroponic grow room. After you have read the directions of each system, and have hooked them up, you should do a test run.
Sanitize the Hydroponic Garden
The next step is to sanitize your garden with a five percent bleach solution made from five percent bleach and ninety-five percent water.
In consummation, these hydroponic guidelines are just that, guidelines. Nothing is written in stone, so feel free to follow the order we set forth according to your own needs. Every step dose not have to be born inside the womb of the preceding step. However, as a general rule of thumb, it is best to follow the sequencing we have suggested, especially if you are a novice hydroponic cropper. Step one, Step two-do this then that, so on and so forth. It is in your best interest!
After you sanitize your grow room you need to install any extra equipment you have, and then sanitize again.
Hydroponic Marijuana Ventilation and Air Circulation
Ventilation in a hydroponic grow room is very important to the indoor gardener because it keeps the levels of carbon dioxide, heat, and humidity at optimal range. It is vital to set up your ventilation system to vent when your garden is not distributing carbon dioxide.
In the beginning you need to calculate the volume of your room (discussed in CO2 chapter of THE HYDROPONIC BIBLE), this will tell you the volume of the air you need to remove to completely vent your room. You then need to buy a venting fan that will suck out that much volume in less than ten minutes. The ten-minute rule is simply implemented in order to be efficient, it is not absolutely necessary.
After that you place the vent fan(s) close to the ceiling, which will
simultaneously allow heat to escape while permitting the heavier carbon
dioxide gas to remain in the grow room. If it is placed close to the
ground you will be venting CO2 and leaving the heat behind. If you do it that way, you will end up with an inefficient, humid
garden that is wasting CO2.
Next, you will need to obtain four-inch flexible dryer hose. You will adapt this hose to your vent fan in such a way, that the fan(s) vents the air outside the grow room. This will allow you control where your exhaust is going to flow out of, or to.
After you have found a place to vent, and have attached the exhaust to it, you need to attach your vent fan (whatever type it may be) to a timer. Remember that the fan, or fans, should remove the whole volume of the room in about ten minutes. It is a good idea to unify the vent fan with your thermostat and humidistat. Set them all to run when your carbon dioxide system is off.
The ideal hydroponic set up would have a sequence of events that begins with the carbon dioxide system saturating the room; then the system shuts down after the predetermined amount of time. Next, after the heat rises five degrees because of the lights; the vent fan cuts on for enough time to vent the entire volume of the room. After that, the carbon dioxide system replenishes the room, and the cycle keeps repeating in the same manner. In order to achieve this ideal sequence of events, it will require you do many test runs. Determine the correct timing is time consuming, so do not become frustrated if you do not get it right the first time. If you do not have a thermostat, but you have timers, then your grow room should vent and replenish once every five hours
Hydroponic Marijuana Growing Mediums
In order to serve as a suitable replacement for soil, the substrate must be capable of supporting the root system, accumulating moisture and nutrients. It should be inert, free of insects and diseases, and durable.
Moreover, the substrate should permit adequate aeration of the roots, and have first-rate drainage ability. Cannabis roots need sufficient access to oxygen from the air, in order to grow and take up water and nutrients. Poor drainage can lead to decreased growth, stunting, wilting, and discoloration of the leaves- in the worst cases "drowning the plant."
Lighting is the catalyst for photosynthesis, without it photosynthesis ceases to occur. Artificial lighting is a fantastic way to supply energy needed for plant growth, without depending on the sun for energy.
Plants require a constant supply of energy to grow, and this energy comes from light. In nature, plants receive light from the sun. There are various types of artificial lights that provide differing light spectrums. Every source of light has light spectrums. Before learning about these artificial lights, it is important to understand how plants use light in the growth process (discussed on the CO2 page below). Fundamentally, photosynthesis provides energy to the plant.
Light Spectrums
Hydroponic Cannabis needs specific spectrums mainly red and blue, to produce sugars. White light, as it comes from the sun, is composed of waves of every spectrum. The band of colors that compose the visible spectrum of light (that which we can see) include, starting with the longest rays: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Much of the red, blue, indigo and violet wavelengths are absorbed and used in photosynthesis while the green and most of the yellow/orange are barely used in photosynthesis. (www.hydroponicsonline.com)
If you use the correct spectrums, you can increase the productivity of the plant. Using HID lights have the utmost results of all the lights sources available on the market. They focus the proper spectrums of light needed during the different stages of growth.
During the marijuana vegetative phase the plants respond pleasantly to the blue light-a spectrum the plants favor during this phase of growth. The blue light promotes vegetative growth including the development of roots, stocks, and leaves. The light helps build a strong foundation that helps the plant support buds. During flowering plants demand a higher concentration of red-orange light that, in fact, encourages budding. Some people try to use just one source through out all the stages of growth, and they find that the stems become elongated, or their plants fall over and die, or they develop weird deficiencies.
Light Spectrums and Phases for Marijuana
|
Wavelength |
Used In Vegetative |
Used In |
|
Infrared |
|
|
|
Red |
X |
X |
|
|
|
X |
|
Yellow |
|
X |
|
Green |
|
X |
|
Blue |
X |
|
|
Indigo |
X |
|
|
Violet |
X |
|
|
Ultraviolet |
|
If added increases THC |
Carbon is the basis for all life on earth due to its versatile bonding configurations. Carbon can bond to itself; can form single bonds (alkanes), double bonds (alkenes), triple bonds (alkynes), rings, and chains. Carbon is the first element in group IV. It is a nonmetal with an atomic number of six and an atomic mass of approximately 12. Carbon has four electrons in its outer shell and forms covalent bonds. Carbon is quite inert at ordinary temperatures, but it combines with oxygen at moderate temperatures making it an important reducing agent for metallic oxides.
What does this mean?
Increasing the basis for all life will increase yield!
An example, Grower X sits erect, right hand holding onto an extremely large bud-left hand holding on a descent size bud. They are exactly the same strain, started at the same time, grown using the exact same solution poured from the same 5-gallon bucket, and grown for exactly the same length of time. Why then, dose the bud in his right hand weigh 4 grams more than the one in his left? The two buds were grown in two separate rooms, but all the growing conditions were kept the same except for one variation. The bud in his right hand was grown in a carbon-rich environment.
Most researchers underestimate the potential carbon dioxide can unleash in a plant, principally with regard to flowering. It can double even triple your plants girth! Plants can actually use more CO2 than what is supplied in the natural environment. During the early stages of evolution, when the earth was relatively young, the atmosphere was saturated with carbon dioxide- so naturally the plants evolved using more CO2. As time passed, plant species adapted to the gradual loss in the abundant CO2 levels. Hence, plants became smaller and smaller in size.
Marijuana Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use the sun’s energy, carbon dioxide and water to produce glucose. The glucose is produced to be used as energy when there is no light available, and is needed for cellular respiration. Photosynthesis begins when a photon from the sun strikes a chloroplast (located on a plant leaf), and bounces an electron on the chlorophyll. The electron can either return back to where it came from, Cyclic Cycle, or the electron can be replaced by a H+ molecule from water (non-cyclic cycle). When the non-cyclic begins the original electron is transferred to a NAD+ to form NADH. The NADH and some Andronstein Triphosphate (ATP) then go to the Calvin cycle. This is where the carbon dioxide is used to make glucose C6H12O6. The plant then combines these starches and nitrogen to create tissue growth. This new tissue is sixty- percent carbon. Therefore, if you have saturated carbon levels in your grow room it will enable the plants to produce more tissue and your plants will weigh more, as a result.
Carbon Dioxide Systems for Marijuana Hydroponics
There are many different ways to make and obtain CO2. The best method is to lease the cylinders of carbon dioxide from a local welding supply house, or buy them. The prices for renting vary, but in general, a carbon dioxide canister can rented for a hundred-dollar deposit and twenty dollars to fill the tank. A twenty-pound tank will last you about two month’s, maybe a little more, depending on your dispersion methods- more importantly depending on the number of plants. There are many different size tanks, the bigger the tank the longer it will last of course.
Hydroponic Systems for Marijuana
With every system discussed here you must understand that all the previous rules are applicable with respect to pH, nutrients, temperature, lights, CO2 and ventilation. The only thing that truly differs between each type of system is the method in which each system delivers the nutrients to the root system.
Simple Set Ups
The simplest hydroponic system for low, low, budget companies is a non-recycling system consisting of well-drained containers filled with an acceptable substrate (see the section on mediums). The nutrient solution is mixed, and then it is applied, one to three times daily, using a simple watering can.
Types of Hydroponic Systems
End of Part 1 - Click Here For Part 2
Other Growing Hydroponic Marijuana Works and Resources
Seeds and Genetics
Marijuana Genetics and Seed Information
Vegetative Growth Cycle
Budding / Flowering Cycle
Difference between Male and Female plants
Flowering and Budding Marijuana