Faqs
Here you will find a list of the most common kinds of questions that deal with hydroponics, indoor growing, cloning, nutrients, and more.
Below are a list of questions click on one of the questions and it will zoom you to the answer!
About Hydroponics
Can hydroponics be done outside?
What are the advantages of hydroponics?
What are the different kinds of hydroponic systems available?
Is there anything I can't grow hydroponically?
Is hydroponics considered organic?
About Hydroponic Fertilizers and Feeding
Why is pH important in hydroponics?
What is the difference between TDS/PPM/EC?
Can I use tap water or does it need to be purified?
What does N-P-K stand for?
Is hydroponics more nutritional than soil grown plants?
What is foliar feeding?
What do plant deficiency look like?
Are hydroponic nutrients different than soil fertilizers?
About Hydroponic Substrates
What is rockwool?
What are the different kinds of hydroponic mediums?
Indoor Grow Envirnoment
What does Co2 do?
Is Co2 Safe?
Are pest an issue with gardening indoors?
What is the optimal temperature for indoor growing?
How do I control temperture for an indoor grow room?
Do I need ventilation?
How do I control odor?
Is using Ozone (O3) safe for humans?
About Lighting
What are the advantages of flourescents?
What are HID Lights?
What is the difference between metal halide and high pressure sodium?
How do I figure what wattage light I need?
How much power do these lights use?
What is the difference bewteen 120 volt power and 240 volt power?
Does the lighting produce a lot of heat?
About Cloning Plants
What is cloning?
What is the advantage of cloning plants?
Hydroponic's is the method of growing plants with water. Hydro meaning water, ponics meaning work, the word hydroponics literally means working with water. Traditionally plants are grown in soil where the roots search through the soil and pick up nutrients as they grow and expand. In hydroponics the nutrients are fed directly do the root system by adding fertilizers to the water, making the plant use less energy towards find nutrients and more energy towards growth.
Can hydroponics be done outside?
Hydroponic's can in some temperate climates be done outdoors. The trick is to keep the water insulated to keep the temperatures between 65° and 75 ° Ferenheit. You can insulate the water by adding heaters or chillers to the reservoir or by methods such as putting the reservoir of water for the hydroponic system buried in the ground.
What are the advantages of hydroponics?
Hydroponics allows the user to have much more control. It allows users to manipulate the nutrients fed to the plants for optimum growth. Hydroponics because the rootmass will stay more compact, users can have a lot more plants placed in a small area. Hydroponics is more more water efficient than soil gardening, and the yields are larger and maturity time may be reduced.
Is there anything I can't grow hydroponically?
You can grow nearly almost all plants hydroponically, however there things that would just not be practical to grow hydroponically, like plants that don't need regular watering like cactus or large forest trees. Any plant can really be done hydroponically its just a matter of setting up the right parameters for a particular species of plant.
Is hydroponics considered organic?
Hydroponics in its self is not considered organic but it can be done with organic nutrients methods. Hydroponics however allows growers to have total control what goes into the plant and can therefore avoid pesticides, herbacides, harsh chemical fertilziers, and instead use compost teas, organic based hydroponic fertilizers, and even organic plant seeds. Organics in soil a lot of times require bacterias and fungi to help make soluble plant food in the soil. In hydroponics there are safe rhizospheric innoculants you can add to the system to create soil like organic growth with all the benefits of hydroponics.
About Hydroponic Fertilizers and Feeding
Why is pH important in hydroponics?
What is the difference between TDS/PPM/EC?
TDS stands for total dissolved solids, PPM is parts per million, and EC is electric conductivity.
What is the difference between Metal Halide and High Pressure Sodium lamps?
Metal Halide (MH) is best for vegatative and general growth of the plant. It has a blue/white spectrum that is responsible for telling the plant which direction to grow, tightens nodal spacing (keeps plants from legging out), and increases photothynensis. High Pressure Sodium produces a red/orange spectrum, it increases flower yields by an average of 20%. High Pressure sodium bulbs produce more lumens (light) than Metal Halide but do not have as full of spectrum as the former.