First DWC. overwhelmed with names and chemicals and additives

[User59204626117]

you can put some sort of mesh or something in front so that the roots don't plug the hole

thats very simple. like a screen. same thing to stop the gfs hair down the drain.

someone else said that wouldnt work. I dont see why it wouldnt.

either way, Id already like to upgrade my drain lines, AND feed lines.

 

[PK1]

thats very simple. like a screen. same thing to stop the gfs hair down the drain.

someone else said that wouldnt work. I dont see why it wouldnt.

either way, Id already like to upgrade my drain lines, AND feed lines.

i wouldn't do anything this round and instead wait for the upgrades until these plants have been harvested.
When you do plumbing you need good amount of time for the materials to dry properly. then have multiple tests before you can grow in it. Other whys you'll be dealing with headaches and nightmares. IMHO

 

[User59204626117]

yeah I am going to run this and "dont fix it if it aint broke" although I can see this breaking and giving me problems soon. ill cross that bridge when I get there. I figured to upgrade would be very easy and cost about $40 in pipe and fittings, no? would a 1" soft drain line and hose clamps work? no glued joints needed?

 

[User59204626117]

whats the proper way to top feed? I dont fully understand how the plants live when theyre little and the roots are tiny? is that from oxygenated and fertilized top fed water? so a few air stones in the res AND h202 is the ticket?

 

[PK1]

I think @smokedareefer said 2" drain lines would be better. I think he has a point as it would drain the water faster.
You would also not have a small hole which the roots would plug

 

[PK1]

whats the proper way to top feed? I dont fully understand how the plants live when theyre little and the roots are tiny? is that from oxygenated and fertilized top fed water? so a few air stones in the res AND h202 is the ticket?

it all depends. you need to be able to adjust the water levels so the roots grow out of the bucket. When the feed line is above the pibbles then the water source is right there and the roots won't grow out.

You need the water level below the net pot and you could use a air stone to keep the hydro pibbles wet. by hand feeding your just making sure that the roots inside the pibbles are moist until the grow into the bucket. Maybe @Aqua Man can shine a light on this?

 

[Aqua Man]

So let me get this straight. It's a top feed recirculating system correct? The nutrients are pumped into the hydroton and run down in the bucket recirculated back to the res?

 

[User59204626117]

yes. that is correct! with air stones everywhere

 

[PK1]

yes. that is correct! with air stones everywhere

since you have water circulation, air stones aren't needed. The reason we use airstone in dwc is to keep the water agitating so that the nutrients don't settle.
lets see what aquaman says

 

[User59204626117]

Ah. Makes sense.

I do have water circulation but it’s weak. For now. I’ll upgrade everything. 110gph pump is sad. I see they got 1000gph for $100. That and some bigger lines and I’m good to go.

 

[Aqua Man]

Ah. Makes sense.

I do have water circulation but it’s weak. For now. I’ll upgrade everything. 110gph pump is sad. I see they got 1000gph for $100. That and some bigger lines and I’m good to go.

Roots are not submerged so no need for airstones, as the water trickles through its exposed to air and is then aerated, plus the roots are exposed to air. I would keep the stone in the res for 1 reason only... to keep the solution mixed well.

What size return lines do you have? I don't think you need 2" like and RDWC would use. You can root prune if needed ot use filter foam or strainer at the outflows. The key is not to over veg the plant so that the roots become an issue.

Do you have ppm and ph meters?
Source water is?

 

[User59204626117]

ok this is kicking my ass. 12-16 hours later and ive already got that cloudy brown stuff built up in the buckets that didnt have airstones in them. I mixed the nutrients perfectly and added them to a 5 gal bucket in proper order.

my return lines are 3/4" I think. barge hose or something its called and can only be used in 1" increments. extremely annoying.

I have a PPM and my bluelab ph meter hasnt been shipped yet from an online suppler. is the local ph80 brand any good? https://www.biofloral.com/en/hm-digital-analytical-instruments/hm-digital-ph-80-1-70250


source water is tap water, 150ppm and 6.5 or so ph. I added my nutrients which brought it to 850ppm. 1.8ec

I added 10ml of ph down to 10 gallons. I only use strips for now as the bluelab is being shipped... or should I get the ph80 locally?

 

[Aqua Man]

ok this is kicking my ass. 12-16 hours later and ive already got that cloudy brown stuff built up in the buckets that didnt have airstones in them. I mixed the nutrients perfectly and added them to a 5 gal bucket in proper order.

my return lines are 3/4" I think. barge hose or something its called and can only be used in 1" increments. extremely annoying.

I have a PPM and my bluelab ph meter hasnt been shipped yet from an online suppler. is the local ph80 brand any good? https://www.biofloral.com/en/hm-digital-analytical-instruments/hm-digital-ph-80-1-70250


source water is tap water, 150ppm and 6.5 or so ph. I added my nutrients which brought it to 850ppm. 1.8ec

I added 10ml of ph down to 10 gallons. I only use strips for now as the bluelab is being shipped... or should I get the ph80 locally?

Ok your gonna need a way to measure PH well no matter how you want to. I like the ph pens personally.

Exactly what are you mixing, in what order? In what temp of water?

You will need to choose live or sterile. I would suggest a live system using hydrogaurd with enzymes like hygrozyme or komplete.

 

[User59204626117]

ok I filled a 5 gal bucket with ice cold water.

I added 5ml/gallon of cal mag. I have 15 gallons total. so I added 60-75 ml cal mag (I went a tad under so it wasnt too strong). was told to add this nutrient first by GH as well as armor.si if you use it.

THEN you add general hydroponics Micro, grow, and bloom. as per their chart. about 60ml or so of each. 5ml/gallon.

THEN I added the other GH products... floracious plus, diamond nectar, flora blend, etc... as per their week 2 veg chart.

THEN I added that 5 gallon pail to my 15 gallon res and let it swirl for a half hour. it was 850ppm but my water starts at 200ppm. water is usually under 21c.

then I added 1ml/gallon of Enzyme Komplete. so 15ml I put in.

there is 2 air stones in my res and it was all cleaned pretty damn good the other day.

then I went to bed, and woke up to this.

my ph is majorly slacking. I only want to buy a good pen and do it once. I added 10ml of ph down this morning and it didnt seem to change much on the ph strips. still reading 6.5.

 

[User59204626117]

Right from general hydroponic website and email rep

 

[Badchoice]

Same one I use lol learning nutes in hydro is the fun part because it’s different from soil and remember never full dosage 1/2 to a 1/4 and I would also suggest hydroguard and ice cold water might not be the best you kind of wanna keep the res change around the same temp it was before so if it came out 69f try for 68-70f to help reduce shock

 

[Aqua Man]

Ok so don't use cold water. Use tepid or room temp... around 68-75f is likely. Cold water decreases solubility and will shock the roots.

Forst mix the silica.... let it mix with your water for atleast 10 min and up to 30 before doing anything else. The ph will be super high and can cause precipitation so you need to bring the ph down to 6.5 after adding the silica and letting it mix. If you don't let it mix well you WILL have precipitate.

Stop adding cal mag you don't need it as your tap has plenty of mag and the nutrients do contain both calcium and magnesium. However we will make a small addition at the end in order to balance those better. To much calcium can create a world of issues.

So after adding silica, mixing then phing down to 6 5 add you GH 3 parts in the order they describe.

Stop adding all the other crap just the silica and the 3 part with one final addition.

Add one gram of mag sulfate (epsom salt) per gal. This will help balance out the ratio of calcium to magnesium in your tap water.

Finally ph down to 4.6-6.0

 

[Aqua Man]

Then add hudrogaurd and komplete. Or if you choose sterile then we can go over that.

 

[User59204626117]

hydroguard and komplete is the route im taking as well as h202. someone said pool shock too.

looks like I will have to change up my fertilizing techniques.

what is the silica? I dont have that one TBH. no armor si in my lineup. its just cal mag, the trio, and then a few other little add ons. I just dont get why it keeps chunking up. its not because I used cold water vs room temp water?

 

[PK1]

hydro should be 5.8 not 4.6
i also think thats one to many stuff to add.

I only add MC and Z9and phing the water