Observationist
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definitely, ty.I can't rememeber if it was Dirtbag or Aquaman who suggested using as much PVC as possible for plumbing but that was great advice. It's dead simple to work with and cheap.
definitely, ty.I can't rememeber if it was Dirtbag or Aquaman who suggested using as much PVC as possible for plumbing but that was great advice. It's dead simple to work with and cheap.
Water should be the same as ambient ideally?Temperature adjust the water? It's not abnormal to see a little droop after watering
When lowering night temps by 10 would you maintain the VPD or drop humidity by a fixed %?So for more stretch keep a 10f day night difference in temps. You could add something like massive that contains triacontanol and that will definitely make them stretch. But I think you will find they do quite well.
I would lollipop before flip. After stretch I would remove the oldest biggest fan leaves to the point that no leaves are resting on eachother, but your not letting light go through without hitting leaves. The reason you always remove the biggest and oldest leaves are new growth photosynthesises more efficiently. And also to make sure that the plants have good airflow throught them.
maintain vpd.When lowering night temps by 10 would you maintain the VPD or drop humidity by a fixed %?
I would nix the 1/2 vinyl tubing. Then use a x6 port rainbird manifold on each side of the loop so that you have x2 1/4" tubes going to each plant for redundancy?
Gotcha, i missed that minor detail! LOLThe only issue is I'm using hydro halos, not drip emitters. so i need 1/2in vinyl to connect the halos to the watering system
Are Fungus Gnats ever an issue with fert frequecy?Ok writing this cause i see this issue often and rather have a thread to link than explain this each time. This is not my work but a collection of info from many members here and I have put into practice myself.
So first off COCO is NOT soil. For best results we want to keep it saturated between 90-100% that does not mean you can't go below this but you may see slower growth or nutrient issues over time if your consistently letting COCO get to dry.
Coco has an amazing gas exchange and air holding capacity when compared to soil. For this reason it is next to impossible to over water. Over watering is NOT to much water... its lack of o2. You will see this in soil with less drainage but because of coco's high drainage, air holding capacity and gas exchange its highly unlikely to see this in coco.
I do suggest if growing in more than 1 gal pots to add perlite if you are seeking faster grow rates. However if you want to water less often then you can eliminate the perlite as this will lower the drainage. As a rule of thumb:
1gal no perlite
2gal 20% perlite
3gal 30% perlite
4gal 40% perlite
5+gal 50% perlite
You can do more or less but it will affect the frequency of watering required. More perlite the more frequent you will have to feed. Personally I feel the better the drainage the faster the growth but its a balancing act and the above ratios i would say are a great place to start.
Coco has a low CEC (cation exchange capacity) so it does not hold onto nutrients as well as something like soil so we feed with every watering to keep a balanced nutrient ratio, ph and ppm in the coco. To do so we also need to flush out some of the last feed with each feeding to prevent a nutrient buildup which can affect all of these. THINK OF COCO AS SOILESS... much closer to hydro and very similar to rockwool.
I won't get into ppm in detail as thing will change quite a bit from grow to grow depending on many factors. But generally speaking start at around 300-400ppm and work up to around 800ppm. Now some may need to alter that as it will depend on your specific grow conditions.
HOW OFTEN DO WE FEED!!!
Ah the always debated subject.. 2 times a day, 1 time every 2 days, 10 times a day????
Forget that nonsense... like I say each grow is different so we need to use a better method. Let the plants tell you!!!!
Ok here is how we calculate it simply to your specific grow conditions, stage of growth, pot size and every other variable. You will never need to wonder am I feeding to much or to little again.
The formula:
1.Feed 5% of the pot size as your nutrient solution.
2. Of that we want 10-20% to come out as run off.
3. If you get more you can lower the frequency.
4. If we get less we need to increase the frequency and for that feed we need to add more to get our run off.
So I will do the calculations up to 5gal below to save you all some time. Feed the amount listed and check to make sure you get runoff of the amount listed from there adjust to dial in the feedings as they will change as the plants grow.
REMEMBER THIS IS A GUIDLINE AND NOT A HARD RULE. Our goal is to get as close as reasonably possible. It's not gonna kill your plants if its not exact.
I'm gonna round up.
1gal. Feed 250ml get 25-50ml of runoff
2gal. Feed 500ml get 50-100ml of runoff.
3gal. Feed 750ml get 75-150ml of runoff.
5 gal Feed 1litre get 100-200ml of runoff.
By doing this your plant will tell you how often you should be watering for best results.
Plant transpiration happens during photosynthesis so we only need to water during the lights on period. But in smaller containers you may find that you need to fertigate once in the middle of lights out if fertigation events are higher. Its unlikely but if your coco is dry before the first feed its not a bad idea to toss one in. Generally feed a couple hrs before lights out for the last time but you want to split the events evenly throughout lights on.
It may sound like you will be watering way to much but when you calculate how much you are feeding and then the frequency its not much more than most already do, just supplied in a manner that provides much greater stability. You will be using much smaller amounts of nutrient solution and by feeding much more frequently it doesn't take much to get your runoff while keeping the rootzone ph, ppm and moisture content ideal.
I've had them in all 4 grows now, though only bad in the first where I didn't know what I was doing. Now if I see one I immediately add some gnatrol to my res and put yellow sticky tape on the media. Problem solved.Are Fungus Gnats ever an issue with fert frequecy?
I don't know much about "pressure" but I know what works for me.Question for the thread/Aqua Man since I know you are (or were) using a similar setup.
I'm going to switch from 6 plants on hydro halos to 12 using jain octobubblers for next grow. I'm a bit confused as to how pressure works, not all that knowledgeable about liquid dynamics.
I was going to buy 2 of these:
Drip Irrigation Supplies - IDC Online Store
Shop quality drip irrigation supplies for your farm, greenhouse, garden, deck or landscape. We can price match with anyone online. Great Prices!jainsusa.com
And these, greengene uses them, I like the design to make sure the whole media is watered and also to retain moisture in the pots for longer:
HydroLock S6
HydroLock Standard 6 inch fits great in 1-3 gallon containers. HydroLock S6 offers optimal water distribution and uniformity for all potted plants. HydroLock S6 comes standard with: 1 6GPH Tornado Mist Sprayer per HydroLock Available in Slate Grey or Bright White Actual diameter is 6.5 inchesshop.hydrolocksystems.com
And this pump from them:
Hydrolock™ In-Line Water Pump
4 Year Warranty The Hydrolock™ In-Line Water Pump is a true workhorse providing HydroLock Covered Irrigation systems with appropriate flow and pressure specifications. This pump applies constant pressure to the Tornado Mist Sprayer for maximum root zone coverage. This 3-chamber diaphragm...shop.hydrolocksystems.com
Two questions. One, the hydrolocks come with a 6gph emitter in them. The bubblers can be bought in different flow rates. If I buy the 6gph bubbler, and use the 6gph emitters, I should get a flow of 6gph correct? I just don't know if one interferes with the other.
Two, do I need a pressure regulator? I'm assuming because the pump is 45psi it should handle that for me and I don't need a regulator. Oh, and do I need an air bleed valve somewhere along the line?
Thanks for any help!
I don't know much about "pressure" but I know what works for me.
Since its just a few pots, if it was me, I'd spring for the hydrolocks or something similar. you could also install inline PC emitters and still run your hydro halo, not exactly sure what you don't like about them. My current setup I run netafim pressure compensating emitters because I run a higher plant count and its the cheapest and IMO best bang for your buck setup.
Regarding pressure, that's going to be determined by what emitters you go with and what the manufacturers recommended PSI range. You need a min pressure to make them operate properly but theres also a max range. Finalize you emitter size and brand and follow what the manufacturer recommends for psi. I run (2) 0.5 GPH PC emitters with a 25psi regulator myself. 45psi is usually at the top/max psi range for most PC emitters. If it were me I'd plumb in a 15-25 pressure regulator somewhere in the system... your pump selection is fine.
Not a big fan of those bubbler setups. They work well but IMO there are better options.
The pump looks like like it'll be fine. I'd consider putting an additional check valve and filter in your plumbing. Mine has been working flawlessly after getting it dialed in.
Use PVC where you can and liberally use PVC unions so that you can dismantle and clean when needed. That was the best advice I got when setting up something similar.
Also, make sure you add plumbing that will allow you to drain your reservoir if the need arises
I put mine right after the filter for no reason in particular. I wouldn't think it really matters. I just wanted to put it someplace to prevent potential siphoning of the res.I was definitely going to add a filter right after the pump. Is there any specific place a check valve should be placed?