hydro res, beneficials or uv filtration

  • Thread starter GreenGalaxyFarm
  • Start date
  • Tagged users None
GreenGalaxyFarm

GreenGalaxyFarm

1,700
263
considering making a decision, without the proper knowledge to do so, on whether or not to use beneficials (hydroguard/orca) in your res vs running a uv filtration or sterilizer and having no bacteria at all. also to consider, water will be coming from the municipal supply and enter a 5stage filtration system prior to the uv, or otherwise. and finally, to be more case specific, this will feed an nft pump system.
 
Z

Zill

1,232
163
Hydrogaurd -
  • “Contains bacillus, a natural bacterial root inoculant”. From the label. What does that mean? The genus Bacillus is a spore former. It’s probably one of the microbes they can add and still claim some viability. Even if it’s a water based formulation, stupid. Bacillus sps. are not root inoculants, whatever that means.
UV water sanitation
It works and works well. Owned a couple. Be carful, Residence time exposed to the light is a major consideration. And those uv bulbs age over time and should be replaced per suppliers recommendation.

Zill.
 
GreenGalaxyFarm

GreenGalaxyFarm

1,700
263
Hydrogaurd -
  • “Contains bacillus, a natural bacterial root inoculant”. From the label. What does that mean? The genus Bacillus is a spore former. It’s probably one of the microbes they can add and still claim some viability. Even if it’s a water based formulation, stupid. Bacillus sps. are not root inoculants, whatever that means.
skipping hydrogaurd👍
UV water sanitation
It works and works well. Owned a couple. Be carful, Residence time exposed to the light is a major consideration. And those uv bulbs age over time and should be replaced per suppliers recommendation.
im finding that it amounts to 140usd per res, annually. but you eradicate root issues entirely so must be totally worth it, om finding no argument against uv sterilization.
 
SweetLeafGrow

SweetLeafGrow

1,467
263
Hydroguard is an excellent MO for beneficial bacteria, a standard in the hydroponic industry. There are alternatives. It's a little spendy. Essential if you are running live, not needed at all if sterile. Personally, I run sterile as that has been the recommendations of some folks I consider experts. That does not mean you cannot succeed with a sterile res, just not the way I choose to go.

Be careful of some of the information some folks spread around here. I'm not @Aqua Man, but something does not smell right here.
 
GreenGalaxyFarm

GreenGalaxyFarm

1,700
263
Personally, I run sterile as that has been the recommendations of some folks I consider experts.
👍
That does not mean you cannot succeed with a sterile res, just not the way I choose to go.

Be careful of some of the information some folks spread around here. I'm not @Aqua Man, but something does not smell right here.
ill definitely take advice as suggestions to further my research into the matter
 
MIGrampaUSA

MIGrampaUSA

3,732
263
skipping hydrogaurd👍

im finding that it amounts to 140usd per res, annually. but you eradicate root issues entirely so must be totally worth it, om finding no argument against uv sterilization.

UV sterilization is very common in the waste water industry prior to releasing the treated water into a fresh water source. However, UV has zero filtration qualities so it's not going to be a good stand-alone system for a hydroponics grow operation. You will still need water filtration to keep your system operating efficiently.

If you're trying to come up with a hydro system for a commercial operation, I'd consider using coco. Its the easiest to use for "fertigation" of large crop areas indoors. It's also by far the most common system used by commercial growers in Michigan. Technically these are "drain to waste" systems even if much of the water is collected, tested, sanitized and recycled back through the irrigation system to be used again.
 
ninjadip

ninjadip

1,268
263
Hydroguard is an excellent MO for beneficial bacteria, a standard in the hydroponic industry. There are alternatives. It's a little spendy. Essential if you are running live, not needed at all if sterile. Personally, I run sterile as that has been the recommendations of some folks I consider experts. That does not mean you cannot succeed with a sterile res, just not the way I choose to go.

Be careful of some of the information some folks spread around here. I'm not @Aqua Man, but something does not smell right here.
yeah there are alternatives that are more cost effective. Southern AG family fungicide and Orca are the two main alternatives i think to Hydroguard.

I'm actually doing research on something similar myself.

here's some stuff i found while looking up UV water filters

Biggest Drawback with UV Sterilization​

One of the biggest drawbacks in using UV sterilization is that it can deplete some of the things your plants need to grow healthy and strong. Iron, boron, and manganese deficiencies can occur when using UV sterilization. Also, UV sterilization reduces the populations of any beneficial microbes in your hydroponic set-up much in the same way it does the fungal, bacteria, and algae populations. It’s beneficial to test your hydroponic system for these deficiencies to help minimize them.


I'm looking into using a ozonator to inject through the venturi in the res. similar to spa's.
not sure if i want to or not, i've read that it's been done.

i know hypochlorous acid is also popular, i think that's stuff in UC Roots

now i'm sure live is the better way to go over running "sterile," but there are some options to how you can do your "sterile" setup if you go that route.
 
GreenGalaxyFarm

GreenGalaxyFarm

1,700
263
UV sterilization is very common in the waste water industry prior to releasing the treated water into a fresh water source. However, UV has zero filtration qualities so it's not going to be a good stand-alone system for a hydroponics grow operation. You will still need water filtration to keep your system operating efficiently.

If you're trying to come up with a hydro system for a commercial operation, I'd consider using coco. Its the easiest to use for "fertigation" of large crop areas indoors. It's also by far the most common system used by commercial growers in Michigan. Technically these are "drain to waste" systems even if much of the water is collected, tested, sanitized and recycled back through the irrigation system to be used again.
an error on my part for not providing all the necessary information. ill be doing rock wool into hydroton for flowering and trading in clones residential operation
 
Z

Zill

1,232
163
Bear in mind all you are doing is managing the bug populations. The second water leaves the sterilizing unit it gets circulated and contaminated.

Like ninja said, UV-C doesn’t give a hoot and kills beneficial bugs as well. It’s a draw.

UV has absolutely nothing to do with Fe, B or Mn uptake or utilization.
 
GreenGalaxyFarm

GreenGalaxyFarm

1,700
263
I could not find information regarding changes in nutrient uptake of those microelements I would be surprised if theres anything to it.
 
MIGrampaUSA

MIGrampaUSA

3,732
263
an error on my part for not providing all the necessary information. ill be doing rock wool into hydroton for flowering and trading in clones residential operation
Hydroton ... are you considering using a dutch bucket style system with a reservoir and a separate controller bucket? Something like this?


If you're thinking about that ... make your own. You'll be happier if you do.

I bought one and I ended up re-engineering it using PVC pipe because the supplied water line was near impossible to keep from getting it kinked. It was also prone to leaks at the fittings of the control bucket. I used the system for one run and switched to soil. To make it work, you would need a drain near by and a source of water for filling up the 55 gallon reservoir. If you have enough room to lay out the system including the reservoir and controller and still have room to work in the area, then it would likely work well for you. If space is limited like mine was, it was easier to switch back to soil.
 
ninjadip

ninjadip

1,268
263
Bear in mind all you are doing is managing the bug populations. The second water leaves the sterilizing unit it gets circulated and contaminated.

Like ninja said, UV-C doesn’t give a hoot and kills beneficial bugs as well. It’s a draw.

UV has absolutely nothing to do with Fe, B or Mn uptake or utilization.
i don't remember saying that...

just was listing its cons, because that was what the OP asked for. there are pros and cons to using UVC light in the water and/or adding ozone to the water. Both of these solutions can cause "Iron, boron, and manganese deficiencies" when used beyond the beneficial threshold, allegedly.

The main draw of uv lighting in hydroponics IMO is that there is no residual effect from the treatment. Meaning say the reservoir has the UV filter, once the water leaves the res, there is nothing to prevent/combat any bad bacteria in the rest of the system. In theory you could still have root rot at one plant site, but have a crystal clean res.

Where other "sterile" alternatives have some half-life or residual effect in the system beyond the filter point.
 
GreenGalaxyFarm

GreenGalaxyFarm

1,700
263
Something like that would work well in my greenhouse.
i have only completed drafting the tubes, reservoir, air pumps and circulation pumps, and must still collect at the irrigation store what i need to build out the first version. i will however first only do tubes in an attempt to determine volume making my formula for pumps more accurate not looking to overkill as this grow will experience a need for supplementary generation by means of petrol combustion. which is expensive to do here.
 
ninjadip

ninjadip

1,268
263
more about ozone in hydro. i think this article is the article you are looking for @GreenGalaxyFarm
it talks about various sterilisation methods in hydro.

Hydroponic Systems

Did you know that ozonated water is an excellent way to cleanse and sanitize a hydroponic system? You don’t need to drain the system or spend hours disinfecting everything. All you have to do is pump ozone into the water, and it will kill any harmful pathogens in the system. The great thing about this method is that it can purify both the water and root systems during a growth cycle, avoiding root rot and adding additional oxygen to the plants.

OZONE STERILISATION (OZONATION)​

Ozonation involves infusing water with ozone (O₃), a natural gas found in high concentrations in the ozone layer, where it is created by ultraviolet radiation from the sun. It can also be created artificially, and used to sterilise and recycle hydroponic water.

Ozonation requires ozone generators to create ozone gas in the grow room. There are two types of ozone generators (corona discharge and ultraviolet), both of which work by splitting O₂ molecules into individual oxygen atoms. These atoms rapidly bind to O₂ molecules to create ozone (O₃), which is then injected into the water to kill any contaminants.

There are many benefits of ozonation. It is by far one of the most effective forms of sterilising water and reacts quickly to any contaminants. It’s also environmentally friendly, and using ozone in your grow room can help prevent disease and pests on your plants (including spiders and mites). However, ozonation is an expensive process. Ozone is also highly corrosive and—when not used properly—can damage equipment in your system.

HOW TO CHOOSE A WATER STERILISATION METHOD​

All of the water cleansing methods we’ve covered in this article offer different benefits. However, they all come with their limitations too. Choosing one sterilisation method over another will come down to your personal preferences, your budget, as well as the availability of the required equipment in your area and the size of your grow operation.

If you’re trying to minimise cost, UV radiation is likely the best option. Both ozone generators and pasteurisation machines are pricey pieces of equipment. They also come with maintenance costs that will increase the overall cost of your entire operation. UV radiation chambers, on the other hand, are cheaper both to buy outright and run over time, making them ideal for budget-growers.

Both UV and Ozone sterilisation are also better suited for larger operations. Heat pasteurisation is much more expensive and better suited for small growers with large budgets. Ozonation also arguably offers the best results, simply because ozone is such a strong disinfectant. Just remember that it can be highly corrosive and needs to be handled with care.

 
GreenGalaxyFarm

GreenGalaxyFarm

1,700
263
Choosing one sterilisation method over another will come down to your personal preferences, your budget, as well as the availability of the required equipment in your area and the size of your grow operation.
these are definitely considerations.
Ozonation requires ozone generators to create ozone gas in the grow room.
so this is seen as the best option available? would you have a look at following product, it is available in my area and parts would be easily obtained: https://puritech.co.za/product/2g-hr-ozone-machine-white-steel-case/?utm_source=Google Shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping Feed
at that price im sold on ozonation by oxygen generators. i have a concern with it being only 35w and running two 20w fans to cool it but doesnt need replacement like uv sterilization does.
edit: for uv this one stood out to me as an option https://puritech.co.za/product/purewater-whole-house-water-filtration-system-with-ultraviolet-disinfection-system/?utm_source=Google Shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping Feed this unit would also cover the cost of my 5 stage filtration but it only offers 3..plus the uv but only at 25w..but its apparently as effective as ozonation and running cost would be less longterm, also no cooling on this unit so theres that, replacements are also easily obtained.
 
Last edited:
ninjadip

ninjadip

1,268
263
these are definitely considerations.

so this is seen as the best option available? would you have a look at following product, it is available in my area and parts would be easily obtained: https://puritech.co.za/product/2g-hr-ozone-machine-white-steel-case/?utm_source=Google Shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping Feed
at that price im sold on ozonation by oxygen generators. i have a concern with it being only 35w and running two 20w fans to cool it but doesnt need replacement like uv sterilization does.
edit: for uv this one stood out to me as an option https://puritech.co.za/product/purewater-whole-house-water-filtration-system-with-ultraviolet-disinfection-system/?utm_source=Google Shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping Feed this unit would also cover the cost of my 5 stage filtration but it only offers 3..plus the uv but only at 25w..but its apparently as effective as ozonation and running cost would be less longterm, also no cooling on this unit so theres that, replacements are also easily obtained.
i'm not an expert on them by far. i'm just getting into researching about them now.
they do have parts that will need replacing, depending on the type of unit, if it is corona discharge or another type of ionizer. i think the CD ones have a chip that needs replacing every so often.

Ozone generators may produce ozone for 2-3 years or longer depending on the brand. After that time, either the ozonator needs to be replaced, or sometimes a chip replacement kit is available in the case of certain model corona discharge ozonator types.

yeah 35watts seems very low.

here is one that does air/water that is 160 watts that is just a little over $100 usd with coupon.


i need to do some more research into an ORP controller, as i might use that with the ionizer to keep the right levels.
 
GreenGalaxyFarm

GreenGalaxyFarm

1,700
263
here is one that does air/water that is 160 watts that is just a little over $100 usd with coupon.

im against the idea of amazon as ill struggle to find replacements in time as shipping take a month and adds significantly to cost.
here is an 80w unit, i can go with this one: https://puritech.co.za/product/5g-hr-ozone-generator-with-two-strong-cooling-fans/ and always add more of the same unit to it if need arises i doubt ill do many tubes on first cycle in any case.
i need to do some more research into an ORP controller, as i might use that with the ionizer to keep the right levels.
i wouldnt mess around and just get watch i can go with at the time, check your local hydro stores for discounts as well they usually offer them during consultations.
do these run continuous? https://reliablestore.co.za/product...84&sfdr_hash=9c1297eb16710aa5f451f1bfa91ac4d0
 
Last edited:
ninjadip

ninjadip

1,268
263
that meter will run continually, yes. i'm suggesting a controller instead of a monitor. a controller will turn on/off the ozone when ORP falls below the set threshold. because too much is toxic for plants.

 
Top Bottom