ttystikk
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I've read lot of horror stories about under current style systems and living organisms. Seems they like to get out of control. Do you have any recommendations to what I should be adding?
Do you have airstones in your growing sites?
Yes. And an 8" disc in the epi/ Res.
They make a huge difference at this stage. The only buckets that need aeration are those with plants in them; aerating the epicenter is silly, since more actual aeration comes from the water falling in from the pump return than the bubbler!
How many gallons of fresh nutrient solution goes into your system each time?
It holds about 50 US Gallons.
How many gallons of topoff water do you add between changeouts, and how long does that period last?
I have not run a (R)DWC before. I did weekly changouts in my DWC bubble buckets.
When you ran your RDWC system and checked the temperature, did you have the flowering bulb in place and operating? The pump generally adds little to the water temp, unless as you just found out, it has excess resistance it's working against. The bulbs are the source of radiant heart and the water will absorb it. This is the reason you'll need a chiller.
I did test with the light on and off additionally. I'm currently able to keep the temps in check with 2.5 gal frozen jugs. Once every 12 hours with the lights on 18/6. I'm planning on getting a 1/10th HP chiller. I'm just having a hard time finding a good deal on one
Finally, a food for thought question; if you don't continually water the net pots the plans grow in, what happens to the roots and other life in them?
For now the bubbles from the airstones keep them plenty moist. They have a plastic cover over the 3.5" netpots filled with expanded clay.
You're getting alot of avant guard advice. You seem to be pretty savy so you'd do better trusting your instincts than following the recommendations I've read so far.
With all due respect, one of your most enthusiastic advisors is offering much difinitive advice, but has no history of successfully growing rdwc. Sometimes those who say the most don't always speak from experience, but more so creative interpretation.
Also, mag pumps don't deplete your iron, wives tail. Really, change outs twice a week? Discontinue undermining this nice person with B team advice. IMO, he seems to know more than anyone offering advice so far. Maybe we should all just watch and learn.
Everything looks good to me so far. No need to go above 1.0 EC with the jacks (trust me). Next time you may want to try your hand with a home made EZ cloner so you can go directly to the hydroton you are using without having an RR plug. Either that or switch your media to a mix of coco and hydroton or coco/perlite 50/50. This has worked really well for me. RR's hold a lot of water and you are risking stem rot by mixing the RR and hydroton IMHO...
Adding the humidifier was a great call. try to keep it around 50-60RH if possible.
Be careful on your flip height. You have a lot of plants in that little space and the last thing you want to do is overgrow. When everything is on par in these systems you will have extraordinary growth rates. I woudl flip those at 10-12" max and as soon as you get signs of nice new growth and you can "feel" the good vibe of healthy plants.
Install your support system now. Dont wait on that. Simple PVC frame and a net will be fine place 18" - 2' above where they are now.
Once you have a good root system in the water you can kill any watering from above. The roots wick water the same as well... a wick system.. :)
If you want to go live res, use the bennies at 1 cup of tea per 5 gallons of solution every week. Otherwise you can use bleach, zone, UC roots, etc.. Bleach actually works really well as a sterilizer. I can post up here the amount to use when I get back to my notes.
Nice job Orbad. I love home made shit. I hope you crush it.
-Cap
Oh yeah, it wouldn't hurt to bring the pH up a bit. Don't go and add pH up now... just let the pH get up to around 6.3/6.4 before adjusting back down to around 5.5. Monitor your pH, water levels, and EC daily. I noticed using tap water that my EC did not go down drastically like it did when I used RO. As long as the plants are drinking, they are fine. This means don't auto top. If you are gonna be in there to add water to the humidifier and shit, top the res off manually. This way you know what they are drinking. I guess you coudl auto top if it were from a marked tank that also does not get auto topped... but its easy enough to fill er up daily.
Always worry about new growth first as it is usually the best indicator of problems/solutions (especially in young plants).
Older growth becomes a better indicator later in the vegetative and flowering stages. I agree with the others, bump the pH up a bit (though I include the caveat that I am inexperienced with hydro).
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