Rockwool to Hydro DWC - time to move?

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ispy

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So it dawned on me this morning something I had forgotten to mention back when I replaced 1/2 the water on 7/1 that I should have. When I got this unit I did as the instructions said - wash hydro off good. But when I did the 1/2 water replacement, I noticed a LOT of "sediment" in the bottom that was clearly hydro chips. It was like some had just fallen apart or something. At the time it was very clean looking and in my haste did not do anything about it. I suspect that is what this was - granted the sliminess of it is surely an issue I suspect. As far as order of feeding, I got that completely wrong. I did use measured "doses" but the way I did it was to add it all into a small amount of water and then add that water into the reservoir portions at a time to ensure I did not overdose the water. So I guess from the plant perspective, it got all of it at once. I will make note of that now for future feedings.
 
Cashmeh

Cashmeh

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So it dawned on me this morning something I had forgotten to mention back when I replaced 1/2 the water on 7/1 that I should have. When I got this unit I did as the instructions said - wash hydro off good. But when I did the 1/2 water replacement, I noticed a LOT of "sediment" in the bottom that was clearly hydro chips. It was like some had just fallen apart or something. At the time it was very clean looking and in my haste did not do anything about it. I suspect that is what this was - granted the sliminess of it is surely an issue I suspect. As far as order of feeding, I got that completely wrong. I did use measured "doses" but the way I did it was to add it all into a small amount of water and then add that water into the reservoir portions at a time to ensure I did not overdose the water. So I guess from the plant perspective, it got all of it at once. I will make note of that now for future feedings.
Are your roots staying white? That is the most important factor. Can we see a pic of them? Even their structure will tell alot.

Generally slime in the water is bad and will lead to uptake issues.
 
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ispy

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Cashmeh

Cashmeh

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Yea the root structure is that of dwc but they do look like they got some of that slime on them. If that stuff is algae then you need to eliminate more light leaks. I would just incase. Those hole where the airlines go in, well that tube acts like fiber optics with light. I would tape them off down to about the bottom of the bucket, then wrap those buckets in bathtowels. The towel stops light from entering and helps keep a more stable res temp.

What was your res temps?
 
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ispy

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Yea the root structure is that of dwc but they do look like they got some of that slime on them. If that stuff is algae then you need to eliminate more light leaks. I would just incase. Those hole where the airlines go in, well that tube acts like fiber optics with light. I would tape them off down to about the bottom of the bucket, then wrap those buckets in bathtowels. The towel stops light from entering and helps keep a more stable res temp.

What was your res temps?
OK I will work on that. Honestly I meant to when you first told me to but got distracted and forgot. I had thought about using that flex seal tape that is black and just wrapping my bucket in it. Have not checked res temp in a long time. Seems when I did it was mid 70s. I will check next time I am in there.
thanks!
 
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ispy

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OK I will work on that. Honestly I meant to when you first told me to but got distracted and forgot. I had thought about using that flex seal tape that is black and just wrapping my bucket in it. Have not checked res temp in a long time. Seems when I did it was mid 70s. I will check next time I am in there.
thanks!
so res temp is 80f. today PH went up to 6 and PPM dropped to 171

ph was 5, went to 6
ppm was 225, went to 171
temp 80
roots look like it is continuing to look funky.
aside from bottom leaf, plant itself appears to be moving forward.
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Cashmeh

Cashmeh

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OK I will work on that. Honestly I meant to when you first told me to but got distracted and forgot. I had thought about using that flex seal tape that is black and just wrapping my bucket in it. Have not checked res temp in a long time. Seems when I did it was mid 70s. I will check next time I am in there.
thanks!
Yea warm res temps are very very difficult to run in hydro. Shoot for 70f since your running hydroguard. Put that airpump in a cooler area if possible too. Its also ok to touch your roots lightly. You can actually get the slime off the roots fairly easy by wiping it off with your hands.
so res temp is 80f. today PH went up to 6 and PPM dropped to 171

ph was 5, went to 6
ppm was 225, went to 171
temp 80
roots look like it is continuing to look funky.
aside from bottom leaf, plant itself appears to be moving forward.
View attachment 1262819View attachment 1262820
Yea thats the start of root rot. You need to wash all that stuff off the roots, and put it in new solution. Double the dose of hydroguard, get the res temps down, and stop the light from getting in there. This will kill your plant within a few weeks if not kept under control. I would also fully sumberge that netpot so the hydroguard can work a little better.
 
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ispy

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Yea warm res temps are very very difficult to run in hydro. Shoot for 70f since your running hydroguard. Put that airpump in a cooler area if possible too. Its also ok to touch your roots lightly. You can actually get the slime off the roots fairly easy by wiping it off with your hands.

Yea thats the start of root rot. You need to wash all that stuff off the roots, and put it in new solution. Double the dose of hydroguard, get the res temps down, and stop the light from getting in there. This will kill your plant within a few weeks if not kept under control. I would also fully sumberge that netpot so the hydroguard can work a little better.
Will do and thanks. I failed to mention I am battling an A/C issue so temps have gone up. Been going for 2 weeks now. Today here the temp is 110 outside. A/C shut down a bit ago. Its not all the time but it is not helping. To make matters worse the chiller I ordered was due last week and now shows delivered but nowhere to be found. I will work on it in the morning.

I am not questioning it but I replaced water 2 days ago entirely. When I add nutrients, I will follow the order you mentioned. Suggested PPM?
 
Cashmeh

Cashmeh

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Will do and thanks. I failed to mention I am battling an A/C issue so temps have gone up. Been going for 2 weeks now. Today here the temp is 110 outside. A/C shut down a bit ago. Its not all the time but it is not helping. To make matters worse the chiller I ordered was due last week and now shows delivered but nowhere to be found. I will work on it in the morning.

I am not questioning it but I replaced water 2 days ago entirely. When I add nutrients, I will follow the order you mentioned. Suggested PPM?
300 should be fine since your swapping so frequently. Generally when running low ppms at just eats it quicker.
 
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ispy

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300 should be fine since your swapping so frequently. Generally when running low ppms at just eats it quicker.
I'd prefer not to swap so often but w/e it takes to keep em going in the right direction I surely will. Here is current prep
Washed roots, washed bucket, working to wrap bucket. Inadvertently added a bit too much CalMag

Current Res I am going to use - will be moving it to this once i wash bucket and get it wrapped up

DATENotePHPPFDTempPPMCalMagMicroGrowBloomHydro

tsp

7/19Replace water 2x hydroguard. rootrot6full773411.2tsp1tsp3/4tsp3/4tsp1.75tsp
 
Cashmeh

Cashmeh

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I'd prefer not to swap so often but w/e it takes to keep em going in the right direction I surely will. Here is current prep
Washed roots, washed bucket, working to wrap bucket. Inadvertently added a bit too much CalMag

Current Res I am going to use - will be moving it to this once i wash bucket and get it wrapped up

DATENotePHPPFDTempPPMCalMagMicroGrowBloomHydro

tsp

7/19Replace water 2x hydroguard. rootrot6full773411.2tsp1tsp3/4tsp3/4tsp1.75tsp
Hell yea man. All that looks good. K would go down to 5.5 or 5.6 ph. . then let it climb to 6ph. I never let it stay at 6.0. Im guessing you've grown in soil before because they generally like higher ph.

You wont hurt it by adding too much calmag. Its also good to stir it up once or twice a day in dwc. I use a pump to keep it mixed. The air pumps do a horrible job at mixing nutrients.

Yet once you get established roots that fill the bucket. . ur fine lol. . they will be drinking up to 2 gallons a day.
 
Cashmeh

Cashmeh

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Also once you figure out that residue issue you wont have to dump so much or so frequently. Generally with dwc you just top off until you added your starting amount. Say 5 gallons starting and once u have added 5 gallons of nutrients dump it all and start fresh. The res changes become more frequent as the plant grows.
 
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ispy

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Hell yea man. All that looks good. K would go down to 5.5 or 5.6 ph. . then let it climb to 6ph. I never let it stay at 6.0. Im guessing you've grown in soil before because they generally like higher ph.

You wont hurt it by adding too much calmag. Its also good to stir it up once or twice a day in dwc. I use a pump to keep it mixed. The air pumps do a horrible job at mixing nutrients.

Yet once you get established roots that fill the bucket. . ur fine lol. . they will be drinking up to 2 gallons a day.
Thanks for all your help! I will drop the PH - wanted to see what you thought. I thought I had read that the PH should up to around 6 but I guess that is later? Or I may be reading bad info. Good to know - I will mix them up. And wow 2 Gallons? That is crazy. I am hoping to find some time to work on reservoirs soon - bigger. Work is hectic even though I work sitting right next to these...
Appreciate the help!
 
I

ispy

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Also once you figure out that residue issue you wont have to dump so much or so frequently. Generally with dwc you just top off until you added your starting amount. Say 5 gallons starting and once u have added 5 gallons of nutrients dump it all and start fresh. The res changes become more frequent as the plant grows.
Any thoughts on the cause? Just light breaking through?
 
Cashmeh

Cashmeh

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Thanks for all your help! I will drop the PH - wanted to see what you thought. I thought I had read that the PH should up to around 6 but I guess that is later? Or I may be reading bad info. Good to know - I will mix them up. And wow 2 Gallons? That is crazy. I am hoping to find some time to work on reservoirs soon - bigger. Work is hectic even though I work sitting right next to these...
Appreciate the help!

Yea it most hydro growers different on their ph. I like to run 5.5, but watch it naturally climb to 6.0. Then I drop it down to 5.5 again. In my large 30 gallon 1 plant system, it takes about 5 days. Since your running 1/6th of mine, you will be ajusting it 6x sooner.

y thoughts on the cause? Just light breaking through?
Ill try to explain, and im sure im not 100% correct, but I have a theory.

3 things you have going on in your pot. Your hydroguard bacteria. Algae (some benefitial, some not so), and pythium, root rot fungus.
Your goal is to have your benefitial bacteria (hydroguard-BBS), eat the pythium that is in your res. This bacteria keeps your root zone clean and able to uptake nutrients. The algae is a side product of the light entering your res. Anywhere light enters water with nutrients a slime forms, like shorlines where theres mud. So this algae is only a threat when it covers your roots. It stops the bacteria from working properly, or as google puts it "The overgrowth of algae consumes oxygen and blocks sunlight from underwater plants. When the algae eventually dies, the oxygen in the water is consumed. The lack of oxygen makes it impossible for aquatic life to survive"

You are running a live hydroponic system that uses bbs, not corrosives like pools. Your water more resembles a river than it does a pool. Both are clean but one doesnt have peroxide, bleach or clorine. Those are called sterile systems. If you add peroxide to your water to kill all microbes, you will eventually grow more and have to kill those too. The benefit of using bacteria is that corrosives do not touch your root zones. They act as more of a probiotic than anything for your plants.

Anways, most people run sterile systems, and would like to prolly argue what I said above, stating that their method is actually healthier but id debate that.
 
tobh

tobh

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Anways, most people run sterile systems, and would like to prolly argue what I said above, stating that their method is actually healthier but id debate that.
I'll bite ;) nah, @Cashmeh is 100% correct. I run sterile for sake of ease -- nothing more, nothing less. It's just easier for me to not worry about aerating my res because I run 5ml/gallon of 34% h2o2 and am refreshing the res at max every three days, at minimum daily. With those intervals there's no time for the h2o2 to completely neutralize. Secondly, I don't recirculate (for now... i have previously) so sterile is also more cost effective.

live reservoirs have their place from an economical standpoint at larger scales. with brands like southern ag having a much higher concentration of bbs than hydroguard (which also has a reputation of stores selling expired bottles), it makes more sense to get a culture started and allow it to continue thriving all on its own, ie. being a one-time cost instead of corrosives that must be applied at every res change/top up.

lastly, i simply feel for a beginner in hydro, sterile is easier. it eliminates several unknown unknowns for the grower and ensures they can focus on what matters the most: pH and EC.

all that being said, when i finally take the plunge and build out the RDWC system of my dreams, I will be transitioning back to running a live res for the aforementioned economical reasons. For my current system of DTW in rockwool, it's simply not tenable to try and keep a culture active in a constantly cycling res.
 
Cashmeh

Cashmeh

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Lets see if this theory of mine also pans out. If you have an android phone, run live. . . if you hate android and love apple. . run sterile.

The math adds up lol

But yea. . as he said. Sterile is far easier for the beginner.
 
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ispy

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2 days after replacement and cleaning. still looks good except for the crazy bottom leaves but they have been that way almost all along. second plant is progressing good it appears to me.
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I

ispy

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do i just let the leaves fall off on the bottom or should i trim them at some point? was not sure if they rob nutrients but have no hope
 

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