Wow thanks for that explanation. That’s awesome. Answers a lot.
are enzymes required? How do you know how much and when to use tbem?
68-75f wow that’s a very tight range. Especially in Canadian terms. 20-24c. Not much room for error there.
what are you guys using to monitor ec (also ppm right?) and ph? I feel like my $18 amazon specials won’t cut it.
so basically. The plant sits with its roots dangling in a bucket of water with an air stone. That’s it?
you monitor the water and check that it remains at a certain ppm every 12 or 24 hours and that’s it? How do I know, of my 11 bottles, what to add?
the water doesn’t really need to be recirculating or drained or any of that fancy stuff does it? It just sits and bubbles?. I’d like to start with one big plant in my 4x4 and go from there.
You have a few options for how you run your res. Enzymes are not required, but they are very beneficial. You use them per the manufacturers recommendations. Some you can also run alongside peroxide, which will make a sterile res. You can also use them alongside
hydroguard, which is a live res. I prefer sterile personally.
Don't get hung up too much on the res temps. I find this to be another highly contested subject. If you look at commercial scale veggie growers, they don't worry about their res temps too much. I consider as long as it's not over 75F or below 60F, I'm fine with it.
PPM = EC = TDS. There are various scales for the conversions, the most common being Hanna. I use a cheap amazon ppm and ph pen. I think I paid $25 for the pair. They do well enough. If you're super concerned, you can look into
bluelab. They're pricey, but considered industry best.
Correct, the roots will be in the water with the air stone. Pretty simple.
I check my res's nightly. It's the most convenient time for me to do maintenance. As for knowing how much of what to add, you'll want to find that thread I mentioned previously from Aqua Man. You can't know for sure what the plant consumed, but you can replenish everything and watch for plant response. It'll tell you if you're having lock out or deficiencies.
You don't need to recirculate or anything. That's why DWC is considered one of the easiest entry level hydro configurations available. I'm sure you'll want to get into RDWC after this as you'll get fed up having to fight a bush for res maintenance ;)
