Well, this is my first dwc attempt. Ive grown and harvested several by soil. Figured I'd give it a go since I have several spare cfls. Canadian prices kinda suck locally Picked up 2 nice black heavy duty Rubbermaid style 55l res for 15$ ea. Air pump and 2 air stones for 15$ Net pot were .50 cents ea. Had to get a 40l bag of clay balls for 20$ Spent 120 on a bluelab ppm gauge locally... Should have and yet to research...oops? Ph strips 5$ Holland secrets 3 step nutes 60$ Ph down 20$ Just bought 2 small PC fans for intake and exhaust 30$ Mixed bagof seeds from peakseedsbc. 80% female success so far. 30$ Small odds and end like zip ties, butt connectors, tape, used cabinet. Left plant had an issue sprouting, seems to have recovered. Using tap water which is 290-300ppm @ 6.5ph Temps from 22-26 Celcius. 24hr light to maintain stable temps. Cold. Nights here. 100w currently, upping to 200w on reservoir change over Since the 30th no change in ppm or ph, Just filled 2nd tub with half distilled half tap, sitting around 240ppm. Will be upping nute dosage to that 380-400ppm. Good or bad idea? Just looking for input, recommendations, advice since it's my first go at it. Sent from my iPad using Grasscity Forum
Looking pretty good, welcome to hydro! A couple thoughts: I've had great success with my off brand $30 tds meter over they years, but I hear great things about blue lab. I use bigger net pots, so that I can have 1-2 inches of hydroton in the bottom before adding my plant rooted in rock wool, then still have enough room to cover up the top of the rock wool with hydroton. Until roots are through the bottom of the net pot, make sure your air stone is below your net pots and water level ~ 1-2 inches below the bottom of the net pot, this will keep it moist but not too saturated, forcing those roots to search for water. Your tap water is a bit hard, that could be trouble, I've never tried with water that high. Ideally, let your pH fluctuate between 5.7 and 6.3. Water temps are perhaps the biggest hydro killer for first timers. I like to definitely keep it below 70, and ideally, keep it closer to ~ 62. Some may disagree, but if you keep conditions close to optimal, a res change is rarely needed. During a typical 3-4 month grow, I perform a 20% res change maybe 2-4 times. good luck!
I would definitely get a digital PH meter, the strips are crap. I got mine for like $20. PH is way too important to be guessing. I started with the strips and thought my ph was fine when it was actually in the mid to high 7's.
Mountain hit all the points, GH makes a micro sup for hard water. And Arya is spot on with the pH meter, pH is absolutely critical in a hydro grow. Are you using root suppliments? I highly recommend Hydroguard and SilicaBlast from botanicare, i have used them for years, and never a root problem, even with water temps at 85.
You would do well to get a bucket full of tap water, say 2 gallons, leave it for 48 hours, then ph it. (this also allows the water to lose most of the additives like chlorine) You could also ph the water after adding nutes as it can vary dependant on nutes. A good watering, then test the run-off water. I`m not the greatest, but ph is vital to the whole grow. This much I do know. Actually, on re-read, you seem to have it under order. Sorry.
Well thanks for the quick feedback. I let my spare res sit full of water for 48hr, ph drops to 6.3ish I'd 100% agree with strips being crap. But it's what I have from my soil grow. Yet to see a digi in town Not a big fan of ebay etc. I had net pot submerged about half inch until roots poked thru, lowered to 1". Now that they're thriving it's closer to 2". Honestly haven't check my water temp... I tried to research as much as possible, but it came that time to just give it a go, this is what I came up with. I haven't seen many different types of nutes in town, holland secrets is the only one that I've seen. However roots are nice and white... That's what I'm aiming for..correct? Plants seem happy since yesterday there's been a huge growth spurt. I'll snap a photo for ya. Still haven't touched anything since the 30th ph and ppm stable.. Think I'm going to top real soon Sent from my iPad using Grasscity Forum
I guess there's a temp gauge on my ppm meter, 78f. I'll check at night I'm sure it'll drop a few degrees
78 is a lil high, 70 is perfect. also get that cube covered with hydroton, looking good though nice work.. _yoda
Plants are lovin life Just changed to hps light, 2 days left until 12/12 flip. Sent from my iPad using Grasscity Forum
Order a digital pH meter or your grow will go to shit. Your pH needs to be on point with DWC or it will lead to bad things down the road. I still have yet to come across someone able to accurately get a pH reading off of a strip or even a liquid test kit. Any pool store will have a pH meter, but I would really advise ordering online they're less than $15.
Yea, so far so good, but it's next on the list, been shopping around town cheapest is 60$ so far. I'll pick one up when I got a spare dollar Sent from my iPad using Grasscity Forum