So i just put together my first Hydro system and it is working great! i Have 2 questions that i am kinda lost on. First as the days go by i noticed about 3-4 gallons evaporating. How should i account for this? Currently we just change the entire resevoir every monday and i ph the water everyday to 5.6-5.8. 2nd i just assumed that aquarium PH decreaser was sufficient for my level controls and i was just wondering if anybody had any bad experiences using this on their systems. Thanks for Reading
How big is your resivoir? You will typically loose water through evaporation and water absorbtion. I have a 3 gallon bubble bucket with a 250w CFL. I top off my bucket every morning with either a nutrient solution or straight distiller water, depending what my ppms are at. As for the pH decreaser, I am not sure. I just use general hydroponic ph down. But I've also heard of people using lemon juice and apple cidar vinegar.
I would listen to refer... top off each morning with distilled or R.O. then make adjustments if needed... and if you can drain to waste once a week and start over... thats what AN says to do, but some never drain and top off and add back.... its up to you start a journal
Cool Thanks guys for the ideas, i figure i iwll just add 3 gallons mid week with the appropriate nutrients to 3 gallons.
People generally either add straight h20 every time they top off their res. If you decide to do it this way make sure to change your res water once a week. Or you can add nute mixed water every day. Adding nute mix everyday will allow you to go longer periods of time without necessarily having to change your res water as frequently. Honestly though, I personally change/add water according to ppm like I stated above. If the ppm drops I add nute mix, if it rises I just add regular distilled water. Doing it this way I change my res once a week to be on the safe side. My res water temp also runs a little high so algae tends to grow, so im forced to change the water every week. If the algae didn't grow I would prolly change my res water every 1.5-2 weeks. Cheers!
this is the truth and its as simple as that. i would run a drain to waste my self and water every day. or every other day. but if your doing ebb&flood, dwc, whatever just add water check levels an adjust.... back on your way. journaling is a great idea. i have notes from years ago that help me today
Thanks again for the posts everybody, its been about a week now and i can tell you that aquarium PH down is TERRIBLE. It never went below 6. So FYI DONT use aquarium PH down to regulate your Resevoir. I had some other questions maybe someone can help me with, as the days go by it seems that the hydroton has accumulated a white salt like substance on it. I figure this is just the nutrients drying on the medium, but can this make the PPM to high and hurt the plants? If so should i rinse the hydroton with water ? Thanks again for the help