Just curious what nutes you guys use? I am going to switch to hydro soon, I want to collect all the proper nutes and stuff I need before I start, I was thinking of giving the Foxfarm package a try, They have a pretty simplified feeding schedule, but I have never ran a hydro grow. Anyone seen the feeding schedule and willing to give an opinion. You guys think the nute levels and ec is good for the weeks suggested? I seen later in the flowering nute levels as high as 1500ppm is that normal? anyway here is the ling to their feeding schedule for reference... Foxfarm Hydro Feeding Schedule Also I was curious i have seen people with DWC and SWC, I was looking at a Rubbermaid tub, 28 quarts, like 7 gallons but it was wide and shallow as my box doesn't have alot of hight, what are the downfalls of SWC other then maybe holds less water, and does that make a big difference?
The more nutrients your system can hold, the less work it will be to maintain PH. Less then 5 gallons a plant will cause wide PH swings. You will need to stay on top of it if you have a small container. At thirty days into flowering my two plants drink about 3-gallons a day. I use General Hydroponics for plant food. Not becuase it's the best, but because it's simple. I don't check or adjust TDS. I just check PH. General Hydroponics Flora Series Feeding Strategy - Lucas Formula G-M-B (Grow-Micro-Bloom) 0-5-10 - For Vegetative cycle (24/0) 0-8-16 - For Flowering cycle (12/12) The numbers above indicate the number of milliliters (ml/cc) of Flora Grow, Flora Micro or Flora Bloom formulas that I use in one gallon (US Liquid) of nutrients. You will notice I dont use any of the "Flora Grow†formula, do not need to, the "Flora Micro" provides plenty of Nitrogen. 1. Top off the reservoir daily using a pH corrected water solution as required to maintain full reservoir level. After adding back an amount of water equal to the amount of your reservoir capacity you should change the reservoir and put in fresh solution. This is not the whole formula. He gives you a few other ways to execute his formula. Like adding nutrients back insted of draining and making a fresh batch. I like it simple, so I do it the way I put it here in this message.
Could I manage with a more shallow res but wider? the tub I am talking about is 7 gallons, just because I have such a short grow box. The longest I would leave my res unattended is somewhere in teh range of 10 hours, I could check water in the morning before I go to work then when I get home, 10 hours later add mroe pH adjusted water, then later before I go to sleep I could check again, but the biggest span is going to be 10 hours it would go unchecked. Also what kind of measuring tool do you use to add so much of each ml of each nute formula? So you mix up the water with the nutes, pH adjust it and put your plants in the res, as teh water level goes down you replace the water with pH adjusted water. In my case, I'd be using a 7 gallon res, so when I replace 7 gallons worth of water my plants have drank then you dump res out, wash ti out and add new water with nutes and pH adjust? Also you said you don't check TDS? Also have you heard anything about Foxfarm nutes?
You have to do the best you can with what you got. I use measuring syringes to add my nutrients to a measured amount of water (they sell 5-gallon buckets with measurement scales on um). I don't need to measure TDS, so I don't measure it. Look at the formula I posted, you won't see any TDS values. I still need to adjust the PH in the reservoir every other day or so. Just add some up/down, mix it and re-check. Don't need to clean every time you dump. I can't clean my till after harvest. It's a good idea to have a fill and drain on your reservoir. Light proof your bucket/tank and test it. Stick a flashlight in it and turn out the lights. Any leaks of light will make a real big mess (pond scum bloom). Buy a small pond pump to fill drain and mix: They can be used as a normal pump without submersing. I have never done any other nutrients, so you will have to ask another grower about them. Peace, r.
When you say replace the res. amt. once then refill,do you use the systems full liquid amt or just the res.? If i have a 6 bucket system and another bucket for a control bucket(each bucket holds 15 qts=26.25gal total volume) would i add back 26.25 gal (the whole system) then replace the solution or just a percent like when a larger res is used(like the same system with a 26 gal res.,which would be only 50% of the usable solution)add back the 26 gal not including the 26.25 gal which fills the basic BBs and controller? OR,i could just use a PPM meter and keep the PPM where i want it at all times and keep the level filled with R/O?
Ocitown, you add back water equal to the amount of your whole system's capacity 26.25gal. This is not a hard fast rule that you can't adjust. I change out when my PH starts to rise real fast (PH up means: I'm hungry). Lucas has an adjustment method of using his formula as well. Read the whole thing for other options: http://www.drugs-forum.com/growfaq/1654.htm
There are many ways to tackle what you're lookin for knoxis...each grower with their own method. Mine differs slightly from above as I have fine tuned it over the years to give me, and my personal environment, the best bang for the buck. #1 Rule I live by: I do NOT use additives. They usually cause more problems than good, are expensive and really dont help much if the plant is receiving what it needs from the normal nutrients. #2 Rule I live by: If running DWC ALWAYS use Hydroguard. This shit has been a life saver for me as it reduces my chances of getting root rot (very very common in DWC if water temperatures are high). My setup is: 1 5gal rez (as the main tank) connected to 6 other 5gal buckets each with a plant and a turn off valve. If a plant hermi's or becomes a male, I cut off its water and remove it from the setup. Sometimes, if I get a bad batch of seeds, I can end up where I am now with a single bucket left growing the only female I had in the pack. I NEVER DUMP MY REZ. Some do, others do every other week and so on. I never do. As Rumple has provided you with the Lucas formula (same as I use), it's one benefit of using this method. I simply top off the rez every/every other day with fresh water...and when the EC drops I add more nutes to bring it back up. However, I would not recommend this method for a first time grower. It takes patience, an eye for a plant, knowledge of a strain and measuring of EC and pH on a fairly regular basis. The benefit though is - I dont put good nutes down the toilet like a dump does. Once you reach the point where you're using close to 25gallons of water, you'll quickly see the cost benefit of never dumping. Lastly, for nutrients I use FloraNovaBloom....nothing else. It contains everything my plants need in a single bottle. Plus, I only need very little, max about 6ml per gallon, for my ladies... so saves me on extra shipping charges when ordering.
That makes sense,it was the "when the amt of solution is replaced equal to the res."is what through me off,and since a res should make up most of the systems fluid is makes more sense. Thanx,and Lucas has a great thread going.
WOW,Your system is VERY close to what i am now so desperste to finish. Im having problems with the circ pump pumping too fast and emptieing mt control/res. bucket,started with a pro pump 275 and now trying a lilRio 152gph with better results. All plumbing is 3/4" and two hoses return water from the 6 buckets(3 buckets to the res for each hose) I use a 86lph/2.4cfm pump with great air/DO in all 6 buckets and R/O is hooked up to the res via a float for constant level water and a real time hanna duel meter is used online at all times and i x check the 3s with a BL BCM-500. Using clones i dont worrie about the males,my clones are 20 days old now (why im in such a hurry)and the buckets have a custom 6" plastic net pot with washed hydroton ready to add clones as their roots are 2-4" long(still white thank god). Any advice fromyou would be great as we have the same system.
I too had the same issue when using 3/4 lines and a huge water pump... the reason is it's pushing more water than simple gravity will return back to the bucket. Solution - use a single 3/4" line and plug it at the end. Then punch holes in it and insert 1/4" lines (feeders) and put these in your buckets. This will slow down the flow of water to the buckets and will balance out the system. However, using this method, be aware that you need to use a filter on the water pump. Those 1/4" lines can be plugged up easily by shit floating in the water.
The problem was solved by using a lil 152 aquarium pump to move the solution slower,proly the same as your solution W/O the clogging issues.
I actually kept the larger water pump... by using the 1/4" lines for all 6 I was able, by using the larger pump, to ensure that each bucket got a good flow. I tried using a smaller pump and found that the first 4 buckets got the majority of water and the last 2 were trickling.... But hey, if yours worked - kick ass bro!
had great results with 4 plants in a 30 gallon DWC waterfall system w/a remote res fed with floranova bloom I dont use RO so I did keep an eye on ppms and ph (using ph to adjust ec/ppm without using RO is unreliable imo, municipal water has too much other stuff in it) to avoid issues with algae and fungus I added a bio matrix (lavarock to breed beneficial bacteria) never had to use a drop of hygrozome or anything and did not dump the res once from seedlings through the chop I grow in soil too and I can say for me the DWC was a LOT easier to dial in than soils grows were (always over fed my soil plants!) no wondering "do they need water?" "do they need more or less food" and most importantly no "wtf is THAT stuff in the res?" GL!