I'm wondering how should I add more nutrients to an existing running reservoir? Now I have nutes already in the res. I wanna top off but don't know the exact way to do so. Do I add the feeding chart equivalent of what's remaining. Like if I have 5.5 ml of grow and the next week it say 7.5. Should I just add 2.0 ml to the res... And continue with the adjust addiditives? I have talked to a few people who grow and a few who own their own hydroponic store. And they have told me they never change out the reservoir. Just add nutes. I've never done this before. I usually do weekly to bi-weekly change outs. I wanna try this. Seeing they all use the same hydroponic process and the same nutrients. Now I know I should have just ask them.. But I'm home now pondering this. Maybe it could work for me. I usually don't get PH fluctuations at all. Maybe .3-.5 the most in a 24 hour period. I am running a DWC 5 gallon bucket with 1 main reservoir in the front which is a 5 gallon bucket with a plain lid. Each bucket has the premade 3" net pot. All plants are in 3"rock wool cubes with a smaller clone rock wool inside it on top. Please any info or input would really help?
You add based on what was taken out by the plants. If the plants removed half of nutrients and water then you make a mixture of half water and nutrients. If you plan on increasing the strength of the nutrients then you add the amount that will get you to where you want to go.
Ok so I get that. But where I'm kinda lost is. Which nutrients to add. I have all the addiditives. So should I add them all. Or just the grow A&B. in a bucket and add to res with water.
You could add them all. It would just depend on what the plant has already used. If you never plan to change then add them all bu if you plan to change the res then probably just add A&B to be safe. You just have to watch the plants and see if they become deficient in anything or if it starts to burn them.
Ok thanks a lot. It's been a long road and I don't wanna fuck around. I think I'm going to just do a res change whenever I see a problem. But try and keep it the same. Maybe twice the whole life of the plant. And then flush at end. I will just do exactly what u said and make up a soup of all the addidtive and A&B with water to top off.
Maybe you could check your ppm and determine if it needs increasing nutes and mix them up in a more dilute mixture to top off the res. I'd really like to know the answer to this, too. Thanks for the previous posters who clarified.
I change the reservoir (70 gal), start out fresh with the right mixture of nutrients about every 2 weeks too. In the meantime, if I top off with roughly 10 gals of water, I add a mixture of A, B, and additives for those 10 gals. Though sometimes I don't add anything and it doesn't seem to matter.
When you say add nothing... Do u mean just plain water PH'd. That's kinda interesting. But thanks. See where I get lost is should I have those extra gallons of water at full strength or a lil less.... What I'm say is. For argument sack say I have a 40 gallon res at 1000ppm( fictional). After a week or so my res has gone down 10 gallons and now my PPMs are at 800. Now do I make up a soup of top off water with 1000ppm or should I do a soup of 200ppm. Then add that to the res to replace what is gone. ????? Sent from my iPad using Grasscity Forum
if you only add soup @ 200ppm then you will lower the 800 that you started with .what you need is a ppm meter to keep everything in check! that and a ph pen are some of the most important tools that you can get!!!
I have them both. good ones too.. So what u saying is make a soup of 1000ppm then add to res? Because how would I know what the plant ate or took up? Sent from my iPad using Grasscity Forum
exactly,1000 or a little higher to make up for the 800 reading! if you go over 1000 simply add water to adjust
I think I have some good root development. Here's a pic I want to wait till Thursday. ( to get my water ready 24hr sit out). Then move them. Only thing is I think I'm going to have to cut the net pots off the rockwool. Not that I care or am cheap. Just a little nervous about it.. Do you think I can just pull them out? Sent from my iPad using Grasscity Forum
Yes, sometimes I just top off the reservoir with plain water when it gets low. Otherwise say I added about 10 gallons of water, if the feeding chart calls for 7.5 ml of micro and 12 ml of bloom per gallon, I add 10 gallons worth, so 75 ml and 120 ml. That usually puts my ppm where I want it anyway. Those clones are more than ready to go, the roots might break if you pull them out.
Ok I was thinking the same thing. I'm going to cut the pots, then place the rockwool in my big block that will go into individual 5 gallon buckets in a DWC system Sent from my iPad using Grasscity Forum