My main rez is 55gal i will start by using RO water. Once i add my nutes and stabalize my ph at 5.5, when plants start feeding and using water/nutes does whats left in rez go up/down or stay the same in ppm?Normally does ph go up or down? The reson why i ask about the ph is because i have an autodosing system that autodoses ether ph up or ph down (not both) and im trying to figure out what to set it on and if ph usaully raises naturally or drops? Thanks
You'll just have to pay attention and get to know your water. pH fluctuation depends on your water, nutes, temps, etc. It can run up or down. You'll have to find that out and stabilize as necessary. My water, for example, drops about .4 in pH over a 24 hour period. PPM will drop slightly as the plants absorb nutrients. IMO 5.5 is a little on the low side. You actually want the pH at around 5.8 - and you want it to move - the plants take up different nutes @ different amounts as the pH fluctuates... just don't let it get out of range. I let mine drift from 6.1 - 5.6 or so.
itll prob go up more than it goes down but just check it every other day. it takes 2 min and worth the check.
Thanks for the advice, i think i will start by setting my autodoser to adjust the ph with ph down because my first guess was that my ph will slightly raise over time. I have heard that it may drop, so in the beginning i will pay close attention and if it does drop i will switch it to dose the ph up. I realize that dif water/water temps/nutes all may change the way your ph will fluctuate. I use filtered RO water, Advanced Nutrients, and all my resiviors are heated/chilled to 68 degrees. Any other opinions will be greatly appreciated!
From what I've heard, the AN products should keep your pH pretty stable... just check it a few times over the next 24 hours, and see what your pH does... no need to guess. Then set your machine as necessary, and try to keep things in the 5.8 range. I still say 5.5 is a little on the low side. Good luck! Let us know what happens...
Thanks Mr. MJ, i germinated and have had my seedling in rockwool starter cubes in humididome under a 200w cfl in my closet for about 4days(2 inches). I hear you should start veg when true leaf sets start(leaves with three or more fingers) is this true?how long do you usually wait? I have veg room with 1000w mh, and flower room with 3x 600w hps just waiting for these seedlings. Because its a 1000w should i wait a little longer to put them in there?
I don't think so. ^ I use a 400 MH for veg, 1000 HPS for flower... but I put them under the 400 as soon as they sprout, and never had any problems... I wouldn't let them sprout under such a big light, but if they've been up for a few days, they're ready IMO. Just make sure you keep the light far away enough, and you won't hurt them. You'll get insane growth vegging under a 1000w.
woa a 1000 mh can veg like 20 plants lol you dont need that much to veg the seedlings. and as soon as you sprout you can put em under the light. jsut make sure its a good distance since its a 1000
You should switch them 2-3 weeks after germination. Jorge Cervantes says "Once a strong root system is established and foliage growth increases rapidly, seedlings enter the vegetative growth cycle." So once your seedlings start picking up the pace move them under the MH.