Hello all, this is my setup. Its a cross between low pressure aero and drip irrigation. Two rubbermaid 10 gallons, one for the root chamber and the other for the soup mix, I put a bell siphon to recycle the water. I'm using tap water that has been PH'd to 6.0. The cotyledon just popped through so I transplanted it to the hydroton. What problems might I run into leaving the reservoir uncovered? Also, what would be a good pump schedule? Right now it's 24/7. Any help is appreciated, thanks for looking.
Light on nutes invites algae growth which invites gnats and so on and so forth. Looks good so far long as you cover the res. 1 min on 4 min off is a popular aero cycle.
You think I should make the switch to black tubing? I saw a similar setup at the hydroponic store with an uncovered reservoir. It was a aquaponic system though.
I wouldn't worry so much about the tubing (yes you could switch to black) as I would be the uncovered soup mix/reservoir. In aquaponics you have the fish and things to eat the algae, in a regular hydro you want as much of the water in the dark as you can.
True, I going to cover it up. I'm trying to mix the nutrients in the tub without having to dump the whole mix out. Which is why I need easy access to the reservoir. Thanks for your replies.
ImagineAll, thanks for the heads up. I covered up the reservoir so now its light proof. Question, would I be able to top off the nute mix without dumping the whole reservoir? I'd rather not move the reservoir since I'm eventually getting a scrog net in place.
Two options I see if I understand you correctly. One would be to put the root chamber on a stand that your reservoir can slide under so your reservoir ain't supporting it. This way you could slide the res out to change without effecting the bucket your plant is in. Two would be to put a drain valve on the front of your res so you could drain in place. P.s. paint your walls flat white.
If I can PH and set the PPM in the bottom reservoir itself, will I have to dump the water eventually or can I just keep adding to it while adjusting as necessary? I know I sound lazy, but I just dont want to disturb the setup if I can avoid it. Mylar goes up next week.
You typically want top off you res with water till you plant has sucked up half the volume of your res then you want to do a complete dump and change. If you want a lazier way to grow you need to look into organics.
Hey ImagineAll thanks for your responses, you're the only one that has, lol. I took your advice and made a platform that way I can drain into another bucket. Turns out that just topping off and not changing the water will mess up the ratio of nutes which can lead to lockout. Mylar went up this afternoon, I think im done modifying for now.