Hey guys, I know you’re not supposed to use organic based nutes in a rdwc system because of overgrowth and other issues... But I sorta want to do it anyways! Have any of you tried this? What were the challenges and what nutes did you use? I know it’s probably easier to use coco or something, but I really like the automation of the recirculating system.... -Rick
Remo's nutrients would suit a hydroponic system. Only bottled nutes I know of that are organic 100% and won't clog a hydroponics equipment. The bloom , micro and grow part formula should be the only things needed. Always use micro nutes before bloom or grow nutes are mixed.
Make your own. I use aquarium water. Circulation in your reservoir is the key. Any water, chem or organic nutes added will go "bad" on you if not oxygenated. The aquarium water is slightly lower ph than my tap and seems to buffer better. No brainer for me since I siphon daily anyway and the water is always room temp. But set up your own and tweak it. Just use it for the water you would normally be adding and continue or modify exisiting nutes you are using. I run side by sides on non pot plants with one getting aquarium water only and the other getting tap and nutes. Too inconclusive to opinionate, sick plants seem to recover better in the aquarium water only. But that is because I made them sick by too much or not enough nute. Oxygen is the key to everything.
Thanks for the replies. I’ll look into remo, never heard of em before. I want to start growing 100% organic to try to get ready for California’s new regulations on having to disclose the exact ingredients used through each grow. For commercial sales.. not sure I’ll ever get there, but it’s nice to have some pipe dreams, no pun intended. I’m currently using a Frankenstein mix of mineral based and just a little bit of Humic Acid and kelp added to a rdwc system. It has excellent aeration im told from the designers of the system.. I’m running just two buckets and a control bucket. who knows exactly until I get a dissolved O2 meter. But there are air stones in each bucket and a radial air disc in the control reservoir. Fluids kept at 65 F. So oxygen should be good for the setup I have. I’m just wondering if a rdwc is compatible with microbes and beneficial fungi and stuff, AND still be easy to clean up afterwards...? I’m wondering if it’s just better to go to organic soil or coco instead?
Talkative, are you talking about aquaponics for weed? I have a friend doing that for veggies and it seems like it would be difficult to get the right blend of nutrients for bomb ass weed, but I honestly never tried aquaponics. How did your herbs turn out?
What I do know, is you will need to clean the lines each grow cycle, and yes microbs like great white are compatible. What you have to watch for, is if one plant has a issue, root rot etc. they all get exposed, the other thing is ec or ppm's, no way to reduce or increase if one plant is in need. If growing the same strain for all, that should not be an issue. Biobizz is a organic option.
Ahh I see.. didn’t think about the different needs of each plant if I do multiple strains aspect of this. Definitely something to consider. I think I’m gonna make a separate quarantine bucket for my weird plant from my other thread and use that in the future for plant recovery when needed. Right now I’m only doing two plants because I want to just learn and get it really dialed in before scaling up. I can already see what a huge difference genetics makes. I know there will be some cleaning with any rdwc but I was wondering which nutes have worked the best for cycle after cycle. I looked briefly into remo, looks legit. But I couldn’t find anything that specifically says organically derived in the advertising. I’ll research further. I only care because of the disclosure regs and I feel like it’ll be easier to get organic compounds approved as opposed to mineral based.
you can't buy it in a bottle. Takes time to develop a balanced system. Microbes live in the small pockets of oxygen in the medium not the water. Minerals are extremely easy to introduce. NPK must be added according to plants needs. Organic NPK is available, you just mix it with the good water. I use so called synthetic but use the good water when mixing. You can take it as far as you want to go, but it is mostly for show to impress uninformed buyers. They like that word organic. I would not waste money buying anything. Instead create a good environment in your water. Think like a brewer who thinks his beer is better because of the water used. I started getting into it when I saw how well my plants responded to extreme flushing with plain old 7.8 tap water. Every plant I lose more interest in NPK and gain more interest in water. They had a crepe myrtle tree growing for 30 years on nothing but water.