Hello, I am new to this forum thing but a friend turned me on to this site. I am doing a hydro cannabis grow, and to begin with I'll put my setup out for ya. 2 rooms in basement - 1 for veg 1 for bud Let's start in veg room 1 315 cmh not cooled light on 24 hr 5ft 4" PVC with 8 sites Clear 1/2" tubing with 1/4" drip lines 2 per site with 280 gph eco pump Yes I know I need black poly tubing Fox farm nutes in RO water Currently using old school method of checking pH with the dye. My RO water is pH at solid yellow which makes me think it is good @ 6.0 ppm is around 40. After nutes are added in 5 gallon bucket the pH drops to solid orange (5.0). And ppm is up to around 1300. After 24 hour I check pH and it drops to reddish orange.(4.5 or less). I raise pH in res with pH up to get it back to 5.5 to 6.0. currently due to clear tubing I think I am getting algea growing which would cause some fluctuations from what I have read. My question is how often should I completely change and clean res. Currently I am doing this 2x a week. I feel I am pouring good nutes down the drain. My res water is pretty consistent at 70 to 73 deg. F. My roots look good but my plant are not growing as I feel they should be. Have I nutes locked them with fluctuating pH. Will getting the black poly tubing and eliminating the algea fix my problem? How often should pH be checked and adjusted? Daily? Every 12 hrs? How often should I change res water? Can I top off res with good pH water and Continue using? P.s. this my first hydro grow and I'm a newbie. Please be patient with me. Thanks for help
Hi Superstrains.... Welcome to GC! This is a great site with tons and tons of great information. Each section has some stickies that have just about everything you need. Just read and read and read! As far as your questions, you will find different answers from different people, but here is how I do my hydro... I fill my reservoir with the nute level I need at the time... Lower ppm when smaller (500-800) and higher as they get bigger or are in flower (1000-1400). Then I let it sit for 24 hrs to see where the pH is at. I use GH products (with the Lucas formula - do a search and you'll find lots of info) and the pH always drops after I mix my nutes. After 24 hours, I then adjust my pH to around 5.8. Then I fill the buckets (it's a Waterfarm system with a controller and reservoir) and controller. I then fill the reservoir with pH'd RO water that fills the controller as the nutes are consumed. When I have used the equal amount of RO as I have in my setup, then I do a flush and refill. Usually anywhere from 2 weeks (when smaller) to 1 week. The only time I do it more often is if I am having problems. As far as nute temp, it is recommended to keep them between 66F and 69F (18c to 20c). Anything higher and you could have problems with root rot... Not a fun situation! My pH/ppm/temp meter constantly monitors th so,union in the controller, so I am always checking it. Once you get everything dialed in, you should see big fluctuations unless there is a problem. Read the stickie in this section about nutrient strength.... Good info. Yes, using clear tubing can cause problems, but there are a number of people who do, without problems. Hope this helps....
Thanks for advice. I am planning on switching to the hydro farm buckets next crop but I am trying to hold onto as much yeild from this one as I can salvage. I am of the understanding that they are "just plants" and it's my first go at hydro. Thank you for taking the time to reply. I am planning on purchasing the 8 site with controller. Do I need a pH/ppm/temp meter also? What is avg price for this unit?
can you share some pictures? 1300ppm sounds very very high I use MW102 (Milwaukee Instruments) pH meter it is expensive but the best consumer one you'll find. i'd get an EC meter (not PPM) since it's easier to relate to others with.
No worries! You absolutely need a ph/ppm meter if your doing hydro. Prices can vary between inexpensive ones on MeBay (often made in China) to pro quality ones like nibbloid has. Hydro growing is more difficult than dirt (imho), but once dialed in can produce an excellent product. Good luck and read, read, read!