Hydroponics made simple, By MimbresValley

[MimbresValley]

Greetings, If any fellow NMMJ patient needs help, feel free to contact me here. (my yahoo sign in is listed under the about me/contact info.) (http://boards.cannabis.com/members/mimbresvalley.html)

There are many types of hydroponics, I will be touching on DWC today.
DWC, also known as Deep Water Culture, & Death Without Cause. lol

I will be demonstrating a very simple, and cheap hydroponic setup geared towards personal growers who do not need huge harvests, and also need a low initial cost.

If this is your first time doing hydroponics, I recommend only doing one or two plants with this technique until you have a successful harvest.

Soil/soiless mix is not as productive or fast, but the media acts as a buffer for the roots, and will provide a little room for mistakes, this type of hydroponics one mistake and your plants can be dead quicker than you would ever think, but if you follow my advice you shouldn't ever have any problems.

[MimbresValley]

The method I have used for sprouting seeds is pretty simple, I take the seeds, put them in a cup, add some water, let them set for about 6 hours in a warm dark place(78degrees is ideal)
I then lay them in a damp paper towel, by the next day the taproot has emerged, and the plant can either be put into soil/soiless mix.

If planting in rockwool/sure to grow, I generally skip the paper towel and put them right into the rockwool before the taproot has emerged after they have soaked for the 6 hours.

Suretogrow has a netrual ph, rockwool needs to be rinsed very well under water, then left overnight in a 5.5 ph solution to offset its high ph.

Rockwool and suretogrow are similar looking medias, but both have different techniques that are needed for sucess, for instance rockwool is a wicking media, and suretogrow is not. If you are ineterested in some of the finer nuances between stg, and rockwool, feel free to contact me on yahoo.

I prefer working with rockwool, so I will only be adding a tutorial for that, STG is a little to flimsy for my liking.

Rockwool comes in various sizes, for seeds you start them in the 1.5x1.5 starter cubes, and you can transplant them into whatever media you choose to use(expanded clay, lava rock, gravel, etc...)

If you are going to be placing the 1.5 starters into a larger rockwool cube, the ones pictures are 6"x6"x6" then i recommend putting the 1.5 started in the larger block from the get go, this way you can save yourself transplant shock.
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[shmedy]

Death Without Cause. Ha thats a good one. btw nice post.

[MimbresValley]

:D
Haha Yeah Shmedly
This setup is a very cheap and very simple setup, perfect for fellow PPL growers in NM who want to be 100% in compliance with the medical cannabis law, or anyone for that matter looking for a simple setup.

You can almost treat this as soil grow in the sense when the plants get larger, they will drink upwards of 3 gallons a day. this setup you basically hand water each day to top of the water levels.

A more elaborate system can be built to simplify the work, but these stand alone buckets do have their place in a garden, and have sucj benefits such as allowing a perpetual harvest, if one plant somehow gets sick, the others wont be infected, you can run sativa, indicas with different flowering times.
Since I run 100% legal under NM state laws, I had been running a perceptual harvest in the past, generally yielding about 4(sometimes as high as five, or low as 3.5oz)ounces average every three weeks off one plant, so one plant goes into flower, three weeks later another, three weeks another. etc..

This allowed me to spread out trimming & harvests, and by the time Im just running out of meds, another plant is finishing curing..
But since im growing out new strains I will be reverting back to 4 plants at a time tell I find a phenotype I like. Then back to the perpetual harvest.






So in these pictures, you can see a simple 5gallon bucket,

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you can't notice but the bucket you see I have wrapped it with duct tape,
this is to prevent any light from leaking into the reservoir where the roots are contained, light can cause algae growth as well as problems with nutrients.

Online or from a hydroponic store you can buy 8 inch net pot lids that snap right onto a standard five gallon bucket, as seen in my larger plants, these plants were taken from clone, I didnt have any spare 8in net pot lids, so I made this setup for a new strain I am going to be growing out.
I just used a simple 3.5" hole saw and drilled out a 5 gallon bucket lid, then popped in a 3.5" netcup,(make sure to find the right taper, or the netpot will fall through the hole you drill)


As I mentioned rockwool is a wicking media, this means it should not sit directly in water, as you can see in this picture the water lever comes up right to the bottom of the net pot, I then add a layer of expanded clay, this way the rockwool is not directly sitting in water.


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If using clones in rockwool follow the same procedure, the expanded clay should just be getting misted from the air bubbling up through the water.

Some folks recommended leaving an air gap between the netpot and the water, I prefer to have as little of gap as possible, as I have found when there is a gap rope roots develop which have no purpose other than stabilizing the plant,(at least from my understanding)

[MimbresValley]

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[MimbresValley]

Here is the 5 gallon net put lids that go right on the 5 gallon bucket, they provide better support for larger plants, same concept as the 3.5 net pot.
The smaller pot allows you to run more water in the system. I usually only use the larger ones, but I lent out a few to some fellow patients that needed to get up and going, so im using some of the 3.5" ones. Use what you got to save costs.:rastasmoke:

[MimbresValley]

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Notice the yellow on the outside edges of the leaves, that is a MG deficiency, which is a very common problem when running RO water, I actually am running tap, but this strain just loves the MG.
I ran out of Cal Mag during this round, Ordered Cal-Mag over 5 weeks ago still have not gotten my order, every time I call they say its on backorder, but their websites lists having tons in stock.:wtf: Would never order from them again, wormsway is hands down my fav place to order from.
In a pinch you can use epsom salts which isn't really ideal, but I had to start in the mean time until my order arrives.:hippy:

[medical420mama]

That is pretty much what my set up is, right now though i have a 6or 7 gal storage bin that i am using just to get them started. I am able to put 6 of those little net pots in there and then i have 5 gall buckets like you and the big net pots that they will be moved to once the get bigger. Thats pretty cool we are doing it the same way.

[MimbresValley]

By the way BGHydro are the ones running me around on my order.

Now for all you paranoid tokers out there, here is an interesting article to digest. :stoned:
*********
Google Green Merchant
*********
GRAND RAPIDS -- Longtime Press sports columnist David Mayo, accused of growing marijuana in his Northeast Side home, was targeted for investigation after police tracked shipping invoices of a company that advertises in "High Times" magazine, court records showed.
Armed with that information, police sought utility bills, which showed Mayo's electric use was more than twice that of his neighbors.
Police also put his home under surveillance and determined he did not bring his trash to the curb, which is common among marijuana growers, police said.
Investigators in early January also noted a "large amount of mold" under the eaves on the outside of his house, which suggested to them strong grow lights were being used inside the residence, heating the room where marijuana was being grown, and causing condensation on the exterior.
The allegations were contained in search-warrant affidavits made public this week.
Sheriff's Lt. Kevin Kelley confirmed police based the investigation on items shipped by companies that advertised in "High Times" and other pro-marijuana publications.
Courtesy Photo
Evidence: Authorities found Mason jars filled with marijuana buds inside David Mayo's house on Fuller Avenue NE in Plainfideld Township.
Mayo bought, "on 11 occasions, hydroponic growing equipment that is specialized in indoor marijuana growing," according to sheriff's Detective Sgt. Todd Butler, who said local authorities received information from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program, a project of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
"Operation Green Thumb has access to shipping invoices from suppliers who advertise their indoor marijuana-growing equipment in magazines such as 'High Times.' David Mayo bought his hydroponic equipment from one of the suppliers that do, in fact, advertise in this (manner)."
Mayo's lawyer, Bruce Block, could not be reached for comment, but earlier said he was reviewing police information to determine whether he should challenge the reason officers had probable cause to enter Mayo's Fuller Avenue NE house Jan. 19.
Mayo is suspended from The Press pending the legal outcome. He awaits trial on charges of growing from 20 to 200 plants, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison, and a high-court misdemeanor charge of maintaining a drug house. Prosecutors have offered to reduce charges to a four-year felony if he pleads guilty.
Police say 71 marijuana plants and 32 ounces of packaged marijuana were found in the home.
Mayo's wife, Denise, awaits trial on charges of marijuana possession and maintaining a drug house.
Both are free on personal recognizance bonds.

[MimbresValley]

That is pretty much what my set up is, right now though i have a 6or 7 gal storage bin that i am using just to get them started. I am able to put 6 of those little net pots in there and then i have 5 gall buckets like you and the big net pots that they will be moved to once the get bigger. Thats pretty cool we are doing it the same way.


I am here to help, you got any questions we can chat on yahoo, or give me a ring.:thumbsup:

[MimbresValley]

Ill add some more stuff to this tonight or tomorrow, if you guys get a chance read this thread and my thoughts on PH.
http://boards.cannabis.com/hydroponics/190697-wilted-leaves-after-res-change.html#post2153146

Anyone have any questions on what I have already posted?:rastasmoke:

[MimbresValley]

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:D


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Ok had some questions as to what the pvc was for, size of the pvc, etc.
There is NO need for the pvc in these stand alone buckets, I build them like that personally, but to touch on it further.
The pvc Im using is 1 1/4", and that is an aeroflow 1 1/4" grommet, you can find it at a lot of places online, I personally like wormsway, but there shipping is kinda pricey for small items.
This gives me a way to access the water without having to pick up the lid or even move it. Then I can just check the ph or ec with my meter. and it makes topping off easier too. this also gives a way to connect interconnect the system to make everything automated and recirculating, but If this is your first dwc I recommend doing stand alone buckets. Also if you arn't careful having a water pumping going can overheat your water solution, If your water temps get over 70 degrees, anything can go wrong. DO levels go way down, bacteria reproduces more rapidly, lots of growers recommend a chiller, but if you use my method, you can get away without using one, super cheap chillers costs at least several hundred dollars.

Its important to keep your room at no more than 75 degrees when running this setup, With the weather setting in, nobody should have problems cooling their room with the cold air at night.

Its also important to run a lower ec. 1.2 should be your MAX in this type setup, and honestly thats even kinda high.
These buckets are very cheap to get into, but if you start buying water pumps, bigger air pumps, pvc, grommets, etc then the prices can go up substantially.
As you can see by my plants they are doing great, there is a root shot of one of the smaller ones.

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I don't know why it doesnt display, when you click on it, it downloads, its just a diagram of how you can interconnect the system I drew on paint

[MimbresValley]

Couple pictures from this morning,
I hear people asking about topping plants, and how many times you can do it, in this last picture you can see a plant in a small red dixie cup, I have topped her a couple times to make sure she was still within the guidelines set forth by the DOH. I topped her once, then topped all the side shoots, and I am thinking about topping all those shoots that have emerged.
:stoned:
when She does start vegging she will be a monster.
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[MimbresValley]

so the bigger girl, she was vegged 3 weeks, the two smaller ladies went from the cloner, with zero veg time, the big girl is just about 4 weeks into flower, the others two are about 3 weeks into flower, the big girl finishes in 9 weeks, as well as one of the littler ones, then I have one sativa that takes about 13 weeks.:jointsmile:

[MimbresValley]

Here is an interesting article by Daniel Fernandez.


"When water reacts with itself to create the H3O(+)(hydroxyl) and OH(-) (hydroxide) species, one of the most fundamental and important characteristics of aqueous solutions is generated. The reactivity of a solution and its interaction with living organisms is determined in a great extent by the concentration of these two species, a variable usually measured as pH which is nothing but the negative value of the logarithm of the concentration of the H3O(+) ion. In hydroponic culture â?? where our plants are in great contact with aqueous solutions â?? the understanding of the role of the H3O(+) and OH(-) ions and their measurement as pH becomes very important if an in-depth understanding of what is going on wants to be attained. On todayâ??s post I will attempt to guide you into this micro world of pH and how and why pH changes within a hydroponic crop. Tomorrow -on Part No.2 â?? I will try to explain to you how plants adapt to pH changes and what a pH change actually means for a living organism.
What determines pH ? This variable is inversely proportional to the concentration of H3O(+) ions and directly proportional to OH(-) ions, the more hydroxil ions you have the more acidic your solution will be (the lower the pH) while more hydroxide ions will increase your pH and give you a higher pH reading. It is important to understand here that hydroxyl and hydroxide ions determine each otherâ??s concentration. Since waterâ??s self-reaction equilibria must be maintained, the sum of pH and pOH must always be equal to 14 (a neat consequence of chemical equilibrium theory). When the concentration of hydroxyl and hydroxide ions is equal, pH and pOH contribute equally to the solution and they are therefore both 7, reason why the pH of a neutral solution has this value.
Now that we know a little bit about pH we can understand better what happens when plants interact with a nutrient solution. When a plant is put within a given solution it wants to absorb the nutrients it needs to grow. These nutrients are avilable as ions that have a given charge. For example, nitrogen is absorbed as the nitrate ion (NO3(-)) while potassium is absorbed as the K(+) ion. When a plant takes potassium in, it deplets the solution of a positive charge. Since the solution must remain neutral the plant gives the solution an H3O(+) ion to compensate. The plant has therefore decreased the pH of the solution by absorbing a potassium ion. When nitrate is absorbed â?? an ion with a negative charge- the plant does the opposite and exchanges the nitrate for an OH(-), the pH of the solution is increased.
If plants absorbed nutrients in a perfectly symmetrical fashion, they would not increase or decrease pH as overall charge changes would be compensated. However â?? as no one is perfect- plants absorb nutrients at different rates and they therefore create a â??pullâ?� towards a certain pH region. If a plant absorbs nitrate heavily it will start to contribute far more OH(-) than H3O(+) ions into the solution and the result will be a net increase in pH. Depending on the composition of the nutrients and the overall growth stage of the plant, different net movements in pH can be achieved by the plant.

The most influential factor in the changes of pH within a solution is generally the composition of the nitrogen component of the solution. When plants absorb ammonium ions NH4(+) they tend to decrease pH while nitrate â?? as mentioned above â?? tends to increase pH when absorbed. If you contribute a percentage of the nitrogen in your solution as ammonia the net effect will be a beneficial â??absorption pH bufferâ?� since plants will take nitrogen in both forms, effectively delaying the onset of important pH variations. Of course, the ratio of nutrients also performs a vital role since plantsâ?? nutrient absorption mechanism are largely non-specific and they are greatly influenced by the different concentrations of nutrients within the solutions. Having a nutrient solution designed to provide an adequate balance will be vital in helping you control pH fluctuations.

On part two of this â??understanding pH in Hydroponicsâ?� post I will talk about the range of pH plants can live in, how they adapt to changes in pH and other interesting aspects that will help you better understand the role and true importance of pH within a hydroponic crop. I hope that today you have acquired a rough idea of what pH represents, the nature of pH changes and some basic things that can be done to improve the pH balance within your hydroponic culture.


Yesterday â?? on the first part of this article â?? we talked about the nature of pH, the origin of pH changes in hydroponics growing and why these changes happen with time within a hydroponic culture, I also talked a little bit about how to prevent pH changes by building a balanced solution with a given percentage of nitrogen given as ammonium. On the second part of this article I am going to talk about the adaptation of plants against pH changes, why certain pH levels are needed and why there is an important over-focus on the importance of pH which does not need to be maintained in ranges as narrow as most growers believe.
What is the ideal range of pH for plant growth ? The fact is that plants can grow ideally from a pH of 5.5 to about 7.0. Above or below these values certain changes start to happen within the chemistry of the solution that makes nutrients less available to the plant. The large importance of adequate â?? yet not excessive â?? control of pH values is to maintain an optimum absorption of nutrients for your plants. When we go below a pH of 5.5 certain nutrients like iron become very readily available while nutrients like phosphorous and nitrogen become much less available. This lack of availability has two main causes. The first one is the overall change of chemical species within the solution, with the newly generated species being difficult or impossible to assimilate by the plant while the second one is that species that become extremely available generate a strong antagonic effect against some nutrients. For example, iron is antagonic with phosphorous and with a pH decrease below 5, the absoprtion of iron becomes extremely easy and therefore the aborption of P becomes more difficult, the overall formation of acid phosphate species which are also not so readily available by the plant further reduces P availability. An image shown below gives you a good idea of the availability of nutrients for plant growth as pH changes.
However most growers tend to believe that the pH level of their nutrient solution is the pH level that plants have around their roots, something which is actually not correct in the sense that plants have evolved local pH adaptation mechanisms to survive to changes in soil pH. When you measure the pH of your nutrient solution you are measuring the pH of the â??bulkâ?� while the pH of the actual root-zone of your plants might be within the ideal zone for nutrient absoprtion. Therefore growers usually underestimate the actual capacity of their plants to correct pH and spend an enormous amount of time tinkering with pH to make it â??idealâ?�.
The fact here is that plants do not like abrupt pH changes like those that happen when you add pH up/down to continuously adjust your nutrient solutionâ??s pH levels. Plants can deal perfectly with a slow pH increase caused by nutrient absorption from 5.5 to 6.5 but when you â?? in a matter of seconds â?? revert the pH back from 6.5 to 5.5 in a matter of seconds you are causing your plants significant levels of stress since they are simply not used within their natural environment to such quick pH changes.

The easiest way I have found to deal with pH is to simply not obsess with it. Most solutions that are well balanced and contain about 10-15% of the nitrogen as ammonium and about 20-40 ppm of phosphorous will adequately contain pH within the 5.5 to 7 pH region from the beginning of your nutrient cycle to the time when the nutrient solution has to be changed. As a matter of fact â?? beyond the initial adjustment â?? the changing of pH can be avoided if the nutrient solution is adequately formulated and given in a quantity of at least one gallon per plant. Plants develop well around these pH levels and the improvement you gain from obsessing about perfect pH zone levels will be lost by the stress you put into your plant roots with pH corrections. Of course, there are easy and almost perfect solutions to pH control like the method using ion exchange resins I mentioned in a previous post. A method that mimics the way in which pH is naturally buffered within soil.

Therefore if you want to have a great hydroponic crop with little maintenance and a very good yield I would advice you to prepare your own nutrients taking pH-self balancing and adequate nutrient ratios into account. Certainly this method will give you a lot of control over your composition and a great saving in solution costs.

I hope that after reading these two posts on pH in hydroponics you have now grown a much better understanding of how pH is, how it works and how it evolves in a hydroponic culture. It is very important for you to understand that pH plays a vital role in nutrient absorption but that obsessing with strict pH zones is not beneficial for your plants in the sense that constant additions that cause quick changes in pH values cause stress to their root zone. Adequate nutrient design and a good understanding of how nutrient interact is therefore important for the correct use and low maintenance of a hydroponic crop.


*Happy Growing from MimbresValley.

[oldmac]

Hello MimbresValley,

Thought I'd check your thread and see what you were up to.

Good article about High Times advertisers, I had seen it before. Part of this fellows problem was shipping the stuff to his address where the grow was located. Not smart in the first place, second was the HT connection.

I have bought incredible amounts of stuff and guess not raised a flag. I've even bought LED grow lights by Theroreme Inovation and hort ultra-sonic fogger by Frapaplas, both from Canada. You need to provide not just name and address but soical security number or bussiness tax ID for the NAFTA paperwork. ;)Not for the parinoid stonner.

BTW nice bubble bucket setup, love the DWC (death without cause) has me LOL.

Your PH article can be summed up as, PH shift is good and is expected and wanted.

Take care.
OM

[MimbresValley]

thanks for stopping in, I forgot i named this thread Hydro made simple:stoned:, you summed it up perfectly.

[polishpollack]

Pretty awesome, DWC is argueably the best hydro method for productivity and ease of use. I just drill holes through the lid for the airlines. Temperature is so important cuz if it gets high, your water is going to stink with all the bacteria growing in there. I had outdoor temp one day of 100F and found out the hard way what happens. Pew! A/C or chiller for hot locations. So what's your fert?

[Daddynobucks]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
That is without a doubt the BEST description of Ph and why there is a drift. Very informative Do you have anymore of the orignal article you can post, or direct me to the source?

That whole article needs made a sticky.

I sure wish I could have seen your simplified bubbler bucket before I wasted over $4,000 on this nightmare of a learning curve I have been on:mad:, tis why they call me Daddynobucks(nobrains)

Daddy

[MimbresValley]

that is the whole article:thumbsup:
Glad you enjoyed, I really enjoyed it as well, great explanation.
Ill post more stuff from him up over here. He just changed the website URL so I have to look through my email and find the new one.

[StoneMeadow]

that is the whole article:thumbsup:
Glad you enjoyed, I really enjoyed it as well, great explanation. Ill post more stuff from him up over here. He just changed the website URL so I have to look through my email and find the new one.

Here is a direct link to this article on his new website: Understanding pH in Hydroponics â?? Part No.1 (http://scienceinhydroponics.com/2010/06/understanding-ph-in-hydroponics-part-no-1.html). Click the "Home" link at upper left of the webpage to read lots more articles by him.

[MimbresValley]

thanks Stone. I was having trouble finding the new link.
Nice save!

[MimbresValley]

So on this run I tried to go with zero nutrients changes out, and just top backs, should have done at least one flush along the way I think, or ran a bit of a lower EC.
(don't want to steer people in the wrong direction, I can always admit if I made a mistake).
But all in all plant is looking pretty nice, should be a really nice harvest, and on the bright side, this run has been my cheapest ever.

[StoneMeadow]

thanks Stone. I was having trouble finding the new link. Nice save!

You're welcome...thank you! :thumbsup:

BTW, like polishpollack I am interested in what ferts you're using...

[MimbresValley]

I highly recommend Ionic! Its what I generally use, and I always have great results with it. One simple bottle for veg, one simple bottle for bloom.

This round I am using technafloras, BcBoost and BcBloom, as I got some freebies from My local shop.

Although to be fair this is my first time with these nutrients so maybe after a couple runs I would have results more on par with Ionic.

:hippy:

[MimbresValley]

Pretty awesome, DWC is argueably the best hydro method for productivity and ease of use. I just drill holes through the lid for the airlines. Temperature is so important cuz if it gets high, your water is going to stink with all the bacteria growing in there. I had outdoor temp one day of 100F and found out the hard way what happens. Pew! A/C or chiller for hot locations. So what's your fert?

Hey polish, totally missed your post:stoned:
My room never gets over 73 degrees, so I don't have to worry about using a water chiller.
My water temps never get over 69 degrees, although it is possible to run a res at higher temps, You just have to run a very low ec, a very active system which can add lots of DO to the system. And either inoculate every couple days with earth worm casting tea, or run a sterile res, with products like dutch master zone, sm90 etc..

( i think for each 10 degreees your water temps go up, you loose about 30% DO in the water)
But also running to high of an EC, the nutrients compete for real estate with the DO, so A very simple way to increase DO is to run a low EC.
*My best tip*

[MimbresValley]

Hello MimbresValley,


Your PH article can be summed up as, PH shift is good and is expected and wanted.

Take care.
OM
Just wanted to make clear ph flucuating is ok, as long as it does not go out of the 5.5-6.5 range. If you find yourself with a PH of 7.0, You do need to bring it back down.
(just a quick clarification >)
Some folks will argue different, and thats ok, more than one way to skin a cat, and grow a plant.:stoned:

[avon211]

I am in a ebb and flow system with 12 buckets. My ph seems to go up each morning when I check it goes up to 7.0. I bring it back to 5.8 each afternoon . I do 4 water cycles for about an hour each. Is that a normal ph fluctuation? I am in early veg. stage. Under 400 watt halide and 2 T5 sets. I ordered a ppm meter when I get it what should my ppm be kept at?

[MimbresValley]

"if the ppms are rising and ph dropping you are feeding to much. as the plants drink the water there is more nutes in it and the ph buffers are then lowering your ph as the water lvl drops.
it will be the exact opposite if you feed to low. your ppms will lower and your ph will rise."

[avon211]

I must assume my nutes are on the lighter side since my ph rises each day . Like I say I am waiting for my Milwaukee ppm meter. I do not know what my ppm is . However, that said when my ppm meter is used where do I want to be at?( ppm early vegetative stage). I rather be a bit light than heavy with nutes. I fear nute burn.

[MimbresValley]

well you can also have a shift in ph up naturally if you are using tap water, lots of variables.
Are you using tap, or RO?

For instance my starting tap water ec is .4 when using RO water its .0
I personally go by ec, as ec is universal, where as ppm changes depending on who manufatures it, for instance I believe blue labs 1.0 ec equals 700ppm
But on a hanna its 1.0 equals 500ppms.

:wtf:

[MimbresValley]

Always better to have to little nutrients than to much, IMO

[Daddynobucks]

to get folks to use EC. :beatdeadhorse::beatdeadhorse:
but you see where we are with that

Daddy

[avon211]

Is measuring EC better than ppm? Should I cancel my order and get an EC meter?
About my water~ I am using well water which is using a softener since I have a lot of Iron in my well. My toilets and bathtub water would have a reddish color in the water before I had a water treatment system put in. I have absolutely no chemicals in my water. I use salt in my brine tank which takes the iron out. I suppose my water has a high level of sodium in it. What effect will that have? Thanks for joining in Daddy.:thumbsup:

[MimbresValley]

If you can get a EC meter, yes it would be better to have that, but if they have already sent it out, its not that big of a deal.

I am not super familar with sodium and don't want to give you incorrect advise, from what I remember it is bad for your plants. I am not sure at what levels it becomes a problem though.

Might want to do a little research on the subject, if you find some interesting articles, post them up here too.:thumbsup:

[MimbresValley]

"if the ppms are rising and ph dropping you are feeding to much. as the plants drink the water there is more nutes in it and the ph buffers are then lowering your ph as the water lvl drops.
it will be the exact opposite if you feed to low. your ppms will lower and your ph will rise."
Further clarification

These are not the only two options by the way, for instance you can have ppms rising and ph going up as well, which could be because of the water, or the nutrients you are using causing the ph to go up.

Like if you have root problems(pythium,etc.), your ph will generally go down regardless of what the EC/PPM is, brown algae will cause your ph to go up.
So there isnt just one set of rules, as there are lots of variables that come into play.:rastasmoke:

[littledevil661]

so glad this is here . im switching over to a single dwc bucket from soil. i have 2 plants in there flowering stage. this is definatly a good write up

[camoxnhx]

nice log so far man. ive been debating hydro for a little while and im posted up here watching. i think you have persuaded me to do hydro.

[MimbresValley]

Some harvest pics coming up tonight.

[Lynhal]

Some harvest pics coming up tonight.

Hi! I can't wait to see your harvest pics. Been reading this thread tonight and am so happy to know you'll have some pics soon.

Best of luck on your yield! :rastasmoke: I'll bet right about now your fingers are covered in GOO! :D

[MimbresValley]

Pics will be up in a couple days, will put up dried bud shots too. sorry, been super busy last couples days.

[Lynhal]

Pics will be up in a couple days, will put up dried bud shots too. sorry, been super busy last couples days.

psst ... where's the bud porn? :madnoel:
Hope things went well for you!

[MimbresValley]

sorry Iv been slacking guys, ill get a big update in the next week or two, I had a water pipe break while I was out of town on the holidays, grow room was flooooded like no other. well be back with pictures of the harvest, bud shots, and pics of the new grow room.
:hippy:

[tikiroom]

MimbresValley,
All really good info in this thread. I really appreciate the time and effort you have put in so far. :thumbsup:

I have a question for you pertaining to beneficial bacterias.
If I am running a continuous reservoir (no change outs) how many times would I need to inoculate the solution?
If I were to inoculate twice at the beginning, would the beneficial bacteria continue to grow?
Or do I have to continue inoculating, and how often?

Thanks in advance for any input. :hippy:

P.S. Looking forward to those harvest pics too. :jointsmile:

[MimbresValley]

I like crown feeding benies, at 1/4 strength. Bennies will continue to grow in the system, and without change outs I believe you might have problems with bio films. Also some microbes repoduce faster than others, and some sleep when nutrient levels are high, I think michorizal(sp) sleeps when P is over 100ppm.

Generally when I use microbes I change the solution more often than when using a sterile system with chemical nutrients.

what type bennies u going to use? I like great white, and brewing my own casting tea.

[tikiroom]

I wanted to get Great White, but my shop was all out. So, I am using Sub Culture-B.

What do you think of Humboldt Nutrients Myco Madness?

[MimbresValley]

Never used the myco maddness, is it a powder or liquid?
I like brewing my own teas because they are always super fresh, I have bought liquid microbes before and had problems. ( think they went bad from being on the shelves to long). Seems like the powders have a longer shelf life. Just my unscientific opinion.



Im getting some Down Under HF, formerly hydrofungicide in a couple days, Its the new rage around the world, ill let you guys know if it is good as the hype. Ill be using it exclusively this round.

[MimbresValley]

On a side note, I was talking to a friend of mine who runs NM's largest alfalfa farm, he gets 50lb bags of mycorrhizal for a 100.00 bucks.

I was telling him about how much hydroponic "specific" things cost, LOL.
I bet that 4 oz jar of great white cost 2.00$ and they sell it for 60:wtf:.

[tikiroom]

It is in powder form, and makes your water black. :wtf:

One last question for you. Would it be worth while running a "bio-scrubber"?
I am thinking of the filter systems used in fish tanks.
Could this keep down on the bio film, allowing you to run the solution longer?

Just thinking of a way to use less nutrients. Cause like you said when it's for hydroponics it costs ten times more. :wtf:

[MimbresValley]

tikiroom, go to Cannabis.com - Medical Marijuana, Medical Cannabis, California Club, News, Videos, Dispensary, Co-op, Co-ops, Menus, Reviews, Los Angeles (http://www.cannabis.com) (different from boards.cannabis.com) log in, and you have mail from me.
:D

[tikiroom]

Thanks for that!

I tried to reply there, but it erased the message when i tried to send it. :wtf:

I am actually running something similar and didn't know it.
I use a homemade venturi that injects into the main reservoir of my rdwc.
I have been getting some of that foam on top of my control reservoir. I have just been manually skimming this off with a mesh strainer.

Do you think I should be fine the way I am doing it now, or should I build a separate skimmer set up?

Sorry for all the questions, but greatly appreciated! :hippy:

+ rep for sure. :D

[MimbresValley]

You have to be a ninja to send emails here :stoned:

No exactly sure what exactly a bio scrubber is, lol :D haha

Im picturing the thing with the filter for fish tanks that moves water through it slowy? Can buy at wally world and such.

If thats what you are talking about, I have actually wondered the same thing myself.

I know lots of people will put a sponge type material, I believe its a koi pad(or something like that) in the water because some microbes are broken apart by the impeller on the pumps, and having those koi pad things keep the filimanet fungus all together. also lavarock seems better than hydro clay when using microbes, as it gives place for them to latch on.

As for the venturi, I think that the foam (may?) contain some nutrients as well. due to nutrient fall out from the fine bubbles.(did you watch the movies on the link I gave you?)

The one thing i would wonder is if the bio scrubber would remove any nutrients? if not seems like a good thing, catch any dead roots and such, and prevent bio film.= )

Keep me posted on any info you find, or experiments with this. Im very interested. srry didnt feel like spell checkin. .hahaha

[tikiroom]

Yup I watched the videos.
Bio Scrubber is just something I pulled out of my head that sounded good. :stoned:

I was also wondering how much nutrients you might lose with the venturi method. One thing I can say though, is my ec stays pretty constant in accordance with water usage.

I think I may build an external venturi filter for my next grow and see what happens. :detective1:

I may even pick up on of those aquarium filters to try out this grow.

[MimbresValley]

Will everyone stop by over here and give U.G.U some love.
http://boards.cannabis.com/indoor-growing/189858-warning-new-off-gassing-product.html

[denylle]

Thanks fo this!