DWC Bucket Concerns

[ThaFooT]

ok thanks for reading thus far. i recently changed the water in my DWC bucket and noticed alot of "grime" on the inside walls. i think they r nutrients that kinda "settle" on the walls. sometimes i stickl my hand in their and swish it around to get them nutes flowin. is this normal? good? bad?

1 more question: How bad is algea when it comes to roots? i have a half inch aquarium tube that i use as a level indicator and i use it to inject nutes into the bucket, anyway, this tube is clear and has algea growth in it. i recently covered it with a rag so light doesnt hit it but im just curious. any information whatsoever will be appreciated. thanks.

p.s. i can take pics if need be

[CanGroIt]

Pics always help!!! How many airstones do you have in your bucket? You shouldn't have to swish the water around with your hand....if you are, to "get the nutes flowin", you're doing something wrong....

Click on the link in my sig. Copy the questions, comeback here, reply, paste, answer the questions and then I could be of better assistance....

CGI::::::

[ThaFooT]

ok thanks heres the copy n paste glory right below here...some ?'s i could find out later. i only have 1 airstone in the bucket, a standard little 1 incher....



What is your experience level? NOVICE

Your Equipment:
.1) Type and wattage of lights. FLOUROS FOR VEG, SOME EXPENSIVE 1 FOR FLOWER
.2) Distance from tops? 1 1/2 FEET
.3) Reflector type? BARE BULB WITH REFLECTIVE HOOD
.4) Is there a consistent fresh air supply? YES
.5) Do you have an exhaust fan and a circulation fan? YES
.6) What are the bulb wattages, kelvin ratings, and schedule?

Your medium:
.7) Specific brand and type of soil. HYDROTON
.8) Size of container. 2 GALLON BUCKET
.9) Did you use peat pucks (or similar) to root clones or germinate seedlings? YES

Your nutrients and water:
10) Source of water? STORE BOUGHT DISTILLED, TOP OFF WITH TAP
11) Method of checking water ph. PEN
12) Method of adjusting water ph. I DONT ADJUST
13) Specific brand and N-P-K ratio for each bottle. BOTANICARE PRODUCTS (LIQUID KARMA, PURE BLEND BLOOM, CAL-MAG, SWEET)
14) How often are you watering between feedings, and how much per watering? I CHANGE THE WATER EVERY WEEK. I ONLY AD NUTES WHEN I CHANGE THE WATER
15) Any additives or tea's? CAL-MAG, SWEET BERRY
16) Are your ph levels stable, or do they fluctuate? STABLE
17) What is your ingoing water's ph? ...your runoff ph?
18) Do you foliar feed? NO

Your growroom:
19) Indoors or outdoors? INDOORS
20) What size of closet, room or hut? A SQUARED CLOSET MAYBE 5X5X8
21) What are the temps and humidity levels while lights are on? ...With lights off?
22) Have you seen signs of insects in the growroom? YES, ILL FIND A TINY SPIDER STRAND SOMETIMES

Your strain:
23) What strain are you growing? TOLD IT WAS AK-47
24) From seeds or clones? CLONES
25) Is this an autoflower strain? NO

[ThaFooT]

im just wonderin if its normal for nutes to "settle".

[CanGroIt]

im just wonderin if its normal for nutes to "settle".

The last thing you want is for your nutrients to settle.... Your 1inch airstone is proving to be insufficient....your air pump is probably insufficient as well.... What size air pump you got going?

A couple other things - don't top off res with tap if you are using distilled, use same source of water for top off. pH is one of theeeee most important factors to know when doing a hydro app. What is your "stable" pH? What are your ppm's for this week?

CGI::::::

[ThaFooT]

this is my first hydro grow. i dont check ppms. the ph stays at about 7. im usin a 5 gallon pump in a 2 gallon bucket. i always use a little less nutes than whats on the bottle. botanicare seems pretty harmless as ive never seen nute burn, not even after ive splashed sme on the leaves....on accident

i thank u sir for replying to my post. the internet folk are the only folk i can trust when it comes to questions about growing pot.

[ThaFooT]

heres a pic of the only problem the creature has (yellow fan leaves really crispy 5th week of flower)

[CanGroIt]

That fan leaf looks like a natural occurence. Not really a sign of a prob....

CGI::::::

[tinytoon]

PH of 7 is to high. you do not want to go over 6.5 if at all possible and not lower than 5.5. My favorates were 5.8 in veg and 6.2 in flower. Algae can be one of the worst things you want with Hydro. Zero light to the water and zero light to roots. As for the "settleing" you asked about, if you are talking the sides above the waterline than yes that is normal. A 1" air stone is a little small, if possible run 2 per bucket. That fan leaf looks like a normal deal of the big fat leaves not getting as much light as they want and go bye bye. No big deal as I also saw a couple other leaves in pic that are doing the same thing. Nitrogen gets cut down during flower and can support the plant but not those huge light sucking leaves :)

Btw not sure what form was needed for but good job filling it out.

[CanGroIt]

Btw not sure what form was needed for but good job filling it out.

Not all of us have psychic abilities toon:thumbsup:

When someone has a prob, the more info, the better the response.....:thumbsup:

[ThaFooT]

the nutrients dont seem to be constantly in the water. when i open the lid, the water is mostly clear and i can see the nutes kinda grouped together around spots of the bucket. bigger/more airstones sounds like a great idea because maybe the water isnt aggravated enough.....

i have a grow log of "her" goin on. i joined the site awhile back, never really had the chance to do shit.

[tinytoon]

Hmmm never seen that one. so basically your saying the nutes dont mix with the water? Very odd

[polishpollack]

Some of the Botanicare products are organic, meaning heavily based on carbon. Bacteria eat carbon and reproduce like crazy in a moist environment with warm temperatures. The slime on container walls could be algae if the container isn't light tight, but it also could be layers of bacteria. It's interesting that you say you change your water every week but still have slime on the walls. For Botanicare products, it could also be layers of nutes that gather on the walls, as organic ferts are known for lumping together and creating a slime that can plug up tubing in hydro. If the grow is good then I wouldn't worry about it much. You might find that the continer stinks, in which case it's odor-producing bacteria. You might find green or grey looking chunks in the water, in which case it's algae. If you don't find either, then it's probably just fert sticking to the walls.

[ThaFooT]

thank you very much polishpollack, you have kinda reassured me. the grow is going pretty well. its hard to really tell since this is my first hydro grow. the girl has a little under 2 weeks left and omg im hopin to yield around 3 oz.....

anyway, heres 2 pics of the bucket "problem" as u can see the nutes are grouped together. i simply stick my hand in that mofo and give it a stir...

thank you all very much in helpin me through my journey:stoned:

[Weezard]

Looks like "tron dust" to me

You didn't pre-soak and pre-rinse the Hydrotron?

It's harmless in DWC.
(Can screw-up a water pump though)

Your gal looks happy.
If you put that white bucket in a black plastic bag the algae will stop growing for lack of light.

Aloha an' grow on.
Weezard

[ThaFooT]

thank you weezard for chiming in. I don't know what "tron dust" is. I'll look into it after work. I did however wash the hydroton. I didn't use any solution, just rinsed it out with a garden hose until the water wasn't reddish anymore. I spray painted the outside of the buckets and then lcovered it in duct tape. I like the black bag idea. It'd be easy to just pull the bag back around it after checking everything. :)

[ThaFooT]

ahh just got what "tron dust" was. Naw don't think that's what it is but I'll do some tests. Thank you.

[ThaFooT]

check out the pic ive attached. i harvested her and this is all the roots that she had. its been distilled water and clearex for 8 days. somethin doesnt look right. the buds are amazing after being trimmed. most leaves had brown tips. im thinkin the airstone wasnt puttin enough out. even tho it had a dedicated 5 gallon pump, the stones themselves r kinda garbage. they seem to clog. lemme know what yall think. thanks. time to update the grow log.