topping off -- plain water vs. nutrients

[green4life]

When topping off the nutrients, is it appropriate to add some of the premixed solution you made originally when switching? That is if a decrease in ppm is noticed, and the plants are eating the nutes. Why do some reccomend only adding ph 5.5 water to the nutes between switches. thanks for any replies.


note:
I leave my nutrients in for 10-14 days.
25 gallon rubbermaid (recirculating dwc)
830 ppm @ 19 days flower. Cutting Edge Nutrients: (4ml/gal Micro, 9ml/gal Bloom, 4ml/gal GH Floralicious)


-green4life:D

[wallhofen]

There are 25 different ways to skin a cat, in other words, there is more than one way of doing it, same as growing plants. MJ is a weed, and will grow in many cases with or without your help. All they need is light and nutes. As long as they have those, they will thrive. 830ppm (for me) is a good 'start' for flowering and then raising it a bit later on into flowering. The plants will only take on what they need. PH is more imortant in very young plants and in starting seedlings, and becomes less important when they are older. In fact MANY nutrients actually adjust and stabilizethe PH so you don't have to worry about it once going into flowering. If you see your PPM go from 830 to 900 the next day, you know they are consuming more water than nutes. If the following day the PPM is lower, then you know consumption is more than you have been giving them.

wallhofen

[Zandor]

Well in truth the PPM is only good for the time you make up the nutrients formula. The plants take what they need and deposit back-unused portions of your nutrient mix. That by its self changes the PPM number and you no longer have a clue of what the NPK ratios are any longer. If you use enhancers then the PPM number is only good for your NPK mix anyway.

Most experienced growers will change the water every 5 to 10 day's depending on how much you started with in the first place. It very safe just to return the volume of water in your rez back to normal operating level with Ph adjusted water and not over feed the plants or risk burning them from to high of a nutrient level.

That is why most add just Ph adjusted water in-between rez changes.

Hope that answered your question.

[green4life]

Thank you for the words, Zandor. but how do you run your system in these terms and anything else that is important about your process.

leave nutrients in for 10-14 days.
25 gallon rubbermaid (recirculating dwc)
830 ppm @ 19 days flower. Cutting Edge Nutrients: (4ml/gal Micro, 9ml/gal Bloom, 4ml/gal GH Floralicious)

-green4life:D

[latewood]

the other day, my plants drank 2-3 gallons of water and the ec went to 3.1...they left the nutes right in the rez...That is why I adjusted my rez back to 2.1-2.3 using ph'd ROwater. hope this helps