My 1st Plant...

[jmd1109]

Cool, that is good to know as well - That the extra Co2 will help in warmer conditions! Cheers

I guessing you have a water heater in your reservoir? If not, this would greatly help...

Ahh, I remember the other query - You mentioned salt build-up, I'm aware of this and have yet to get back to researching it, so may I just ask you? - grin

When are you (Not you personally - hehe) at risk (In Average environments) of salt build-up, before you MUST flush and cause root damage etc?

I flush my 20ltr system every 5-8 days atm, just guessing with limited knowledge. I am waiting for my TDS meter to arrive, from your part of the world so I can get a good indication regarding nutrient levels in the reservoir etc...

Hmm, enjoying this little bout of correspondence stinkyattic - thanks mate... appreciate the info etc!

Keep it coming if you want, will check back in 10 - guess where I'm going - ROFL..............

[stinkyattic]

Nae, no heater- the waterfall action keeps res temps at ambient air temp, and the pump warms the water. Don't fret over my old system, it was experimental and its major failing was the crappy grow room I used to inhabit. Had air temps been under control (ie, not in a drafty pathetic attic), it would have been more predictable.

You risk salt problems in a soil environement when you use chemical ferts and don't water heavily enough.
In a hydro environment, it's an issue of finding the balance between adding WATER and adding FERTILIZER to the res between complete res changes. If you are not running your system with an EC meter, you are flying blind and in danger of getting the balance wrong. I wish I'd taken some pics of the scale all over my system before I cleaned it off, lol... I was running tap water with NO EC meter hahaha!
Anyone growing hydro seriously will check the conductivity of the solution before adding anything to the res, every time.

[jmd1109]

Ahh yeah, sounds as though ya had a bad environ, but the added info is nice...

Am I lucky then in relation to the reservoir, I change/flush my system when water gets low, I have yet to top-up my reservoir, felt this wouldn't be a preferd option if it could be avoided - Not %100 sure of my reasoning yet - grin...

EG: I changed/flushed the system on Sunday night, tis now Thursday morning (7:30am), reservoir is at approx 65% capacity and pump is still well submerged but, I will be doing a change/flush today before I head off to work anyway - I think it would be better for me to monitor TDS, what do you think?

Though I'm starting to read about beneficial bacteria that can build up in the grow medium, is this not a bother if you are constantly feeding/introducing the desired nutrients, vitamins, enzymes etc... etc... etc..?

Damn, there is sooooo much info, how cool is hydro - smile...

[jmd1109]

Huh, that thread is chock full of pics. Maybe it's your preferences. I think the first page has no pics but they get going after.

Guess what. told you I was a newb observer , jusat found all ya pic buddy - LOL... looking at em now

[8182KSKUSH]

They are so cute when they are young!
Looks really nice jmd!:jointsmile:

[jmd1109]

Thanks mate...

I've just received my TDS meter in the mail and COOL and WOW! As my 6 day old nute solution is at 1800ppm's ouchy for this little guy - grin... Doing something about it now - back soon...

Cheers!

[jmd1109]

Here is an updated pic...

I am happy with the way it's growing, I have 8 tops and have them spread nicely (I think), I'm looking towards some nice growth soon, I hope...

Enjoy!

[jmd1109]

As you can see in the previous post, the pic shows that the rear of the plant is not as "bushy" as the front.

So I've decided to apply the "FIM" technique - like topping the plant, accept you only cut 75% of the top and not 100% (Apparently - hehe)...

Here's some progressive pics for all to have a look - going ok I think?

pic1: Day1 - applied the cut to the top of plant
pic2: Day1 - approx 14hrs after "FIM" applied
pic3: Day2 - as you can see clear growth in the "FIM'd" area
pic4: Day2 - same time as previous pic, just view from top

Looking pretty good I think, lets just see how many tops come from applying the "FIM" technique...

Hope goes OK, that way I can get it a little "Bushier" at the back...

Enjoy!

[stinkyattic]

Looks like you are on your way.

A word of advice with a spray system like that; do what you can to prevent the spray from actually hitting the lower leaves. What you will find is actually called 'reverse foliar feeding', where you can accidentally leach nutrients out of the low leaves by running water over them. Then you will wonder what your deficiency/lockout is, but it's just overspray. I see the signs that you have something like that going on to some extent.

In other news, I got my vertical NFT system cleaned up and assembled, and got a bunch of nice pics of it to show you, with no plants so you can see the basic structure, and then... lost my camera cable!!! oops!

[jmd1109]

(In on or two of the pic, the pic was taken not long after I had sprayed them with distilled water...)

That was one of my first things on the list when I turned the squirters up (On top of hose, no longer below the hose), making sure they were not squirting any part of the plant, including stem. Not sure if you can see in the pic I provided, but I build little pockets for the water to spirt into and build the area up with more expanded clay balls, to stop splashing up into the plant etc...

What a bummer about your camera, I am very keen to have a look at your system setup, cheers Stinkyattic

Enjoy!

P.S. Find ya cable for ya camera - grin
P.S.S. Sorry about calling you "buddy" when referenceing you earlier in post, I've not long realised that you are female - cheers!