Hand-watering out of a res, or watering a soil grow out of a reservoir at all, is unusual among hobby scale growers. You should make sure you're using a nutrient that can actually be pre-diluted and stays stable over time.
I think the micro first macro second thing is a myth. The exception is of course adding mineral supplements (calmag or silica blast if you use it) first so that you can asses your background hardensss, but beyond that, if you are going to get interaction, it's going to happen regardless of addition order, so you need to be certain that you're running compatible nutes and that they are properly chelated.
Even with a good commercial nute meant for a drip irrigation soil style, I would still say only mix up a res that will give you a week's worth of juice, and start fresh weekly. Topping up with water during the week shouldn't be a problem if you're monitoring your pH and total EC.
Hope that helps a bit, at least?
stinkyattic Reviewed by stinkyattic on . Adding WaterNutes To Half Empty Resi = Bad? I water by hand and sometimes add water when I run low, and then put more nutes in accordingly because it makes things alot more convenient. I was told at the Hydro store that you are supposed to fill resi to desired amount, add nutrients, and then not add more water (besides the 4-5 gallon top off from the d\h) otherwise it kills some of the beneficial things for plants. Is this true? Do those of you who hand water use all the water completely, then re-fill it as needed? Is it really a Rating: 5