Just starting - Questions on nutes, venting, and water.

[Thepurplem0nkey]

Hi,
Iâ??m going to be starting my deep water culture hydroponic grow next week. This is my first grow. Iâ??m using three, 5 gallon buckets with two plants per bucket. I have two bubble stones per bucket, which will be hooked up to an Elite dual port pump. This is somewhat of a closet grow so practical, affordable suggestions would be appreciated  I have a few questions that Iâ??m hoping you can answer. I apologize if some (or all) of these questions could be answered by searching the forums, I swear I'll look for them after I post this (I'll probably receive your answers faster than I can search for them):

1. Honestly, is tap water OK to use? I know reverse osmosis is the preferred medium, but once the pH is balanced, will tap water work fine? I tested my tap water and it came out to 7.5 pH which is a little high. I bought some filtered water (although it wasnâ??t RO filtered) and it tested a 7.4. The thought of buying 15 gallons of RO water every two weeks to refill my reservoir is a little daunting.
2. In using either tap water or RO water, should I prepare my 5 gallon solution the day before I plant my clones? That is, should I mix up my solution and adjust the pH the day before I place plants in the solution? If the answer is YES, should I add the nutrients into that pre-made solution, or add the nutrients when I actually add the plants?
3. Iâ??m reading the feeding schedule for the nutrients I bought (FoxFarms and Sensi), and it tells me that during the first few weeks to add both the GROW BIG solution as well as the BIG BLOOM solution. Iâ??m confusedâ?¦.should I really be adding BOTH nutes at the same time? Shouldnâ??t I be adding JUST the big grow nutes during the veg stage and the other nutes during the other stages, or do the other nutes help for later production of buds? Iâ??m pretty sure Iâ??m reading the chart correctly, but I wanted to double check before I potentially harm my plants.
4. Speaking of nutes, I know these plants lke higher nitrogen during the growth/veg stage, so I should look for nutes that are along the lines of 4 â?? 2 â?? 2 or a number that has higher N nutes. Whatâ??s interesting is in comparing the FoxFarms hydro big grow solution with their soil based big grow solution, the N is less in the hydro solution than the soil solution. Why is this? Iâ??ve noticed that in a lot of hydro specific nutes the N tends to be lower, while the K is equal if not higher than the N for the grow/veg nutes. Is this just coincidence, have I been looking at the wrong nutes, or does the hydro delivery change the plants needs for NPK?
5. My venting system pulls air into the vent, through my light, and outside the grow room. During the day, this is perfect because my room heats up. At night, the room generally stays at 73 â??78 (probably closer to 78 â?? 85 during August) degrees. Should I be turning the vent off at night, or does the vent need to be running 24/7?
6. Whatâ??s the difference, in terms of yield, from a 3 gallon and 5 gallon reservoir? Do plants produce more yield with larger buckets, or would I get the same yield using two, 3 gallon buckets with one plant a piece than if I used a 5 gallon with 2 plants a piece? Just curious as to if thereâ??s any major difference at all.
7. I placed two bubble stones per bucket. Is this overkill? Is this not enough? Will too many bubbles harm my plants, or is there no such thing as too many bubbles?

Many thanks for your comments, suggestions, and answers.

Thepurplem0nkey Reviewed by Thepurplem0nkey on 07-26-2010. Just starting - Questions on nutes, venting, and water. Hi, Iâ??m going to be starting my deep water culture hydroponic grow next week. This is my first grow. Iâ??m using three, 5 gallon buckets with two plants per bucket. I have two bubble stones per bucket, which will be hooked up to an Elite dual port pump. This is somewhat of a closet grow so practical, affordable suggestions would be appreciated  I have a few questions that Iâ??m hoping you can answer. I apologize if some (or all) of these questions could be answered by searching the Rating: 5

[Thepurplem0nkey]

Ok, I've already found the answers to some of my questions. I'll post them here in case I got the wrong answer ;-)

1. I think tap water WILL be ok to use so long as I have an EC meter and watch the pH. I'll still have to watch the pH using RO water, but the PPM should be neutral, and make it so I can just do what the directions tell me to do without worrying too much about over ferting. Is that correct?

2. I'm still not sure about this. Does the pH up/down and the EC mixture change quickly? That is, do I NEED 24 hours to let the pH/nutes mix together or can I do this within the hour I'm planning on changing out the reservoir?

3. Apparently, some nutrients are "all in one", others require additional or micro nutrients. Bottom line, follow the feeding schedule and the recommended nutes.

4. Still unclear on this question, I would appreciate your input.

5. Also not sure on this one.

6. I'm assuming that there's a negligent difference here, if at all.

7. From what I have read, there's no such thing as too many bubbles, and two bubble stones will be fine.

Again, thanks for any input.

[LOC NAR on probation]

1. Tap water is good only when it is good. Many questions about water. The best you can do is a control. In one of your buckets use only tap water and compare. We know R/O will work we don't know about your tap water. Hate to see all 3 go bad so just try one and you still may harvest 2. Those PH readings are about right but you can PH either water no problem.

2. You can mix and PH the day befor but we have always do it just right before changing.

3. Nutrients for hydro come in 2 part and 3 part most of the time. It gives you the flexability of tweaking the nutes to your plant. Both parts in veg and then drop the grow big and add twice as much grow bloom or whatever the mix is I have only used GH 3 part.

4. Add them up when you mix them right you will have a higher N in veg. N is less in hydro because of the way they feed. Tooo much and all yellow.

5. This is your biggest problem for hydro. Your temps need to be near 70 degrees. When water temps get to 75 or have a big temp swing thing go wrong like root rot. Those temps are better for soil or soiless. run vent 24/7.

6. the larger the rez the less ph flux or any problems. The smaller buckets you get will need lots of attention in topping up with water.

7. No such thing as too many bubbles and it will not hurt the plants. 2 should be plenty.

[Thepurplem0nkey]

LOC NAR, awesome, thanks very much for your information!