Can I use run-off water?

[jmills826]

Hey i was watering my gals yesterday over a few bags and drained them into a container and sealed it. Im just wondering if i watered my girls with it would it be beneficial at all and if so should i water the run-off down before watering my gals with it?

 

[Sneakygreen]

I wouldn't use anything that's been sitting longer then 24hrs without a bubbler it will start to get bacteria growing in it and not the good kind.

 

[jmills826]

Ok so its ok to use as long as i use it right away? Ill just mix in the run-off with some reg water to water my last few plants..

 

[CannaKitty]

Ok so its ok to use as long as i use it right away? Ill just mix in the run-off with some reg water to water my last few plants..

Then PPM of the run off is EXTREMELY high... (even if it didn't have any nutrients going in). The soil makes its nutrient rich as it runs through collecting EC content. If you have a ppm meter you could add plain water to bring it back down but if you are 'eyeballing' it... add a LOT of water. Run off can be more than a 1000ppm higher than what it was going in... also depends on the size of the plants we are talking about. Using run off on a seedling could be life threatening but using it on a 5 foot tree in a 5 gallon tub of soil won't do too much of anything.

I test my run off ppm to see how much 'kick' my soil has still got...

XxKitty

 

[jmills826]

Thanks kitty

 

[SnarlyWeed]

jmills, thanks for asking this question. I have wondered myself. And thanks to Sneakygreen and CannaKitty for steering us in the right direction.

 

[Pennywise]

I have plants sitting on a 3' x 3' flood tray i run a 10 gallon rez underneath. I do a top feed on a timer and my runoff drains back into the rez and is reused. I run a large air pump and a large stone to churn the water that keeps everything mixed at all times and supplies oxygen to the water. Its worked well so far. I monitor EC, Temp and PH with a blue labs gaurdian monitor.

 

[Pennywise]

Oh i use coco not soil.

 

[SnarlyWeed]

Oh i use coco not soil.

One of these days I am going to have to try coco. But it's one of those "old dog, new tricks" kinda thing.
And congrats on your well deserved Member of the Month.

 

[Pennywise]

Thanks Snarly, these days coco is pretty much mainstream. Check out Cultivators thread on coco as well as Ledrf, all youll need to know about coco.

 

[SnarlyWeed]

Woof wooof.

but yes, I'll check them out.

 

[jmills826]

Since i switched to a coco,pearlite and spag moss mixture my gals have been doing better than ever.
Coco is the way to go go....lol

 

[KingJoe83]

How often should I clean my 12" saucer tray where my run off is? HEARD it's good to clean them every so often. Once a week okay?

 

[Pennywise]

Empty it every day, dont let them sit in runoff water.

 

[jmills826]

I dnt even use saucers took off and left all the bottom snap off saucers on my pots and i just water them nearby make sure most runoff is gone then i put them bck, i just have plastic grocery bags under the pots to collect any extra runoff that straggles after i put them bck under the lights....