Do you use drip clean or H2O2 in your reservoir?

[The123321]

I am new to growing. I am looking at doing 2-4 auto plants in coco coir in 3 gallon fabric pots in autopots with the gh main 3 liquid nutrients with calmag with silicon on there.

Do you use anything like drip clean or h2o2 in your reservoir? I would rather use h2o2 but I read that drip clean helps to remove extra salts in the pot and with the autopots you like do not water to runoff like with regular pots with coco coir on there.

Do any of you use both of those or alternate between drip clean or h2o2 on there?

 

[Chris Scorpio]

I use hydroguard and z7, keeps the goopies away

H202 can kill benefitial stuffs, good for cleaning, but I never run with it

 

[multiVortex]

I use hydroguard and z7, keeps the goopies away

H202 can kill benefitial stuffs, good for cleaning, but I never run with it

Same here. Z7 & Hydroguard. No issues.

IF , and that's a big if, I were to run a clean res, I'd probably just use bleach instead. Cheaper, same result.

 

[BooMtoLate]

I just run nutes in autopots.

 

[BedroomFarmer]

Z7 trying out slf100

 

[The123321]

Thanks. Do you think that h2o2 would do the same thing that drip clean or hydroguard would do? I have looked it up online and trying to figure out if the h2o2 would also help keep the tube clean and flowing throughout the watering system. I read that h2o2 helps keep the reservoir clean and it adds oxygen to the water in the reservoir and it helps the roots but while I like that I also want to keep the tubing from getting the clogs in it that would make it leak. I have read a few people using drip clean for that and I assume that hydroguard does the same thing that drip clean does? Would h2o2 by itself do what I want on there? Is it possible to alternate 1 feeding with hydroguard then 1 with h2o2 to try to get the benefits of both on there?

 

[BooMtoLate]

Your tubes should be fine, there is a small pre filter in the res. If they happen to gunk up then just pop them off and run some hot water though them.

 

[multiVortex]

Thanks. Do you think that h2o2 would do the same thing that drip clean or hydroguard would do? I have looked it up online and trying to figure out if the h2o2 would also help keep the tube clean and flowing throughout the watering system. I read that h2o2 helps keep the reservoir clean and it adds oxygen to the water in the reservoir and it helps the roots but while I like that I also want to keep the tubing from getting the clogs in it that would make it leak. I have read a few people using drip clean for that and I assume that hydroguard does the same thing that drip clean does? Would h2o2 by itself do what I want on there? Is it possible to alternate 1 feeding with hydroguard then 1 with h2o2 to try to get the benefits of both on there?

H2O2 is a disinfectant. It creates a sterile type environment.

Hydroguard and Z7 are on the other end of the spectrum. Z7 is enzymes, hydroguard is beneficial bacteria.

Of those two styles, the end goal is the same: keep away the bad bacteria.


Those two styles are not compatible.

You either run a sterile res, or a live res. The H2O2 (or bleach, or any other sterile res product) will kill the beneficial bacteria and enzymes.



Now that we have that much, let's apply it to your situation.

You're not running a recirculating res. You do not need hydroguard, H2O2, or drip clean. Just use Z7 and you'll be fine with an autopot. Save your money on the other stuff and buy a GOOD pH pen, like a blue lab.

 

[BedroomFarmer]

Slf100 can be used with h202 but any other enzyme is not compatible with h202. I dont use it though just for cleaning and I think most people here don't use h202 in the reservoir.

Keep in mind you'll probably want the expensive food grade one, the one without heavy metals for stabilizer.

You should really just start growing. Start a grow journal, mistakes will be made but that's part of the learning process. read through some of the journals here for great ideas. As you grow, you'll figure it out better and better.

If you wanna go autopots, I personally wouldn't change it up too much until I grew at least one round and see what needs to be changed. Get the kit and go from there..

So many ways of growing, the fun part is finding your favorite. I've done soil, organic soil, coco, organic coco, dwc/aero. There is so much great info online but you'll learn best by actually getting your hands dirty.

 

[multiVortex]

Oh, also while I'm thinking about it. Calculate how much those nutrients are going to run ya. Then look into this:

The Mega Crop Thread

i am switching up to mega crop. i am currently in hempy, and MC is gaining popularity in that grow style. it is being used for others as well. i am looking for anyone posting their experience with MC. of course hempy is more relevant, but i am interested in how it performs in any media. would...

www.420magazine.com

For me, with a 50gal RDWC setup, it would run me about $500/grow to run the Gen Hydro trio line. A little more to run Advanced Nutrients.

Mega Crop? $20/grow (for my 50gal setup) and the plants love the shit out of it. I'm running it in promix with 5 autos (4 have been chopped, waiting on the 5th), RDWC with 4 photos, and a lone dutch bucket (recirculating). Works a treat, and again, the plants all love it.

I can appreciate you wanting to get a solid understanding before starting. In fact, I applaud it. It's better than grabbing 4 plain old light bulbs and wondering why your one little plant won't produce 15 pounds of the sweet, sticky stuff.

It seems like you're close to go time though.

 

[The123321]

Thanks. I have been doing the research for a few weeks before ordering the equipment. I may look into the mega crop type nutrients for a future grow. I was at one point looking for a nutrient line that I could use 1 level of nutrient for the whole grow so I would be able to do 1 reservoir to water plants that were planted at different times but it did not look like that would work though the heads formula looked like it might but I decided to try regular nutrient levels and if I do 4 plants in the tent with 2 plants in veg and 2 plants in flowering I would only need 2 reservoirs for it on there.

Do the beneficial bacteria from hydroguard clean the reservoir or are the beneficial bacteria mainly for helping the plants grow on there? From what you have detailed it looks like the h2o2 helps keep the watering system sterile but does it also help keep the tube from clogging on there or is that where the enzyme like z7 comes in? Is that what drip clean is an enzyme? I really do not want the autopots to leak and come in to a flood in the tent that ruins the floor on there. I would rather spend a little extra money and run something like drip clean if it would prevent that from happening on there. I would rather spend the $20 or $30 on a bottle of drip clean than hundreds on floor repair on there.

 

[BooMtoLate]

Grab yourself that plactic tray, that way if if it happens to leak your covered

 

[The123321]

Thanks. I have now read that it looks like the hydroguard is to help keep your plants free of disease then it is not to keep the tube free of clogs. Then you could use the hydroguard with drip clean? Is drip clean like z7? I know this may sound silly but I do not have to worry about the beneficial bacteria like getting out of the tent? The tent would likely be near where I sleep and I like the idea of the h2o2 keeping it sterile though I want to use something that would keep the line clean on there. I may just do h2o2 and take the tubes off once a month to clean out the tube with hot water on there.

 

[multiVortex]

OK, you're jumping the gun and focusing on the wrong pieces.

You don't need hydroguard, drip clean, or H2O2. Just use Z7 and you'll be just fine. You can get it off amazon for a decent price. I get it by the gallon (as it's 2-part, you get two 1gal bottles, or quarts, etc.) Z7 is an enzymatic cleaner. It keeps the bad stuff out.

Combine with an airstone (like a long one) or two (like the medium sized cylinder ones) and your res will be fine. Obviously make sure you have a top on it. You DO NOT want ANY light leaks in that thing. That is where things can go south, and super quick (like a couple days or less.)


IF you were running a recirculating reservoir, it would be different. (At that point, you add hydroguard.)

The enzymes aren't escaping the system. It doesn't quite work like that.


What are you doing for ventilation? Where will your intake air come from? Where will it exhaust to? Will you be adding carbon filtration? What about temps and humidity? Do you have something to help with those? If this will be running near where you sleep, you probably don't want a humid exhaust from vegging plants to be in the same room.

RH is also another consideration for trying to run autos (or any other type) of plants that are some in veg, some in flower. The right humidity for good growth is different in veg than flower. It's also not a cut and dry RH percentage. The proper RH is based on the temp. So the right RH at 72F is different than at 82F, and on top of that it's different for the same temp depending on veg or flower. Look into VPD for more info on that.

Tap water or RO? I'd recommend RO water. You can get a 75gpd setup for about $120. With what you'll save in pH up/down, you'll pay for that RO unit (and associated items for it like a storage container, float valve, etc) in a few months.

You can try tap if you want, but be sure you know what's in your tap water first. For example, mine looks like it would be alright, even with a ppm of around 300+/-. However, there is something in there that drives my pH up a bit. So with tap, I use pH down, and a day later it's several 1/10ths higher. Just something else to be aware of at least. It may or may not be an issue for you, but if you start wondering why you pH to where you need to be, then the next day it's jumped, that might be the reason.

 

[The123321]

Thanks for the information. I may look into more information on it before I decide what to do. I like the idea of the h2o2 sterile reservoir. I may try that then replace the tubing every 3 months or so in the tent on there. I am looking at the 32x32 tent with the ac infinity 6" fan with filter with auto plants in coco coir with perlite in fabric pots in the autopots with the tap water for now. I may look into ro water in the future if my tap water is a problem on there. I am looking at putting a layer of perlite on top of the coco coir in the pots to help prevent gnats and pests and also I read that it may help with humidity in the tent on there.

 

[BooMtoLate]

I use hydrostones (clay pebbles) on the bottom 2-3 inches of auto pots and then a coco hudrostone mix for the rest of pot. Just some info on autopots, For me I go thru the 45 litre res every 8-9 days and use ro water. Every change I just rinse out the res and clean the pre filter. Once a month I'll pull out the floats and clean them up with a tooth brush and hot water. The system is plug and play man. It's super easy.

 

[The123321]

Thanks. I think I may read up more on beneficial bacteria to see what the benefits of using something like drip clean would do for the plants then decide if I would rather try the drip clean or h2o2 on there.

 

[TurboBucket]

I use h2o2 to clean and sterilize the reservoir every 4-6 weeks or so but I don't run that water through the plants. Between runs I flush the drip lines out with clearex and then h2o2. I have hard water and scale buildup is more of a problem than slime/goopies.

A live system is probably superior to sterile but I can't say for certain.

As mentioned above they both aim to acheive the same goal: keeping bad stuff from growing in the reservoir. But they do it very differently.

Think of your root zone like the floor of your house. Different debris accumulates in different places. A live system is like having a team of robot helpers to clean and remove all that dirt from your house. One of them vacuums up the dirt, one of them mops up stains and smudges and one of them sucks all the dust out of the air so it's not settling back on clean surfaces. And they all stand in the doorway saying no way your walking on my floors with dirty shoes. Everything is kept neat and clean and because the robots make energy from the dirt they collect (hypothetically) it requires no effort or expense on your end and actually powers your kitchen lights for free. So it's always clean without you doing anything and it provides a free bonus.

A sterile system is like using an air hose to clean you kitchen floor with. Sure the floor is clean for now but where did all the dirt go? It's blowing around in the air to settle back onto everything. So it's clean for awhile, and then kind of dirty shortly after, then more dirt accumulates and you have to do it all over again. It's never as clean as it could be and gets dirtier than the alternative before you have to repeat the process again.


Idk it's not the best analogy but basically sterile requires constant maintenance, live requires less and actually provides a nice benefit to your plants.

 

[The123321]

Thanks for the information. That does help detail what it does. The h2o2 would keep working if you put it in with every feeding right? The coco for cannabis feeding guide has it listed with the the regular nutrients you mix on there. Then that would have it working the whole time right? The more I read about it the more I think that drip clean may be the way to go on there.

 

[TurboBucket]

Correct. You may not even need the drip clean. It took two years of continuous use before my 1/4" lines mineralized enough to make a problem. I just replaced them with new stuff that was left over from the initial assembly.