Dwc floraflex issues week 5-6

[Wastei]

I’ll bet its tricky and reckon “dialling it in” is hyper local in terms of environment/strains?

The information is very mixed and some people advice to mix in organic additives like simple sugars in hydro, a total recipe for disaster. Humic/Fulvic acid and low dose kelp only make sense in terms of organic additives. It's not that tricky if you stick to some simple guidelines and rules. Especially in Aero were droplet size and, spray and hang time all matters for optimal growth.

You can get down to 0.4-0.5 EC being the optimal in full flower in a very dialed in Aero system. Mine is sort of a hybrid between a passive system and HPA Aero. AA(atomizing aeroponics is the safest , quietest and easiest to dial in since you don't need the nutrient solution to be pressurized, it's only mixed with compressed air like a regular paint sprayer for a car etc.

pH buffers, chelators and proper nutrient filtration are very important in Aero. Drain to waste is the way to go with and being able to change interval and the length of spray time. There's so many things to grasp setting up a proper Aero system. You could run a simple high pressure pump with nozzles but the system will not be very safe and stable without a "deadband" and a pressure switch to set pressure and interval to the pump.

If I were to set up a new system it would be AA(atomizing aeroponics) but it's harder to find parts and the cost is higher to set it up. When it's setup the maintenance costs are way lower compared to HPA(High pressure Aeroponics). It's easier to find parts for HPA.

 

[NickHardy]

Oh wow! That has given me so many things I haven’t thought about. Thank you so much!

Especially in Aero were droplet size and, spray and hang time all matters for optimal growth.

I stopped quoting after this because there are a bunch more like it - really interesting things that make perfect sense but I hadn’t thought of or seen in first research today. Cheers bro. I’m waiting to get seeds in hand before making any decisions on it but might be knocking on your door for further info soon if that’s OK?

 

[PGA Caddie]

I think the biggest mistake most people make when getting into hydro is buying a cheap ph pen. That’s the one place you need to spend a little money. Calibrate it every month. If your pen’s giving you false readings you’ll always be chasing your tail.

 

[Wastei]

I think the biggest mistake most people make when getting into hydro is buying a cheap ph pen. That’s the one place you need to spend a little money. Calibrate it every month. If your pen’s giving you false readings you’ll always be chasing your tail.

You need to calibrate your pH pen religiously every week. They typically drift 0.05-0.1 points every week. Plants doesn't care about branding and as long as the pen work and you know how to keep the pH probe clean by storing it properly it will last for years if you keep using it. If you check and calibrate with say pH 7.0 solution and the drift is the same with a cheap pen as an expensive one there's really no difference in their operation.

Storage solution like KCL(potassium chloride) or potassium silicate are vital for keeping the probes clean. I believe a simple recipe is 23g per 100ml of RO water to make KCL storage solution. That's more or less the full saturation point.

Cheers!