kingstoned
New Member
wtf??
Ebb and gro questions
- Thread starter w3rdup
- Start date
Stix
New Member
You can use anything for a resevoir. You just have to make sure you that you use the anti-siphon piece that comes with the unit. The resevoir that comes with the system has a lid with 2 connections on the top where the intake and outtake hoses hook up to. There is also a large hole in the lid where you can easily put nutrients through. Other then that there really is nothing special about it.
Stix
New Member
yeah, it has barbed connections.
The buckets are 2 gallons each. With the hydroton it will take about a gallon of nutrient. Keep in mind optimum nutrient amount would be 5 gallons per plant but really isn't veasible. I would use atleast 2 gallons per plant. The more nutrient you use per plant the less PH flucuation you will have as well as PPM flucuation. As your plant take in nutrients your PPM will rise. So, its a good idea to use as much nutrient as possible from the beginning. You also need to be careful not to run your pump dry. It will ruin it over time. I myself have always filled my resevoir all the way up. Don't forget to keep an airstone in the resevoir running 24/7.
Stix
New Member
You have a really nice grow, so nice in fact it forced me to register just to comment. Those roots look fantastic man. I'm definitely getting one of those systems on the next upgrade.
May I make a few friendly helpful suggestions, you should consider switching to higromite which is volcanic silica rock with 100% water retention by weight. The Silica will supercharge your cell walls in the plants giving you thicker stronger stems faster, they'll be more fungus, pest, weather, and disease resistant, as a side benefit they do not float like hydroton.
If you don't want to switch to higromite because of costs, you should consider getting some silica blast or something like it. GH makes silica blast.
If you can convert over to a 400 watt magnetic core HPS ballast and get a Philips Retro White HPS bulb, which is really a Ceramic Metal Halide bulb retrofits for HPS ballasts. That slaughters HPS or MH, combined at equal wattage.
Good luck in the future your grow already looks fantastic but those two things I clued you onto could make them even nicerrrrrrr
Not quite sure who's grow your referring to. This is a thread about the Cap Ebb & Gro system. I don't recall seeing any pictures of roots in this thread either.
Stix
New Member
no prob. uptake from the plants and water evaporation will cause ppm to rise. The water evaporates but the nutrients to not.
Stix
New Member
Yes I am. I almost always have to ph down my nutrient solution during a nutrient change. Only time I can get away not having to ph adjust my nutrient change is when I'm in late phase blooming nutrients. My tap water's PH is about 7.5 which means I have to ph down adjust my nutes all through veg. My blooming nutrients have a lower ph value, so the more I put in the more it drops my resevoir all by itself. Late in my blooming phase I don't have to ph adjust my nutes at all during a nutrient change.
Stix
New Member
Prolly. Get yourself a digital PH tester. It's a must have for any grower.
Moderately hard: 210-320 ppm
Your almost to the point where you may want to consider a hard water micro nutrient.
I'm pretty lucky. My city water is about 80 ppm.
How can I properly maintain my hydroponic nutrient solution?
So I plan to get GH flora nutes and copy stix. I have an old ph pen that I have been using for a while, I will buy a submersable thermometer, but I don't have a tds meter. Stix do you use one, and if so could you do without it? If I mix my nutes accurately, and top it off as it says in the link, could I do without it? Or do I need to have one? I still need to get an RO system, nutes and additives, hydrotin, and A portable ac. So I need to know where things belong on the list.
So I plan to get GH flora nutes and copy stix. I have an old ph pen that I have been using for a while, I will buy a submersable thermometer, but I don't have a tds meter. Stix do you use one, and if so could you do without it? If I mix my nutes accurately, and top it off as it says in the link, could I do without it? Or do I need to have one? I still need to get an RO system, nutes and additives, hydrotin, and A portable ac. So I need to know where things belong on the list.
Stix
New Member
If money is an issue, you can do with out it. Basically the importance of the tds meter to me is to let me know how far my nutrients have gone up during the 3rd -4th day into the 5-6 week of the flowering phase. I change my nutes weekly, so my PPM doesnt really change until the middle to end of each week. However, the 5th and 6th week is when the plants take in the most nutrients the quickest (usually). I've had my plants take in 20 gallons in a 2 day period at times. That can make my PPM spike over 400 points. You should just assume that when you loose major nutrient solution over a short period of time like that you should add atleast 1/2 of what you lost with straight water then PH balance the nutrient solution.
BTW: I don't think you need to have an RO system top on your list either. I've been doing pretty good with just tap water. What kind of water do you have? Well or City? If money is an issue in the beginning you may wanna put that towards the bottom of your list as well. I'm not saying that an RO system won't benefit you. I'm just saying you should be able to get by without it for awhile.
BTW: I don't think you need to have an RO system top on your list either. I've been doing pretty good with just tap water. What kind of water do you have? Well or City? If money is an issue in the beginning you may wanna put that towards the bottom of your list as well. I'm not saying that an RO system won't benefit you. I'm just saying you should be able to get by without it for awhile.
Stix
New Member
If I had to choose between a tds or a ph tester. I would most definately choose a ph tester. Ph flucuates daily and can lock out the plants ability to uptake certain nutrients. As long as you follow the GH feeding chart you really can't go wrong with the ppm. If you change your nutes weekly you won't need to worry about "topping off" with added "nutrients" which is where a ppm tester would be more important to have. Plants can survive at a ppm that high pitviper but I bet if you left it there for a prolonged amount of time it would most likely have an ill affect on them.
BigSicilian
New Member
I set my system to flow for a 15 minute cycle that repeats every four hours. Make sure it correlates to your light on and off time. I set one cycle to start when the lights come off and another to start 30 minutes before the lights go off. The others are added at about 4 hour intervals. I have had very good results doing that. I use hydroton with grodon blocks. If you use another medium, I am not sure what your settings would be.
- Thread starter
- #36
