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- #21
Help with first time DWC grow pH level
rhetorrikz
Well-Known Member
6.4 is heaps better.. have you added a h202 product? This journal would also be great for you to read through it has heaps of great info ..
ClosetCase420's - RDWC - 600W MH/HPS - Wonder Woman - Grow Journal - 2015
ClosetCase420's - RDWC - 600W MH/HPS - Wonder Woman - Grow Journal - 2015
Vestrimatrik
New Member
I wouldn't use h202, I suggest going and getting some hydroguard or some sort of benificial bacteria to add. Its very hard to keep a completely sterile res. I had the slime problem before and it's nothing to worry about if you add your benificials. Depending on how tall your plants are you might want to switch to a 3/4 strength mix.
One thing to remember is that if everything else is doing okay, your ph going down usually means too much nutes. Too little and ph goes up. When your ppm only fluctuates by about 10 day to day then you have the right strength nutrient mix.
That's only if you don't have any other problems.
Hope this helps and good luck!
One thing to remember is that if everything else is doing okay, your ph going down usually means too much nutes. Too little and ph goes up. When your ppm only fluctuates by about 10 day to day then you have the right strength nutrient mix.
That's only if you don't have any other problems.
Hope this helps and good luck!
Vestrimatrik
New Member
Also, how many plants and how many gallons of water per plant?
The less water you have per plant the harder it is to monitor and maintain your different levels like pH and ppm.
The less water you have per plant the harder it is to monitor and maintain your different levels like pH and ppm.
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- #25
Right now two plants, two separate buckets, both have 4 gallon of water I'll get you some pics of how big they are in week two. My main concern though is the ph is rising from a 5.69 to up to 7 recently
Hi Igot1two, from my experience with DWC and the pics you have shown, the only problems i have had with PH shifting crazy like yours is to do with the clay balls not being washed thoroughly before use, depending on the brand depends on how much of a wash they need. Looking at the roots they have not been in very long? also noticed you mentioned your netpot sits 2-3 inches above the water/nutes in the res, i would try adding a bit more and get that netpot submerged a little in the res, just until you get a good root mass forming, make sure you have a good air pump. I would say your main issue is in the medium, doesnt look like algae forming from them pics.
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- #27
Vestrimatrik
New Member
Is it rising that high in just one res or both? If you are able to increase your gallon per plant it would help with stabilizing your ph. 4 gal/plant is the absolute minimum i would suggest going. With hydroponics a larger res usually means a more stable one. But it sounds like you have a ppm and sterility problem.
Is there anything else you are using besides the gh trio?
Picture would be nice. Look forward to seeing them.
Is there anything else you are using besides the gh trio?
Picture would be nice. Look forward to seeing them.
Vestrimatrik
New Member
Contamination and bad bacteria. It also contributes to slime.
Like FeralA9X said, it doesn't look like algae.
Like FeralA9X said, it doesn't look like algae.
Cloudy water could be from alkaline in the medium? hence the reason to wash it and PH it beforehand, was the medium PH'd? What was your PH and ppm of water before adding anything? is there enough airflow through the solution? is the water turning stagnant with a film on top? could be a matter of anything, just trying to eliminate things to help.
What i was getting to in my last post was you should change out your res, flush the living shit out of the medium by filling the res through the netpot with plain water, empty and fill again with water, dont add anything else and see if it still fluctuates after a few hours, at the early stage you are at and the low rate of nutes you are using a day on plain water will not hurt.
Submerging the bottom of the netpot is a standard thing to do in early stages of root growth, it really does help a lot and also allows the medium to settle at the right PH.
What i was getting to in my last post was you should change out your res, flush the living shit out of the medium by filling the res through the netpot with plain water, empty and fill again with water, dont add anything else and see if it still fluctuates after a few hours, at the early stage you are at and the low rate of nutes you are using a day on plain water will not hurt.
Submerging the bottom of the netpot is a standard thing to do in early stages of root growth, it really does help a lot and also allows the medium to settle at the right PH.
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- #31
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- #32
looking good, definitely not a root issue, too healthy lol
Comes down to medium or nute mix, nutes generally stay stable and will not fluctuate unless you have a massive plant chewing through them. I run 8L reservoirs in veg, 20L res in flower, check the PH on them maybe once a week and they are always within 0.2 of what i set it at earlier in the week.
could be something reacting in your tap water too
Comes down to medium or nute mix, nutes generally stay stable and will not fluctuate unless you have a massive plant chewing through them. I run 8L reservoirs in veg, 20L res in flower, check the PH on them maybe once a week and they are always within 0.2 of what i set it at earlier in the week.
could be something reacting in your tap water too
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- #34
Vestrimatrik
New Member
Try out Ferals flush and let's see what happens.
The problem with using tap water is there are already small amounts of bacteria in it. Given a proper breeding environment they will multiply like crazy. When using tap it's a good idea to add benificials in to help combat the bad. This is less likely to happen when using ro water.
Try to remove all the slime you can as it will harbor some of the bad bacteria and they also feed which could be why your ppm is dropping so fast.
Feral, if anything I'm saying sounds wrong please stop me. I just want to help.
Igot1two, your doing great. I had the same issues and I'm sure once your dilemma is solved you will have a fantastic grow.
sounds pretty good to me 
a good flush should sort out your probs, my tap water is 6.8, roughly about 120ppm, when i first started DWC i had exactly the same issue using clay balls, cant remember the brand had a blue label, dealt with PH fluctuations for about a month before i started seeing the terracotta color looking almost like an algae all through the root system. Since that day i have always washed the clay about 3 times and left it soak in the water for at least a day before use, also switched to canna clay balls and have not had an issue since.
a good flush should sort out your probs, my tap water is 6.8, roughly about 120ppm, when i first started DWC i had exactly the same issue using clay balls, cant remember the brand had a blue label, dealt with PH fluctuations for about a month before i started seeing the terracotta color looking almost like an algae all through the root system. Since that day i have always washed the clay about 3 times and left it soak in the water for at least a day before use, also switched to canna clay balls and have not had an issue since.
all good mate
I personally run a sterile res, i get past all the bacteria stuff by using Dutch Master Zone, helps keep any bacteria from forming, good or bad lol that and Silica will really help, silica more to help the plant get stronger and combat pest or res issues.
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- #38
Ok so got time to flush today... Flushed net pot and plant for a good six minutes rinsed out bucket. Was rinsing air stones and on the sides and in the little areas there is green algae all on them both of them I have yet to flush second one but will be doing that tonight, I know I'll have to do something live or sterile??
Vestrimatrik
New Member
It's personal preference really, when running live you have introduced benificial bacteria to "out compete" any bad such as pythium. With a sterile res your using something more along the lines of h202 or sm90 so that if these bacteria get introduced somehow they will get killed almost instantly.
One thing to remember is that the effects of h202 will wear off because the molecules will split up into water and oxygen.
I personally use benificial bacteria for the added benefit of them eating any dead cells in the root zone from either broken root tips or dead cells. At least that's what I have been told.
Feral, any insight to this?
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- #40
Omg I need some more help. Second week using calimagic seems my roots may be getting the raw end of the deal I'll put up some pics but at water line and a little above my roots are covered in a dark substance what can this bee
