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Well lets see if I can get to each question in order...
1) There is no "standard cycle" for flowering. There are many factors, a few of which you eluded to. An expert grower who knows how to not induce stress and can provide optimal environment for flowering can get most indica strains done in 8 weeks...many sativa strains can take 10-15 weeks. Most people are running a cross of some sort and are not perfect (we all make some mistakes on every run for the most part) so somewhere between 8-10 weeks is fairly normal. The better question is to know when to pull the trigger on a new strain and start the flush. after a few runs you can get a feel for it but the first time you run a new strain it may be different then what you have done in the past. It may be very similar...all depends on the breed.
2) No I do not have a recipe for my tea and it is definitely not exact. I am still experimenting with a new RDWC and I think too many environmental factors are in play to just transfer my tea from my setup to yours. Also the total composition is changing every week of what I am adding (see below comments). I am a firm believer in the fact that there is a lot of hype and re-posted ignorance on the internet. Nothing I write or anything you read from anyone should be taken as fact and should be double checked. 10 different people read the same well written under researched post by some pot head and re-post the gibberish. Then someone else reads 10 different re-posts of the same hog wash and thinks its fact and starts believing it and telling everyone to do something like keep their pH 5.8 +-0.2 which in fact is not ideal for the res. There are many forums about hydro that are not cannabis and you should read a few things there and just in general about plants if you really want to know. When I first got into growing I bough Ed Rosenthal's book at a bookstore (this was before the world wide web existed) and read it cover to cover many times each time getting something new. There is no reason anyone on here shouldn't do the same if they want to have a basic understanding period. That said... Most of the nute companies publish a schedule of nutes that vary over the life of the grow. The bottle will say one thing like 4mL / L and that is it but if you get their literature it will outline a varying amount that changes each week. Also it will show you when to add some things and not others. (example just below) Advanced Nutrients shows theirs with all the additives and beneficials and stuff we have been talking about in various threads. It is a good idea to maybe understand what they are doing and why even if you want to use someone else's product. For my tea I play it a bit by ear right now as I am experimenting with a new res setup. But like I said in the other thread... Bacteria don't last long but you don't need them full time. If you are making your own Heisenberg tea then it is cheap so add it every feed. If you are using Advanced Nutrients it is expensive so add it every other week at most. The fungus like I said I would follow the recommendations. Maybe the concentration can be cut down but a better way is to feed it directly to the pot not into the res. Take a 1/2 gallon measuring cup and scoop out some of the res, add the fungus and pour it directly into the netpot so that it goes full strength into the root zone. I hate to promote one brand over another and I try to be vague on that because I don't want to be one of these pushers telling you that you must use this or that (with the exception of one product). We survived for years on Miracle Grow and nothing more so most of what is out there is not necessary. If you know your stuff and can read a plants symptoms you can get ideal results on way less products. Advanced nutrients is specifically designed for the person who doesn't want to think. They even water it down to a point that makes it so all of the bottles have the same mix ratio on the label. But if you go to their website they have a chart like this that shows things changing.
3) Having the PPM not change while the water drops is ideal. If the ppm goes up then the plant is taking in more water then nutes. If the ppm goes down then the plants are taking on lots of nutes faster then the water. That isn't always bad but it could be due to too much humidity or some other factors like nutrient deficiencies and targeted pH. Having the water and nute uptake be even allows for more precise control.
One last side note. If you are using General Hydroponics pH Up and Down read the label. It specifically states that if you add too much it will force nute lockout even at a balanced 5.8 pH. Now as I recall it is a ridiculous amount but I suppose if you are trying to force it to a tight range and not changing out the res it can get there after a few weeks.
cool.. thanks! i appreciate the advice, but its not a bad thing to mention names so I don't have to have a masters degree to grow a decent plant. It seems like you have a lot of time to put into this business or hobby, but i am kind of pressed for it everyday. Between the work stuff which is 50-60 hours a week, you have practices and games for the kids and then not to mention my elder parents and my wife's elder parents and then of course wife time... There isn't enough time to do much for me... that was why I was asking for more specific info, but I understand. No worries and I really appreciate the lessons so far.
