10 Gallons per plant: do I really need to swap the res every 7 days?

[Rexer]

Rexer:
"There are ways of having a reservoir that is continuously topped off. I wouldn't recommend it until you have a lot of experience. Everytime you reset that reservoir your plants get a nice boost and you get to address any issues. The longer you wait, the more the issues build and the harder it can be to correct (lockouts and deficiencies for example)."
Understood. I won't let things get out of hand.

"Are you running sterile or organics (bennies)?"
Sterile with Hydroguard on deck.


"If you want to cut costs down, what nutes are you using?

Edit- I see your using hydroguard, Bennie. Mega crop, and Lucas Formula are two cheap ways for decent results. MC will give some issues, keep some cal mag handy for whatever line up you pick."
Definite yes on the CalMag - I'm using RO. My nutes are Botanicare Kind. I did Fox Farms for my other/first grow (2017) but decided on Botanicare for this because I wanted KISS this time. All chemicals are Botanicare except for pH up and down.
I read up on MC but it didn't set quite right with me. Can't say why. Maybe I wanted something more "mainstream". The cost thing was a whinge brought on by the thought of schelping all of that water around every 7 days. A trip to a local weed store helped me get my perspective back about the cost of nutes.

Awesome, while I've no experience with Botanicare products, I've read nothing but good things about them (except the price).

If you're good with paying a bit more on the nutes, yeah...keep going the way you plan and with a 7-10 day change out and you should be golden.

Pickup a couple of cheap hydro/water pumps off the Zon, some adapters and a garden hose to make changes easier.

Also- I get the feeling that you already know this, but I'll throw this out there anyways...never run Hydroguard with H202, the h202 just kills off the hydroguard.

If you get a journal going, tag me and I'd love to follow along. I was looking at that RDWC superponics setup. I decided on The Bucket Company (its sitting in boxes for the next month or two prior to setting it up).

 

[Sativa1970]

I'm used to planning and then executing the plan but I'm dealing with plants so I've got to adjust my mindset

Allot of people, including myself, have been overly technical when starting hydroponics. EC and PH will fluctuate some on there own day to day.For example, if your PH is still between 5-7 give it a day before you try to dial it in to exactly 5.8PH.You will go mad trying to maintain perfection and most of the time cause it to swing wildly the other direction.
Until you know your system and your plants neads I would recommend shorter cycles to be safe. My point was,yes, it is possible to run longer than 7 days without algae or deficiencies. I have had the same system running perpetual grow for over 2 years so it is very predictable.The plant will tell you if it wants something.

 

[Delps8]

Awesome, while I've no experience with Botanicare products, I've read nothing but good things about them (except the price).

If you're good with paying a bit more on the nutes, yeah...keep going the way you plan and with a 7-10 day change out and you should be golden.

Pickup a couple of cheap hydro/water pumps off the Zon, some adapters and a garden hose to make changes easier.

Also- I get the feeling that you already know this, but I'll throw this out there anyways...never run Hydroguard with H202, the h202 just kills off the hydroguard.

If you get a journal going, tag me and I'd love to follow along. I was looking at that RDWC superponics setup. I decided on The Bucket Company (its sitting in boxes for the next month or two prior to setting it up).

Rexer:

"I've read nothing but good things about them (except the price)." Yeh, they seem to have a pretty good rep. The three one gallon bottles were just under $100 - I thought that was pretty much in line with something like Fox. My other grow was a pH death march so I looked at Advanced Nutrients…that's some expensive juice!

"If you're good with paying a bit more on the nutes, yeah...keep going the way you plan and with a 7-10 day change out and you should be golden."
That 7 day thing…dunno. Now that I think about it, maybe the it was just the noise of that pump (below) that did it. Good excuse to buy closed-back headphones!

"Pickup a couple of cheap hydro/water pumps off the Zon, some adapters and a garden hose to make changes easier."
Got one. I bought a Wayne 330 GPH before. This time, I bought a Trupow which looks to be the same product but is $50±. That speeds up the process but the pisser is that the grow space is tiny. My 2' x 4' tent is bigger than my working space.

"Also- I get the feeling that you already know this, but I'll throw this out there anyways...never run Hydroguard with H202, the h202 just kills off the hydroguard."
Understood. I've used H202 in other situations so I'd be hard pressed to put it into my res.

"If you get a journal going, tag me and I'd love to follow along. I was looking at that RDWC superponics setup. I decided on The Bucket Company (its sitting in boxes for the next month or two prior to setting it up)."
SuperPonics has a good product. I could have bought the components for less than I paid Superponics but I'm fine with paying them for their knowledge.

Thanks for the heads up on The Bucket Company. Good site and good products. For a small tent, I think a Superponics res is a good bet. For a bigger grow, something like TBC looks like the way to go. What did you end up getting?

 

[Delps8]

Allot of people, including myself, have been overly technical when starting hydroponics. EC and PH will fluctuate some on there own day to day.For example, if your PH is still between 5-7 give it a day before you try to dial it in to exactly 5.8PH.You will go mad trying to maintain perfection and most of the time cause it to swing wildly the other direction.
Until you know your system and your plants neads I would recommend shorter cycles to be safe. My point was,yes, it is possible to run longer than 7 days without algae or deficiencies. I have had the same system running perpetual grow for over 2 years so it is very predictable.The plant will tell you if it wants something.

"Allot of people, including myself, have been overly technical when starting hydroponics."
Nailed it.

"EC and PH will fluctuate some on there own day to day.For example, if your PH is still between 5-7 give it a day before you try to dial it in to exactly 5.8PH.You will go mad trying to maintain perfection and most of the time cause it to swing wildly the other direction."
Agree completely. I "wrestled the p(h)ig" (did I just coin a phrase there?) in 2017 and it was brutal. And it ended up revegging thanks to a…power outage. (TX definitely one upped me on that one). To your point, that's a very good point. I need more zen, less compiler.

"Until you know your system and your plants needs I would recommend shorter cycles to be safe. My point was,yes, it is possible to run longer than 7 days without algae or deficiencies. I have had the same system running perpetual grow for over 2 years so it is very predictable.The plant will tell you if it wants something."
Two years. No shit. I need to check that out. Must be some good ideas in there.

"shorter cycles to be safe" - yeh, it's an attitude adjustment thing.

Thanks.

 

[Dr Fish]

If you want to point a finger at a lazy grower, that would be me.. Only drained and reset the system once during the grow.. It's a really small system compared to most rdwc grows.. Also got rid of the air stones and electric water pump to reduce any added heat.. .. To simplify the grow even more, I only used one fertilizer the entire grow.. It's in the mixed hydro thread..
Only about 3 gallons in the WFs and 5 in the remote reservoir. About 11 gal. total.. The two WFs would fit nicely in a 4 x2 tent, the reservoir might need to be outside.. After my ex wife overflowed the bath tub I've have a real fear of a lot of water getting loose in the mobile home..

 

[Delps8]

If you want to point a finger at a lazy grower, that would be me.. Only drained and reset the system once during the grow.. It's a really small system compared to most rdwc grows.. Also got rid of the air stones and electric water pump to reduce any added heat.. .. To simplify the grow even more, I only used one fertilizer the entire grow.. It's in the mixed hydro thread..
Only about 3 gallons in the WFs and 5 in the remote reservoir. About 11 gal. total.. The two WFs would fit nicely in a 4 x2 tent, the reservoir might need to be outside.. After my ex wife overflowed the bath tub I've have a real fear of a lot of water getting loose in the mobile home..

Hi Doc - that’s really something. When I first started reading this, I thought you were pulling my leg - “how is it possible to grow like that?”. Click on the first link in your signature and, sure enough! That’s amazing. Will definitely read the thread tonight. At the moment, I’m just trying to get a seedling to survive!

 

[Rexer]

Rexer:

"I've read nothing but good things about them (except the price)." Yeh, they seem to have a pretty good rep. The three one gallon bottles were just under $100 - I thought that was pretty much in line with something like Fox. My other grow was a pH death march so I looked at Advanced Nutrients…that's some expensive juice!

"If you're good with paying a bit more on the nutes, yeah...keep going the way you plan and with a 7-10 day change out and you should be golden."
That 7 day thing…dunno. Now that I think about it, maybe the it was just the noise of that pump (below) that did it. Good excuse to buy closed-back headphones!

"Pickup a couple of cheap hydro/water pumps off the Zon, some adapters and a garden hose to make changes easier."
Got one. I bought a Wayne 330 GPH before. This time, I bought a Trupow which looks to be the same product but is $50±. That speeds up the process but the pisser is that the grow space is tiny. My 2' x 4' tent is bigger than my working space.

"Also- I get the feeling that you already know this, but I'll throw this out there anyways...never run Hydroguard with H202, the h202 just kills off the hydroguard."
Understood. I've used H202 in other situations so I'd be hard pressed to put it into my res.

"If you get a journal going, tag me and I'd love to follow along. I was looking at that RDWC superponics setup. I decided on The Bucket Company (its sitting in boxes for the next month or two prior to setting it up)."
SuperPonics has a good product. I could have bought the components for less than I paid Superponics but I'm fine with paying them for their knowledge.

Thanks for the heads up on The Bucket Company. Good site and good products. For a small tent, I think a Superponics res is a good bet. For a bigger grow, something like TBC looks like the way to go. What did you end up getting?

Hey @Delps8
Somehow I missed replying, my apologies!

I ended up getting the 10 gallons stake planter kit with a few lil extras. They're still in boxes, only now they're in my garage waiting for new tent and light, which should be here next week or two, then the fun begins.

 

[Dr Fish]

Rexer, I only used the one fertilizer Flora Nova Bloom. A little over one qt. got me through the entire grow.. That includes the coco/perlite plants.. Like I said, I'm the lazy grower.. You can use Maxie bloom the same way, a little cal/mag may be needed..
The hydroton on a constant drip will provide all the DO any plant needs, without air stones.... The only thing I've done is dumb down rdwc.. The sellers of all things hydroponic have done their best to complicate the process.. High flow and large pipes may be alright and make sense for large systems.. I did get 6 oz short of two lbs with 2 plants and 630 watts, in about 100 days.. I could have done the same with a couple good led lights.

 

[Rexer]

Rexer, I only used the one fertilizer Flora Nova Bloom. A little over one qt. got me through the entire grow.. That includes the coco/perlite plants.. Like I said, I'm the lazy grower.. You can use Maxie bloom the same way, a little cal/mag may be needed..
The hydroton on a constant drip will provide all the DO any plant needs, without air stones.... The only thing I've done is dumb down rdwc.. The sellers of all things hydroponic have done their best to complicate the process.. High flow and large pipes may be alright and make sense for large systems.. I did get 6 oz short of two lbs with 2 plants and 630 watts, in about 100 days.. I could have done the same with a couple good led lights.

@Dr Fish I don't think we've chatted before. But I would first like to thank you. Your Lucas Formula posting is what got me through my 1st grow and kept it simple. A lesson and experience I'd recommend to any new grower, it was simple, and highly effective. I actually had a link to your post in my signature for the longest time

I'll be trying a few different methods (drip vs aeroponic, perlite vs hydroton, etc) to see what will be most comfortable (they'll all work, just to see what I can work with as I have a disability, and what I'll reap the best from).

Post in thread 'Lucas Formula - Bloom nutes' Lucas Formula - Bloom nutes

 

[Dr Fish]

Forgot all about that post from way back. Thanks for reminding me.. Don't come around much anymore, but to check for new threads in the hydro forum..
My problem is I don't suffer fools lightly and my responses get deleted and myself spanked.. I am sometimes less than civil.

 

[Rexer]

Forgot all about that post from way back. Thanks for reminding me.. Don't come around much anymore, but to check for new threads in the hydro forum..
My problem is I don't suffer fools lightly and my responses get deleted and myself spanked.. I am sometimes less than civil.

Well, it's not started yet but feel free to drop in on any of my journals anytime! I may not always follow advice, but I do always listen and appreciate the feedback to use in future grows.

I'll definitely be doing another Lucas run down the road. Though I never was a fan of the Flora Nova Bloom....i hated how damn thick it was...almost like a sludge. But I still got a full bottle and might give it another try. The maxibloom was by far the easiest and personal favorite IMO, but last year it was impossible to find so I bought some Mega Crop.

 

[Dr Fish]

You can thin the FNB and run it through a blender and still use it by measuring the ppm. Maybe run it through the blender first.

 

[Rexer]

You can thin the FNB and run it through a blender and still use it by measuring the ppm. Maybe run it through the blender first.

Lol that's how I mixed up my maxibloom. Don't know why I didn't think to do same with FNB

 

[Delps8]

Hi Doc - that’s really something. When I first started reading this, I thought you were pulling my leg - “how is it possible to grow like that?”. Click on the first link in your signature and, sure enough! That’s amazing. Will definitely read the thread tonight. At the moment, I’m just trying to get a seedling to survive!

Dr. Fish - read the water farm thread and that looks like a great setup. The level of DIY//"thinking it through" is really impressive. Very nicely done!

 

[warezaholic]

Hello, I dont have a recirculation system because in my DWC setup, each bucket has a seperate airline and as the plant consumes fluids, I simply use a funnel to replenish from a couple 5 gallon buckets of premixed nutrient water. That way I only need to dump just what's in each bucket about 1 or 2 gallons every weekly water change. Then I scrub and sanitize (buckets and air stones) to be ready for the next week res change. Here's where the only time I need to lift the plant to the next res, which affords me the opportunity to check the health of the roots.

Every night or 2, I refill each bucket by using my "long drinking straws" (plugged at the bottom) as a floating water level indicators so I never over fill and keep the fluids at an optimal level at all times.

(PS) The black plastic pipes Insures the fluid level straw alway stays vertical and perpendicular inside the pipe. The straw is then marked at the full mark (top edge of the pipe). This allows me to track the feeding progress of day by day consumption.

 

[warezaholic]

I am too old and broken to carry 5 gallons so I bought a home depot janitors dolly to pull my full buckets from bathroom to grow room.

I have several other inventive adaptations I use in my grow stations such as a floating PH Meter so I don't need to hold the meter in the water while I add chemicals. As I progress I have ideas that will likely save me a but load of wasted $$.

 

[Delps8]

warezaholic - some very creative ideas there.

Great idea to use a straw to indicate how much water is needed. It’s cheap, reliable, and accurate. I like the setup with the pH pen as long as it’s stable. I guess if you don’t have heavy seas in the bucket, it’ll work out fine.

Seriously though, that must be really handy. Hopefully I’ll need to start doing res changes in the next few weeks* and I’ll definitely set that up in the tote that I use to mix nutes.

 

[warezaholic]

The level is very simple. I drill two 1/2 inch holes, one for the pipe and straw; the other one is covered by a FLAP of duck tape so I can just insert my "FUNNEL" for adding nightly fluids. I hope you realize that the floating straw sealed on one end with a very small dab of silicone glue and must be long enough to reach the water and float high enough to make several mark's denoting approximately how much water you need to pour in, (I use a 1 quart meameasuring cup for my purposes). I finally found 12 inch straws on Amazon.

 

[Delps8]

warezaholic:
I didn’t know what you were using to seal the straw but I knew you had to be doing something to make it float. Yeh, that’s “smarts”

Re. the flap - is there anything duct tape can’t do? Again, simple and low cost but effective.

 

[warezaholic]

Lol... Did you know that the astronauts used duct tape to repair the lunar rover while on the moon.. they fashioned a fender to block the dust from flying at them...

I just use as little glue as possible to keep it light. The longest straws I could find were 12 inches that I found on the internet (had to buy a 100 count box) and blue is the darkest color I found as to minimize light reaching the roots (almost zero). My entire system is as light proof as possible and "all my hardware in my garden can be sanitized and reused" including the net pots.