DWC: Quick question about pH and ppm

@OldMedUser

Good stuff...Whenever I read people posting about costs I feel compelled to share that for Veg there is a very cheap easy to use single bottle solution I have used many many times that is great. You can find it at Home Depot or Walmart so shouldn't take 2 hours to find.

Just for the fun try some eleanor's vf-11 sometime. You will want to add some Cal mag. but you wont need to for the first few weeks.

I haven't tried it in bloom...But it does work great in veg and is dirt cheap.

I typically drain at light cycle change and for flush. I have been successful managing this stuff through veg without dumping the res. A guy like you should have no issues and it feels like its free compared to anything else.

Single solution no A and B mixing. $17 a gallon... I'd still spend money in bloom but this gets ya stalks in veg bigger than your thumbs and supper tight nodal density for near nothing. I typically see nodal density tighter than an inch a part using this on a 400W in veg...I switch to a 1000W and the good stuff in bloom. I'm a happy camper and I find it easier than AN PH perfect (not that AN is difficult...just this is easier, cheaper, great results).

:peace:

There all all sorts of alternative nutes that will work VI but AN is about the only one that actually develops their nutes while growing pot and proudly proclaims that as a sales pitch. For that alone they get my vote. At a big garden center in the city I found a cheap alternative yo Big Bud. It's Part B of a 2 part crystal nute. Made by Nutrilife as the flowering part of the system it's 3-9-27 where Big Bud is 1-17-38. Very similar NPK ratios but even tho it contains all the basic micro-nutrients that is needed in the right propotions for flowering pot well it lacks many of the amino acids and chelated elements that are in AN's formulas that by law are not allowed to be displayed on their labels. Incredible that 19th century laws still prevent nute companies from disclosing everything that is actually in their nutes on the labels.

Companies like GH and magazines like Maximum Yield still refuse to admit that most of what they profess and sell goes to growing pot. We are all growing "special tomatoes" I guess. Tomatoes like higher P than K for flowering and that is what most growers think works best for pot. Sure it works but so does Miracle Grow if you are happy with crap for bud. :)

Fug them and the self-righteous horses they rode in on! You get what you pay for and the base nutes from AN aren't much more than anyone elses. If you buy into all the weekly nute change BS then it costs a lot more. Even more if you buy into all the supplement BS so you can be a "Master Grower". I may not be a Master but I do a lot better than many. Titles mean more to some but they can have them. Damn good is good enough for me. :)

I bet with Part A of those Nutrilife nutes along with Part B I could grow damn good plants but would have to monitor pH a lot more closely and my terpene profile would be a lot less fragrant. My nutes are a minor cost of my whole grow so why not get the best.

:peace:
 
AGREED!!!!

I make all my own supplements in Tea brews. It is easy cheap and fun. I have posted a few recipes on here for others. So yeah use base stuff and make the rest for yourself.

I just hate reading about driving 2 hours to a grow store. There has to be a wally world closer to ya :)

All the stuff in the AN real expensive bottles like Big Bud, Nirvana, Voodoo juice and more can all be made at home in a bucket for dirt. experimenting with it is all the fun.

I grow for myself so I can mess around here and there...
 
hows that for resin...home made teas...

Sap.JPG
 
Hello I see no one has answered your question yet.

In DWC you should only add nutrients at the beginning of every week. Also you should only add nutrients if you understand your lady and how ppm works.

Lets say you mix up a batch of nutrients at 1/3 strength. Lets also say that 1/3 nutrients is equivalent to 500ppm. You also determine that you would like to keep your ph at 6.0. So you mix up your nutrients, the ph is stable and the ppm value is 500. Awesome your ladies love it, now the next day you check your reservoir levels. You have lost a liter of water and your ph has either dropped/stayed the same/rose from 6.0.

For the sake of this story we will say it is now 5.6, it is advised that you add ph up in a bit of water and add it to your reservoir to attempt to get it back to 6.0 which is the "hotspot" of growth. The pros say you should do it slowly over the course of a couple of hours or so to prevent shock, I don't have that time maybe you do but everyone is different. Regardless you should only add nutrients if your ppm level's get low, and only then if you are experienced and you ladies show signs of deficiencies that only fertilizer can solve.

One thing I do is keep a separate bucket of water at 6.0ph, when my reservoir levels drop I just top it off with this water. This will attempt to stabilize your solution to maintain optimal growth levels, and delude your nutrient solution.

If we jump back to the same story only this time you have lost half of your water reservoir. You do what every good grower does you read the PH level and PPM level of your current solution. It says your PH is at 5.6 but your PPM is now at 800. Well why did this happen you say, the nutrients have become concentrated since the water levels have declined. But if you add water to the previous amount you should be somewhere in the ball park of 500 ppm. This is how you determine how much your ladies are drinking/eating and when would be a good time to add nutrients back into the reservoir.

I know its a rather long answer but considering how touchy dwc is and then you add a nutrient sensitive lady on top of that, things can get bad quickly and the more knowledge the better. I hope this helped.

I was looking for this question... Got my answer. Thank you
 
Hello I see no one has answered your question yet.

In DWC you should only add nutrients at the beginning of every week. Also you should only add nutrients if you understand your lady and how ppm works.

Lets say you mix up a batch of nutrients at 1/3 strength. Lets also say that 1/3 nutrients is equivalent to 500ppm. You also determine that you would like to keep your ph at 6.0. So you mix up your nutrients, the ph is stable and the ppm value is 500. Awesome your ladies love it, now the next day you check your reservoir levels. You have lost a liter of water and your ph has either dropped/stayed the same/rose from 6.0.

For the sake of this story we will say it is now 5.6, it is advised that you add ph up in a bit of water and add it to your reservoir to attempt to get it back to 6.0 which is the "hotspot" of growth. The pros say you should do it slowly over the course of a couple of hours or so to prevent shock, I don't have that time maybe you do but everyone is different. Regardless you should only add nutrients if your ppm level's get low, and only then if you are experienced and you ladies show signs of deficiencies that only fertilizer can solve.

One thing I do is keep a separate bucket of water at 6.0ph, when my reservoir levels drop I just top it off with this water. This will attempt to stabilize your solution to maintain optimal growth levels, and delude your nutrient solution.

If we jump back to the same story only this time you have lost half of your water reservoir. You do what every good grower does you read the PH level and PPM level of your current solution. It says your PH is at 5.6 but your PPM is now at 800. Well why did this happen you say, the nutrients have become concentrated since the water levels have declined. But if you add water to the previous amount you should be somewhere in the ball park of 500 ppm. This is how you determine how much your ladies are drinking/eating and when would be a good time to add nutrients back into the reservoir.

I know its a rather long answer but considering how touchy dwc is and then you add a nutrient sensitive lady on top of that, things can get bad quickly and the more knowledge the better. I hope this helped.
High Addonexus. I knowyou don't know me and haven't seen me on here more than likely I've only been on here a few times. But I'm getting ready to personally try my hand at it with a recirculating dwc airponics. A couple of good friends of mine I have done the physical work for me due to me being some what disabled but those were single buckets. I'm going to manifold the plants into a scrog style. Anyway I do like your answer and that is what I'm going to have to do. But I might ask you for some more information later on if that's ok. And to the other guy with the pH controller that is what I'm getting ready to start I've almost have my system all together. So any pointers you could give me I would greatly appreciate in relation to the use of the pH controller and the two peristaltic pumps.
 
High RootSpaGuru

DWC has been my favorite way to grow for 14 years and when I worried about pH I'd mix everything up and get it to about 5.4. When the plants were growing good it would creep up to around 6.2 so I'd add a bit of nutes to get the ppm back up to the level I wanted then add a few drops of concentrated sulfuric acid to knock it back to around 5.4 again. Was regular like clockwork. This yo-yo effect on the pH has the benefit of putting various nutrients in the exact pH for the best absorption by the plant. Aiming for 6 like Addonexus said is a good target.

Now I use the pH perfect nutes from AN and put my pH pen away a year ago.

So I would always top up with water first then check ppm. I'll add some nutes if needed to get back to target ppm. +/- 100 is good enough. Let that circulate for at least 5 min but longer is better then check pH and add some pH down or up as needed. I never noticed any problems dropping the pH a full point with the acid.

I'm always trying to make it as easy as I can so the K.I.S.S. principle is foremost in my mind and not worrying about pH is a big step towards that goal. :)

L8r

High, thanks for your explanation. I am using also AN nutrients, my plant is already in the fifth week of flower stage and trying to keep the ppm around 800 as a wise man told me . The problem is that every day I measure them, they are always rising, instead of going down. I keep the temperature between 19 and 23 ºC and the humidity around 50%. The plant looks healthy but I don't know if she is not eating what she should, thanks ...
 
I have a once a week feeding schedule and so far this is what i understand on the drain side if pH rises add more nutes so if during the week the pH rises do we use pH down to lower the pH or do we add more nutes to lower the pH as we go from 1/3 to 1/2 strength... Would we pH down first then add nutes or add nutes then pH down.
I never watch PPM and my DWC always thrives, albeit I live near mountains and my water is awesome so it's not a problem for me.. I just follow nute directions on the container and it does just fine
 
One thing I do is keep a separate bucket of water at 6.0ph, when my reservoir levels drop I just top it off with this water. This will attempt to stabilize your solution to maintain optimal growth levels, and delude your nutrient solution.

If we jump back to the same story only this time you have lost half of your water reservoir. You do what every good grower does you read the PH level and PPM level of your current solution. It says your PH is at 5.6 but your PPM is now at 800. Well why did this happen you say, the nutrients have become concentrated since the water levels have declined. But if you add water to the previous amount you should be somewhere in the ball park of 500 ppm. This is how you determine how much your ladies are drinking/eating and when would be a good time to add nutrients back into the reservoir.

I know its a rather long answer but considering how touchy dwc is and then you add a nutrient sensitive lady on top of that, things can get bad quickly and the more knowledge the better. I hope this helped.

High addonexus, thanks for that simple and great explanation, I think you have already answered my question, great help ...
 
I have two (Chem Dog) girls flowering with one a week or two from harvest in DWC bubblers (no reservoir.) While the plants are young and vegetating, I think the weekly nute change simply puts money in the pocket of the nutrient manufacturer. You can easily stretch it out to two or three weeks between bucket changes simply by monitoring the pH and EC levels.

Here's what I've been doing for the girls. In full flower my biggest girl is easily drinking a quart per day. I monitor pH at the beginning and end of 'their' day and replace nutes as I go. I mix up a full strength gallon of nutes (GH 3-part Flora series with GH Silica and Cal/Mag) and adjust the pH between 5.2 and 5.5 with 1000 to 1100 ppm on my TDS pen. Yesterday at the end of the 12 hour lights on period, pH was 5.7 with 1310 ppm. Also the level in the bucket was down a fair bit so I knew it needed to be topped off. I dilute the full strength nute solution I mixed earlier 1:1 with water (pH 7.4 and 170 to 180 ppm out of the tap) and add 1 ml of GH Down. This gets added directly to the bucket, pouring it through the hydroton.

I fed the the other girl who is at least a week maybe two behind the big one similarly but with less total volume (instead of a half gallon total added to the bucket, maybe 3 pints or so, but still 1:1 dilution with plain water.) The result for the big girl was pH 5.35 and 1100 ppm which in my opinion is smack within her comfort zone. I agree with OldMedUser that letting the pH swing a little up or down within a specified range is fine. My range is 5.1 to about 5.8. Most people use soil charts for pH ranges which are wrong for hydroponics. Just saying. I do a complete replacement of the entire bucket with fresh nutes every week or two at this point.

Generally anything above 5.8 and I adjust pH down to 5.2 to 5.5 . My old Etekcity pH pen would get wildly out of calibration pretty fast and there were times it was reading 1.0 to 1.5 higher than it actually was so I was adjusting things down into the 4 pH range without realizing it. Even at that low pH it took a while for them to show signs of nutrient deficiency, so don't panic if your pH is even 1 point higher or lower than you want. When I adjust pH without adding nutrients, I take about a 10 to 16 ounces out of the bucket, add the appropriate pH Down or Up and pour it into the bucket over the hydroton. I follow that with two more containers of bucket nutes poured into the same spot to make sure it gets down into the bucket. I also decant an entire container of nute solution from the bucket and pour it back in before taking any pH reading in order to get an accurate reading of the bucket and not just the solution in the fill tube. I also never use the fill tube to put anything into the bucket, it's just too small.
Your going on like your simplifying things yet your making up your own ph levels, while using a ph pen that is wildly inaccurate, yet you act like you know what your talking about. Pushing your plants to deficiency, with ph completely out of WACK.
Everything this guys says to do, do not do…he’s making up his own set of rules that are very unhealthy for the plant…and just don’t make sense.
Pouring buckets of water with nutes into other buckets, stretching your reservoir change times to save a few bucks which can lead to crazy ph swings, not knowing what nutrients the plant has taken up, just to avoid doing a reservoir change?
This is terrible advice and the guy only has a single bucket as his reservoir which makes it more important that you do a fresh reservoir change Once a week, to keep balance.
This is a recipe for lockouts caused of either a toxicity, or a deficiency and dirty water which can lead to fungal issues with the roots. Just NO, this guy seems to make up his own set of rules, and if we all did this…we would all have more problems and make things more complex.
Fresh water, fresh nutes once a week, great routine to get into…and not once have I had a problem with anything.
If your short on cash get MegaCrop, and a single bag that works out to literally cents per nutrient/water change…so don’t mess with a good thing…and as the saying goes “Cleanliness is next to godliness” so do yourself a favor and change it up..you’ll thank me when your weighing your harvest, as the plant gets use to always having proper amount of nutrition, and a stable ph.
If you using tap water, I also recommend using half distilled or RO water. Even at half it reduces the chlorine, calcium and other crap in tap water and makes it more manageable as you have almost complete control of what’s in your nutrient solution, not the city..plus it’s been proven that the ladies drink more of it…which is a good thing…Healthy plants drink alot of water…and just plain look healthier then with pure tap water. If your on a budget though tap water will still do the job. Good luck fellow gromies ✌
 
Hello I see no one has answered your question yet.

In DWC you should only add nutrients at the beginning of every week. Also you should only add nutrients if you understand your lady and how ppm works.

Lets say you mix up a batch of nutrients at 1/3 strength. Lets also say that 1/3 nutrients is equivalent to 500ppm. You also determine that you would like to keep your ph at 6.0. So you mix up your nutrients, the ph is stable and the ppm value is 500. Awesome your ladies love it, now the next day you check your reservoir levels. You have lost a liter of water and your ph has either dropped/stayed the same/rose from 6.0.

For the sake of this story we will say it is now 5.6, it is advised that you add ph up in a bit of water and add it to your reservoir to attempt to get it back to 6.0 which is the "hotspot" of growth. The pros say you should do it slowly over the course of a couple of hours or so to prevent shock, I don't have that time maybe you do but everyone is different. Regardless you should only add nutrients if your ppm level's get low, and only then if you are experienced and you ladies show signs of deficiencies that only fertilizer can solve.

One thing I do is keep a separate bucket of water at 6.0ph, when my reservoir levels drop I just top it off with this water. This will attempt to stabilize your solution to maintain optimal growth levels, and delude your nutrient solution.

If we jump back to the same story only this time you have lost half of your water reservoir. You do what every good grower does you read the PH level and PPM level of your current solution. It says your PH is at 5.6 but your PPM is now at 800. Well why did this happen you say, the nutrients have become concentrated since the water levels have declined. But if you add water to the previous amount you should be somewhere in the ball park of 500 ppm. This is how you determine how much your ladies are drinking/eating and when would be a good time to add nutrients back into the reservoir.

I know its a rather long answer but considering how touchy dwc is and then you add a nutrient sensitive lady on top of that, things can get bad quickly and the more knowledge the better. I hope this helped.
liked this thank you
 
Your going on like your simplifying things yet your making up your own ph levels, while using a ph pen that is wildly inaccurate, yet you act like you know what your talking about. Pushing your plants to deficiency, with ph completely out of WACK.
Everything this guys says to do, do not do…he’s making up his own set of rules that are very unhealthy for the plant…and just don’t make sense.
Pouring buckets of water with nutes into other buckets, stretching your reservoir change times to save a few bucks which can lead to crazy ph swings, not knowing what nutrients the plant has taken up, just to avoid doing a reservoir change?
This is terrible advice and the guy only has a single bucket as his reservoir which makes it more important that you do a fresh reservoir change Once a week, to keep balance.
This is a recipe for lockouts caused of either a toxicity, or a deficiency and dirty water which can lead to fungal issues with the roots. Just NO, this guy seems to make up his own set of rules, and if we all did this…we would all have more problems and make things more complex.
Fresh water, fresh nutes once a week, great routine to get into…and not once have I had a problem with anything.
If your short on cash get 420, and a single bag that works out to literally cents per nutrient/water change…so don’t mess with a good thing…and as the saying goes “Cleanliness is next to godliness” so do yourself a favor and change it up..you’ll thank me when your weighing your harvest, as the plant gets use to always having proper amount of nutrition, and a stable ph.
If you using tap water, I also recommend using half distilled or RO water. Even at half it reduces the chlorine, calcium and other crap in tap water and makes it more manageable as you have almost complete control of what’s in your nutrient solution, not the city..plus it’s been proven that the ladies drink more of it…which is a good thing…Healthy plants drink alot of water…and just plain look healthier then with pure tap water. If your on a budget though tap water will still do the job. Good luck fellow gromies ✌
this as given me some great advice and i will be doing what you recommend, as i know how important the PH PPM EC, are esp in DWC, i will also be using tap water but after reading this i will add 50/50 distilled water, as my tap water readings were PPM 22O, EC 0,48, so if i used the 50/50 would that basically split these numbers in half, as im just soaking it all in to be a success, and grow some quality bud, but thanks guys all this info as been a huge help THANK YOU
 
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