How much Hydro Guard will I need ?

[Buds Buddy]

High All, I'll be starting my next grow soon. All new equipment & growing in an all new way to me. Doing 2 - DWC 5-gal. Buckets in a Tent & 3 - 6.6 gal. Auto Pots in my grow shed. All 6 of my previous grows were in Soil or Coco. My question is ... "How much Hydro Guard I'll Need" to fill 10 gallons per week in the Auto Pot Res. & to do weekly changes in the 2 - 5 gal. DWC Buckets. Figuring a 6 week veg & 10 week flower cycle. Not sure if I should buy a qt. or gallon & it's a little pricey.
I have no idea how much to add per gallon or I could probably calculate my needs. The hard part is converting ml. to oz. for me.

 

[Pennywise]

It won’t take a lot of hydroguard to keep everything clean I’d just by manufacturers instructions.

 

[Buds Buddy]

Was going to order on Amazon & can't see the instructions. Once I know how many ml. per gal. I can guesstimate total usage & find a conversion chart to oz. Then I can order it. It's $68 gal. + Tax so don't want to buy way more than I'll need. I'd rather start with Fresh Stuff every grow.

 

[Pennywise]

I’d get the smaller bottle and see how it goes. Ok it calls for 2ml per gallon.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I'm calculating the entire grow at 350 gallons. That's 20 gallons per week for 16 weeks + an extra 30 gallons if needed.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I’d get the smaller bottle and see how it goes. Ok it calls for 2ml per gallon.

Thanks !!! So I need approximately 700 ml. Now to figure that out in oz. LOL

 

[Pennywise]

Easy to find on google lol

 

[Buds Buddy]

Just under 24 oz. so a qt. will do. Thanks for the help. Ordering now.

 

[Pennywise]

It works wonders in hydro for sure.

 

[multiVortex]

It works wonders in hydro for sure.

Yes it does.

I like running Z7 with it too for a one-two punch.

Trying my dutch bucket res with straight Z7 just to see how it goes, and if need be I can add hydroguard if needed.

 

[Pennywise]

I like Z7 over Hydroguard anyway

 

[multiVortex]

I do too. I think the Z7 enzymes are a lot cleaner. I don’t see the (good) biofilm with it either.

 

[Pennywise]

My reservoirs have always been squeaky clean with Z7

 

[Herby Paisley]

If you do weekly res changes you won't need hydro guard I've been running my second dwc without hydro guard ....My first grow in dwc without hydro guard lasted 7 1/2 months with no issues My second with no hydroguard. 1 month veg ...2 months bloom.... almost at harvest and all looks good... All I do is just change out the water weekly and refresh proper Ph water and nutes. Not trying to knock hydro guard its great stuff,... but why spend the cash when you don't have too right! lol

 

[1ne eye]

I run 5 gallon buckets which is 3.5 gallons of ro water in each bucket to about 1 inch below the net pots and add 5 to 6 ml every water/ nute change ( once a week ) and never had a root problem always white.

 

[multiVortex]

If you do weekly res changes you won't need hydro guard I've been running my second dwc without hydro guard ....My first grow in dwc without hydro guard lasted 7 1/2 months with no issues My second with no hydroguard. 1 month veg ...2 months bloom.... almost at harvest and all looks good... All I do is just change out the water weekly and refresh proper Ph water and nutes. Not trying to knock hydro guard its great stuff,... but why spend the cash when you don't have too right! lol

You may have dodged a bullet a time or two, but it will catch up to you at some point. Just like not wearing a seatbelt, not having insurance, etc

When water temps get a little warmer, problems happen.

 

[bluter]

You may have dodged a bullet a time or two, but it will catch up to you at some point. Just like not wearing a seatbelt, not having insurance, etc

When water temps get a little warmer, problems happen.

this ^

 

[Buds Buddy]

Got a few questions :
1)Who makes Z7 as I couldn't find it on eBay or in a couple of Hydro Stores ?
2)Has anyone started a seed in a Root Riot Plug or do you usually germ the paper towel method ?
3) Can you start a seed in a Root Riot Plug?
4) Once you see roots, do you stick the plug right into the Hydrotron Rocks in the DWC Bucket ?
5) About how long do you have to water by hand till the roots are long enough?
6) Which Net Pot size should I use ? (6"/8"/10") (2 - 5 gal. buckets in a 3' x 3' tent.) * Auto Flowers *
7) Nutes will be Mega Crop, Bud Explosion & Sweet Candy ... Any Tips ?

***Will be my 1st DWC so I hope a few of you guys don't mind a tag in the next week or so to help me out some. ***

 

[1ne eye]

Hello, i use rockwool but root riot plug maybe better,yes you can start the seed right in the plug, once you have a tap root coming from the bottom you can stick it right into the hydroton in the DWB. I use the 6inch top hats and i don't top water much i make that root fight its way down to the water, you also only fill the bucket maybe a couple of inches below the net pot so the air stone is lightly spashing the bottom of the net pot (Hydroton). I also just started using Mega Crop and its seems great. Once the roots hit the water it will take off. Good luck.

 

[multiVortex]

Got a few questions :
1)Who makes Z7 as I couldn't find it on eBay or in a couple of Hydro Stores ?

It's made by Flying Skulls, and is sold as a set of 2 parts. (So for quart, it comes with a quart of A and B, or a gallon of A and B, etc. I buy it by the gallon for around $110 of amazon.)

The dosage rate is 0.5ml each, per gallon. Or 5ml each per 10 gallons. You add it every 3-4 days, plus when you change/add water. So if you change you water on Saturday, then add more on Tuesday or Wednesday, etc.

2)Has anyone started a seed in a Root Riot Plug or do you usually germ the paper towel method ?

I use rapid rooters, and won't go any other way now. I've tried the paper towel method, peat pellets, and rockwool. Rapid rooters are the way to go.

Here's how I do it:

1) Take seed. put in a milk jug cap, cover open side with about 80 or 120 grit sand paper and gently shake for about a minute. (scarification is the term.)

2) Fill a shot glass with pH'd water. Drop seed.

3) Put shot glass in a small box, that I have "insulated" with some of the foam sheets that come in various packages that have been delivered.

4) put box on a heat mat, plug heat mat into temp controller, plug controller into wall and set to 78F, and finally put the temp probe into the shot glass.

5) Put another box on top of that as a cover, which has more of the foam sheet insulation.

6) Now we wait, and check up on our seed every 12 hours. Once the seed has cracked and there is a tail showing (doesn't need to be long, just there) move on to the next step. Note: if it's been over 36 hours, go ahead and move to the next step so you don't risk drowning the seed. I won't go past 48hrs in the drink, and that's really pushing it for me.)

7) Make up a gallon of water, with 1g of MC, and pH to the hydro range. Pour some into the tray of the seedling dome, and put the rooter in there. Squeeze it, and let it fill with water. Squeeze the water out, and repeat a few times. On the final time, make sure the rooter is still damp, but not soaked. You don't want it too dry, or too wet.

8) Take the rapid rooter (or root riot, same diff) and place the flat side down. In the other end, take a pair of tweezers and punch a hole about 1/4"-1/2" deep. Then gently take seed with tweezers, and place it in the hole with the tail side down. Pick a tiny piece of rooter off and use it in the top of the hole. Doesn't need to be wedged in there, just enough to cover.

9) Add the tray and wicking mat to the seedling dome, and put the rooter on top of it. Set the tray on a heat mat (still set to 78F), under your lights. (I use these LED shop/strip lights that are like 10k lumens for this.)

10) Seed should pop her head up within a few days. Typically within 3 days, but be prepared as on rare occasions it can take a couple weeks. Depends on the seed condition, environment, etc.


Here's a pic of a seed in the shot glass:

Here's a basic pic of seedlings in my little dome setup:

You can see the general idea here. Heat mat, dome, and the temp sensor wiggling its way in through the top.



Freshly popped:

You can now better see the mat and how it sticks down into the nute water. The rooters sit on the mat, and soak up moisture from the mat as needed. The mat then sucks water from the tray. Pretty simple concept, but extremely effective.



And the space where it ends up sitting:

You can see the shop lights at the top of the pic. Obviously some things have been moved around, and I'm back to using this space. The pic above with it in a tent was easier for that drop (since nothing else was in there and I could control lighting) than moving around other things to squeeze them into my normal spot for them.

3) Can you start a seed in a Root Riot Plug?

You can, yes. I prefer the jump start with the shot glass. Seems to go much faster than cracking in a rooter.

4) Once you see roots, do you stick the plug right into the Hydrotron Rocks in the DWC Bucket ?

Pretty much, yes.

5) About how long do you have to water by hand till the roots are long enough?

Up to 2 weeks, but they should hit the water in 4-5 days on average if your water level isn't too low. In the early stages, I like to run my water level about 1/4" above the bottom of the net pot. Let's the hydroton kind of stay a little moist, and I think it helps a bit.

6) Which Net Pot size should I use ? (6"/8"/10") (2 - 5 gal. buckets in a 3' x 3' tent.) * Auto Flowers *

I've been using 5.5" net pots. Sounds odd, but I use EZ Stor buckets, with Current Culture lids that are pre-drilled for their own net pots. It was either 5.5" or 8", so I went with the 5.5".

They do make net pot lids, that are a single piece, 5gal bucket lid with net pot built in. I think they were 6" pots maybe?

I like using 6" ones, or close enough to that. They're plenty big enough without being too big or small.

7) Nutes will be Mega Crop, Bud Explosion & Sweet Candy ... Any Tips ?

Certainly. Skip the BE, and Sweet Candy isn't for hydro.

MC already has BE mixed in as part of it, so it's really all you need. Anything more will throw your ratios out of whack.

Use RO water if at all possible, have calmag on hand.

***Will be my 1st DWC so I hope a few of you guys don't mind a tag in the next week or so to help me out some. ***

Not at all. Can't wait to see how it goes!