I'm looking for some suggestions for an upcoming problem I'll be facing in about 4 weeks.
I currently have a girl in a 5 gal bucket (DWC) that is just over a week into 12/12. I have found that I really need to check & adjust pH & add water every day. I've been changing the solution every 7 days since flipping to 12/12 so she's already had one change and will get another a few days from now. I plan to continue changing to fresh solution every 7 days until harvest. It has been pretty consistent all along that I really need to adjust pH and top off with 1/2 gal of water daily. This girl is pretty big at this point and is really taking a lot of water & nutes.
My problem is this. In about 4 weeks from now, my wife & I will be leaving for a 4 day trip and will be gone for a full 4 days. I have nobody to come daily and take care of maintaining this bucket for me. I'm very concerned that at that point, 5 weeks into flowering, that within a day or so, the pH will be well out of range and creating a nutrient lockout as well as having water levels drop in the bucket by at least 2 gallons. I'm trying to determine how I can ensure steady pH and relatively steady water levels.
The water levels are the easy part because I can install a float valve in the bucket with an additional 5 gal bucket above & next to it to keep the water level constant. The problem is of course that I have no way to check and adjust the pH level to keep it within range.
I have thought about changing to a larger reservoir (like an 18 gal rubbermaid storage container) so that the pH will be more stable during my 4 day absence. The problem with that is that the plant is so big now, the root mass is huge & it's only in a 3" net pot. I can't even lift it from the hole in the lid without damaging the roots. I could cut the lid of the bucket to open it up & remove the plant without damaging roots, but then (since it's already in a 3" net pot), how do I fit it into the top of the new reservoir while in the 3" net pot given the size of the root mass? A bigger hole in the top of the new reservoir would do it but I need to fit a 3" net pot containing the plant into whatever hole I cut. That root mass just won't fit into a 3" hole.
Anyway, any suggestions are certainly welcome here. I really hate to come back from a 4 day trip and find this gorgeous girl, that I've put so much time & effort into wilted, shriveled, and permanently damaged so deep into the flowering phase.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions offered to deal with this upcoming dilemma.
Here is a pic of this girl so you can see how large she is:
I currently have a girl in a 5 gal bucket (DWC) that is just over a week into 12/12. I have found that I really need to check & adjust pH & add water every day. I've been changing the solution every 7 days since flipping to 12/12 so she's already had one change and will get another a few days from now. I plan to continue changing to fresh solution every 7 days until harvest. It has been pretty consistent all along that I really need to adjust pH and top off with 1/2 gal of water daily. This girl is pretty big at this point and is really taking a lot of water & nutes.
My problem is this. In about 4 weeks from now, my wife & I will be leaving for a 4 day trip and will be gone for a full 4 days. I have nobody to come daily and take care of maintaining this bucket for me. I'm very concerned that at that point, 5 weeks into flowering, that within a day or so, the pH will be well out of range and creating a nutrient lockout as well as having water levels drop in the bucket by at least 2 gallons. I'm trying to determine how I can ensure steady pH and relatively steady water levels.
The water levels are the easy part because I can install a float valve in the bucket with an additional 5 gal bucket above & next to it to keep the water level constant. The problem is of course that I have no way to check and adjust the pH level to keep it within range.
I have thought about changing to a larger reservoir (like an 18 gal rubbermaid storage container) so that the pH will be more stable during my 4 day absence. The problem with that is that the plant is so big now, the root mass is huge & it's only in a 3" net pot. I can't even lift it from the hole in the lid without damaging the roots. I could cut the lid of the bucket to open it up & remove the plant without damaging roots, but then (since it's already in a 3" net pot), how do I fit it into the top of the new reservoir while in the 3" net pot given the size of the root mass? A bigger hole in the top of the new reservoir would do it but I need to fit a 3" net pot containing the plant into whatever hole I cut. That root mass just won't fit into a 3" hole.
Anyway, any suggestions are certainly welcome here. I really hate to come back from a 4 day trip and find this gorgeous girl, that I've put so much time & effort into wilted, shriveled, and permanently damaged so deep into the flowering phase.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions offered to deal with this upcoming dilemma.
Here is a pic of this girl so you can see how large she is: