Understanding Reservoir & Nutrients

[NnwNnw]

Hey another question i am having a hard time understanding rdwc reservoir and nutrament mix up. I tried doing a little research about the subject but couldn't find exactly what i was looking for. For example if i am preparing my reservoir which is 75L which is 16.5 gal but will round it up to 16. I am having a difficulty understanding the mixing process of nutes. For example the nutes i will be using say all application are based on dilution in 10L of water. And lets say its 10 per 10L of water so i multiply that by 7 since its 75L reservoir lets say i get 70 ml of A and 70 ml of B. Am i right? I hope i am making sense here. Now what about the 6 buckets that are connected and the brain of the rdwc thats 7 buckets of water do you count them up as welll and add more nutes aswell? Lets say each bucket is 25L x 7 thats another 175L of water. All together its 250l of water so thats how i go about it? So 250ml of a and 250 ml of b?

And also changing the res water every 10 days and adding nutes all over again can get a little expensive or is it just me?

Plus when you change the water in res clean it out and stuff do you let the water in the buckets mix with the new res water or empty them out aswell. And start all clean every 10 days.


I hope i make sense.

 

[Rifleman]

re: Understanding Reservoir & Nutrients

10ml per 10L is a 1:1 ratio. If you have a total of 250L in your system that would be 250ml of A and B each. Changing the solution every ten days will get expensive yes. Once you have experience with it you will be able to go longer between changes. This will not come easy. You will need to keep track of daily pH and ppm readings, along with water level. Eventually you'll be able to look at those readings and decide if you need plain water, nutrients, or a water change.

Save this chart, it will help along the way.

 

[NnwNnw]

re: Understanding Reservoir & Nutrients

Thank you very much for the answer and the chart. To be honest with you the chart seems really helpful lots of signs in there to look out for will def help me out along the way. And thanks for explaining the nutrients just seemed a little confused there. I will be using RO water so i will also add cal mag and some traces of minerals very little though. Would you say it will be ok to mix in the res and let it run for a few hours let it mix up and then after everything stabilises check ph check ppm etc etc. Some people i notice mix in buckets before putting it in reservoir is it just a preference ?

I still have a few days left before i hit the start button on my r-dwc i am at my first week still, just watching little flowers and leaves poke out the rock wool one by one they are about half a inch out in the dome, i will water them on my third day a little bit with some root solution and maybe tiny bit of a+b.

Also would it be easier for me to transfer 1 inch cube to 4 inch cube or 1 inch straight to clay pebbles. I heard i can get away with a few mistakes if i do the 4 inch cubes as well i don't know how true that is.

 

[Rifleman]

re: Understanding Reservoir & Nutrients

I mix in buckets due to using one bucket for each plant. You can mix in the reservoir and I would with a large 250L. Be sure to mix in the proper order for your nutrients. Most have you mix micro, or part A first.

I go from cracked seed to a rapid rooter plug and straight into the clay pebbles. Rockwool can hold too much water for a small plant and cause stem problems, rot, dampening off. I'm not a fan of RW over croutons size.

 

[NnwNnw]

re: Understanding Reservoir & Nutrients

Good piece of advice every day is a lesson now i know, should have asked before now the phrase came to me the only stupid question is the one you dont ask hehe. I should have started in plugs but will see how it will go about in rw. Its my first go around so i am reading everyday from, forums to books to articles. Now you got me all sceptical and against rw.

 

[Rifleman]

re: Understanding Reservoir & Nutrients

I don't like it. Lots of first time growers have problems with it. A thorough read of the FAQ and you'll find more than a handful where a too wet condition was due to the RW. I'd put the one inch cubes in the clay pebbles and get those roots in the reservoir as soon as possible... if it were me.

 

[NnwNnw]

re: Understanding Reservoir & Nutrients

I hear you i will definitely do that asap, this is the first 24 hours in the dome under 18/6 light they coming out but now i have to keep a eye on every single one of them i will be peeking every few hours in there just checking up on them as soon as they root well in the rw they are moving to clay pebbles. Asap!

 

[Lazarus13]

re: Understanding Reservoir & Nutrients

Just another method... I plant my sprouted seedlings right into the hydroton. No rooters, no rockwool. Top feed through the medium until the roots touch water and off they grow.

 

[kevpadil]

10ml per 10L is a 1:1 ratio. If you have a total of 250L in your system that would be 250ml of A and B each. Changing the solution every ten days will get expensive yes. Once you have experience with it you will be able to go longer between changes. This will not come easy. You will need to keep track of daily pH and ppm readings, along with water level. Eventually you'll be able to look at those readings and decide if you need plain water, nutrients, or a water change.

Save this chart, it will help along the way.

i know this is an old post. does anyone know where this chart came from. has been very helpful, was wondering if anyone knew what notes the chart is referencing to?

 

[Scientific]

i know this is an old post. does anyone know where this chart came from. has been very helpful, was wondering if anyone knew what notes the chart is referencing to?

It's an interesting chart and it seems pop up all the time, but I think it might make hydroponics look a bit simpler and more straightforward than it really is?

When you get your post count up to 50 and can send private messages, you might try PMing Rifleman.

 

[kevpadil]

ok thankyou for the response...