Ok has anyone tried this? From seed they work fast 3 days and White Rhino was peeking through. They are now creeping up on 3 weeks and it seems as if things have slowed drastically. Maybe I am a little excited about the first time and showing excelent signs from all the reading I have been doing and learning by everyone elses questions and the awesome answers. What I want to know is what have you heard and is there anything extra I should do for them besides 24 hours of light and 1/4 strength nutrients. I thought maybe the PH level was off but it is at 7.0 going to lower if needed but if not I will keep it the same. What experiences has anyone heard from this type of system. I am using 2 85 watt CFL one blue spectrum and one red spectrum. I was told this is good enough light pluss I have mylar lining the entire room with reflectors on the sides of the babies to give some under light. Talk to me I want to do this right. I am working on pics.
Deep Water Culture grow
- Thread starter gw701935
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #3
BlackThumb
New Member
Hey GW, been a few weeks since your original post- hows it going for you to date? I'm curious as I just made my own similar based on user posts in this forum. Does that system just leave the water pump on all the time thru tubes to the bottom of the rockwool, or do you have yours on a timer? I know the air stays on, just wondering how you keep the rockwool from staying to wet.
I just finished making mine two days ago and am nervous as can be having moved two little ones into their slots yesterday morning, although my lid only has three holes where you have six. I put my water pump on a ART DNe timer today as my cubes are way wet and both babies look over watered after work today. I'm still having trouble dialing in the correct on/off times. Very delicate balance between soaked, and don't let the roots dry, you know. I only see chasing this in the future as plants move through different stages of growth ie soaker to start, then roots hanging under net cups but above solution, then finally going DWC once they reach nute liquid level.
The video S.Moose posted doesn't show under the hood either so just wondering how you throttle up/down on feed rate? You probably got some fancy regulator with a kit like that or something. I just used what was available locally for total cost of right at $50 US, not counting lights. Beside the timer, I used a manifold thingy made by Aqua Shuttle with cute little valves on each of six outlet stems. The things all plastic so not to sure about longevity. I have one tube each going to the bottom of the rockwool, and am playing with the Home Depot available micro-spray nozzles on the other three.
My two lights for this unit look just like in the video and are Sunlite 85w, 65ook daylight bulbs. I know they also make 105w, but I got what my budget could handle right now. I also just used a big ass air stone where your unit has some big disc or something. I guess I will find out if mine puts enough agitation out. Are yours like those 4 or 5 inch diameter things I see at the fish stores, or something unique to this kit thing? Sorry for all the questions, I guess I could do a little digging online since S.Mouse's video has a name on the front of it, but figured I'd ask ya how yours are progressing. I took a photo of my lid before putting in service yesterday so will attach it here. Would still like to hear of your experience since original post. Thanks.
I just finished making mine two days ago and am nervous as can be having moved two little ones into their slots yesterday morning, although my lid only has three holes where you have six. I put my water pump on a ART DNe timer today as my cubes are way wet and both babies look over watered after work today. I'm still having trouble dialing in the correct on/off times. Very delicate balance between soaked, and don't let the roots dry, you know. I only see chasing this in the future as plants move through different stages of growth ie soaker to start, then roots hanging under net cups but above solution, then finally going DWC once they reach nute liquid level.
The video S.Moose posted doesn't show under the hood either so just wondering how you throttle up/down on feed rate? You probably got some fancy regulator with a kit like that or something. I just used what was available locally for total cost of right at $50 US, not counting lights. Beside the timer, I used a manifold thingy made by Aqua Shuttle with cute little valves on each of six outlet stems. The things all plastic so not to sure about longevity. I have one tube each going to the bottom of the rockwool, and am playing with the Home Depot available micro-spray nozzles on the other three.
My two lights for this unit look just like in the video and are Sunlite 85w, 65ook daylight bulbs. I know they also make 105w, but I got what my budget could handle right now. I also just used a big ass air stone where your unit has some big disc or something. I guess I will find out if mine puts enough agitation out. Are yours like those 4 or 5 inch diameter things I see at the fish stores, or something unique to this kit thing? Sorry for all the questions, I guess I could do a little digging online since S.Mouse's video has a name on the front of it, but figured I'd ask ya how yours are progressing. I took a photo of my lid before putting in service yesterday so will attach it here. Would still like to hear of your experience since original post. Thanks.
- Thread starter
- #5
The way you have your set up is good. I use nutrients to the gallon so I do not need a meter I just feed when low and they go from there. The pump is on 24 hours a day as well as the air pump. I actually need a part like yours that has the valves on it. Keep lights close and heat down and make sure you check on them often to make sure the water is ok. That is one problem I had with this thing. It took some work but they all made it and everything is good now.
BlackThumb
New Member
Do you check your nute Ph every day? My Walmart special bin is 10 gallon or so I guess, and I put about 6 gallons into it then just put me a marker line on outside to tell when it drops. I am using AN nutes and also mix per gallon based roughly on their calculator.
I made my first big mess this morning trying to get samples out for testing/adjusting and hanging container on lip only to pour on my foot. There ain't no Ph electrode in my shoe, so needless to say needed another sample and to clean up my mess. I can only hope I get better at this on a short learning curve as I check Ph every morning and adjust EC with nutes as level drops. Started EC at 800ppm and moving to 1000 start of next week. This must get even more difficult as the plants grow in height/mass, do you block your lid up somehow when you need to go inside? Sure be nice if the thing would move straight up/down on struts or something stable. Got any hints on that for me?
I made my first big mess this morning trying to get samples out for testing/adjusting and hanging container on lip only to pour on my foot. There ain't no Ph electrode in my shoe, so needless to say needed another sample and to clean up my mess. I can only hope I get better at this on a short learning curve as I check Ph every morning and adjust EC with nutes as level drops. Started EC at 800ppm and moving to 1000 start of next week. This must get even more difficult as the plants grow in height/mass, do you block your lid up somehow when you need to go inside? Sure be nice if the thing would move straight up/down on struts or something stable. Got any hints on that for me?
Racefan
Well-Known Member
I don't know where you got the idea that you don't need a meter but your flat out wrong and statements like that could cause a new grower to destroy a grow. Even if your measuring at what's recommended per gallon. A meter will allow you to dial in your nutrients when first mixing and throughout the grow. The way your doing it now your getting it close at the first mixing but have no idea what's happening after that until the next nute change a week or two away when you mix new nutes. When you check on them to make sure water is okay between res changes how do you know what to add back with out a meter? If the plants haven't been hungry and have only been using water and you see your res a little low and add more water...then you've diluted your nutes and could cause deficiencies. If you add back nutrients then you've increased your nutrient strength and could burn them. Do you understand what I'm saying? I ask if you understand because you have some ideas and beliefs that are wrong and I want to make sure I'm clear to you on what I'm saying. Get a cheap PPM meter at the minimum. A truncheon or CF meter would be better but cost more. A cheap meter can be bought for $20.00 off ebay so cost is not a excuse either.lol
Smokin Moose
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex Moderator
^I fully agree. I have more crops ruined by not paying attention to correct levels, than I can poke a stick at.
Medical Cannabis
New Member
Everybody needs a PPM meter
Smokin Moose
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex Moderator
PPM = Parts per million.
PH = the acid/alkaline reading
PH = the acid/alkaline reading
Smokin Moose
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex Moderator
TDS, PPM, and EC
If you have any desire to mix your own fertilizers, it is important that you have at least basic understanding of these terms
Electricity is conducted due to the presence of ions (electrically charged) in a solution. The ions get there by introduction of salts via our ferts!
EC (electric conductivity) is a representation of how much potential a solution has to conduct electricity...SO, by testing the ability of a solution to conduct electricity, we can indirectly determine the amount of salts present....thereby knowing if we have the right concentration of ferts.
E.C. is a measure of salinity by measuring its conductivity. You want an E.C. under 2.0.....anything around 4.0 signifies an extreme excess of salt which calls for immediate leeching. There are devices for measuring...honestly, I haven't bought one because I am pretty comfortable with this....but if you experiment may be worth a look!
Despite my natural aversion for ppm measurement, it would be a good idea when mixing ferts as a beginner. Check your nursery or Home Depot. I've F-ed up a plant or two in my day, always because I THOUGHT I was more accurate with eye measurement than I really was!
CF (Conductivity Factor) basically represents the same information but expressed differently. 1 ms/cm is equal to a CF of 10. I don't use this factor and haven't seen many people use it...but just in case, you now have a conversion!
TDS is a measurement, by weight, of the Total Dissolved Solids in a solution and is measured in PPMs (Parts Per Million). Basically, when you hear someone say they introduce nutrients at a rate of 500 PPMs, it means that they have 500 milligrams of solid dissolved in a Liter of water.
You can figure the PPM of your ferts one of two ways.....you can precisely measure the ferts and water you mix together...or you can make a solution and measure the PPM of IT. The shortcut lies in hand-held meters which measure the EC of a solution and then apply mathematical conversion to the EC figure to arrive at PPMs. Keep in mind, even this is an approximate measurement...but plenty accurate for growers!
Some meters actually display the EC AND the PPM readings. Some only express the EC value and this can be tricky because European and American made meters measure at different rates.
An American device that displays an E.C. of 1.0 has 500PPMs.
A European device that displays an E.C. of 1.0 has 640PPMs.
(I believe Australian manufacturers have a different conversion factor also...but not sure.)
So if your American device only displays E.C., use that old algebra and set the two given equations equal to each other. For example, let's say your E.C. reading is 1.2.
Using the known ratio given just above, we'll cross multiply to solve for x to get the unknown ppms.
1.0/500ppm=1.2/x
x=600
Your solution has 600PPMs. (remember, this would be with the American device...a European device would produce a different result!)
If you want to figure out the PPMs yourself, its pretty easy. Each 1 gram of fertilizer per liter of water gives 10PPMs of each given nutrient per percentage point. Sounds clumsy, wish I could state that better....here's an example.
Use 1 gram of SuperPhosphate 0-20-0 in a liter of DISTILLED water. The solution would have 0ppm of N, 200ppm of P, and 0ppm of K. Also keep in mind that tap water already has dissolved solids...most likely anywhere between 200-400 PPMs. Use distilled water when possible...0 PPMs!!
A guideline for NPK strengths
Now, I have seen different parameters for acceptable PPMs. Here is a decent guideline for the N-P-K standards...play around, but make only gradual changes up! Approximate tolerance range of PPMs per nutrient .... most micronutes are tolerated by plants within the same ranges...but the plant just doesn't need nearly that much!
N 200-400
P 200-600
K 200-600
Approximate tolerance range of TOTAL PPMs in soil/medium
(Obviously the plant can tolerate more as it gets larger and has more root area to uptake nutes and leaf area to transpire water.)
Seedling 500-600
Vegetative 800-1000
Flowering 1000-1500
Flushing 500
PPMs for each growth phase
You may desire more N during veg stages for example. The key is NOT to obsess over the exact numbers. Too many experienced growers give advice in exact parameters to appear 'scientific' or something...but there are too many other factors involved in the actual UPTAKE of these nutrients by roots to claim specificity. These are just general parameters that you can tweak under your own conditions. And again, the plant can tolerate more as it gets larger and has more root area to uptake nutes and leaf area to transpire water...start light, gradually increase with each feeding as your lant can handle it.
Keep in mind, my estimates are given for soil mediums which can tolerate higher levels because the soil components will bond with many elemental ions....a hydro system needs to be more precise....I'm not very familiar with those systems. You've read the dislaimer! Also remember that these parameters are based on the assumption of using DISTILLED water. Tap water will add another 200-400 PPMs, so you would have to adjust accordingly...especially with Cl, Ca, Na, and in rare case, S.
SEEDLING (2-3 weeks...look for 4-5 sets of alternating nodes before moving to veg)
N 150
P 100
K 150
Ca 75
Mg 75
S 25-50
Fe 15
Cl 15
Mn 7
Cu 9
Zn 3
Total: 600ppm
VEGETATIVE/PRE-FLOWER (2-4 weeks)
N 300
P 100
K 200
Ca 100
Mg 100
S 50-75
Fe 25
Cl 25
Mn 10
Cu 15
Zn 5
Total: @1000pm
FLOWER (strain dependent-usually 6-8 weeks)
N 300-400
P 400
K 200
Ca 100-150
Mg 100-150
S 100-150
Fe 25+
Cl 25+
Mn 10
Cu 15
Zn 5
Total: @1300-1500ppm
FLUSH/HARVEST (2 weeks)
N 0
P 75
K 75
Ca 50
Mg 50
S 50
Fe 25
Cl 25
Mn 10
Cu 15
Zn 5
Total: @400ppm
I cannot stress enough that these are estimates...conservative ones due to the fact that chemical ferts allow less room for error. In addition, different strains and conditions will result in different ratios....experiment often and use caution always!
If you have any desire to mix your own fertilizers, it is important that you have at least basic understanding of these terms
Electricity is conducted due to the presence of ions (electrically charged) in a solution. The ions get there by introduction of salts via our ferts!
EC (electric conductivity) is a representation of how much potential a solution has to conduct electricity...SO, by testing the ability of a solution to conduct electricity, we can indirectly determine the amount of salts present....thereby knowing if we have the right concentration of ferts.
E.C. is a measure of salinity by measuring its conductivity. You want an E.C. under 2.0.....anything around 4.0 signifies an extreme excess of salt which calls for immediate leeching. There are devices for measuring...honestly, I haven't bought one because I am pretty comfortable with this....but if you experiment may be worth a look!
Despite my natural aversion for ppm measurement, it would be a good idea when mixing ferts as a beginner. Check your nursery or Home Depot. I've F-ed up a plant or two in my day, always because I THOUGHT I was more accurate with eye measurement than I really was!
CF (Conductivity Factor) basically represents the same information but expressed differently. 1 ms/cm is equal to a CF of 10. I don't use this factor and haven't seen many people use it...but just in case, you now have a conversion!
TDS is a measurement, by weight, of the Total Dissolved Solids in a solution and is measured in PPMs (Parts Per Million). Basically, when you hear someone say they introduce nutrients at a rate of 500 PPMs, it means that they have 500 milligrams of solid dissolved in a Liter of water.
You can figure the PPM of your ferts one of two ways.....you can precisely measure the ferts and water you mix together...or you can make a solution and measure the PPM of IT. The shortcut lies in hand-held meters which measure the EC of a solution and then apply mathematical conversion to the EC figure to arrive at PPMs. Keep in mind, even this is an approximate measurement...but plenty accurate for growers!
Some meters actually display the EC AND the PPM readings. Some only express the EC value and this can be tricky because European and American made meters measure at different rates.
An American device that displays an E.C. of 1.0 has 500PPMs.
A European device that displays an E.C. of 1.0 has 640PPMs.
(I believe Australian manufacturers have a different conversion factor also...but not sure.)
So if your American device only displays E.C., use that old algebra and set the two given equations equal to each other. For example, let's say your E.C. reading is 1.2.
Using the known ratio given just above, we'll cross multiply to solve for x to get the unknown ppms.
1.0/500ppm=1.2/x
x=600
Your solution has 600PPMs. (remember, this would be with the American device...a European device would produce a different result!)
If you want to figure out the PPMs yourself, its pretty easy. Each 1 gram of fertilizer per liter of water gives 10PPMs of each given nutrient per percentage point. Sounds clumsy, wish I could state that better....here's an example.
Use 1 gram of SuperPhosphate 0-20-0 in a liter of DISTILLED water. The solution would have 0ppm of N, 200ppm of P, and 0ppm of K. Also keep in mind that tap water already has dissolved solids...most likely anywhere between 200-400 PPMs. Use distilled water when possible...0 PPMs!!
A guideline for NPK strengths
Now, I have seen different parameters for acceptable PPMs. Here is a decent guideline for the N-P-K standards...play around, but make only gradual changes up! Approximate tolerance range of PPMs per nutrient .... most micronutes are tolerated by plants within the same ranges...but the plant just doesn't need nearly that much!
N 200-400
P 200-600
K 200-600
Approximate tolerance range of TOTAL PPMs in soil/medium
(Obviously the plant can tolerate more as it gets larger and has more root area to uptake nutes and leaf area to transpire water.)
Seedling 500-600
Vegetative 800-1000
Flowering 1000-1500
Flushing 500
PPMs for each growth phase
You may desire more N during veg stages for example. The key is NOT to obsess over the exact numbers. Too many experienced growers give advice in exact parameters to appear 'scientific' or something...but there are too many other factors involved in the actual UPTAKE of these nutrients by roots to claim specificity. These are just general parameters that you can tweak under your own conditions. And again, the plant can tolerate more as it gets larger and has more root area to uptake nutes and leaf area to transpire water...start light, gradually increase with each feeding as your lant can handle it.
Keep in mind, my estimates are given for soil mediums which can tolerate higher levels because the soil components will bond with many elemental ions....a hydro system needs to be more precise....I'm not very familiar with those systems. You've read the dislaimer! Also remember that these parameters are based on the assumption of using DISTILLED water. Tap water will add another 200-400 PPMs, so you would have to adjust accordingly...especially with Cl, Ca, Na, and in rare case, S.
SEEDLING (2-3 weeks...look for 4-5 sets of alternating nodes before moving to veg)
N 150
P 100
K 150
Ca 75
Mg 75
S 25-50
Fe 15
Cl 15
Mn 7
Cu 9
Zn 3
Total: 600ppm
VEGETATIVE/PRE-FLOWER (2-4 weeks)
N 300
P 100
K 200
Ca 100
Mg 100
S 50-75
Fe 25
Cl 25
Mn 10
Cu 15
Zn 5
Total: @1000pm
FLOWER (strain dependent-usually 6-8 weeks)
N 300-400
P 400
K 200
Ca 100-150
Mg 100-150
S 100-150
Fe 25+
Cl 25+
Mn 10
Cu 15
Zn 5
Total: @1300-1500ppm
FLUSH/HARVEST (2 weeks)
N 0
P 75
K 75
Ca 50
Mg 50
S 50
Fe 25
Cl 25
Mn 10
Cu 15
Zn 5
Total: @400ppm
I cannot stress enough that these are estimates...conservative ones due to the fact that chemical ferts allow less room for error. In addition, different strains and conditions will result in different ratios....experiment often and use caution always!
BlackThumb
New Member
I went over digging around that SH Deep Water Culture site today "while at work", and was very surprised by a couple of their statements which indicate that GW was probably just following their directions. Down in one section where you can buy those pre-packaged nutes in a six month supply, they have a very clear blurb about how the stuff "auto adjusts its Ph to 98% of waters".
S.Moose, Boss, D-Man...can that possibly be true? Seems to me that would be some kind of silver bullet that experts like you guys would have 55 gallon drums of in the garage already, and blowing horns from the mountain tops about.
The other thing that caught my eye was in their pdf instruction file on using the nute packs. It clearly directs that you never, never use Grow with the Bloom. You use Grow & Micro, or Micro & Bloom. I only know AN and a few of the other most common systems where we do mix G, M & B. With AN if you are going for say a 1000ppm EC, you will be around an oz of G & M and maybe .2oz of B in a 6 gal tub during Veg.
Experts again, whats up with that? Sounds like maybe G & B may be loaded with N or something that might scorch if combined, or could ingredients cancel each other out or something? Their B package is real red, or pink powder if that gives you guys a clue as to contents. No where on the site could I find the actual specs on the nutes as far as N, P , K or any other detail.
GW, you need to get a meter if only to get us some readings on this stuff, if not to save your crop. It seems you are driving down a dark road at night without headlights on my friend, and the curves are up there ahead somewhere.
HaHa, Prof. you have been S.Moose'd! I am laughing with you and not at you as I am just starting out also so I have to read some of his stuff 20 times to begin to get a grasp on all the details. Being a beginner, think of it like you are fixing to eat dinner yourself. You want a cheeseburger, some fries and a fudge sundae for desert, and are going to wash the whole shabang down with a tall cool glass of water. The Ph at a neutral 7.0 says its a glass of clean drinking water and not something I scooped out of the Atlantic and set on your table. No matter how good the burger is, if I stuff it into a glass of saltwater, you won't like it. Once you have chewed and swallowed all this stuff, you now have an EC in your belly consisting of cheeseburger, fries, sundae and water in some PPM. Your plant is no different except it ain't got no teeth, so you dissolve its food into some PPM portion in clean water for its dinner. Like you, sometimes it gets a Thanksgiving dinner, other times a snack but can not live on water alone no matter how clean. Just one beginner to another, as I'm sure the experts are shaking their heads at us about now. Luck to ya dude.
S.Moose, Boss, D-Man...can that possibly be true? Seems to me that would be some kind of silver bullet that experts like you guys would have 55 gallon drums of in the garage already, and blowing horns from the mountain tops about.
The other thing that caught my eye was in their pdf instruction file on using the nute packs. It clearly directs that you never, never use Grow with the Bloom. You use Grow & Micro, or Micro & Bloom. I only know AN and a few of the other most common systems where we do mix G, M & B. With AN if you are going for say a 1000ppm EC, you will be around an oz of G & M and maybe .2oz of B in a 6 gal tub during Veg.
Experts again, whats up with that? Sounds like maybe G & B may be loaded with N or something that might scorch if combined, or could ingredients cancel each other out or something? Their B package is real red, or pink powder if that gives you guys a clue as to contents. No where on the site could I find the actual specs on the nutes as far as N, P , K or any other detail.
GW, you need to get a meter if only to get us some readings on this stuff, if not to save your crop. It seems you are driving down a dark road at night without headlights on my friend, and the curves are up there ahead somewhere.
HaHa, Prof. you have been S.Moose'd! I am laughing with you and not at you as I am just starting out also so I have to read some of his stuff 20 times to begin to get a grasp on all the details. Being a beginner, think of it like you are fixing to eat dinner yourself. You want a cheeseburger, some fries and a fudge sundae for desert, and are going to wash the whole shabang down with a tall cool glass of water. The Ph at a neutral 7.0 says its a glass of clean drinking water and not something I scooped out of the Atlantic and set on your table. No matter how good the burger is, if I stuff it into a glass of saltwater, you won't like it. Once you have chewed and swallowed all this stuff, you now have an EC in your belly consisting of cheeseburger, fries, sundae and water in some PPM. Your plant is no different except it ain't got no teeth, so you dissolve its food into some PPM portion in clean water for its dinner. Like you, sometimes it gets a Thanksgiving dinner, other times a snack but can not live on water alone no matter how clean. Just one beginner to another, as I'm sure the experts are shaking their heads at us about now. Luck to ya dude.
Smokin Moose
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex Moderator
How the fuck can a nutrient 'auto-adjust' to 98% of waters. I find that statement ludicrous. Thanks for posting this.
Stick with sensi bloom 2 part lol
Stick with sensi bloom 2 part lol
BlackThumb
New Member
Thats what I thought, and its even more specific to say it adjusts to around 6.5 in 98% of household waters. Only way I know how to make that happen is full time monitoring sensors feeding a cpu controlled dispenser, they do it with two bags of powder. Here's their quote;
"Fire and forget" style feeding with Stealth Grow, Stealth Bloom and Stealth Micro individually sized nutrient packets which eliminate the need for measuring. Simply fill the reservoir bucket to the indicated line with water, and add the required feeding packet. Furthermore, Stealth Grow, Bloom and Micro automatically pH balance (to approx. 6.5) for 98% of all household water types. This nutrient mix is specifically formulated for use with SH Deep Water Culture and SH dual spectrum lighting systems."
They hired them a real good writer for sales stuff I guess, but don't have a real good grasp on nute solutions huh.
"Fire and forget" style feeding with Stealth Grow, Stealth Bloom and Stealth Micro individually sized nutrient packets which eliminate the need for measuring. Simply fill the reservoir bucket to the indicated line with water, and add the required feeding packet. Furthermore, Stealth Grow, Bloom and Micro automatically pH balance (to approx. 6.5) for 98% of all household water types. This nutrient mix is specifically formulated for use with SH Deep Water Culture and SH dual spectrum lighting systems."
They hired them a real good writer for sales stuff I guess, but don't have a real good grasp on nute solutions huh.
- Thread starter
- #17
Never in my reply I say what to add to his set. I was telling him an issue I had with the water in my set. That has nothing to do with nutrients which I use very little of because I do lack understanding on what I really need. So far as a beginner I have been doing fine. As far as the stealth hydro site. I have read all that junk as well but still end up taking my info from you guys because proven results. Unfortunately nute are my most expensive portion of my grow and still looking into the better ones to use. My response if taken wrong was solely for the set up not the grow. I said only that I use nutrients to the gallon not to do this himself. I only feed the resevoir gallons at a time so I can keep it regular and measured myself.
BlackThumb
New Member
Hey GW, just want to say no worries Bro. I think the guys are just worried that you appear to be topping off based on volume loss alone, and this won't tell you your total nute levels or Ph, both/either of which can kill a crop quick in hydro. Again no worries as like you, I cruise the boards for all this expert advice/ideas and then go do what I do. My actions include good, bad, indifferent and stupid as part of my own learning curve. Please don't feel slighted and remember their base motivation is concern. Nuf said, back to thread.
I noticed on the SH site they also sell a High Grow nute option in which he states part of the ingredients is a Ph buffer solution. This must also be applicable to the base nutes. One can only imagine that he is using a citric acid & base combo trying to give a small window around the 7.0 neutral making minor adjustments 'automatic'. After all, it just would not do to use a chemical base like arsenic in a unit you would assume product to be consumed by humans, even if only tomatoes rather than cannabis. Then again we can't tell by available info on site, so just wanted to ask you if they elaborate any of this detail in the actual kit? Do the bags even have a stated N, P, K on them?
Before I left the site, I did order a couple of things I liked. The first was some kind of expansion set including a float valve and three of the Greenback valves. I know the valve is the Antelco Greenback, but they only make these with barbs on both inlet and outlet, so SH is modifying these on the inlet side to include the bulkhead washer and seals. From what I can tell in the photos, it looks like they shave the barb off and glue/plastic weld the fitting on. So also wanted to ask you if you can actually see a glue line or other fit line when looking at your valve inlet? Little pricey at $30 for the kit, but I want to install a valve on mine and maybe play with the float valve on feeder res for vacations and such. Was going to make my own, but would have been bulkhead fitting to tube, to valve, to more tube and theirs is basically same but a little cleaner for roughly same cost when all said and done.
The second purchase was the 6 month nute packages at another $30. I don't intend to use them just yet, but am curious to perform a couple of basic mix and measure of 'standard dose' just to see what kind of EC it yields. Maybe also note some Ph effects etc. Just a small chem-lab experiment for my own info is all. I live near the University of N. Texas but don't know any students and would probably get arrested as the "old man running around campus with bags of powder", but should there be any U.N.T. Chemistry or Medical majors reading, give me a holler and I'll get you a bag of each of these three components for a little extracurricular activity.
At the end of the first operational week with the unit I made, its running 'fair to partly cloudy'. I only put plants in 2 of my 3 net cups so far. One is doing fair(bagweed), while my little Carmalicious is suffering. I am still fighting to get the feeding cycle correct for each plant and has become an obvious issue with hydro when mixing species in one lid. Thank God for the little valves as I'm working them to each cup as appropriate and only hope I get it dialed in before killing the little gem. Murphy's law, kill the costly one!
With the severe weather blowing through Dallas this last week, I also got my first taste for another hydro issue, loss of power. Seventy mile an hour gusts for a couple of days knocked my power off and on numerous times. Really did not need that as an added variable to the grow dial-in. Meanwhile, just waiting for what hits next and am adjusting Ph daily as it floats up/down about a full point per 24 hour period. Have not been consuming much nutes to this point as they are still basically rooted in the rockwool. I did put some covers over my net cups to avoid losing liquid via evaporation, and to prevent any light leaking into res which may start algae growth. Thanks to the expert growers on the site, you pick up tips every time you read. Thanks Guys/Gals.
I noticed on the SH site they also sell a High Grow nute option in which he states part of the ingredients is a Ph buffer solution. This must also be applicable to the base nutes. One can only imagine that he is using a citric acid & base combo trying to give a small window around the 7.0 neutral making minor adjustments 'automatic'. After all, it just would not do to use a chemical base like arsenic in a unit you would assume product to be consumed by humans, even if only tomatoes rather than cannabis. Then again we can't tell by available info on site, so just wanted to ask you if they elaborate any of this detail in the actual kit? Do the bags even have a stated N, P, K on them?
Before I left the site, I did order a couple of things I liked. The first was some kind of expansion set including a float valve and three of the Greenback valves. I know the valve is the Antelco Greenback, but they only make these with barbs on both inlet and outlet, so SH is modifying these on the inlet side to include the bulkhead washer and seals. From what I can tell in the photos, it looks like they shave the barb off and glue/plastic weld the fitting on. So also wanted to ask you if you can actually see a glue line or other fit line when looking at your valve inlet? Little pricey at $30 for the kit, but I want to install a valve on mine and maybe play with the float valve on feeder res for vacations and such. Was going to make my own, but would have been bulkhead fitting to tube, to valve, to more tube and theirs is basically same but a little cleaner for roughly same cost when all said and done.
The second purchase was the 6 month nute packages at another $30. I don't intend to use them just yet, but am curious to perform a couple of basic mix and measure of 'standard dose' just to see what kind of EC it yields. Maybe also note some Ph effects etc. Just a small chem-lab experiment for my own info is all. I live near the University of N. Texas but don't know any students and would probably get arrested as the "old man running around campus with bags of powder", but should there be any U.N.T. Chemistry or Medical majors reading, give me a holler and I'll get you a bag of each of these three components for a little extracurricular activity.
At the end of the first operational week with the unit I made, its running 'fair to partly cloudy'. I only put plants in 2 of my 3 net cups so far. One is doing fair(bagweed), while my little Carmalicious is suffering. I am still fighting to get the feeding cycle correct for each plant and has become an obvious issue with hydro when mixing species in one lid. Thank God for the little valves as I'm working them to each cup as appropriate and only hope I get it dialed in before killing the little gem. Murphy's law, kill the costly one!
With the severe weather blowing through Dallas this last week, I also got my first taste for another hydro issue, loss of power. Seventy mile an hour gusts for a couple of days knocked my power off and on numerous times. Really did not need that as an added variable to the grow dial-in. Meanwhile, just waiting for what hits next and am adjusting Ph daily as it floats up/down about a full point per 24 hour period. Have not been consuming much nutes to this point as they are still basically rooted in the rockwool. I did put some covers over my net cups to avoid losing liquid via evaporation, and to prevent any light leaking into res which may start algae growth. Thanks to the expert growers on the site, you pick up tips every time you read. Thanks Guys/Gals.
Smokin Moose
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex Moderator
^great input. Thank you
BlackThumb
New Member
^Got the stuff from SH mentioned in the previous post to include the valves and nute powder for sampling. Since GW has no meter, hopefully this can at least give you some clue in case things head South on you.
They in no way identify the Grow, Micro or Bloom by %/wt as to contents ie..?-?-?.
The bags are premixed for a 6 gallon base carrier. I did not want to mix up 6 full gallons of the stuff since not using and only measuring,so broke it down to 1 gallon quantities.
I used the 500 conversion on EC meter, and solution temp was 79.5*. I did balance starting gals Ph to 7.0.
Mixing each into a 1 gallon jug by itself;
The G full bag is 30g/6gal so I broke out 5g/1gal and measured a 5.98Ph @ 361ppm.
The M full bag is 12.6g/6gal so 2.1g/1gal went in and got 6.85Ph @ 26ppm.
B full is 32.4g/6gal so took 5.4g/1gal for 5.85Ph @556ppm.
Mixing the G & M together measured a 6.35Ph @ 350ppm.
Mixing the M & B together measured a 6.25Ph @ 505ppm.
Looks like it is a very light feeding schedule in general, and you may need to boost nutes particularly toward flower time to increase yields. I only have an EC/ppm meter so can't tell anything about macro or micro nute contents or quantity. Assuming it is not real high in N there is probably little chance of a burn using it.
I'm sure some of these guys could help you out as to what to add should you experience slow growth or something.
They in no way identify the Grow, Micro or Bloom by %/wt as to contents ie..?-?-?.
The bags are premixed for a 6 gallon base carrier. I did not want to mix up 6 full gallons of the stuff since not using and only measuring,so broke it down to 1 gallon quantities.
I used the 500 conversion on EC meter, and solution temp was 79.5*. I did balance starting gals Ph to 7.0.
Mixing each into a 1 gallon jug by itself;
The G full bag is 30g/6gal so I broke out 5g/1gal and measured a 5.98Ph @ 361ppm.
The M full bag is 12.6g/6gal so 2.1g/1gal went in and got 6.85Ph @ 26ppm.
B full is 32.4g/6gal so took 5.4g/1gal for 5.85Ph @556ppm.
Mixing the G & M together measured a 6.35Ph @ 350ppm.
Mixing the M & B together measured a 6.25Ph @ 505ppm.
Looks like it is a very light feeding schedule in general, and you may need to boost nutes particularly toward flower time to increase yields. I only have an EC/ppm meter so can't tell anything about macro or micro nute contents or quantity. Assuming it is not real high in N there is probably little chance of a burn using it.
I'm sure some of these guys could help you out as to what to add should you experience slow growth or something.
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