I can't stop mainlining (Manifold first timer)

[sopappy]

Clay pellets and hydroton are pretty much the same thing, no?
What do you mean by dirty?
I'm re-using mine after a H2O2 rinse and things seem okay, I like it.

 

[sopappy]

I'm not sure how Joe caught it, but I've been measuring BEFORE topping up.
I'm going to post what I do in more detail here.
I'll just edit additions, y'all might spot something, thanks!

12th am 6.1 1040
12th pm 5.9 1050
13th am 5.4 down 2L, added 6.8
13th am 5.6 920
... am/pm is my schedule, the plants sleep during the day

 

[Hushpuppy]

That looks fine to me. This is just the way I do mine: whenever I top up, I add in my water or solution to my system (and because I have a 40ish gallon system) I allow it to circulate for a couple hours and then I check and adjust the pH. If your system is just individual DWC buckets, you would have to do it a little different. Each setup is unique to itself and the operator so you may not be able to do things exactly like me or someone else would do. I think in about 5 days, you will see a big difference in the plants from the increase in nutrients.

 

[Hushpuppy]

That pH swing tells you that she is both eating and drinking while the lights are on.

 

[sopappy]

That looks fine to me. This is just the way I do mine: whenever I top up, I add in my water or solution to my system (and because I have a 40ish gallon system) I allow it to circulate for a couple hours and then I check and adjust the pH. If your system is just individual DWC buckets, you would have to do it a little different. Each setup is unique to itself and the operator so you may not be able to do things exactly like me or someone else would do. I think in about 5 days, you will see a big difference in the plants from the increase in nutrients.

wait a minute... what is the pH of the water you top up with?
later, do you just adjust (see what I did there?) by adding pH up or down directly to the res?

I sure hope you're right about next week, HP, I'll be starting to check trichromes by then :-(
But I always end up with some pot hahaha
I hate having to buy it, such a crap shoot.
(this **** tastes like it washed up on shore somewhere)

 

[sopappy]

That pH swing tells you that she is both eating and drinking while the lights are on.

:lama:
me and my girl gaining on Gooch!

.5 isn't too fast a swing for 12 hours, HP?

 

[Gooch]

I dont see any pics?

 

[sopappy]

I dont see any pics?

These are taken in green light with a flash. I was startled to see all those trichromes, flash really brings them out, they don't look as good as that.

View attachment 100_0026.JPG

View attachment 100_0029.JPG

View attachment 100_0037.JPG

 

[Gooch]

here is a link to the NPK university video this is part 1 it was this week part 2 is this coming week https://attendee.gototraining.com/30t0x/recording/3937957340457948418?branding=30t0x

 

[sopappy]

RDWC 2 x 5gal + res (1 bucket has no plant)

12th am 6.1 1040
12th pm 5.9 1050
13th am 5.4 down 2L, added 6.8
13th am 5.6 920
13th pm 4.9 1030
14th am 4.7 down 1L, ...

do I try to get it up to 5.5 or just do early nute change?

 

[Gooch]

that looks good i think that 4.9 is little acidic but not terrible, try to keep it at the lowest 5.5 then pop it up to 6 again and let it float back down

 

[pcduck]

The pH scale is logarithmic and as a result, each whole pH value below 7 is ten times more acidic than the next higher value. For example, pH 4 is ten times more acidic than pH 5 and 100 times (10 times 10) more acidic than pH 6.

 

[sopappy]

yikes! thanks for that tidbit, duck.

my ramp decreases, it's not quite down another .5 and only drank half the usual 2 L,
I'll pH the quart to raise it 5.5 which now strikes me as pretty huge, (and plant no like?)
or should I just do res change early?

 

[Gooch]

The pH scale is logarithmic and as a result, each whole pH value below 7 is ten times more acidic than the next higher value. For example, pH 4 is ten times more acidic than pH 5 and 100 times (10 times 10) more acidic than pH 6.

interesting info, its bizarre then to think that some elements cant be taken up unless there is a 100 times swing. Gotta try and wrap my head around this:joint4:

 

[Hushpuppy]

Pappy; When I top up my rez with plain water, the pH of the plain water is around 6.3 I think. It varies some because it is well water that has some hard elements in it (not enough to be a problem). I add it straight to my rez without adjusting it and then allow it to circulate for a couple hours so that it can naturally adjust to whatever it will. THEN I go back and check it and adjust it.

I don't add the adjuster straight to the rez exactly. I draw a cup of water from the rez to check and then add adjuster to that cup of solution then pour that into the rez. I then allow it to circulate for a couple hours and then check it again. The reason I do it this way is because the whole reservoir of available water is not just in the rez but also in the bottoms of the totes that hold the plants like a DWC bucket. So I have to allow anything I do to the rez to circulate throughout the system to be truly accurate when checking pH.

Now your system is smaller with less water so everything will move a little quicker for you. The pH swing that you are getting is a bit fast but I suspect that is because the plants are hungry and they are sucking the nutes hard when the pH is in range. What you will learn to do is judge the amounts of adjuster for a given reading and a given amount of water. If the ppm was around 1000 and you have 8 gallons of water in your system and it drops to 5.9 and loses 2liters of water, then you will want to add back and try to bump it back to 6.0-6.1 which will probably take about 5ml of pH up depending on the pH of your tap water.

If you change your rez completely and set it to 1000ish PPM then it should last about 1 week before its completely depleted. But if you top up with nuted water, it will extend that time by a day or two depending on how much you are topping up. I wouldn't worry too much about how acidic the solution gets at the lower end unless it gets down below 4.0 as you won't be letting it stay low very long. You will eventually learn the rhythm of the plants and hydro system. The smaller the system is, the faster that rhythm will move, but the larger it is the slower it will move. That is why I have a 40ish gallon system for 3 plants. If I had the room for it, it would be a 60gal system so that I could let it go for a week without having to adjust it.

 

[sopappy]

Pappy; When I top up my rez with plain water, the pH of the plain water is around 6.3 I think. It varies some because it is well water that has some hard elements in it (not enough to be a problem). I add it straight to my rez without adjusting it and then allow it to circulate for a couple hours so that it can naturally adjust to whatever it will. THEN I go back and check it and adjust it.

I don't add the adjuster straight to the rez exactly. I draw a cup of water from the rez to check and then add adjuster to that cup of solution then pour that into the rez. I then allow it to circulate for a couple hours and then check it again. The reason I do it this way is because the whole reservoir of available water is not just in the rez but also in the bottoms of the totes that hold the plants like a DWC bucket. So I have to allow anything I do to the rez to circulate throughout the system to be truly accurate when checking pH.

Now your system is smaller with less water so everything will move a little quicker for you. The pH swing that you are getting is a bit fast but I suspect that is because the plants are hungry and they are sucking the nutes hard when the pH is in range. What you will learn to do is judge the amounts of adjuster for a given reading and a given amount of water. If the ppm was around 1000 and you have 8 gallons of water in your system and it drops to 5.9 and loses 2liters of water, then you will want to add back and try to bump it back to 6.0-6.1 which will probably take about 5ml of pH up depending on the pH of your tap water.

If you change your rez completely and set it to 1000ish PPM then it should last about 1 week before its completely depleted. But if you top up with nuted water, it will extend that time by a day or two depending on how much you are topping up. I wouldn't worry too much about how acidic the solution gets at the lower end unless it gets down below 4.0 as you won't be letting it stay low very long. You will eventually learn the rhythm of the plants and hydro system. The smaller the system is, the faster that rhythm will move, but the larger it is the slower it will move. That is why I have a 40ish gallon system for 3 plants. If I had the room for it, it would be a 60gal system so that I could let it go for a week without having to adjust it.

Why do you top up immediately with what you have (6.3) instead of taking the pH reading and begin your adjustment with that first cup?

When I try to bump readings, I'm going slow, right? (rapid pH swings are bad) For example, right now at 4.6, I want to bump about 30L to around 6.0 so it can ramp down again. Is that the wrong approach?
Too big a jump? 4.6 to 5.0 still too big?

2 buckets, res, 30L... the drip ring feed ends with a valve that I can crack open to piddle into the res for bubbles or open full bore (to empty) or leave in the res for fast recirculating. <<<< wrong, wrong, wrong, all it does recirculate the water in the res (as it bypasses the drip rings (buckets))

I'm concluding that I would waste more nutes using that huge reservoir but I'm wasting as much or more with my little one anyways probably
I almost hate asking you stuff.... I hope a lot of what you write is boilerplate.
you and THG, the effort

I'm rolling a fatty and doing a nute change tonight.... another exciting Saturday night.... nute change, and youtube videos of dead rockers, I can hardly wait!

 

[sopappy]

that looks good i think that 4.9 is little acidic but not terrible, try to keep it at the lowest 5.5 then pop it up to 6 again and let it float back down

5.5 went by so fast I missed it.
I'm down to 4.7 today, do I try to adjust that to 6.0 (130 times less acidic)
all in one go? Isn't rapid pH swing baaaad, I'll just change again tonight, 30L, no big wup.
What's your technique for topping up, Gooch?

 

[sopappy]

Tidbit:
My res has been getter cooler, basement, northern climate, it was dipping to 60
I put in a aquarium thermometer and probably inadequate for 30L tank.
Those panda paper sheets I use to cover things make a HUGE difference to water temp.
I flipped them over as aquarium heater was sloooooow and it shot up to 20 from 18 in a few hours under the LED.
The cheapest and most effective temp control and I can't automate it.

 

[sopappy]

here is a link to the NPK university video this is part 1 it was this week part 2 is this coming week https://attendee.gototraining.com/30t0x/recording/3937957340457948418?branding=30t0x

damn, I can't use a flash player with Tor

 

[Kraven]

I'm popping in to see how things are going pappy, looks like you have plenty of help.