several ebb and flow questions

[medicalGreenGrower]

i have medium sized cat litter trays for my trays and i use 10 gallons in a res that holds up to 20 gal. i flood for 14 minutes with a 150 gph pump. then everything sits for 1.5 hours and i go again. too much? too little? i realize it's highly subjective so if it boils down to preference please let me know.

second, my set up uses a grow room, and then a flowering area. i have a tray in the grow room for three weeks then it moves to the flower area. it stays 3 weeks in each of the three flowering spots on my table with nutes in separate reservoirs for each spot. i have four sections, one extra, (square table, one tray in each corner) in case flowering goes beyond 9 weeks so there isn't a traffic jam. as the tray moves to flower or after the first week of flower, clones are taken and they go into the clone room. 2 or 3 weeks later, those clones are rooted and they move to the grow room. the current grow tray moves to flower, flower 1 moves to 2, 2 moves to 3 and 3 is harvested. so, now my question. would it be asking for trouble to mix a 8 to 10 week plant with trays of 6 to 8 week plants. i think it might be okay since i've got the extra spot and since i'm starting the faster plant after the slower ( i have the 8 to 10 in the grow room right now). comments?

also, when i top off my res., should i be adding just plain RO ph'd water or should i add nutes to that water? i've heard top off with plain water and nutes as well. would just adding water dilute the nutes or does it matter?

last question, i hope, do i have to run clean ph'd water through my trays every time i change reservoirs? should i scrub the res and then fill it with RO ph's water and run it through the tray for a bit, let it drain and dump it. then fill the res. with fresh nutes?

thanks.

mG

 

[fishcabo]

Q1 I usually go 15 min flood, 2 hours off. I do believe you could get a 1000 different answers to this. If you plants appear to be growing correctly, you cycle is probably o.k.
Q2 The plants don't care if there are other plants on different flowering cycles in the same room. People do this all the time to get regular harvests. Q3 always check the ppm after you add ro water and add nutes if needed then check ph.
Q4 No on running through the trays. I don't believe its neccessary though some people might. As far as cleaning the reservoir, its a good idea between cycles. Since you are on a perpetual cycle I would say every five to six weeks, change your reservoir h2o. Anyone who says change your water more often is wasting nutes. As long as you keep the reservoir light proof and watch the ppms and the ph every time you add ro water, you will be fine. POTUS king of hydro will probably agree.

 

[medicalGreenGrower]

thanks for the info. when i add plain water to top off my res. do i then check the ppm and if it's lower than what it started at, i add more nutes? i'm trying to follow the instructions for vol nutes/gal to ppm but it seldom works out to the same number on the bottle. plus i add other stuff. how do you top off nutes, especially with two part nutes like sensi grow/bloom and additives? if i go to high, then i add water then it's too low, so more nutes, then water - it could go on forever with my skill level. my hanna meter never reads the same so i take ten readings and average. with three tanks it might take 2 days to finish topping them off! right now i just add ro ph'd water and my girls look great so i guess everything is ok, but if it could be better...

thanks.

mG