Grow Mediums A-Train needs info on the coco for future run... help a brother out.

Sea Grow from Grow More is a nutrient source for soil growing. However people do use it in DWC and probably have used it as I have. To this point, I've done nothing but feed at 450 then 600 ppms in solution, ph'd to 5.7 -6.0, i'm not fussy about it, fiddling with exact ph for me is a waste of time. hopefully, my plants will continue to look like this:

trainwreck pic2 - small -3-24-2016.jpg






:smoking: A-T' -- your well water, is it pre-filtered before it goes to the house? Likely, it's fine, at least fairly soft,... I missed where I saw what your tap water pH is, unadjusted? Get that TDS meter, brudda, it will be needed! You might not have to do a thing with your water... Did you bring water samples to work and test yet?

I've read up lots of stuff from Canna, the coco coir and nutrient company, and found this article that particularly relevant ( http://www.cannagardening.com/growing_on_coco_busting_the_myth ); there are others, but you have to poke around the site a bit to sift them out... About the best water to use, RO/Di vs tap (mild hardness), combined with their coco nute line, they say don't use straight RO-- (found this at a hydro store site->
CANNA USA | COCO

Canna Feed Chart

  • From the first day onwards, apply RHIZOTONIC for an even better root development and a stronger vigorous plant; also apply RHIZOTONIC-solution on the leaves
  • After about 1 week start using CANNAZYM. This enzyme and vitamin product facilitates the breakdown of dead plant material preventing the rotting of this organic material.It stimulates important soil microbes while increasing the intake of nutrients which insures that CANNA COCO can be re-used extremely well.
  • Application: at least once a week
  • Do not place too many plants per square foot (m2) plants will generally become larger on CANNA COCO and dependent, on the variety, will need more room compared to cultivating on rockwool or soil. Because of this, a bloom or harvest period could be started days earlier Measuring the drain water from the coconut substrate provides irrelevant information; steering with the use of such information can thus cause damage to the plant. So, no need for measurements when using CANNA fertilizer together with CANNA COCO in a normal setting.
  • Always use fresh nutrient solution and feed as regularly as the plants can tolerate.
  • Avoid using pure RO filtered water due to the formation of bicarbonates and reduced availability of nutrients. *( I'm not sure what's behind the chemistry of this, but I'll take it on faith- LOL!)
  • If the tap water is hard then use a mixture of both tap and filtered water to reach a 0.2 to 0.5ec reading before mixing nutrients
  • Always use equal volumes of A&B.
  • Collect between 10% and 20% of the solution used at each feeding as runoff. ---> *( I think they mean allow, not collect)
  • Try using Citric acid or Nitric acid as alternatives to Phosphoric acid pH down products in coconut coir med
.... By USA standards, 1.0EC = 500ppm (640pm EU), so from what BII got from the AN rep' and this, it seems a little hardness in the water is a good/required thing, depending on whose nute's you use, and if they're coco-specific.. this is what concerns me most, because the specific nute's are formulated to deal with the whole K balancing act with Ca and Mg and all that CEC confucksion! :doh:-- the linked article helps make some sense of this, though it's worded oddly at times-- translation snafu's... Oh, also, multiple sources warn about using just water alone in coco, there must always be at least some mild nute dosage in there,... Of course, with the Autopots, this is moot! :greenthumb:-- but still important to know,...

>> Rifleman-- :thumbsup: thanks for pH the readings,... from what you said about their state, and the wacky readings they gave out of the calibration solution, they need multi-point 4-7-10 pH calibrating-- just in case you need them down the road- :eyebrows:-- as they stand, they aren't talkin' straight!
 
I question the validity of this also. Maybe we should ask the company for their explanation, as water tranfer between different mediums is reduced by the loss of surface area of the larger medium.

OK ... I have a question in my head that just won't go away.
If it's a dumb question, then I apologise in advance.

Here goes;

Why would anyone use clay pellets as a base in an Autopot + Airdome system?

I've seen many advocate it, but I genuinely don't understand the logic or rationale behind it.
From what very little knowledge I have, clay pellets are used to assist drainage, and also to aid in the oxygenation in systems like DWC.
I get that bit.
But what I don't get, is why you would need either in an Autopot + Airdome system.

Firstly, Autopot is essentially a leeching form of watering - it's bottom up - so why the need for a 'drainage' agent?
Top-down watering ... sure. But a bottom-up self-regulating system? Why the need for clay pellets as a drainage agent?

Secondly, why would you need clay pellets for oxygenation if you have Airdomes?
Also, most also advocate oxygenation via airstone at the reservoir ... so why the need for clay pellets for oxygenation?

If not for drainage, and not for oxygenation, then why?
How are clay pellets at the bottom of an Autopot beneficial?
What purpose do they serve?

Do people use clay pellets in their Autopot systems because of the true science behind it, as a theory?
Or is it just more about convention and its because its what other people did before them?

What am I missing?

Sorry for the dumb question ... I have been struggling with it, but just got to that point where not asking it was harder than asking it.
 
I ran an AIT ( air Injection Technology from Modular Hydro ) in a 20 gallon pot filled with nothing but organic soil. My pot at the end was FULL of very fine roots. The plant was a Yoda's Dragon's Breath. There is no cage for the AIT. I'll see if I still have the rootball pic. And yep, the plant loved it!

from what ive read up on its mainly to stop coco clogging up your air domes also the airdome and clay pebbles will be under water easier to oxygenate the water with only clay balls in than coco (it would be a soggy mess) hope that puts your mind to rest or did I just make that up :crying:
 
I remember reading some bad report on Hydroton.
Let me see if I can find it.


EDIT:

Yep - here it is.


I've used it in most my grows as long as you rinse it then I leave it in water ph,d to 5.8 or to whatever your medium requires never had a problem just make sure you rinse it well to get rid of the dust
 
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