Grow Mediums First hydro grow seven white widow one fruit auto

[Rp365]

I want to add to the last question.
This daily adjustment adds at a minimum of. 50 ppm a day that's if I get spot on in one try. I n my thinking it only takes a few days before I have a lot of ppms of ph down in my mix I know this can't be good for my plants.
How much buffer is too much do I need to keep track of my ppms from the time I start out with the fresh Rez so I know how ppms of shit I get in there?


Any help would be awesome as I am really struggling here!

 

[DWCocha]

Hey RP ... sounds like a combo of RO & dodgy media bud . A friend whos a great DWC grower uses RO & has the same PH issue through all his grows .So your not alone with the hassle of that mate . Maybe use just tap water next time ?.

The media is the other thing mate .clay pebbles are so light & airy they float but im guessing those rocks weigh a bit & every time you move the buckets you may disturb them & harm the roots .

I scrapped a few babys & cut my loses on the nutes & there no shame in that bro... its a lot of effort even when things are going well & sometimes its better to save the nutes for a better run.

Honestly RP ... I would like Seymours advised to Groff & run 1 bucket until you have things dialed in & see how you go from there .You will learn a lot more from it at a much lower cost & she will be happy if you get it right (all of a sudden ,everyone's happy !) ... simplify the system ,ditch the RO maybe ?...throw 1 pump into 1 bucket ,make that bucket right from the start ... no cotton wool or shit like that !... you have spent X amount on the set up already ...why cut back on a few of the basics & have it mess up the whole grow (I know the hydro shop has not got any but try online of the next villages hydro store ?) .

good luck dude :smokebuds:

 

[KsjAuto]

I would agree with dwcocha, start over with one bucket and get that dialed in. Find out how you setup works,, see how your ph is behaving with ore without ro maybe 2 buckets one with tap water and one with ro just to see the difference..
And go get som hydroton ore leca..
..i found theese 2 growjournals for you. Its with the same system as yours.
http://www.autoflower.org/f5/northern-lights-blue-auto-waterfarm-led-17947.html

http://www.autoflower.org/f44/1st-g...on-auto-cfl-~-stealth-cabinet-grow-16202.html

When you know what your working with. Then up the game with more buckets . Its a bit of a handfull what your doing now.. Im on my 3 grow with my setup (top feed system) and im just about dialed in at this momont.
Live and learn.and with growing it can only be better the next time
Peace

 

[Rp365]

Thanks dw and ksj for checking in on me.
Ok I realize I have bitten off more than I can chew here but I have really invested some time in studying all of you guys and I am seeing improvement. I agree I probably would be better off with just one bucket I do have my six photos am raising to keep me up ( in soil doing great).
I WILL give this some deep thought ok.
Thanks for the links ksj I will give them a read today.

Let me give a brief explanation about this media thing. I did not choice this stuff I ordered and paid for hydro ton and a few other things place closed on me. I got what I have as a donation from someone who no longer grows. I would buy the right stuff but can't until I get disability check at beginning of month so it will be for the next run. My budget is beyond limited at times I have to choose between a sack of buds or things for my plants the plants win every time.

I will get the right stuff it just takes me time.

Back to the plants, ksj I don't the roots are being damaged they are not in the rocks the rock is a thin layer on top of bs cotton trash just to keep the light out of the water but maybe your right and that's enough to pinch them. Thanks again ksj and dw I am thankful for your advise I will think this over ( my biting off more than I can chew) and let you know what I decide to do my first thought is to go to three buckets, run one on ro, one off gassed tap, one 50/50, and see what ends up being more stable. Thoughts on that? I really hesitate to use the tap it tests at over 600 ppm.

Thanks again RP

 

[DWCocha]

:Holy Moly:600ppm out the tap :no: is that still that high after 24hrs bubbling ?.... fair enough using RO then bud !. You'll get there dude & learning all the time :smokebuds:I was the same with cashflow & needing equipment ...took about 6months to get what was needed & another 2 of screw ups before things went right ,but got there in the end & so will you if your passionate about growing RP :High 5:

 

[Rp365]

Dw thanks yes 600ppm I used to drink it it but no longer! I have the passion and more than enough time I will learn and I am I study all of you guys grow logs and everything else I can get a hold of. Thanks for checking on me peace

 

[Groff]

Hey RP!,

I am travelling by bus, so I didn't read the whole thread. Just wanted to drop something in just in case it wasnt mentioned.

pH fluctuations like that is certainly not cool, but not voodoo either. Are you buffering your RO before mixing your feed?

Also, your tap ppms are way too high and probably indicative of bad industrial washouts, ergo, crap sources of cal mag, so mixing a little tap water will do virtually nothing, maybe even worsen the problem - my bet is your issues lye in good RO but no buffer lock - and your tap water being blue tinted us just freaky scary!!

If you properly buffer RO you should get rock solid pH. But way too many variables also shifts pH , like plant health, plant apetite... Got to start by eliminatng hypothesis. For instance, using sensi carboload started dropping my EC and pH like crazy, probably a bad batch, or summer heat spoilt it or somethig...

My suggestion is to mix your feed and keep 1 or 2 litres separate and check if pH shifts or not. If ir does, your chemicals are not right.

 

[Rp365]

Thanks I will give this a try I will mix up some just to keep and see how the ph does on it. Something is unstable it's not horrible but it does require daily adjustment I have been putting the blame on media and never thought about it being my mix so we will find out thanks peace

 

[Rp365]

Ok groff I forgot that when I mix for Rez changes I mix four gallons more to keep to top off during the week so it has been sitting there bubbling for days now. I tested it and it has climbed from 5.8 to 6.2 in four days nowhere near as fast has it does in buckets. The ph climb does seem to slow a bit after a couple days in the buckets but still climbs to at least 6.3 from 5.8 everyday.

 

[Rp365]

Btw I forgot to mention that on my last res change I added one fifth tap to my ro to see if that helped my ph swing I think it slowed it some but just barely enough to notice