Grow Mediums First time dwc concers

[carl brutananadilewski]

So im interested in starting up a couple dwc buckets for both photoperiod and autos.
First of all is a 5gal bucket big enough?
How often do you change the water in the bucket?
Whats the right ph range?
What should my ppms be at the diffrent stages of life?
Do i have to hand water the seedlings to keep the roots wet b4 they're able to get into the air rich water?
Is there anything else im missing?

 

[woody]

5 gal is more than big enough
You can change the buckets as often as every 10 days- some growers change much less frequently.
Ph in hydro- 5.8-6.2
Start off the first week with just plain water- mine is 0.3ec or 150ppm
Then creep it up every change reading the plant- thats on the ppm 500 scale. Problem with ppm is theres 3 or 4 different scales and they all equal differnt strengths of feed. Ec is universal.
If you fill the bucket an inch lower than the net pot and have a decent airpump the bubbles will blow up around the pot and keep the seedling moist enough- if unsure you can top water until roots reach the res

 

[OceanDriveKush]

5 gal is more than big enough
You can change the buckets as often as every 10 days- some growers change much less frequently.
Ph in hydro- 5.8-6.2
Start off the first week with just plain water- mine is 0.3ec or 150ppm
Then creep it up every change reading the plant- thats on the ppm 500 scale. Problem with ppm is theres 3 or 4 different scales and they all equal differnt strengths of feed. Ec is universal.
If you fill the bucket an inch lower than the net pot and have a decent airpump the bubbles will blow up around the pot and keep the seedling moist enough- if unsure you can top water until roots reach the res

How about adding nutes? And how does that effect ppms

 

[woody]

How about adding nutes? And how does that effect ppms

The more nutes you add the higher the ppm rises. So you want to start low and increase as the plant grows

 

[OceanDriveKush]

The more nutes you add the higher the ppm rises. So you want to start low and increase as the plant grows

Do you know any good feeding charts on here that show the range you'd want to be in when growing super high quality stuff

 

[woody]

Do you know any good feeding charts on here that show the range you'd want to be in when growing super high quality stuff

Have you decided on a nutrient line yet? If so im sure one the growers on here will have a good feed schedule for you. Or we can work one out for you mate

 

[OceanDriveKush]

• Thanks bro, Jungle juice, the golden tree, calmag plus. My beans sprout round Tuesday. Just dropped in 5gal Dwc bucket with ro water 3 1/2 ml of calmag and golden tree. Each bucket has about three1/2 gals + inside all ppms around 160-180

 

[woody]

Have no experience with jungle juice dude maybe one of these hydro dudes can help
@derek420colorado @dcat0921 @thecuch @Grim Reefer @HotBunz @indicalvoz @Wile e Peyote

 

[MedGrower]

For a nutrientline I would recommend either Remo Nutrients or Advanced Nutrients. Latter I have really good experiences about and from Remo I have read a lot of good things and I am currently testing them out how would they work. Generally I'd advice to keep the pH between 6.0 to 6.2 and allow it to swing between 5.8 - 6.2 only in generative period. Some strains may develop some early issues with Mg and Ca -uptake if below pH 6.0 in certain growing conditions. I personally experience issues with Ca -defiencies below 6.0 in vegetative cycle.

It is reasonable to change the solution once a week to ensure a balanced levels of each element in the solution. As far as how much nutrients you give out for your plants, I personally judge the strenght on EC readings alone.

This is how it generally goes with my gardens (some variations may occur):
week 1 : 0.4ec
week 2 : 0.6ec
week 3 : 0.8ec
week 4 : 1.0ec

(base water ec is approx 0.14 so depending on the softness / harness of the water you use, you might want to add it to these readings or deduct the difference)

After the application of 4th week nutrients the plant usually is developed enough so it makes an impact on the reservoir. From there you better take daily measurings of EC and see if it stays flat, rises or falls. If it falls, it means you better add a little more. If it rises, it means you better add plain fresh water. You would want the EC to stay flat because it tells the comsumption of the nutrients is in level with comsumption of water and the plant is in the golden zone (@pop22 explains the isotonic, hypotonic and hypertonic conditions of solution really nicely in this article: https://www.autoflower.net/index.php/2016/11/16/flushing-the-myth-that-will-not-die-by-pop22/).

I think it is a mistake to follow some strict feeding schedule. Each strain and each phenotype does have their unique needs and the optimal feeds do vary even within the same strain at times. Therefore it is important to to measure the EC and listen what the plant has to say. See the signs and learn how to tell whats going on with the plant. Blessing of hydroponics is that you can adjust the feed on the fly with ease. Measure pH and EC daily and adjust accordingly. Measure pH daily from the day 1 and always check it every day even when it seems to always stay flat. It is the day when you do not check that something happens and you get problems.

Hope this helps.

 

[MedGrower]

When you start up the seeds, and if you use rockwool, remember to soak it in pH'd water before you add the seeds. I like to soak mine in pH 5.5 for an hour and then change them to soak in pH 6.2 for another hour. Do not ever squeeze the rockwool cubes in between soakings because then they will lose their qualities that keep also air into them. Also remember that you do not need to keep the cubes soaking wet all the time. Just somewhat moist is alright as long as there is some water in the cube. Cannabis is not a swamp plant

And as @sanguine correctly adviced, keep the netpots about one to two inches from the waterlevel so that the bubbles from the airpump can keep the bottom of the netpot moist as the roots emerge from there. You don't want them to dry out first thing they come out.