Grow Mediums The Best Hydro Feeding Guide In The World... EVER !

[true]

True, do you have a link to that system? I'd like to take a look and see how it compares to my Current Culture system.

Here's a few things I've learned so far:

Any published nute schedule is probably going to be too strong in RDWC. Current Culture doesn't recommend running more than half strength. I'm currently in week 4 of flower and running about 600 ppm and am still having overfeeding issues.

AN base nutrients suck in RDWC. Their supplements work well but not their pH Perfect technology.

Make a decision to either to go sterile or not and build your nutrients around that choice.

A water chiller is pretty much a must. If you can, try to locate your chiller outside the grow room. They put out a lot of heat.

Use quality water, preferably RO. If you use tap, well, etc., install a UV filter.

RDWC is all about stability and that's what I'm still fighting in mine. Each grow is getting better but I'm not there yet.

Hi Muddy thanks for the info

Here you go mate, click the link.
Im getting the Alien Pro with 55l pots and massive 4" recirculating pipe work.

Muddy same question to you as with Pop about PPM's.
Which scale do you use, 500 or 700?
Is PPM more of a American thing? Im in the UK and mostly only ever hear people talking about EC.

Whats the score with AN base nutes in RDWC?
Ive been using the Sensi range with my current soil grow and was hoping to use the same in my new system.
Whats occurring?

Not fully sure what you mean on sterile or not.
Ive read plenty about folks brewing beneficial cocktails. Do you mean this or totally clean out of a bottle?
If so Im going sterile. Ive bought a Hailea 500 chiller, its ready and waiting
Ive recently fitted a DI resin filter and its been working great. My water is totally clean and reading zero ppm's.

Where does the UV filter go?
Is this for the res? Which kind are you running?

Sorry to batter you with questions.
Thanks

 

[true]

wen u dun takin durrr pesh homie ...you may wanna check out Mr jahoroose egomotoz thread in der hydro section for some muthafukin info ?....

If not Muddy will hit you up too as he dun grows some good in RDWC like you wanna TaNg's Thang:Gary:det der the garytang to get ya growin homie

Roger that DW but a cant find anything under that name :-I

 

[pop22]

Hi Pop,

Thanks for the in depth reply !
I like what you are saying. Ive fully to the rafters here with Advanced Nutrients, so will be using these up first.

Just one question when you mention PPM's what scale are you using?
On my Blue Labs EC Trunceon, it lists EC, PPM700 and PPM500. Which are you using?

Thanks again

I'm using an HM TD-3 meter. It only reads ppms. EC is ok too, I just prefer the ppm scale. Many people here use the EC scale. Look for a EC to PPM chart and you'll get a better feel for which to use.

 

[Muddy]

Hi Muddy thanks for the info

Here you go mate, click the link.
Im getting the Alien Pro with 55l (55 L = 14.5 gal) pots and massive 4" recirculating pipe work.

Thanks. That's nearly identical to my Current Culture system except with bigger buckets and piping. CC also makes 13 gallon pots with 3" piping but that was kind of overkill for my room. Are you planning on using a top off res? I'm using a 30 gallon plastic barrel but given the size of yours you might need something a bit bigger. I'm going through 5-6 gallons of solution a day, so it needs to be refilled every 5-6 days.

Muddy same question to you as with Pop about PPM's.
Which scale do you use, 500 or 700?
Is PPM more of a American thing? Im in the UK and mostly only ever hear people talking about EC.

I'm using the 500 scale. Yes, more of a US thing. To me it's more accurate than EC and easier to pick up on subtle changes in pH.

Whats the score with AN base nutes in RDWC?
Ive been using the Sensi range with my current soil grow and was hoping to use the same in my new system.
Whats occurring?

I was advised before hand not to use them but went ahead anyway. pH was all over the place and since you're not supposed to use pH Up and Down with them, very hard to control. I ended up switching over to House & Garden Aqua Flakes half was through my first grow and got much better results with it.

Not fully sure what you mean on sterile or not.
Ive read plenty about folks brewing beneficial cocktails. Do you mean this or totally clean out of a bottle?
If so Im going sterile. Ive bought a Hailea 500 chiller, its ready and waiting
Ive recently fitted a DI resin filter and its been working great. My water is totally clean and reading zero ppm's.

Sterile is basically all chemical nutes with added hydrogen peroxide. No organics. Because of the highly oxygenated water in RDWC pathogens can easily flourish in these systems. I ran into root slime 3 weeks into my first grow and tried combating it with organic tea. The results were a disaster. It didn't fix the problem and I ended up with a slimy film that covered everything. Organics in RDWC isn't impossible but is a lot harder to manage.

Where does the UV filter go?
Is this for the res? Which kind are you running?

I'm not running one yet myself. They are used to kill any pathogens in the water and are usually installed in the feed line. I'm running RO filter city water which is already free of those kinds of contaminates. Really depends on your water source whether you need one or not.

Sorry to batter you with questions.
Thanks

No bother. I'm happy to see someone else here on AFN going to RDWC. Gives me someone to discuss it with and bounce ideas back and forth.

Here's a link to the Under Current forum on THCFarmer. https://www.thcfarmer.com/community/forums/under-current.158/. Far as I know it's the only forum dedicated specifically to RDWC systems. Lots of good information there. Some of the people there are growing photos in the 13 gallon CC systems and getting 2 lbs. per plant. That's were I learned about the House & Garden nutrients and I'd suggest you also take a look at them. Current Culture now has their own nutrient line which I haven't tried yet. Before they came out with their own, H & G was what they recommended for their systems. Part of the problem with all the published feeding schedules it that they all recommend weekly system changes. With RDWC, it's pretty easy to go 3 weeks between changes, so it makes it hard to follow the published schedules. I've been in contact with the techs at H & G, who are very helpful, and have asked if they can come up with a schedule for RDWC systems. I'm waiting to hear back from them.

 

[true]

Muddy thats made my day.
Top reply! Top tips !
Just what the doctor ordered. Thank you very much
Great to know your working on a RDWC system as well. Im really looking forward to my new kit now.

You've rocked me a bit with the AN nutrients.
In soil I tried loads of different things and then found Tangs guide and my recent success is as a result of Tangs guide.
I was an Advanced Nutrients follower there and then, for life !
Seems that has to change. Funny you mention House & Garden as Ive used them before and wether its just the packaging or what I dont know but I liked how they do things.
My local shop supplies H&G so thats easier still.

Are you strictly a base nutrients grower with your RDWC or have you been known to add a few things to the party?
With my AN/Tang guide Im like a bleeding cocktail waiter come feeding time... A splash of this, a smidge of that... I think I have about 6 or 7 things in the mix.
The AN way gets hammered on the UK forum for over selling and over complicating things. Snake oil they call it
What cant talk cant lie and my recent results have blown me away. If it is snake oil I likes it!


Top off res is a yes, Alien are supplying a 200l tank and fittings. I have a 500l water tank that holds my clean filtered water with a massive Norres air diffuser inside to keep things fresh. Ive bought the chiller but the water pump and air pumps and all the other kit needed is being supplied by them.

With regards to PPM should I assume that when folks on here mention it they are going off the 500 scale? Is that what most go on?

Yes sterile system for me.
Im going to look into a UV filter, I will ask Alien what they recommend.
Might be worth running one in my water holding tank and RDWC system.

Exciting times ahead...
Ive got a few more DP goodies to finish off over the next few weeks. Then Im tiling my room I think, If I can be bothered.
New passive air intakes are going in, Im planning on having a load of 6" holes along the far side wall at ankle height.
At the moment Im pushing air in with a 12" fan but reckon I will have a much better spread of clean air if I put the holes low down across the width of my room.

Out.

 

[Grey Bear]

If you are running several strains you will probably want to stay at the lower end of base nutrients recommendations.
At least for the first few weeks. That should provide you with a very good overall yield without as much EC and ph swings.
It seems that the differing uptake rates of varying strains can contribute to rez instability, this is exaggerated in overfed environments.
Assuming there is not too much variation in the various strain demands, feeding to the lighter feeding plants will improve their yield and potency, and will not significantly reduce the more vigorous feeders potential.

 

[true]

If you are running several strains you will probably want to stay at the lower end of base nutrients recommendations.
At least for the first few weeks. That should provide you with a very good overall yield without as much EC and ph swings.
It seems that the differing uptake rates of varying strains can contribute to rez instability, this is exaggerated in overfed environments.
Assuming there is not too much variation in the various strain demands, feeding to the lighter feeding plants will improve their yield and potency, and will not significantly reduce the more vigorous feeders potential.

Thanks Bear
Im done with mixing strains in each grow now.
Man its a pain with tall one's, short fat one's and all in between.
My lights are up and down everywhere. Im sticking to one auto variety per grow and thats that

 

[Muddy]

Muddy thats made my day.
Top reply! Top tips !
Just what the doctor ordered. Thank you very much
Great to know your working on a RDWC system as well. Im really looking forward to my new kit now.

Glad to help. Two heads are always better than one. As I said, looking forward to having another RDWC grower to exchange ideas with.

You've rocked me a bit with the AN nutrients.
In soil I tried loads of different things and then found Tangs guide and my recent success is as a result of Tangs guide.
I was an Advanced Nutrients follower there and then, for life !
Seems that has to change. Funny you mention House & Garden as Ive used them before and wether its just the packaging or what I dont know but I liked how they do things.
My local shop supplies H&G so thats easier still.

I've gotten good results from AN nutes growing autos but not with photos or RDWC. They have pretty much ruined my current photo grow and I'll never use them again, at least their base nutrients.

Are you strictly a base nutrients grower with your RDWC or have you been known to add a few things to the party?

I'm following their feeding recommendations and using Aqua Flakes A and B, Drip Clean, Roots Excelurator, Nitrogen Boost, Multi Zen, Bud XL, Top Booster and Shooting Powder. They do not recommend using either the Amino Treatment or Algen Extract in RDWC. I'm also adding silica but they recommend it only be used in the beginning. Stop using it when you stop the Roots Excelurator. I'm also going to switch over to their Soil A and B as my base for the next photo soil grow, along with the above supplements.

Top off res is a yes, Alien are supplying a 200l (200 L = 52.8 gal) (200 L (200 L = 52.8 gal) = 52.8 gal) (200 L (200 L = 52.8 gal) (200 L (200 L = 52.8 gal) = 52.8 gal) = 52.8 gal) tank and fittings. I have a 500l (500 L = 132 gal) (500 L (500 L = 132 gal) = 132 gal) (500 L (500 L = 132 gal) (500 L (500 L = 132 gal) = 132 gal) = 132 gal) water tank that holds my clean filtered water with a massive Norres air diffuser inside to keep things fresh. Ive bought the chiller but the water pump and air pumps and all the other kit needed is being supplied by them.

Those tanks should suit you well. What is the total capacity of that system? Mine is 60 gallon. I'm not aerating my top off or storage tanks. I thought about it but I think the system does such a good job I didn't feel it was necessary. You'll find they won't drink much the first few weeks so you may only want to do half a tank on the top off to keep it fresh. I'm also seeing that the ppm of the top off needs to be about half the strength of the system ppm.

With regards to PPM should I assume that when folks on here mention it they are going off the 500 scale? Is that what most go on?

I think so. I'm using a Hanna and I know for certain that all the Hanna meters use the 500 scale. I'm not sure about some of the others.

 

[true]

Glad to help. Two heads are always better than one. As I said, looking forward to having another RDWC grower to exchange ideas with.



I've gotten good results from AN nutes growing autos but not with photos or RDWC. They have pretty much ruined my current photo grow and I'll never use them again, at least their base nutrients.


I'm following their feeding recommendations and using Aqua Flakes A and B, Drip Clean, Roots Excelurator, Nitrogen Boost, Multi Zen, Bud XL, Top Booster and Shooting Powder. They do not recommend using either the Amino Treatment or Algen Extract in RDWC. I'm also adding silica but they recommend it only be used in the beginning. Stop using it when you stop the Roots Excelurator. I'm also going to switch over to their Soil A and B as my base for the next photo soil grow, along with the above supplements.





Those tanks should suit you well. What is the total capacity of that system? Mine is 60 gallon. I'm not aerating my top off or storage tanks. I thought about it but I think the system does such a good job I didn't feel it was necessary. You'll find they won't drink much the first few weeks so you may only want to do half a tank on the top off to keep it fresh. I'm also seeing that the ppm of the top off needs to be about half the strength of the system ppm.


I think so. I'm using a Hanna and I know for certain that all the Hanna meters use the 500 scale. I'm not sure about some of the others.

Sorry I thought I had replied, just in my head only
Total system size is unknown, I have not asked. 12 pots x 55l + res pot of 55l = 715l but Im sure the pots are not full to the top.
Im going to fetch the system next week hopefully so will let you know.

Cheers

 

[thecuch]

true:
I have never done rdwc...but I have been purchasing all the components to give it a shot. A few weeks ago I came across : hydroponic-research.com
They have a 1 part powder for veg+bloom - along with a few other support products for increasing flowering and probiotic life.
Now Im not sure if its the "holy grail" of feeding - but I have read a few 50 page threads on other forums...and grow results look very good. Also, the company gives out free samples. I ordered some to try out...you may want to look into this further.