topping off with nuts when and how?

[Darknes01]

Hey all,
so i got a 8 bucket system going and its doing pretty well from what i can tell but need some help understanding how and when and how much to top off with nuts between res changes.
so currently after a full res change my EC is 2.2 / 1100ppm(500scale) ( this is just for reference )
now, daily, my plants are consuming about 100ppm
2-28-2020 water change and starting ec 2.2 / 1100ppm
2-29-2020 ec 1940 / 970ppm
3-1-2020 ec 1820 / 910ppm
3-2-2020 ec 1620 / 810ppm

My question is, do i , should i ? be topping off with some nuts between res changes or let it keep dropping till next res change?
and if i do top it off how much should i top off with? and how often?
* Note, currently i have an auto water top off setup with no nuts , so only water gets added back in when they drink and no nuts.

Here is a photo of them as of today

 

[fragileassassin]

This is a largely debated area of r/dwc and you'll heard different ways and different reasons for it.
I prefer to auto top off with the same strength nutrient and just change my water when its drank 100% of the system volume. This makes it easier to see if my ppm is traveling at all and is just less hands on. Mix the system, mix the barrel, change water when the barrel is empty. My veg system I let run until the ppm starts dropping or the system has dropped a few inches then top off with nute solution.
Some do auto top off with fresh water and add nutes daily, some dont add until next change.
Theres some good info in this article about res changing and why. Maybe itll help you form your own opinion on what you should do. http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/fourtwenty/articles/profiles.htm

 

[Darknes01]

I already do a res change every about 10 days and feed in-between but wanted to know what you guys do and how /why. This is my 1st grow so wanted some feedback from people who have experience in this.

 

[fragileassassin]

Yeah I just run my system at 55 gallons and have a 55 gallon barrel up on blocks that feeds into a float valve in my outside res. When I change the water I do the system and fill the barrel up. I usually mix them at the same strength but sometimes ill keep the valve closed for a couple days to see if anythings changing. If the system is staying stable, ill mix the barrel at the same strength and open the valve. If ppm is changing, ill make minor adjustments to the mix in the barrel. Once it drinks the whole barrel, its time for a water change. This usually takes around a week and a half to two weeks.
In veg i just usually raise it when i need to top off and only change the water once in a 6 week cycle unless theres an issue or my ph starts swinging.
I do it this way mostly because im lazy and cant be bothered with having to daily chores and its worked so far.

heres a post with my water change process just to give you an idea of what the barrel system looks like.

Fragile back at it. DIY RDWC with the things.

Going to play with this and see if I can find a way to incorporate it into my systems. there's a venturi I built on the chillers outlet.

www.rollitup.org

 

[Renfro]

now, daily, my plants are consuming about 100ppm

Sounds like it's time for a larger reservoir capacity.

 

[Darknes01]

Sounds like it's time for a larger reservoir capacity.

my res auto tops off from an ro water filter so its continues but no nuts in it. I am now leaning more towards just setting up a wifi / remote dosing system and adding nuts every 3 days or so until res change so this way if im away for a few days or a week i can just remotely add nuts and the auto top off will take care of the water level.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

my res auto tops off from an ro water filter so its continues but no nuts in it. I am now leaning more towards just setting up a wifi / remote dosing system and adding nuts every 3 days or so until res change so this way if im away for a few days or a week i can just remotely add nuts and the auto top off will take care of the water level.

I wouldn't add any nuts to my plants. But if you have to give them nuts, I would suggest pistachios. They are delicious and are full of vitamins.

Sorry man, I couldn't help myself, I am a stoner, lol.

 

[Renfro]

my res auto tops off from an ro water filter so its continues but no nuts in it. I am now leaning more towards just setting up a wifi / remote dosing system and adding nuts every 3 days or so until res change so this way if im away for a few days or a week i can just remotely add nuts and the auto top off will take care of the water level.

I don't like to see a system drop by more than 30 maybe 40 PPM in a 24 hour period. I opt for a larger system capacity to prevent this. Add backs are unable to compensate for what specific nutrients are being used more than others and so once you've performed add backs for more than a third of the original PPM it's best to change the res. If your dropping by 100 ppm a day then I would probably wanna change the system every 4 days max, so your 3 days is within specs. If you wanna let it run a week you should consider a larger system capacity to better accommodate this.

 

[Darknes01]

I wouldn't add any nuts to my plants. But if you have to give them nuts, I would suggest pistachios. They are delicious and are full of vitamins.

Sorry man, I couldn't help myself, I am a stoner, lol.

That was a good one lol lol lol.

 

[Turbogrow]

Tbh the plants look great. Just keep doing whatever you are doing.

 

[Renfro]

Also, you are now at the phase where they will really start peaking on uptake of nutrients and water. Days 20 - 50 of 12/12 are the most important for yields.