Hey there D.O.C. (lol)....I want to add this comment BEFORE you throw more, or different nutes at your plants....I grow hempy too...40+ years of hydro growing and DTW rules ALL OTHER METHODS.... Hempy is a DTW, it just keeps some extra water to reduce watering frequencies...With that being said, that 2inch reservoir DOES HAVE THE ABILITY to build up nutes and ALSO have considerable pH fluctuations....Unless your using a pH perfect type nutrient Its VERY POSSIBLE your ppms have creeped up and/ your pH....I have holes drilled in the bottom edge of my buckets with rubber stoppers in them....It enables me to pull a small sample of whats sitting in that 2inch reservoir at any given time....MORE TIMES THAN NOT, the second I see a change in growth pattern, or leaf color, my ppms are a little high (not out of control), but the pH is approaching OUT OF CONTROL HIGH....I water with ~ 20% runoff too....You would think that kind of runoff would keep #'s in check, but you would be surprised.....Its NEVER too late to drill a hole in each bucket and plug it with a rubber stopper....ALWAYS check your numbers (pH and ppm's) before assuming deficiencies....Just adding more nutes to a high ppm or out of range pH, can equal disaster...WITHOUT a way to check what is sitting in the 2 inch reservoirs, FLUSHING is the only sure way of resetting #'s....Hempy needs to be fed EVERY WATERING regardless of what you hear....The feed, feed, flush puts plants on a rollercoaster ride...Feed every watering and in moderation....As they grow, so dont there requirements....ANOTHER WAY, to avoid all possibilities of build up and pH fluctuations in the reservoirs, is to switch to STRAIGHT DTW...Drill some holes down on the bottom edge....DOES THE SAME THING, you will just have to water more frequently...If your growing in buckets, and not growing ENORMOUS plants, you wont have to water that much more...a 2ft by 2ft by 2ft tall plant in a 3-5 gal bucket would only need watering once a day at the most...Hempy style just buys you an extra day...
I've been growing too long, including being back to hempy style DTW, to NOT BE FOOLED by the fact that those little 2 inch reservoirs CAN cause fluctuations enuf to cause issues....
With a small plugged hole, you can sample it at any time...Great time is 6 hours after a watering....There is still standing water and its WHAT THEY ARE USING.....I seem to never have to exceed feeding 900ppm MAX during full veg and full flower, WHEN my pH is tuned...With those sample plugs, you will quickly learn how your plants drink, feed, and how YOUR system behaves....Everyones is different even if they're still hempy style...Different lights, nutes, medium, temps, CO2 levels, etc...what works for me MIGHT F yours up....LEARN YOUR SYSTEM...
Pic of my hempy sys...if you look at front left bucket (low on the front side) you will see the rubber stopper that plugs my sample hole...ITS THERE FOR A REASON, cause hempy can and will have fluctuations, even with decent runoff....The Verticle mounted PVC goes right to the bottom...In the event of a build up or pH fluctuation, I water straight down that to flush that 2 inch rez....I ALSO use 2 inch bed of lava rock or hydroton in each bucket.....I dont like 2inches of 'MUD' In the bottom of the buckets, WITHOUT using such a porous grow rock...it flushes real nice too...
View attachment 4826248View attachment 4826249View attachment 4826250View attachment 4826251View attachment 4826252View attachment 4826253View attachment 4826254View attachment 4826255View attachment 4826256View attachment 4826257Good AIR gets sucks in my buckets pvc drains (and verticle pvc pipe) as the water is used up....A LOT OF AIR is all around the grow rock bed when the water is nearly depleted...Now I'm rambling on...LOL....all good info, I ASSURE YOU...plenty of pics to back it up....YT