recirculate coco coir sucks

[DaveTheNewbie]

ok so i hear that you can recirc coco and that you cant
so i decided to try it
washed the coco, ran the pump for a day non stop then chucked the water.
2 days of using it and the PH goes down as hard as the EC goes up.
moving to hydroton

 

[Greyskull]

I disagree.

I have been ebb n flowing with coco for 18months and I tend to think it kicks ass. No pump failures. No lockout issues. No crazy EC/PH swings...
In veg I only feed my girls 1x per day - 15min flood. In flower, I give them 3 feedings, starting an hour after lights on, then again in 5 hrs, and 5hrs later (an hour before lights out) the final feeding. 40g rez per 4x4.... canna coco nutes, ph range 5.7-6.3.

What exactly were you using nutrient wise, and how were you delivering the nutrients to your plants?
Why did you run the pump for a day?
How big is your reservior?

 

[DaveTheNewbie]

80 litre res
15 mins 4 times day watering : once is all i need tho ive since discovered
i ran the pump all day to flush the coco then threw out all the water and started with a new fresh res with the seedlings
its a top drip system

for nutes i use the full range of canadian xpress coco nutes + silikamagik
http://www.canadianxpress.com/
- regen a root @ 1ml/litre
- esssential nitro @ 1ml/litre
- wilt guard @ 1ml/litre
- xpress coco A+B @ 5ml/litre
- silikamagik @ 0.4ml/litre

 

[Greyskull]

i am not a proponent of buying coco that needs to be flushed... its a lot of work and its lame...
canna or bcuzz coco are the one i feel safe and comfortable with - just rip open the bag, pack your pots and you are solid.

if you are growing seedlings in coco then i suggest starting the beans in either a 1"x1" rockwool cube, and when sprouted transplant (the whole cube) into a 16oz cup of coco.... or just start them in the 16oz cup of coco. you shouldn;t have to water/feed them more than every 2 days, depending on your environment. I have grown seedling to 26" in 16oz cups... granted i neded to feed them 2x per day to keep them alive but I did it). you shouldn't need to set up the drip until the plants are at least a few weeks old and big enough to move out of the cups.

just my thoughts/opinions.... i am an ebb n flow guy top drip never seems to work for me.

i use 40g reserviors (150 or so Liters I think) and i do have some ph fluxuation, but it is normal and within the range of uptake (I think haha).

seriously, the nutreints you are using may be playing a factor, too.... what all are you feeding your plants with?

 

[mma]

IMHO coco works best as a run to waste medium.
Many small automated feeding throughout the day rather than 1 or 2 big feeds.
This way the coco maintains the optimum moisture to oxygen ratio.

 

[DaveTheNewbie]

i started the seedlings in those jiffy7 peat pots, moved them into the big pots cause they were there and ready to go.
i could have kept them in just the jiffy7 pots or put them in smaller pots to start with, just didnt seem to be an issue.

 

[M Blaze]

IMHO coco works best as a run to waste medium.
Many small automated feeding throughout the day rather than 1 or 2 big feeds.
This way the coco maintains the optimum moisture to oxygen ratio.

I prefer 2-3 big feeds for my coco set up and they love it.

 

[DaveTheNewbie]

yup ive been trying to nurse these plants thru the recirc coco, but the PH goes down as fast as the EC goes up, its crap