i need help please!!!

[dopegang]

ok first post...
how often would you change water and nutes on your hydro system? for example
canna says use coco a and b for one week and i use 1/4 of the recommended strength say 5ml instead of 20ml how meany days would the nutes last before the plants used them and its
only water left? if you understand what i mean

 

[chrishydro]

i changed mine every two weeks through seedling and veg, once the plant got over 30 inches I noticed it was using more water so I started to change every one week. Now the thing drinks two gallons every week so I have no choice. Make sure you just dont change the water clean the tank out of all the cryslaized nutes and dirt. Here is your result

 

[curious2garden]

Essentially you test your ppm. If your ppm is rising while the water is decreasing you have to much nutrient (lower the ppm in the next res). If the ppm and water are decreasing at the same rate you have the nutrient dialed in. If the ppm are falling quicker than the water you need to up the PPM.

I did my first grow in NFT (I just finished so take all this with a grain of salt the experts will be here to help you shortly). At the beginning when the plants required very little RO top off water I changed the res every 14 days. When the plants ramped up their requirements I changed it after I'd added 10 gallons of top off liquid. I also tested the PPM and if the parts were more than about 20% under (for example say I'd added 5 gallons but my 1000 PPM were now in the 700's I replaced the res).

Finally at the end the plants were chugging 2 gallons/day. It was exhausting trying to keep up with that. I was replacing the res every couple days!

 

[dopegang]

thanks guys chrishydro[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]whats good to clean the tank with ? so essentially 1/4 strength should last a week? [/FONT]

 

[chrishydro]

I would empty mine out, than put in a couple of gallons of warm water and use a dish rag and some dish soap is all. Than I would rinse it out and dry it. After that put it back. The one thing I did learn is no matter what nutes you use make sure you put them in a gallon or so of water and mix well. I used to mix them all in a cup than put it in the tank then fill with water and I would get a problem with them mixing right. One nute at a time in water than add to res with water already in it. Let them all sit together for a while (fifteen minutes or so) than test the ph and go from there. Also after the second changing I went and bought a circulation pump that runs 24/7 in the tank and keeps it all mixed up. Dont forget bubblers for air the tank needs air all the time mixing in the water.

 

[chrishydro]

Get the circulation pump at the pet store in the fish section.

 

[dopegang]

i got a pump im using the Wilma 10 pot hydro couldn't i use air stones? or something for the water to run threw to release air into the mixture?

 

[missnu]

isn't canna coco made to be used drain to waste?

 

[dopegang]

i dont know :S

 

[dopegang]

what nutes would you lot advise me to use ?

 

[curious2garden]

what nutes would you lot advise me to use ?

Assuming you are using Canna CoCo a & b you're fine.

isn't canna coco made to be used drain to waste?

No it can be used for both. http://www.cannagardening.com/coco_a_b

 

[chrishydro]

I use general hydroponics stuff works fine for me, fyi i dont mean the pump that fills the tray I mean another ciruclation pump for the res to keep everything mixed up.

 

[curious2garden]

i got a pump im using the Wilma 10 pot hydro couldn't i use air stones? or something for the water to run threw to release air into the mixture?

I run 1 large (12" long), air stone in my 10 gallon nutrient reservoir. I use 2 of those air stones in my 55 gallon RO collection reservoir. chrishydro gave you good info on cleaning but add bleach if you feel slime (rinse well after using).

I just saw chrishydro's post and I'll second the recommendation for General Hydroponics nutrients. I used their Flora series for my first grow. Right now I'm using Dyna Gro and am just as happy with their ProTekt and Foliage Pro as I was with the GH.

I wouldn't worry about your nutrients most of them will get you through.

 

[dopegang]

thanks guys i dont mean the Wilma pump i mean i got a reg fish tank pump, so canna nutes are made for soil but work fine for hydro... i got money to buy the best nutes its not a problem also what wattage mh bulb would you advise for vegging 10 plants? just want the best for my babies LOOOL

 

[bennyh]

canna aqua is for recirculating system but i think the cocco is ok to use