Running a sterile reservoir? (hydroponics)

[burgertime2010]

well i have run 30x 3L before under a 400, then downsized it by 10 took the 10 smallest and put em outdoors. but i found i like running less, bigger plants, hempys can range from 2L to 5gallon or more, and how large of a garden are we talking?
i like to do Coco now, and have only used a 400w hps but i hear of people doing bigger setups . the guy there was doing perpetual 2L and getting 1/4 oz per 2l, and i think it was 10-20 every 2 weeks under a 600 or something... (the information is there somewhere 3 sets of 10-20 so 30-60 total and each had their own runoff tray. they were cloned and put straight to flower so the mother chamber was huge and he was gettin pretty good at it and then he got bopped, pulled down his images but there are others who do the same type of setup.
you could modify it to drip but that kind of takes the simplicity out of it

i could re -use my coco but i put it in a compost pile then buy more. Each year i use the compost/coco mix for an outdoor grow

i guess for an industrial type grow you could do bigger hempys, but i get that it's going to be a lot easier to do a flood setup; each setup has it's own obstacle i guess just wanted to hopefully turn you onto the hempy idea, maybe you could try one and see how it does compared to the others in a side by side; just sayin it doesn't need pumps and can drink whatever you're giving the others; just know if using coco it demands a little extra treatment

I like the idea but whenever I get a successful and dialed in technique, I always think to tweek it and try this and that. The hardest thing for me is to know when to stop and trust that the wisdom is to make no changes. I love the process and the experiments but part of that is stepping away and going with what is already working.

 

[bibbles]

I had a 4x8 and 4x4 trays and a 100gal resivoir. I was using coco, rockwool, perlite medium. Zone, SM-90, fulvic acid, base nutes, and cal mag, but nothing organic because the zone turns it to shit.

This is actually something I've been curious about, SM-90 alongside Zone; Zone uses chloramine which oxidizes organics, and SM-90 is organic, albeit oils. Also, which base nutrients did you use? I'm trying to find ammonia free base nutrients, and so far the list is quite small. :/

you could modify it to drip but that kind of takes the simplicity out of it

This is called the "Dutch Bucket" system, I believe; I looked into the hempies once upon a time, and it just didn't seem that attractive... I guess because I had a hard-on for aero(?) The reason I want to switch to ebb/flow is that it seems like the lowest maintenance hydroponic option, just add an R/O auto-top-off reservoir and daily maintenance is reduced to pHing a single reservoir. Plus, being able to easily swap plant sites means it'll be easily to keep an even canopy.

I like the idea but whenever I get a successful and dialed in technique, I always think to tweek it and try this and that. The hardest thing for me is to know when to stop and trust that the wisdom is to make no changes. I love the process and the experiments but part of that is stepping away and going with what is already working.

Truth. That's the road I went down with beneficials, and while I'm not totally ruling the idea out, I now recognize that I've been needing to take a step back and reevaluate things, look back upon what worked best and why, etc.

 

[burgertime2010]

I used to top water by hand and that was too much, it was just a non-stop mess. The sm-90 I use because it increases the wicking ability of my pots and the zone keeps it clean. I use dyna-grow base nutes for 2 weeks into flower then Advanced Sensi Bloom A/B....very easy.

 

[Malevolence]

It is pointless to run nutes with organics when you are sterilizing the microbes that convert the organics for the plant. Also you really shouldn't put anything organic in DWC except bennies or you will constantly have root issues... sterile or not.

 

[bibbles]

It is pointless to run nutes with organics when you are sterilizing the microbes that convert the organics for the plant. Also you really shouldn't put anything organic in DWC except bennies or you will constantly have root issues... sterile or not.

Yes and no, almost all chemical ferts contain ammoniacal nitrogen, and that requires conversion by beneficials, otherwise it becomes phytotoxic; meanwhile, some organics contain only nitrate nitrogen, which does not require beneficials to be available. Really, the thing you need to look out for is using organics with oxidizers, which rules out H2O2 (et al), chlorine, and chloramine, but not SM-90, which is itself organic; the jury is still out on how SM-90 interacts with beneficials, some say it's fine, others say it kills them, but I have yet to see a legitimate objective analysis.

Oh, and fuck DWC, it's the most labor intensive, but least productive hydroponic method; surely, it can still produce awesome bud, and fat yields, but it's a lot like American muscle cars - time has moved on, and so should you.

 

[Malevolence]

I was on board until the last paragraph.

also I will take an american muscle car with an 8 ball shifter and fuzzy dice, over a 370z or some euro trash any day.

 

[Ibex]

I ran DM Zone on my rDWC two cycles ago and recommend it. I used it before I had a chiller at the heavy dose and then after my chiller on the light dose. I also used tap water with it.

Malevalence, thats bc your style of driving applies to straight line, drag, and cruising. American cars just dont hang very well on roads course tracks. Whens the last time the mustang won the LeMans? The new Vette is a nice track car I will say.

 

[Malevolence]

I am not a race car driver, so the LeMans doesn't concern me. I am a daily driver; acceleration and passing people on the highway is more my concern. Not sure where else you are going to get 450rwhp for $30k.

Just as in growing, different setups are better for different goals. DWC is only labor intensive if you run the most basic simple setup possible (a bucket and air pump). You can't get that simple with any other active hydroponics, but the trade off is labor. Setup a DWC system with a single res like aero, ebb n flow, nft, etc, and the labor is the same.

As far as DWC being the slowest hydro method, I have never heard that claim before and it certainly isn't the case in my garden. Don't mean to get all off-topic here. I didn't realize sm-90 is organic.

 

[Myles117]

i left DWC because clogged lines were a freakin buzz kill. the roots would always get sucked into the return lines and result in uneven water levels in the various buckets. put mesh screen on the return lines and roots were pulled against the screen so still slowed the return enough to give me headaches.

no more flooed buckets/ growrooms for me!

and i love my mustang so much, just wish i could fit more than two grown humans in it :/ i dont give a rats ass what it does er doesnt win lol

so i ran out n got some SM-90. running it at 2 ml per gal along with the zone at the same rate. results to follow....

 

[Malevolence]

damn man that's tough luck.

I know what you mean... even if I had infinite money I would still have a mustang. If you want to haul the family around get a corrolla haha.

 

[clownbow]

Yes and no, almost all chemical ferts contain ammoniacal nitrogen, and that requires conversion by beneficials, otherwise it becomes phytotoxic; meanwhile, some organics contain only nitrate nitrogen, which does not require beneficials to be available. Really, the thing you need to look out for is using organics with oxidizers, which rules out H2O2 (et al), chlorine, and chloramine, but not SM-90, which is itself organic; the jury is still out on how SM-90 interacts with beneficials, some say it's fine, others say it kills them, but I have yet to see a legitimate objective analysis.

Oh, and fuck DWC, it's the most labor intensive, but least productive hydroponic method; surely, it can still produce awesome bud, and fat yields, but it's a lot like American muscle cars - time has moved on, and so should you.

sm-90 is fine to use with benes ...it dose not kill anything good or bad

 

[Mithrandir420]

I run 3x3 and 3x6 E & F trays with 40 and 70 gal ressies underneath them. I use GH 3 part, kool bloom, cal mag, and flora blend with hydroton. I have never ever had an issue with root rot. Ever.

 

[adower]

I've run a ebb and flow for several years. I just use a few air stones and keep water temp down with a chiller. Never have had any problem with gunk. I change the res every week and use GH 3 part only.

 

[Mithrandir420]

Basically, if you have pythium root rot your solution does not have enough dissolved oxygen.

 

[Dr.greenn]

Agreed I use all readily plant soluble nutes and pool shock at 1/2 gram per 50 gall res in E/F and I love every minute of it very simple and effective. Stay stoned and keep growing good buds

 

[Myles117]

Agreed I use all readily plant soluble nutes and pool shock at 1/2 gram per 50 gall res in E/F and I love every minute of it very simple and effective. Stay stoned and keep growing good buds

how often do you change out the rez??

 

[midnitetoak]

Yup switched to aero/NFT for the same reasons. Hanging the roots in air eliminates the problems associated with roots hanging in water but then again I've got a whole different set of issues to deal with- but root rot seems to no longer be one of them for the time being

 

[AZPsyclops]

I had slime problems initially and live in a hot environment.
I removed my pump and placed it outside the reservoir and have had no slime since.
Water temperature is running at 73 deg. I will use cheep water chiller soon.

 

[clownbow]

Yes and no, almost all chemical ferts contain ammoniacal nitrogen, and that requires conversion by beneficials, otherwise it becomes phytotoxic; meanwhile, some organics contain only nitrate nitrogen, which does not require beneficials to be available. Really, the thing you need to look out for is using organics with oxidizers, which rules out H2O2 (et al), chlorine, and chloramine, but not SM-90, which is itself organic; the jury is still out on how SM-90 interacts with beneficials, some say it's fine, others say it kills them, but I have yet to see a legitimate objective analysis.

Oh, and fuck DWC, it's the most labor intensive, but least productive hydroponic method; surely, it can still produce awesome bud, and fat yields, but it's a lot like American muscle cars - time has moved on, and so should you.

Ive grown in all hydroponic and DWC is by far the best and easiest to grow in....also SM 90 does not help anything besides it being a wetting agent and an insecticide imo

 

[clownbow]

Basically, if you have pythium root rot your solution does not have enough dissolved oxygen.

not necessarily true u can get pythium other ways also