Chill out dude, there's no need to be rude. I don't really understand your hostility - I did say it with respect and never claimed my way was the right way and yours was the wrong way. Seems to me that if you water by hand and you get a washed out area all you have to do is smooth out the coco with your hand or you can put a layer of hydroton on top of the coco to prevent it.
there was no hostility, im just naturally an asshole because i expect more common sense from people than they usually have, but i even commended you on your grow so not sure why you think i was gashing you.. the only thing i said that was even mildly a gash at you was when i said to the OP "just because *somepeople* like blindly mixing nutes together doesn't mean you should" and thats simply because you told him he doesnt need a TDS meter, any experienced grower will tell you you need to monitor TDS or EC, its the only way to be sure of your solution strength, but again to each their own. oh btw the pic you posted is a type of drip ring, which falls under the category of drip systems, which is what i suggested to him to begin with. Happy growing
I don't require an EC meter because I use the KISS Method and I know that 7 grams per gallon of MaxiBloom in tap water is full strength. I adjust it down for immature plants. I never have a deficiency or a discolored leaf. Do you have pics of your grows?
With respect - all quality nutes have feeding schedules to follow. Granted, they all increase the amounts to sell product, but nevertheless it's a point of reference to use. When I did DWC and Waterfarms I used an EC meter because the ppm's in the reservoir changed and required daily monitoring. Not necessary in my opinion when you're mixing a gallon at a time to top feed either coco or soil.
Or when you're using a reservoir to gravity feed as I do with blumats. I have mixed the same nutrients for over ten years. I can almost tell the ec just by the color. I mix five gallons at a time. The same measurements yield the same ec so I rarely even check. The PH is more important. The PH of the water coming out of your tap can change if infrequently. I use phosphoric acid to lower the PH. Even though I have the measurements down to always hit 6.0 I still check the PH. I occasionally check the PH in the reservoir but it never changes. When you use a stable nutrient solution and don't add a bunch of additional unnecessary additives it's easy to keep things stable and still get excellent results.
