Drain to waste and $$$

Most "hobbyists" running drain to waste top feed coco hydroponics systems dont bother with measuring....through the system manifold, drippers, flow rates...tank sizes and pump ratings....what each plant is actually recieving in solution. There is actual math and rates of flow involved. Most are completely overwatering/feeding when home growing cannabis. Canna (the company) and most greenhouse managers/experts etc...recommend a water gift of 5 liters per square meter of FULL canopy...now this could mean one plant or a hundred. Doesnt matter. Seems low if you think about it buts actually a pretty spot on general guide. And water/feed when the pot is generally 50% wet from last feeding to apply again. This method is very general and used by greenhouses everywhere. ...for many crops. This should give a perfect 15% to 20% runoff if the coco coir medium container (bags...pots..slabs..tables..raised beds...etc) is sized correctly for the root zone mass. There is actually a formula involved. And doing it this way instead of just blindly winging it (most hobbyists and home growers keep coir pretty much soaked once roots are packed - not ideal) and whatnot will save much much more water and fertilizer than any recirculating system that gets the change out every week or two (recirc greenhouses do NOT do this. ..they uv sterilize...analyze...and top off). And although crop "steering" is delayed somewhat compared to traditional rockwool cultivation...it can be and is practiced as a technique ...reaching the full potential of what coco coir as a medium can provide.

I love dtw, fresh nutes every feeding.

GH MaxiBloom - KISS method. Cost of nutes is 0.11 per gallon.

One thing I do to combat this is I use Peat based soil-less medias buffered with lime, top dressed with organic nutrients.
My drip system has a fertilizer injector like a hozon that sucks up a light batch of nutrients to a decent runoff amount.

The nutrients are washed down slowly and used as needed and the light nutrient solution tops up anything that's lacking.

Think of your media as a bank account with a budget.
If you deposit too much without using anything up, your account builds up.

I’ve been using Masterblend 4-18-38 as my base nutrients. It’s 3 part with Calcium Nitrate, Magnesium Sulfate, and the 4-18-38 base. It’s on Amazon or eBay for $30 for 12.5 lbs, enough to mix abut 2500 gallons.

Supplement with silica, hydroguard, and a pk boost after the stretch. I’ll hand feed some Recharge once a week or so to replenish beneficial bacteria.

Being 3 parts, I can drop the calcium Nitrate during flower and introduce cal mag if needed. I can also increase magnesium sulfate to help ripen at the end.

All of this gets mixed into a 55 gallon res with homemade 2” pvc manifold with 20 outlets. I used 1/4” valves to control flow to open ended drip rings. My res is aerated so I ph to 5.0, by the next day it’s at 5.7 and I let it rise to 6.3ish before bringing it back down to 5.7. This lasts 10-14 days.





I was draining into a gutter on a pitched table made from corrugated steel roofing but recently remodeled and expanded to a flat table with linear drains and pots on rollers for ease of movement. The runoff collects in bins under the table and gets pumped out to a waste bin next to nutrient res.

Soil2Coco said:

I’ve been using Masterblend 4-18-38 as my base nutrients. It’s 3 part with Calcium Nitrate, Magnesium Sulfate, and the 4-18-38 base. It’s on Amazon or eBay for $30 for 12.5 lbs, enough to mix abut 2500 gallons.

Supplement with silica, hydroguard, and a pk boost after the stretch. I’ll hand feed some Recharge once a week or so to replenish beneficial bacteria.

Being 3 parts, I can drop the calcium Nitrate during flower and introduce cal mag if needed. I can also increase magnesium sulfate to help ripen at the end.

All of this gets mixed into a 55 gallon res with homemade 2” pvc manifold with 20 outlets. I used 1/4” valves to control flow to open ended drip rings. My res is aerated so I ph to 5.0, by the next day it’s at 5.7 and I let it rise to 6.3ish before bringing it back down to 5.7. This lasts 10-14 days.

View attachment 4293917

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I was draining into a gutter on a pitched table made from corrugated steel roofing but recently remodeled and expanded to a flat table with linear drains and pots on rollers for ease of movement. The runoff collects in bins under the table and gets pumped out to a waste bin next to nutrient res.

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Love the roofing idea , thinking of something similar with rubber in mine
But show us some green Welcome to RIU

Herb & Suds said:

Love the roofing idea , thinking of something similar with rubber in mine
But show us some green Welcome to RIU

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I’m in the hospital now. Been quite a streak of bad luck with mites causing me to dump my entire crop this run, clean my room out, and Dr Doom bomb it. I tried linking to my page on Grasscity, but I’m not allowed post links yet

Here’s a few

Ethos Genetics Grandpas Stash



And some pics of Ricks Pupil BX. She’s been purple from her first calyx





Granddaddy Black

And out comes the purple LOL
Best wishes on your well being

Soil2Coco said:

I’m in the hospital now. Been quite a streak of bad luck with mites causing me to dump my entire crop this run, clean my room out, and Dr Doom bomb it. I tried linking to my page on Grasscity, but I’m not allowed post links yet

Here’s a few

Ethos Genetics Grandpas Stash

View attachment 4293942

And some pics of Ricks Pupil BX. She’s been purple from her first calyx

View attachment 4293940

View attachment 4293937

Granddaddy Black

View attachment 4293946

Click to expand...

Nice setup. Nicer plants. ;o)

I'd like to see more of how you did that irrigation setup.
Hope you're feeling better.