First time DWC Hydroponic grow *Nutrients*
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JCave
Well-Known Member
Use the Lucas Formula. I use it, have great success with it. Always keep the ph strictly 5.8
It is: 8ml Micro and 16ml Bloom (General Hydroponics Flora series nutes) per 1 gallon of RO water.
Not sure what you mean by feeding schedule, I always add back nutes to my res (I use http://www.lucasformulacalculator.com/ to tell me how much to add) when my PPM is lower then I want it.
It is: 8ml Micro and 16ml Bloom (General Hydroponics Flora series nutes) per 1 gallon of RO water.
Not sure what you mean by feeding schedule, I always add back nutes to my res (I use http://www.lucasformulacalculator.com/ to tell me how much to add) when my PPM is lower then I want it.
midnitetoak
Active Member
To make it easy on yourself I suggest starting out using a very basic 2-part hydro nutrient like Technaflora or General hydroponics & then add some calmag & hygrozyme. Both brands are inexpensive, comparable, and effective. Start out at 1/4 strength & adjust as needed- for DWC I like to keep my res from 600-800ppms depending upon size of the plants but I start seedlings out around 300ppms & slowly increase as they become more mature. Frequent res changes will mitigate root funk but in DWC root rot is a constant battle- a close eye on ph is the best way to detect it early(ph drops). I find maintaining ph/ ppms is a bit easier if you do it this way:
1) mix up the nutes in a separate bucket/tote to desired ppms
2) drain old nutes from res & transfer new solution to the res- I used a small pump & a bucket
3) allow to cycle 30mins
4) check ph & adjust as needed
5) wait 24hrs & check ph again
6) add ph up/down (if needed) to a gal or 2 of straight water
7) if ph is in range already (5.5-6.5) then add gal or 2 of ph adjusted water
check ph again 30 mins later if it was off at step #5 & adjust again as needed and/or repat if needed
After a nute change & I get my ppms & ph dialed in I will not add more nutes unless it's apparent they need them- I only add water to reduce buildup of salts... Then do this process over again at the next nute change -every 3 weeks
once you get it dialed in the ph should remain relatively stable unless there is funk in the res(ph drops) or the plants start taking down a lot of nutes (ppms drop/ph rises) good luck to you peace
1) mix up the nutes in a separate bucket/tote to desired ppms
2) drain old nutes from res & transfer new solution to the res- I used a small pump & a bucket
3) allow to cycle 30mins
4) check ph & adjust as needed
5) wait 24hrs & check ph again
6) add ph up/down (if needed) to a gal or 2 of straight water
7) if ph is in range already (5.5-6.5) then add gal or 2 of ph adjusted water
check ph again 30 mins later if it was off at step #5 & adjust again as needed and/or repat if neededAfter a nute change & I get my ppms & ph dialed in I will not add more nutes unless it's apparent they need them- I only add water to reduce buildup of salts... Then do this process over again at the next nute change -every 3 weeks
once you get it dialed in the ph should remain relatively stable unless there is funk in the res(ph drops) or the plants start taking down a lot of nutes (ppms drop/ph rises) good luck to you peace
midnitetoak
Active Member
Oh I should note that most 2 part nutrients like the ones suggested to you contain ph buffers- if you mix it up correctly your ph typically should be in an acceptable range (5.5-6.5) especially a few days after a fresh res change- you shouldn't need to add a lot of ph +/- for a week or so unless there's a problem