I'm not familiar with dtw setup but were you testing the runoff ph? IMO the DTW system requires dual testing points. You have to monitor res and also solution before it is drained to waste. You should see a slightly lower tds number and a change either up or down in the ph. At this point you would be able to see the huge change in ph that you are looking for
The Torus will drift across the range for you. When I was running the 24/7 recirculating E&F it wandered between 5.8 and 6.2 on its own over the course of a day. It was "perfect". With the coco setup I am feeding 3 times a day late in flower and it tends to only drift back to 6.0 before the next watering, when it will rise back to 6.2 from runoff. (They need that ionic interaction with the roots for the pH change.)
If you remember when we were talking about this a long time ago this was my concern as well. What I've found is that if there is a problem that is causing a pH rise it will outpace the ability of the Torus to compensate. This won't FIX pH problems, it will only maintain a healthy system.
If everyone approached it with that in mind, it would be great. I suspect that many who want to use one are indeed looking for that magic bullet to fix their system problems.
Agreed. I'm not a fan of their website either. Too many people think this is "new technology" or that they are selling snake oil. People don't realize that waste-water treatment plants have been using these resins to maintain pH for decades. The science behind this is totally sound, but they don't do a good job of telling that story at all.
"Over and over"? I've bought the recharge solution once and still have over 3/4 of it left. So it's $90 for a bottle that will get me 6 recharges, each recharge is lasting me a year. For $90 I got 6 years worth of solution. Over the course of 6 years how much pH up/down will you buy...over and over?
I bought a single $7 container of battery acid 4 years ago, and its maybe 1/2 used, so I spend $7 for about 8 years of PH down. I also bought a $15 two pound bottle of potassium hydroxide flakes that I mix up for PH UP. I used about 1/20th of the bottle to make one gallon of PH UP, and Ive still got 3/4 of that gallon left after 3 years. That 2 pound bottle of potassium hydroxide will last me 240 years at this rate.
I'm guessing how long that bottle last depends on the system its going in.....90$ for 6 years is doable....if only there was a way to be sure to get that kinda mileage!
Totally. Mine lasts this long because I doubled the size I needed for my system.
I run a recirculating system, pH drift is part of life once the plants get big enough. Now that I run perpetual I always have at least one or two big girls feeding heavy from the reservoir.
Larry and I looked into it a few years ago. You can purchase Amberlite Resin that will do exactly this, however I was never able to find a source that would sell me a small enough quantity. It has industrial uses so it's sold in industrial quantities.
You must have some amazing water
I found an industrial supplier that was willing to sell samples for 'testing' purposes. I forget, but I think I paid like $40 for 20 grams? I cant remember for sure and cant find the link any more. The problem was the powder they sent me was so fine - like baby powder. It was way too fine to stay inside my 250 mesh filter sleeve, and I didnt have any fabric with a close enough mesh to really keep it contained and still allow the water to flow. I ended up putting it in a bag I made from some rip-stop nylon fabric that had been sanded lightly so it was more permeable. I just dropped the bag in the rez and zip tied it close to the outlet side of my circulating pump. It worked - sort of - but the powder still leaked out. That freaked me out, so I tossed the mess and gave up.
