Serious PH fluctuating can anyone help? Using a DWC/ bubble ponics system

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wonin

Member
Hi

Ive been growing for a few years now using flood and drain and dwc and just bought a 10pot DWC system, its not recirculating though.

Problem is im getting PH and nutrients PERFECT (0.7ec, 5.8ph) in the resevoir and letting it sit overnight but when i transfer it into the buckets the ph is jumping to about 6.8 after about an hour or two does anyone know why it is doing this? by the next day the buckets are all giving different ph and ec readings and it has me confused.com big time, also plants are starting to show ph problems because of this so need help ASAP please?????????????????

Im about 4 weeks into veg, also below is pic of system im using if anyone know an easy way to convert it to recirculating i take it this would help?

thanks
 
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onthedl0008

Well-Known Member
Its normal for newly set-up dwc reservoirs PH to fluctuate in the first week of a newly established res even all the up too a whole point.
Its normal don't be alarmed. The only way id be worried is if the water has a fowl odor.
In that case 5ml h202 or hydrogen peroxide should fix the stink up.
If u do not have odor problems just ph back to 5.8 once daily.
Your reservoir should settle once it has been established usually takes a week sometimes less.
Some food for thought..
I usually take a couple cups of water from a reservoir that's already been established when I'm setting up new reservoirs this will cut the ph swing time down to a couple times.
Hope that helps.
 
Neumann

Neumann

Active Member
Are you running different strains at different growth stages? Off the top of my head, I'd have to say that some of the plants are taking in elements at different rates and without a recirculating pump there isn't enough flow for everything to equalize.

There's a simple fix to your problem but I have one quick question: Is that a 2 part reservoir system with a float valve in the bottom container? If it is, you're totally golden. All you'll need to do add a small pump in the bottom res and run tubing to feed nutrients into the buckets about 5 inches down from the top. The weight of the water coming in from the top will force the standing water back towards the res and the pump sending it back out will complete the cycle. When the water in your buckets gets low the float valve will allow water from the top res to flow into the bottom res keeping the correct level.
If it's not like I described above it can still be done easily, just need details for a work around. Easy peasy.
 
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wonin

Member
cheers ontheed thats a gr8 relief ive ben set up about a week today and no ther is no stink. i just ph'd each bucket to 5.8 took me ages but hopefully this stays the same for a while jus couldnt believe the swing from 5.8 to 6.8 in about 15mins didnt do the plants any good let me tel u but hopefully now it wil be sorted
 
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wonin

Member
Neumann said:
Are you running different strains at different growth stages? Off the top of my head, I'd have to say that some of the plants are taking in elements at different rates and without a recirculating pump there isn't enough flow for everything to equalize.

There's a simple fix to your problem but I have one quick question: Is that a 2 part reservoir system with a float valve in the bottom container? If it is, you're totally golden. All you'll need to do add a small pump in the bottom res and run tubing to feed nutrients into the buckets about 5 inches down from the top. The weight of the water coming in from the top will force the standing water back towards the res and the pump sending it back out will complete the cycle. When the water in your buckets gets low the float valve will allow water from the top res to flow into the bottom res keeping the correct level.
If it's not like I described above it can still be done easily, just need details for a work around. Easy peasy.
Click to expand...
thanks for the reply neumann yes im running about 5 different strains but they are all in the same stage of growth n ur prob rite id say thats playing up wif my ph aswel as the nutes.

yes it is a 2 part system with a massive res the a smaller res/bucket with a float valve heres a pic very similar to mine wud take a pic but thing to get it onto computer isnt workin lol.

so r u talking about running a feed tube into every bucket then from the control pot (pot with float valve)???
ive seen plenty done like this online diy but my thinking was ur return pipes had to be smaller than the feed pipes or the bucket would overflow? my system just has 13mm pipes feeding at the min could i stick 13mm 5' from the top or would i need to replace the current pipes with bigger ones like 19mm to stop if overflowing?
 

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Neumann

Neumann

Active Member
wonin said:
thanks for the reply neumann yes im running about 5 different strains but they are all in the same stage of growth n ur prob rite id say thats playing up wif my ph aswel as the nutes.

yes it is a 2 part system with a massive res the a smaller res/bucket with a float valve heres a pic very similar to mine wud take a pic but thing to get it onto computer isnt workin lol.

so r u talking about running a feed tube into every bucket then from the control pot (pot with float valve)???
ive seen plenty done like this online diy but my thinking was ur return pipes had to be smaller than the feed pipes or the bucket would overflow? my system just has 13mm pipes feeding at the min could i stick 13mm 5' from the top or would i need to replace the current pipes with bigger ones like 19mm to stop if overflowing?
Click to expand...
You've got it exactly! It's really simple to do. I'd get a pump of about 400-800 l/h and put a valve inline to slow it down if you need to prevent overflow. In that third pic, I'd drill a hole on the side opposite the float valve, put a watertight fitting in it and run tubing to the buckets.
In that picture, if that pump fed into the tops of those buckets rather than into the bottom, it would be a better system, water falling has more kinetic energy than flowing water, causing more movement, causing more circulation of nutrients.
 
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onthedl0008

Well-Known Member
wonin said:
cheers ontheed thats a gr8 relief ive ben set up about a week today and no ther is no stink. i just ph'd each bucket to 5.8 took me ages but hopefully this stays the same for a while jus couldnt believe the swing from 5.8 to 6.8 in about 15mins didnt do the plants any good let me tel u but hopefully now it wil be sorted
Click to expand...
Sorry man but I thought u said it was not an rdwc so I misread. Yes it is normal for a dwc reservoir to swing during the first week of a newly set-up res Previous poster is on point man. Certain strains do like and have specific requirements when it comes to ph and feed levels. Would like to add it may be to your best benefit to supplement a little cal/mag since your plants are all shareing the one reservoir. Good stuff and reps nuemann that was sound advice. Peace
 
woodsmaneh!

woodsmaneh!

Well-Known Member
OK so here is how it works

If your nutes are at 500ppm and two days later there at 350ppm you need to up your ppm! It works like this change res set ppm at say 600ppm ph 5.9 run for 24hrs, now if you ppm rise and ph drops nutes are to strong. If ppm drop and ph rises, nutes are to weak. But if your ppm and ph are basically stable then you have found the right mix for your plants.
Then when topping off your res use pre mixed nutes to keep it at that level, if it starts to rise or fall adjust top off nutes as needed to bring it back to proper level.
 
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wonin

Member
cheers on the ed n yeah all the prblems with ph swing hav fukd them up a bit will upload pics pf leaves but def cud do with sum calmag on them. Nueman thats gr8 advice wil def do that but gna leave it for a week or so cuz ph is all sitting sweet n want those girls to be healthy again before i start 'trying' to convert. know how to do it just would have liked to have bigger than 13mm fittings for returning the water but wil giv it a go n c how it works with 13mm feed and 13mm return n will def b feeding in above the water like u said. any more info on the valve inline and how i would set that up??
 
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wonin

Member
woodsmaneh! said:
OK so here is how it works

If your nutes are at 500ppm and two days later there at 350ppm you need to up your ppm! It works like this change res set ppm at say 600ppm ph 5.9 run for 24hrs, now if you ppm rise and ph drops nutes are to strong. If ppm drop and ph rises, nutes are to weak. But if your ppm and ph are basically stable then you have found the right mix for your plants.
Then when topping off your res use pre mixed nutes to keep it at that level, if it starts to rise or fall adjust top off nutes as needed to bring it back to proper level.
Click to expand...
fuck thats really gud advice didnt no that. ph was sitting at about 5.9 in them all 4 days ago and has risen by 0.1ph in each bucket havent really been recording inividual nut levels but they r all sittin between 0.6 and 0.7 but will def start monitoring that n find what them girls wana eat cheers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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wonin

Member
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heres a pic of my leaves, sorted out ph and nutes problems 4 days ago but leaves getin worse, from wat i can see they are def showing signs of nute burn n ph fluctuating defficiencies n maybe a bit of calcium but have never seen the holes before.
Quality isnt gr8 but some of the leaves r curling in at edges n look like something is eating at them not sure??? :roll:

Ive had problems with thrips n magnesium defficency it def aint that duno wat it is thought ph being steady at 5.9 and nutes at 0.6-0.7 would sort leaves out but they r getting worse any1 with any idea wud b gr8 help :dunce:

plants r about 4-5weeks into veg luks mayb like heat stress but room temp never over 25degreesC, 2mx2mx2m room​
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