Small Hydro Issue... or not?

blackforest said:

Calibration solution is only like $10 for a small bottle which will last a long time. I just pour a little into the cap and go from there. Don't put any back into the bottle though to avoid any contamination. There may be some home remedies to create a known ph solution, but I would not know if they were accurate or not. I picked mine up at the local shop, but you can order online as well. I calibrate my pen every week or 2 or at least check it to make sure it's reading correctly.

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Edit: Mind telling me what kind of solution you found locally to calibrate your meter? I found some 4.01 General Hydroponic solution but you'd have to pour at least a few ounces into your cup to get a reading on the pen, and the GH solution seems pricey.

Quick update:

I did find out that plain, white, distilled vinegar from the supermarket @ 5% acidity almost always registers 2.4 on the PH scale. I did a quick test of my meter, and it read 2.9. That would suggest that I've been 0.5 too far acidic at every adjustment.

We may have found the final culprit! Will need to verify the slope of the electrode resistance with something a little higher of course. After adjusting my meter, my tap is reading 7.0 (which is not the water I use in my reservoirs).

Maybe I'll bite the bullet, grab a backup cheapo PH meter, and some GH 7.01 solution. Between vinegar at 2.4, and GH solution at 7.01, it should be easy to determine if the meter is faulty or has an incorrect slope.

Thanks everyone. Might be too late, I'll give it the old college try...

Re-calibrated my PH pen with white vinegar to 2.4, and using store bought cow milk to 7.0 (I know, a little weird (what's your milk PH?))

PPM meter arrived today. My home tap water is coming out to 450 PPM, which is a little scary, but also not the water I use for the ladies. Might want to purify my water for the family though...

Plants actually look better from the camera, which would be expected as the PH rises back into acceptable range. I'll be ordering another PH pen as a backup, as well as some calibration solution. Will literally only add 5 minutes to my routine at the site.

Going to get a good look at the roots tonight or tomorrow. Kind of exhausted today. We'll see later. Thanks again everyone.

As per finding cheap and accessible ph pen calibration solution... Ahem...

http://www.sheltondentistry.com/patient-information/ph-values-common-drinks/

I used a 1/2" thick piece of styrofoam insulation with a foil/IR blocking lining that I picked up at Home De Pot for like $7. Cut some holes in that bad boy and bam, blocks light and reflects heat to plants to keep res temp down. Still need to foil/paper plate/foam around stalks, but it was a quick fix done with one 10" tall plant in place.

hantavirus said:

I used a 1/2" thick piece of styrofoam insulation with a foil/IR blocking lining that I picked up at Home De Pot for like $7. Cut some holes in that bad boy and bam, blocks light and reflects heat to plants to keep res temp down. Still need to foil/paper plate/foam around stalks, but it was a quick fix done with one 10" tall plant in place.

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I was thinking EXACTLY the same thing.. using foam insulation instead of plastic lids. However, I am not aware if the foam will degrade from the constant contact with moisture...

Plants are slowly coming back to life. My tap water PPM is 450, so I know for the future a RO system is going to be needed to get any kind of consistency with DWC. 140 bucks on eBay for a 5 stage system, small price to pay for consistent water, let alone I don't really love my family drinking 450 PPM water.



Edit: On a side note, my PPM meter has a temperature function, and my water is only running about 72 degrees right now.

I still have the lid in play. Net pots are held by lid. Cover is loosely placed on top, so there is a gap between the pots and insulation of about 1 1/2". So far, no problems other than it's a bit of a pain in the ass to check pH. Just have to make sure the top doesn't shift too much. It kept swallowing the new clone in the back, so I chopped off another leaf and dropped it back through the top.

One other issue, no way to LST without just letting her grow into the net.

As for PPM, I'm not sure what my tap water was prior to filtering because I replaced an existing filter, so I have no unfiltered readings. I got a 3M, 6 month, 5 micron filter at Lowe's for ~$50. I run 134 PPM from the tap. I further reduce the PPM to 104 PPM by running it through a Brita knock off from Target, ~$24 on sale.

hantavirus said:

I still have the lid in play. Net pots are held by lid. Cover is loosely placed on top, so there is a gap between the pots and insulation of about 1 1/2". So far, no problems other than it's a bit of a pain in the ass to check pH. Just have to make sure the top doesn't shift too much. It kept swallowing the new clone in the back, so I chopped off another leaf and dropped it back through the top.

One other issue, no way to LST without just letting her grow into the net.

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That's pretty slick actually. Sort of what I was thinking. I actually drew out a diagram a while back with the idea of hanging the foam panel from the tent/ceiling, and just lifting it up with ratcheting ropes to mess with the water. I also thought about mounting a PVC SCROG frame/net to the lids so it can move with the plants. The possibilities are endless really...

Checked on my ladies tonight. Pretty sure I'm going to get them all through flower, but had so many problems early on (and being autoflower), probably won't bode much for yield. But that's ok. As long as I grow as much as I use, learn from each and every mistake, then it's worth it for me. Not to mention fun and time consuming..

Cleaned up the ladies tonight (removed dead or dying leaves). A couple plants already have hairs turning dark, which is a little unfortunate given their very small size. I think my DWC is much more under control now, and I'm grasping what is most important. Obviously, huge room for improvement, but I'm pretty confident that in about a month I'll be able to run my last 4 seeds of this strain and do A LOT better.