Res stagnation issue..

[chronic user]

I'm currently running an ebb and grow setup, with a 55 gallon res. I threw in about 30 gallons of water, and added some nutes. Couple days later, the reservoir is STINKIN; almost like fish, that has been lying around for a day or two. I was thinking of using hydrogen peroxide in my res but wasn't sure what concentration levels are safe but strong enough to kill any other bacteria in the res (since I'll be using chem nutes)? Do other people who run this system have the same smelly issue? Would an air stone really help?

The exact model I'm using is here:
http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/ebb-gro-12plant-hydroponic-grow-system-p-1640.html

Using 24 modules for the single 55 gal res.

cheers.

 

[Bozo]

What brand nutes ?Air stones are ok but not nessesary in E+F .You could use an Enzyme product to help keep Res healthy as well as root zoone

 

[FreezerBoy]

Yes, aeration really helps. It can be airstones, water falls, surface turbulence but some form is required to avoid stagnation.

 

[Ganjagrower1]

I have always read you want to have aeration in your res. You want to have beneficial bacteria in your water that way you dont end up with root rot. if you add air stones to res and maybe i would add beneficial bacteria as well. I dont know if you want to add hydrogen peroxide to the water. i would possibly change out the water and add air stones and that should solve the problem.

 

[chronic user]

I have always read you want to have aeration in your res. You want to have beneficial bacteria in your water that way you dont end up with root rot. if you add air stones to res and maybe i would add beneficial bacteria as well. I dont know if you want to add hydrogen peroxide to the water. i would possibly change out the water and add air stones and that should solve the problem.

Ty, I'll have to change out the water soon, I don't like the way it looks in there.

Yes, aeration really helps. It can be airstones, water falls, surface turbulence but some form is required to avoid stagnation.

When the water returns to the reservoir via the water pump in the controller, it does have sort of a waterfall-like effect because the tube isn't long enough to hit the water.

What brand nutes ?Air stones are ok but not nessesary in E+F .You could use an Enzyme product to help keep Res healthy as well as root zoone

I'm using GH 3 part floranova series, Micro/Grow/Bloom with Koolbloom and Floralicious (I think that's the name).

So it sounds like none of you ever tried tampering with H2O2? I've heard it is ok in small amounts; forget that then lol. I'll try throwing in an air stone. Does everyone have foul smelling reservoirs? Never used a res this large before so I don't know.

 

[PonicalChillin]

ebb & gro units do not need aeration in the res - the roots get all the air they want when the system drains.

An airstone in the res may keep it from settling out if using thicker nutes however, but I've never ran an airstone in the barrel and get great results.

The problem is your nutes..a bad combo..or an additive which is fouling things up.

EDIT - since your using nova toss a powerhead pump in there to keep things mixed.

that nute combo is great. I love nova w/ licious. How high have your res temps been getting.. shouldn't effect the system due to the reason at the top of this post..but may make things smell.
I'd keep an eye on things and dont sweat it. I've had foul res smell before with no ill effects.

peace
pc

 

[chronic user]

ebb & gro units do not need aeration in the res - the roots get all the air they want when the system drains.

An airstone in the res may keep it from settling out if using thicker nutes however, but I've never ran an airstone in the barrel and get great results.

The problem is your nutes..a bad combo..or an additive which is fouling things up.

EDIT - since your using nova toss a powerhead pump in there to keep things mixed.

that nute combo is great. I love nova w/ licious. How high have your res temps been getting.. shouldn't effect the system due to the reason at the top of this post..but may make things smell.
I'd keep an eye on things and dont sweat it. I've had foul res smell before with no ill effects.

peace
pc

Thanks Ponical, that really helped. So you run/have run before an E&G system? At the moment I don't have a res thermometer but will be getting one soon. Most likely I'll also decide to get a power head pump like you suggested, but if you don't mind I'd like to get some more advice on things like how much does your res ph fluctuate and what kind of ppm/res temp are ya running?

-Chronic

 

[Haps]

A power head will add heat 24/7, an air pump will not. I use air in all my reses, cause I want my ladies happy, And my reses don't stink.
H

 

[chronic user]

The system I run came with a water pump that is designed to pump water into the controller, into the modules. So I don't know how I'd use an air pump to pump the water into the controller, but ty for the info. Got any more advice?


I swear I'd post pics right now, but they're looking kinda bad at the moment, so I'll have to wait till they look more presentable.

 

[FreezerBoy]

A power head will add heat 24/7, an air pump will not. I use air in all my reses, cause I want my ladies happy, And my reses don't stink.
H

I avoid water pumps with my DWC for this reason but, I don't believe E&F shares this problem.

When the water returns to the reservoir via the water pump in the controller, it does have sort of a waterfall-like effect because the tube isn't long enough to hit the water

This will help but, may not be enough. Surface turbulence is where the exchange takes place. Typically waterfalls are "sheets" or, two flat, highly turbulent surfaces plunging perpendicularly through a third (the res surface)

Point is simply to keep things moving.

 

[resinball]

you use the air pump with an airstone to aerate your res.

 

[dubwise]

i have an 40 gal. E&F and with an airstone and no smell....i also have an eight pack water farm w/o an airstone in the controller and the controller does not smell too nice. i'm going to be adding an airstone to that controller this weekend. SO-i'd add the airstone right off the bat.

 

[csharper]

you are most likely smelling the death of the bacillus subtilis culture in your floralicious plus. This can happen due to, among other reasons, insufficient aeration, too low temps (<60f) or too much ph down. The death of the bacteria will not directly hurt your plants - however you mention they don't look so hot right now, so look into the other two potential issues. This typically smells like pond water, not a dead fish though, but maybe you were exaggerating a little.

 

[John goodman]

I'm currently running an ebb and grow setup, with a 55 gallon res. I threw in about 30 gallons of water, and added some nutes. Couple days later, the reservoir is STINKIN; almost like fish, that has been lying around for a day or two. I was thinking of using hydrogen peroxide in my res but wasn't sure what concentration levels are safe but strong enough to kill any other bacteria in the res (since I'll be using chem nutes)? Do other people who run this system have the same smelly issue? Would an air stone really help?

The exact model I'm using is here:
http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/ebb-gro-12plant-hydroponic-grow-system-p-1640.html

Using 24 modules for the single 55 gal res.

cheers.

not sure if its been answered

1 ml per 10ltrs

 

[jaybee]

I love the h2o2 for cleaning, not a big fan for using in the res during grow as I have screwed up and seen what too much can do...

I had a little funk in my E & F res also, just added a hydor air pump, (will try to add a pic) and last week have noticed a HUGE difference.

Air pump (air stone, whatever, H2O) is the answer!

J B

 

[SkunkyDemon]

Where do you get those airstone pumps?

 

[Moterreal]

Since it sounds like you need a quick fix asap, Wal-Mart carries air pumps and air stones in the fish dept.

 

[chronic user]

Thank you guys for all the replies. I've decided to put an air stone in after all. Going to get some cheap stones till http://n-g-w.com/ngw/gardening_supp...FFUSERS&title=Pumps / Irrigation&type=product gets here (saw it on one of the posts here on the forum).

Could anyone recommend how many times I should flood in 24 hr period?

 

[PonicalChillin]

Thanks Ponical, that really helped. So you run/have run before an E&G system? At the moment I don't have a res thermometer but will be getting one soon. Most likely I'll also decide to get a power head pump like you suggested, but if you don't mind I'd like to get some more advice on things like how much does your res ph fluctuate and what kind of ppm/res temp are ya running?

I've been running ebb&gros for a few good cycles now. Many runs under 1800w with 12 buckets. I use FloraMicro and FloraBloom and never change my reservoir. As the plants drink I simply top with RO and addback micro and bloom to get to 1.6-1.8 EC. I also do not use any pH adjusters..my pH stays around 5.5-6.1. My res stays pretty steady..if ph starts to drop I top off with RO...if it starts to creep past 6.1 I add nutrient.

Its cold now so I have a heater keeping res temps right at 68. I have however ran this system in an attic with what had to be 80+ temps. Res smelled like a fish tank, but plants never suffered.

I dont use any aeration or anything with floramicro and florabloom. I would use a small pump to move water round if I switched back to Floranova..but I like micro/bloom for that reason..easy to measure mix, etc.

One thing I did do when resetting up some ebb & gros is I did not use a section of tubing inside the controller bucket on my fill line. The directions show it..but without it water get shot into the controller bucket..rather then just filling slowly. I always worried when running nova is that it would settle in the barrel during drain cycle and then when the fill begin it would be more concentrated in my controller and pot sites.

i think i'm rambling now..but one more thing. It may not be a bad idea to have to 2 fill pumps tee'd into 1 line and 2 drain pumps teed into one line. Redundancy. I've had this system fail before because a drain pump became hydro locked and my plants sat submerged in cold water for days before I noticed.

EDIT - I flood every 3 hours for 15min with 12 buckets..day and night.. I would not flood during the night cycle..but that damn timer on the controller module confuses the hell out of me so I just let it do its thing 24/7. Plants dont mind and humidity levels have been cool.

peace
pc