the right way to fill a rez

[normlguy]

ok my buddy has been winging it a little with good result, but he think he might be mixing his rez wrong from what he has read.

he has to use smaller rez (18 gal w max capacity of 15 gal) for his aero setup cause of lack of room and gravity.

he is using liquid karma, cal mag, sweet, hydroplex, with pro bloom.

he got recipe and would mix all those in a gallon jug then topped w ro water. he would add this to his res till he got around 1000ppm. then ph.

his rez is pretty small so he tops off w water and adds more nutes w needed, changes res once through flower.

obviously this is probably not right. he said he has read some about adding cal mag first?

is there a way to go about how he has by mixing some together and just top off? should he change res more often, the right way?

his fan leaves turn yellow and die off the last 3 weeks.

so whats the best way to run a small res that needs 3 gallons added every 2-3 days?

thanks for any advise i could give him.

 

[xeasyx]

every time you/he adds the 3 gallons just add 3 gallon worth of nutes to it and ph it and if you add 5 gallons add 5 gallons worth of nutes and so on then just add to res cheers EASY

 

[CaptainChronizl]

if you use ro water, you are gonna need cal and mag, because the filter takes it out of the water.

 

[billbobaggins]

You dont want to premix your nutrient solution. Determine the amount of water then mix the nutes into that. You ALWAYS want to add the micros first. Good luck

 

[Greyskull]

from http://www.flairform.com/hints/dosing_procedures_nutrients.htm

theres some cool pics if you hit the link.... and tons of good info to review on the rest of the site.

Dosing procedure
Step 1. Fill nutrient reservoir with water: Add the majority of water before the nutrients and additives.
For recirculating systems, allocate at least 10 litres (2.5 gal) for each large plant (e.g. tomato), or at least 2 litres (½ Gal) for each small plant (e.g. lettuce). These volumes will help minimize changes in nutrient concentration (EC) and pH. In hot weather, insufficient nutrient volume could result in EC getting too high, resulting in leaf burn. Larger nutrient volumes will also reduce how frequently top-up water is needed.
Step 2. Add nutrient and additives:
- Choose the necessary nutrients and additives based upon which phase of growth the plants are in - see section above.
- The dose rate depends upon factors such as the type of medium, plant type and the phase of growth. Refer to the manufacturers label for this information.
- Always add nutrients and additives separately. Never premix them. For example, with 2 and 3-part nutrients, the “parts” are kept separate for good reason. When these parts are mixed together in a concentrated form (or in too little water), a white precipitate will be produced (Fig 9.1).
- Stir well after adding each nutrient and additive.
Step 3. Immediately check pH: Once all nutrients and additives have been added, immediately check pH and adjust if necessary. Maintain pH between 5.0 and 6.5 using pH Up or Down. For recirculating systems, check pH daily.
Step 4. Feed frequency and volume: Refer to Table 9.20.
Step 5. Maintaining nutrient concentration (For recirculating hydroponic systems only): As plants grow they simultaneously remove both water and nutrients from the solution. Ensure the water level is kept relatively constant. When this is done, the concentration (EC*) will be relatively predictable. It will move up or down depending upon the size and growth rate of plants and the salinity of the top-up water. *See Table 11.30.
Step 6: Further notes:
- High pH additives: The best dosing technique to adopt with additives that increase pH significantly (e.g. silica and PK additives) is to add them to the water and adjust the pH down to ~6 prior to adding the nutrient.
If the nutrient has already been added, pre-dilute the additive in a separate volume of plain water. After this solution is added to the nutrient solution, immediately lower the pH to below 6.5. A white ‘cloudy’ precipitate (calcium sulfate) may form where the pre-diluted additive initially merges with the nutrient solution. However, because the initial particle size of the precipitate is small, it will rapidly re-dissolve if the pH is immediately re-adjusted (Fig 9.2a).
For those additives that lower pH, it is satisfactory to add them to the nutrient solution without pre-dilution.
- 2 & 3-part nutrients: Accurately measure out the dose. In the case of a 2-part, 'under' dosing part 'B' for example, could cause a deficiency in over half the nutrients required (i.e. P, K, S and all of the trace elements - except iron).

 

[BlueberryLovr]

if you use ro water, you are gonna need cal and mag, because the filter takes it out of the water.

No. This depends on what your plants prefer and what concentration/composition of nutes you are dumping into the res. I've had strains thrive without supplementation and strains that wanted it.

Edit: I've run Lucas, Floranova, Maxi, H&G.

 

[forty]

so whats the best way to run a small res that needs 3 gallons added every 2-3 days?.

drain it and refill fresh every week. with such a small rez there is no reason to keep the backwash in the mix.... just change it.

 

[1quixotix]

So what order does one add the nutrients to a res? Cal/mg before the grow or bloom? What about silica or any other extras?
Is there a link that already covers the order one should add things so as to keep them from precipitating out?

 

[runningriot]

I"m no garden geek but I run and aero system as well using a 55 gal drum for a res. During veg it gets filled ever 3-4 days, during bloom since I dial back the timers it gets filled weekly.

Personally I stay away from liquid karma, I find it super hard to flush out at the end and honestly my plants don't seem to like it. No micro nutes, just macro. I do, however, add micro in bloom in the form of an organic tea mix.

I usually don't use anything other than botanicare pro grow or bloom and hose water and have fine results.

I fill the res up half way(25 gal) with h20 then dump in a good amount of pro grow (I don't measure, just watch the ppms) then fill the rest up with h20 to about to 45 gal line, let it sit with the airstone for 20 minutes or so, check ppms and ph and adjust as necessary.

 

[normlguy]

ok so what he has gathered is this

fill his res w ro water
add needed amount of cal mag first stir, then sweet, then hydroplex, them bloom.
then ph.
silica in the summer, add that first then ph? then the cal mag etc?

so if he does that correct he should be close in ppm. but what if he wanted a little higher ppm? does he have to go back and add a little from each again?

i guess through trial and error he should find out exactly how much he would need after awhile.

with such a small res it was advised to change weekely. if he went that route he would be adding around 5 gallons through the week to top off. should he mix up 5 gallons at half strength to use to top off. half strength ok since they are using more water than nutes?

 

[PoopyTeaBags]

Ok i havnt read any other replies so this may be said already... but....


mixing the solution together in one jug is a big no no... some nutes cannot touch each other or they will coagulate.... You should be mixing the rez by filling with ro... then starting with your base nute and then additives... some people go additive first then base nute to the ppm you want...

i also recommend dumping the rez alot more... once per flower is nothing... i do mine every week.... it a cost thing though so if you cant afford it dont do it... what it does is adds back exactly what you need...

if you keep adding back the plants may of ate up all the N and not touched P so when you add back your adding way more P then you need and its the same with any of the NPK or micro....