Rain Forrest 66 Help with getting started.

[repoocbd]

I just bought a Rain Forrest 66 with the Vortex Sprayer. And I have some established clones in 5 inch Jiffy peat starter pots filled with coco coir. I am wondering if I should just set the started pots in the net baskets (the peat starter pots let the roots grow through and fit inside the nets perfectly). Or should I pull the peat pots off and rinse away the cococoir.

Obviously its ideal to clone the plants in the Rain Forrest but that did not happen so I am looking for some help on how best to get them in there now that they already have healthy roots.

Also the salesman told me that a ph meter is more important than the ppm meter. I have always used Hempy Buckets so I never had a resevior to worry about. Are the plants going to take nutrients out of the resevior that I need to replace? Or will they take the water and nutrients together so that the ppm wont change much? I am aware the ph will be affected as salts and acids that normally rinse away in my hempy buckets will stay in the resevior now. But I am not sure about the ppm. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[repoocbd]

Really no one has any advice on this? I know there are lots of you that are using resovoirs and plastic net pots to hold your plants... again any help at all is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[tumbleweed]

this is just a guess but i would just put the pet thingy in the basket and fill with rocks
give it a try.
If you choose to ri[ away the peat and wash the coco that would prob work good too, coco washes away easier than dirt unless the plants are well roooted.
if they are nice and rooted just put it all in
hope it works out for you dude

 

[JAY LENWEED]

I have a rainforest that I recently turned into a cloner. Use hydroton or some type of grow rocks to place around your peat pots and place directly into net pots. Mix your nutes to 700-1000ppm and a ph from5.5 to 6.0 and u should be all good !

 

[repoocbd]

Thanks for the replies so far. I am thinking I will rinse away the coco coir but I am still wondering if I need to add nutes to the existing water in the resevoir over time or if I can just keep topping it off with a fresh nute mix and then watch the ph in the resevoir.

 

[FreezerBoy]

pH determines what the plant will or will not eat. All the food in the world (EC) wont matter if the plant wont touch it. If you have to do without an EC meter, start at 1/4 strength solution for clones to 1/2 strength for mature plants and see where that gets you.

Nutes are acidic, EC and pH move in opposite directions. In the absence of burns or deficiencies, feed in the direction of pH movement. If pH rises, raise food levels. If pH drops, lower food levels. NOTE that flat pH readings look good on paper but, because no one pH number allows absorption of all nutes, a flat reading guarantees unbalanced feeding.

 

[tumbleweed]

remember plants drink more than they eat
topping off with nute mix all the time is not such a good idea

 

[repoocbd]

pH determines what the plant will or will not eat. All the food in the world (EC) wont matter if the plant wont touch it. If you have to do without an EC meter, start at 1/4 strength solution for clones to 1/2 strength for mature plants and see where that gets you.

Nutes are acidic, EC and pH move in opposite directions. In the absence of burns or deficiencies, feed in the direction of pH movement. If pH rises, raise food levels. If pH drops, lower food levels. NOTE that flat pH readings look good on paper but, because no one pH number allows absorption of all nutes, a flat reading guarantees unbalanced feeding.

Thanks FreezerBoy this is very helpful information. Knowing that I think I can get by with out PPM or EC meter until I can save up a little more cash.

 

[FreezerBoy]

remember plants drink more than they eat

That's the result of over feeding and will see a corresponding drop in pH.

EC up, pH down=too rich
EC down, pH up=too lean
EC and pH flat="balanced" BUT, as we now know, "balanced" guarantees nutrient deprivation if not deficiencies

Thanks FreezerBoy this is very helpful information. Knowing that I think I can get by with out PPM or EC meter until I can save up a little more cash.

It can be done but, it's better to have both.

Trick is to create a pH swing between 5.5-6.0 (some go as low as 5.2). Personally, I overfeed at just the rate that allows me to add back/top off with straight tap water, lowering EC and raising pH back to starting levels. I continue until plants complain and then "flush" (drain all fluids and replace with new batch)

By keeping a journal of daily readings you'll know how often you add back and what your swing is. Now you can tweak formulas until the two happen in the same time period.

With only one test, keep your eyes open and be prepared to flush as needed.

 

[repoocbd]

Ok so I have some great healthy looking plants that are growing like wild fire since I got a pH and ppm meter and got all my numbers where they should be. Now I have thought of something else. The Rainforest doesn't have a separate reservoir and it does not have an easy drain area on it either. So when I go to switch it from vegetative growth mix to a transitioning to bloom mix in the next week. What is the best way to go about it?

I am using the GH 3 part Micro Flora mix so at present I am on 3 green 2 brown 1 red (3:2:1) and I need to go to 2:2:2. I was thinking I could let it get about a third empty and then top it off with a mix that has no green the proper amount of brown and then a large amount of red to get the whole 13 gallon reservoir to the transition mix.

Is there a better way or am I just supposed to siphon all the vegetative mix out and then replace with a fresh mix of transition? If so that seems incredibly wasteful.

 

[stonedar]

I like to change little tiny reservoirs on gadgets like the rainforest every couple weeks anyway. Plus you will need to clean the res once in a while. So if it were me I'd drain it and clean it.

 

[repoocbd]

I like to change little tiny reservoirs on gadgets like the rainforest every couple weeks anyway. Plus you will need to clean the res once in a while. So if it were me I'd drain it and clean it.

I appreciate the advice but that does not seem practical for my situation. I mean first if I drain the resevior I need to get the plants back in water ASAP and it will not be quick to refill the 13 gallons through the small syphon hole on the top so taking extra time to clean it may just kill the plants. Secondly I am using a SCROG set up and have a screen over the top of the plants and they are about to start growing through it. So it wont be possible to lift the plants off the resevoir at all. Also making cleaning impossible for me. It looks like I will have to go the route of adding the proper mix to convert to transition then I will drain and refill when ready to go full flowering.