DWC - How clean is your water?

[Voltrom]

namaste friends,, i have a simple query for you.

It seems no matter what i do i get water that is cloudy, (not clear like it started out). Now i know of course your suppose to use only synthetic nutes being it is deep water culture. So i have been using botanicare K.I.N.D series 3 part. (base, grow, bloom) supposedly this is the latest breakthrough from botanicare. Anyways i decided to start this grow with better gear, right now i have a 3gal black bucket food grade and a net basket lid that is 6" inches. I have two large cylinder air stones, the best you can buy. I have two 5inch clyinder stones with a 38 lpm commercial air pump. I am using GH ph down dry power also.

Now keep in mind i am using tap water, im not sure what the ppm is and that concerns mean but its never been a problem with other grows. Or maybe it has.. I usually just fill my bucket up with tap water but one thing i just tried is bubble the water in a 5gal cooler for 3 days,, ive never "outgassed" before but it seems to have worked, i do not smell that chlorine smell at all. I ph'd this water down to 6 and then i filled my bucket with it. I then added my MICRO first then added my grow nutes. That was a few days back and now my water is pretty cloudy and im getting slight foam on the sides of the bucket. The water doesnt smell clean but ive smelt worse, it smells kinda pondy. in second thought it doesnt smell like it should to me, and it will prob get worse. ?

I need help, is this normal? My setup is lightproof and i even started using a cfl because it makes the water not turn cloudy as fast. I usually use a 250w mh. I have no idea whats up, the ph climbs alot faster than id like. The water level is below the basket and my roots are just now FINALLY bursting out. I dont want this to fck up because its been over a month and this seedling has just now actually started growing. i dont know why its so slow, when i just have water in it its fine. What could be the problem?

I dont think its my temp, my room is cold as hell its winter, what could it be? Is it normal to ph from 7.5 to 6 every day, why isnt my water clear? there might be a gallon or more of water in that bucket. Could this be the issue? Ive never used such a low reservoir before.

How clean is your water?​

 

[BagAppeal]

I would recommend some bacteria in your water, the easiest way is to add an additional reservoir(small bucket) with some lava stones in it,elevated where the water can be pumped in, and fall back in your main res, these stones will create the type of living habitat for bacterias needed for your dwc, they will come by themselves if you don't add hydrogen peroxide.. once they are there, you have the culture ion your lava stones. If this is not an option, bacterial from no mercy works fine.. hope this helps..
All the best
BagAppeal

 

[zem]

I suggest you change your res and flush it with H2O2 then add H2O2 to the final mix. let the surfce of the water be well covered with bubbles, use good airstones and airpumps. As for the temps, when it gets below 15, plants just cease to grow, so if it's "cold as hell" as you say, then maybe thats why they are slo... by the way, isn't hell supposed to be "HOT" and not "COLD"?

 

[flyer81]

I would agree on the reccomendation of adding bacteria. I built a new RDWC system with 18 buckets and it has been cycling for about 1 month now with no plants in it. Just adding water periodically and beneficial bacteria. At this point I have no algae growth showing in the system while previous similar systems had algae growth relatively quickly. Im about 2 weeks from adding plants. I have a 50 gal res in my system tied in with 18 buckets. One of them is filled with lava rock and just has water running onto it. Also... no slime in the inside of my buckets, drains, or feed lines. I seeded the bacteria using a product I purchased at an aquarium store specifically for this purpose.

Im planning to do a write up in the near future about this build;

 

[uraceulose]

Your PH is WAY WAY WAY off..

5.8 - 6.2 ideal.

NEVER outside of 5.5 - 6.5.

Research if you don't believe me. DWC is rarely easy from the on set...

Keep your water at 68 degrees ideally. DO NOT go above 70 degrees or problems can arise.

Stay with the synthetic nutes but don't necessarily use the 'latest and greatest'...stick with what is proven to work.

Ask around to the guys on the forum or preferably the folks in your area/grow shop so you can have a quicker reference and more hands on "training".

Once your roots actually hit the water in DWC is when the growth goes insane...however it is completely dependent on your PH level being VERY VERY close to dead on.

When PH is at 6.0 it is ten times more alkaline than at 7.0

When PH is at 7.0 it is 100 times more acidic than when it's at 5.0

The increase/decrease is exponential and very exploited when growing in DWC setups...keep this in mind at ALL times.
Don't get lazy and do your job.

You don't need or want bacteria from mine and most peoples experience...use either bleach/chlorine (1 ML per 44 gallons of water) or h2o2 @ 1 ML per gallon.

There are also calculations for how many liters of air per minute you need per gallon of water in your container..

 

[Voltrom]

You guys! i just checked my completely sealed "gasser" cooler that i used to offgas my water and guess what, the water was completely cloudy. this was 3 day bubbled water with just my ph down DRY. Its the GH dry pound, the water smells and all i did was use ph down. With sufficient airstones and pump. NOw... IS THIS NORMAL.

How is this possible? I can't believe the problem has been my ph down the whole time. And i even diluted it in water and shook it very hard before i added it to my container, i never just put the powder in the water.... how can this be possible.. so much heartache and its been my ph down? Wow.. i dont like buying the liquid.

Yada yada i know about the temps,, this isnt my first grow,, i just stumbled upon a mystery. How is my gh ph down doing this. Unless its somehow my water?.. i think im gonna not use it anymore and just add nutes to my water and hope for the best,, it should bring the ph down.. this is whats been stumping my growth for over a month??

 

[Voltrom]

Update:

Just checked the PH and its 7+,, just ph down with plain tap water. HALP.

 

[cyat]

so ur pob is cloudy water? maybe just over thinking?

that line might have kelp or some organics in it , not sure? if so then that could cause a prob..

when i run hydro i use a clean base w no additives.. i dont ph my water and i use tap

 

[Voltrom]

so ur pob is cloudy water? maybe just over thinking?

that line might have kelp or some organics in it , not sure? if so then that could cause a prob..

when i run hydro i use a clean base w no additives.. i dont ph my water and i use tap

Its been about 4 hours and its amazing.. i just used tap water with base nutes and grow nutes and the water is fresh and full of life,, it smells so fresh and clean. My white roots are being massaged by my strong pump and their white as can be maybe i dont even need to ph my water.. nature doesnt have it exact. So obviously these plants can survive.. thevye taken a beating until now.. im gonna toss that ph powder,, buy a liquad bottle.

Nice sparkly roots! white as can be!

 

[seeingthings]

5.8 - 6.2 ideal.

NEVER outside of 5.5 - 6.5.


You said you ph your water to 6?

Maybe ph your water to 5.8, let it sit for an hour or so, check the ph again, adjust if needed and then add to your res?

Once your res is up and running or whatever, check the ph a couple times a day and adjust by adding straight to the res if you need to.

This way you are putting in nutes at a good level of 5.8, then monitoring closer and adjusting up/down when the res fluctuates.

 

[seeingthings]

Its been about 4 hours and its amazing.. i just used tap water with base nutes and grow nutes and the water is fresh and full of life,, it smells so fresh and clean. My white roots are being massaged by my strong pump and their white as can be maybe i dont even need to ph my water.. nature doesnt have it exact. So obviously these plants can survive.. thevye taken a beating until now.. im gonna toss that ph powder,, buy a liquad bottle.

Nice sparkly roots! white as can be!

Please don't stop checking and adjusting the ph of your water!

It's one of the most important parts of hydroponics!

 

[cyat]

ive done it both ways and find ph ing to be a waste of time and money

when i realized i was using more ph down than nutes i gave it up

even heath told me he doesnt do it

dont change my res or check ppms either...

 

[Voltrom]

ive done it both ways and find ph ing to be a waste of time and money

when i realized i was using more ph down than nutes i gave it up

even heath told me he doesnt do it

dont change my res or check ppms either...

Ive never checked ppms ,, one must understand that the ph of soil is rarely a perfect 5.8ph,, it is my theory that the plants can absorb any mobile elements regardless of ph level,, indeed it is obvious that 5.8 - 6.0 is "desired" but its not neccesery,, to be honest ive been growing this seedling for so long now that using ph has been a waste of time,

i dont know what the issue was but i damn know for sure that you dont need ph down when you water your garden,, why should i use it in dwc. all they need is the elements, nit, pot, mag etc.,, people do the ph game and it doesnt work,, i dont believe it even makes a difference,, if the roots have access to water they will suck up whats in it regardless,,

 

[cyat]

important things for water culture to me are: temps, clean nutes, no organics, or additives , and water flow/ oxygen

 

[supermanlives]

my recirc dwc setup I had with bio balls incorporated way back required no ph adjustment for the most part. and no res/water change. don't know about clear water as I used a lot of organics.

 

[Bennyweed1]

Tetra fish filter.......add one and your water will be crystal clear and beautiful

 

[seeingthings]

Perhaps this will help?

 

[Voltrom]

important things for water culture to me are: temps, clean nutes, no organics, or additives , and water flow/ oxygen

This! this is what i believe also. KISS!

,,Wow benny,, love that lava rock water fall,, good vibes friend.

Update:

Its been 2 days and the water is still doing fine,, all my roots are developing feeder roots! The water isnt as fresh but everythings okay,, the smell is gone and my seedling is having a boost of growth compared to its super slow 1 month life,, new leafs are expanding much quicker and the overall look is very moist and full of life,, i am so happy.

I used to be very on point with my ph but now i understand it doesnt even matter. Just like not using a ppm meter,,

My water isnt crystal clear but its not getting anymore cloudy than what it is now,,.

No more PH DOWN! just one less thing to add to my water

 

[Voltrom]

Time will tell if i have any nutrient lockouts.

 

[seeingthings]

Time will tell if i have any nutrient lockouts.

Good luck man! Whatever works for ya!