Let's talk coco slabs with drippers

cashmunny · Dec 17, 2010

I think what may be happening is that phosphate ion is being actively transported across the root cell membrane and in order to maintain charge neutrality, hydronium ion goes with it. Since plants are phosphorus hogs during flowering the net loss of hydronium in the rez solution increases the ph. Adding phosphoric acid not only decreases the ph again but replenishes phosphorus.

I always wondered why lower ph's are recommended for hydro since phosphate is more available to plants at higher ph's. My theory is that the low ph actually inhibits bacteria growth which is more important than phosphate availability which can be compensated for by bumping up the EC with a bud booster type product.

gaiusmarius · Dec 17, 2010

i always realized that the plants have an effect, but the interesting thing is that even a rez sitting there un used for a day or 2 will have the ph raising a bit, even with no interaction with the plants.

yeah in theory you'd expect the opposite to happen, ie water evaporates making ph go down and ec go up.

i can only assume that canna made their nutrients so that with interaction of the plants the ph stays just about stable, in recirculating setup, the ph will actually start to sink after a few weeks of flowering due to a low ph run off, but this mostly just counteracts the raising ph in the tank that occurs over time, keeping things in balance.

efeldmaz · Dec 21, 2010

I can't figure it out. I have a 64 gal rez on a timer flooding for 1 minute every 4 hours 3 times a day. I walked into my room and water was everywhere my rez was half empty and was only suppose to flood twice after I left my room last night. This was the second time this happened first i though it was from the pump, but I ruled that out by being there when it worked just right. I checked the timer over and over again and the program is set correctly . My only guess is that the timer is broken ???

Does anyone know or think there could be any other reason??

Thank You

gaiusmarius · Dec 22, 2010

did you do a manual flush and forget to turn it back to auto? without more details about your setup i can't really guess. but the timer can be tested and thats the first step if you are sure you didnt forget to turn the pump back to auto after flushing. plug in a radio or desk light and set the timer and then watch it to see if it's working.

efeldmaz · Dec 23, 2010

Thank You gaiusmarius i am doing a drip to wasteI have figured out now that it's not the timer. There are 25 plants to one 64 gal rez with 2 stakes in each plant. The weird part for me is that after the drip system floods there seems too be to much waste coming out even though I down sized a pump and it's only flooding for a minute. the waste will be dripping out slowly for about 5 minutes even though some plants don't even feel like they were that watered although not dry. My other question would be if the leafs are curling down and the ridges are fringing in could this be a sign off not enough water??? Also is there any way my tables being raised on one end by 2 inches so the water will drain out too much and maybe affecting the pressure of the system?

Thanks For YOU HELP

stylah · Dec 25, 2010

merry xmas gaius...ive now just chilling after the mad day of pressies food etc with the kids...doobie in hand and my eyes on the beer but now the cogs are ticking over and im glad ive stumbled upon this thread, hope ur haven a good day/xmas....Im thinking of running 4 aqua trays per 600 (16plants per 600) in a 4x600 setup...Ive used coco top dripped for some 5+ years and now think the new space i have will be best suited to coco slab for stealth and ease of removal and mess etc, however i have a few questions if you dont mind

how do you prepare your slabs, if u do?

how often do you flush (low ec,then back to business) during your show, if u do?

how often and how much are you feeding during your 12/12 per slab, or are you just waiting for first signs of run off and the pumps will turn off?

THANK YOU IN ADAVNCE

NB i hope i havent skimmed too much of the thread and missed the answers if youve answer them all ready...thanks again

ave a goodn

Stylah

gaiusmarius · Dec 25, 2010

stylah said:
merry xmas gaius...ive now just chilling after the mad day of pressies food etc with the kids...doobie in hand and my eyes on the beer but now the cogs are ticking over and im glad ive stumbled upon this thread, hope ur haven a good day/xmas....Im thinking of running 4 aqua trays per 600 (16plants per 600) in a 4x600 setup...Ive used coco top dripped for some 5+ years and now think the new space i have will be best suited to coco slab for stealth and ease of removal and mess etc, however i have a few questions if you dont mind

how do you prepare your slabs, if u do?

how often do you flush (low ec,then back to business) during your show, if u do?

how often and how much are you feeding during your 12/12 per slab, or are you just waiting for first signs of run off and the pumps will turn off?

THANK YOU IN ADAVNCE

NB i hope i havent skimmed too much of the thread and missed the answers if youve answer them all ready...thanks again

ave a goodn

Stylah

the only thing i do with new slabs is roll them around a bit to loosen the coco inside. they are often pressed flat from being stacked on a palette, either roll them or squeeze them up and down the slab quickly as you place them on your table or in your lybra trays. after placeing the cubes on the slabs i will water with a tank full of plain water the first time. some folks have been saying it's better to use a medium strength nutrient solution, but i like to water the whole table of slabs totally with plain phed water till the water is gushing out everywhere again. only then will i add ferts and set the timer to run 3 times per light phase for a few mins, enough time to get some run off everywhere, no matter if more comes in some places then others, as long as it reaches everywhere in the end.

the important thing is that you go back to nutrients right away after doing plain water flushes. again some people li8ke to use weak nutrient solution for maintenance flushing too. but as long as you don't let your system run on plain water for more then a few hours your plants will be fine being flushed with plain water. but on the whole i don't even need to do many maintenance flushes, i know what my plants are using and with most strains can get away with very little flushing except for the end phase flush.

yeah most of that stuff has been covered in this thread, probably multiple times lol. but i know it's a long thread.

peace out

stylah · Dec 26, 2010

thanks appreciate you covering that again for me...great thread and info

Merry crimbo

efeldmaz · Dec 28, 2010

OK so I defiantly finally figured out the problem. I realized even after the pumps went off water was still being pulled through the drip system. This is because my pump was rising higher than ten the drip system so pressure was pulling water through it! Im so glad I figured it out was driving me crazy!

gaiusmarius · Dec 28, 2010

efeldmaz said:
OK so I defiantly finally figured out the problem. I realized even after the pumps went off water was still being pulled through the drip system. This is because my pump was rising higher than ten the drip system so pressure was pulling water through it! Im so glad I figured it out was driving me crazy!

damn, should have thought of that one. seen that happen before too. if you loop the hose on the way to the table higher then the water in the tank it should stop.

anyway glad you figured it out.

efeldmaz · Dec 29, 2010

Awesome im going to try that I was also thinking of adding some kind of weight to the bottom of the pump maybe? i hope the loop will work getting annoyed with it all! TnX

efeldmaz · Jan 2, 2011

Help I need somebody !

Help I need somebody !

Does anyone have any advice on how I can fix my pumps from pulling water into my plants even after the pumps turn off.... I know they need to be lower then the actual drip system but they are still pulling lots of water in to them. I also tried a loop above the rez this still did not work. They are 64 gal trash can rez into a 24 drip stake system. I need to figure this out so tiered of waking up every time because I have to pull the pumps out everytime or else water will be everywhere because they don't stop even after the pump timer turns off! PLZZ someone anyone! THANK YOU

gaiusmarius · Jan 3, 2011

sorry i only had this problem once way back and all i had to do was keep the water level in my tank lower then the table of plants. other wise you get a siphoning effect. but there might be other solutions.

dawgsbolloxs · Jan 5, 2011

efeldmaz said:
Does anyone have any advice on how I can fix my pumps from pulling water into my plants even after the pumps turn off.... I know they need to be lower then the actual drip system but they are still pulling lots of water in to them. I also tried a loop above the rez this still did not work. They are 64 gal trash can rez into a 24 drip stake system. I need to figure this out so tiered of waking up every time because I have to pull the pumps out everytime or else water will be everywhere because they don't stop even after the pump timer turns off! PLZZ someone anyone! THANK YOU

just above your water line in your res put an elbow or a nipple with a 4mm dripper pipe returning back to the res...this will stop the syphoning when the pump cuts out also oxygenate it when it is feeding your plants..u can use a an elbow with a tap ...it defo works as i do this on my systems now and in the past ..more expensive method is get a motorise valve just after your pump and have it close when your pump turns off

but the first method works perfectly

I WOULD GET A VALVE/TAP AND CONTROL THE FLOW FROM PUMP ANDJUST BEFORE DRIPPERS>>>THIS WILL LOWER THE SUCTION/SYPTHONING POWER AND YOUR LOOP/RETURN WILL WORK

all the best

efeldmaz · Jan 9, 2011

Thanks dawg! IT WORKED I CAN HAVE A LIFE NOW HAHA! The second I did this i heard pressure released and air filling in The BEST sound i have ever heard haha. SO HAPPY

My next question would be if i don't use R/O water and my water is known to be fairly hard up in the mountains... should I still be using cal mag!?

dawgsbolloxs · Jan 10, 2011

if your plants need em hit em with it...we in the uk dont have cal mag but i use epsom salts in coco and im in hardwater area with a background of 0.6ec ..no worries im glad you got it sorted now

i find it a must regardless of water condition

efeldmaz · Jan 20, 2011

How do you plug a drip line if you want to decrease the amount of drippers that you have?
TNX

gaiusmarius · Jan 20, 2011

just make shor U shapes and block 2 holes next to each other with the short piece of dripper hose block 2 holes, then do it again till you have blocked the holes you don't need. you can also give the plants 2 drippers each.

efeldmaz · Jan 20, 2011

Gaiusmarius genius! TNX A lot!

growcodile · Feb 3, 2011

very good tips in this thread, thanks to gaius and all others

id like to add that you can also use a back-pressure / non-return valve .. way less expensive than a electrical motor valve

in cases where you cant reach the holes to make U shapes of dripper hose, you can use a lighter to heat the end of the hose a few secs, but dont burn it .. then use a gripper and press the hell out of that hose end .. most are sealed with 1st try, some might need a reheat and repress

Let's talk coco slabs with drippers

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