Help with new RDWC build

overbudjet · May 15, 2020

If you don't block light from getting in this little piece of plastic algea will turn it green and slimy in a week or less. As you know I am also concern about your bucket's . May I suggest black paint instead of termofoil , it will not help for heat but will do it for light leak !!!

Substitute · May 15, 2020

I don't think very much light is getting in my buckets.

overbudjet · May 15, 2020

open the light ,open buckets pass your hand outside of the buckets if you can see the shadow of your hand from the inside of the buckets you are already in trouble . For a healty system no light is welcome this advise is base on my little encounter with RDWC 10 year's doing it. :tiphat:

MrMMJ · May 15, 2020

It's great you're building your own system ! Looking good so far.

You'll have a more stable running system if you lightproof everything. There's far more light entering your buckets than you realize. Panda film or foil backed bubblewrap works well. Cover everything !

Do a search on pH probe care, there are many. If storage solution isn't available, pH 4 buffer is best to use, temporarily. Storage solution is easy and way cheaper to make yourself. A $20 bag of potassium salts used in water softener systems will make enough for several lifetimes of use. Storing in RO water is the worst thing to do. It leaches the solution inside the probe. A quality, calibrated meter is a valuable tool for any hydro system.

Good luck !

Substitute · May 16, 2020

MrMMJ said:
It's great you're building your own system ! Looking good so far.

You'll have a more stable running system if you lightproof everything. There's far more light entering your buckets than you realize. Panda film or foil backed bubblewrap works well. Cover everything !

Do a search on pH probe care, there are many. If storage solution isn't available, pH 4 buffer is best to use, temporarily. Storage solution is easy and way cheaper to make yourself. A $20 bag of potassium salts used in water softener systems will make enough for several lifetimes of use. Storing in RO water is the worst thing to do. It leaches the solution inside the probe. A quality, calibrated meter is a valuable tool for any hydro system.

Good luck !

I have some PH 4 that I can use in the meantime. I'll get some proper storage solution sometime soon.

Substitute · May 20, 2020

Cheese seedlings reaching up!

Substitute · Jun 1, 2020

Alright. Things seem to be coming along fairly well. Dialed in my pH to 5.6 to start (now at 5.9 after 3 or 4 days) and nutrient solution to 700 ppm (900 ppm including original water hardness). One plant got rusty edges but seems to be recovering great. I'm thinking it might have been wind burn...so I moved the fan away to the side and I think they like it better. Tap roots are in the water at this point. I went away for the weekend and when I came back was kinda shocked how much bigger they grew, and found the roots down in the water.

This hydro is pretty cool and interesting so far. Cheers.

bigbadbillybob · Jun 1, 2020

the edges are browing and crispy because you are over feeding them 1.8ec (900ppm) is way way too high for this system, you don't need to go above 650ppm ppm even in full bloom.
I would knock it baack to 3-400ppm 0.6/0.8ec, and stick the ph to 5.6, letting it raise through to about 6.4, then reset it to 5.6 again and so on.
you will know if they are feeding at this lower dose, if the ppm goes down and the ph is stable. If the ppm goes up after topping it up, they are not feeding, and you will do more harm than good.
This is the single most common mistake when new to hydro, so don't sweat it, they don't need as high a feed as the nutrient is available to them all of the time.

Hope you get it sorted.

Substitute · Jun 1, 2020

bigbadbillybob said:
the edges are browing and crispy because you are over feeding them 1.8ec (900ppm) is way way too high for this system, you don't need to go above 650ppm ppm even in full bloom.
I would knock it baack to 3-400ppm 0.6/0.8ec, and stick the ph to 5.6, letting it raise through to about 6.4, then reset it to 5.6 again and so on.
you will know if they are feeding at this lower dose, if the ppm goes down and the ph is stable. If the ppm goes up after topping it up, they are not feeding, and you will do more harm than good.
This is the single most common mistake when new to hydro, so don't sweat it, they don't need as high a feed as the nutrient is available to them all of the time.

Hope you get it sorted.

Thanks. I thought it was maybe windburn, but only one plant got it. I will knock the feed back to where you suggested. That will be good. I don't want to over feed them and it saves on nutrient.

overbudjet · Jun 1, 2020

He his right!To much nute for this kind of system, also right with 600-800ppm max range .And the ph swing ….Sometime listening advise from guy how have some grow under their belt worth a lot more than other from nute sellers!

SPF420 · Jun 2, 2020

Buckets

Buckets

You will be battling Algae if you don’t black-out those buckets.

Substitute · Jun 2, 2020

I thought a little algae was good!? I can't move the buckets...they're locked in for this grow. If I get too much algae this run, I'll find a solution. I don't mind a little bit tho I think.

I remember battling algae in my aquariums.

Substitute · Jun 10, 2020

Plants seem to be coming along well. One or two had small curling on a few tips...I diluted the nutrient solution with pH'd water by about 40ppm and they uncurled. Water temps are around 70-73. This morning water temp is 70. No signs of any algae, etc as of yet. Roots are white and getting bigger. I figure on the 24th (1 month) I'll top them. All in all they seem pretty good and healthy. I want them to be good sized bushes. I got basically two different phenos of Cheese. One plant of the four (the bottom one) just isn't as good genetically as the others. The top plant and the one to the left are the healthiest. After a run or two...i should have good clones all the way around.

Substitute · Jun 20, 2020

Next picture, ten days later. Plants are 4 days short of 1 month. PPM's are 475-500, pH 6.1, water temp 72. This Hardwater Floramicro is doing a good job of buffering the pH. I put it at 5.5 a long long time ago...like a month ago. I've done a few top offs with pH 5.8...and it's held all that time at around 6. I'll do a complete res change in a few days. Plants are using a lot of water it seems..now that they're bigger. I'm having to mix fresh nutes and water once a week or the level gets too low. I don't like that they're not uniform, so I'm wondering about the genetics. How good they are. They were all Cheese, but 1 is bad, etc(has a tri tip - 3 shoots per node). I'd like uniform, big plants so I'll probably be cloning the biggest plant. The big plant smells the most as well. One thing I noticed are the stems are a lot thicker in hydro, than soil.

overbudjet · Jun 20, 2020

Those girl's look really well . :plant grow:

Substitute · Jun 21, 2020

overbudjet said:
Those girl's look really well .

Thanks! They're drinking a lot of water. More and more the bigger they get. I'm wondering if I should top them or not? All the side shoots seem to be growing pretty bushy even without topping them. I was thinking of topping the big plant at least...to slow it down.

starke · Jun 21, 2020

Ladies are looking happy so far.

Substitute · Jun 23, 2020

This morning water temps are a cool 70. Plants have already drank 5 gallons of water in two days. It's kind of insane. Def need some kind of auto make-up nutrient system. This has me thinking about transpiration rates as well. I dropped the pH to 5 by accident, but they seem to be loving it. ? They're perked up and happy after the system water/res change. Fresh water after a month.

edit: The big plant is nearly 3ft tall and probably 3ft wide, with a thick stem after just a month!

Substitute · Jun 27, 2020

Substitute · Jun 28, 2020

UC Roots appears to be working good for root zone. No algae, no rot...nothing. I use two cap fulls per 5 gallon bucket. All i know is with this much water/nutrient usage....I need to buy big gallon nutrient jugs, or bigger...and not these small quart containers. Pretty sure I'll run out of nutrient before this grow is over....so i'll be purchasing more.

Help with new RDWC build

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