vprising909
Member
i would test the pH of your tap water and see if it jumps over the course of a few days
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Chicken shack rdwc madness.
- Thread starter Numboard
- Start date
Numboard
Member
Doesn't matter how low I get it initially it will always rise right back up by the next day. Even using as much as 2oz will get it down to 3.5~. Next day 6.8 sigh
vprising909
Member
yeah that sort of thing can be perplexing. look at it like this: it can either be the water, the nutes, or something weird happening when the chemicals in the water mix with the chemicals in the nutes.
when you break it down like that the solutions are easy. if it's the water: use filtered water. if it's the nutes: use different nutes. if it's them mixing together... again, use ro water. hope that helps, that's kind of what i do when i test out new mixes
peace
Numboard
Member
Well. After 3 days without a res change things seem to have stabilized. I think it was just not completely washed hydroton/rockwool or something but ph is 6.3 and and everything is going as planned.
Heres some pix to keep you happy
This thing is some kind of improvised res chiller. My res temps got up to 80 degrees yesterday. We cant be having that.
Very very powerful computer axial fan. I mean very powerful.
Heres some pix to keep you happy
This thing is some kind of improvised res chiller. My res temps got up to 80 degrees yesterday. We cant be having that.
Very very powerful computer axial fan. I mean very powerful.
junior_grower
Active member
nice grow man, I know the feeling of not being able to wait for that first harvest but it will come, you're there just relax.
Numboard
Member
Shameless plug for some required help
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=3580515#post3580515
Please check out this thread.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=3580515#post3580515
Please check out this thread.
! D'aww aren't they cuuuute.
Im sure your nutty ph was the hydroton it usually gits wacky if not cleaned well enough.
The other issue Im seeing is your ppms are way to high for that small of plants bring it down to around 400 ppm if using the .5 conv. Trust me your plants and roots will take off quick.
If your tap is 160 ppm and your adding in 800 ppm of nutes that means you have 960 ppm total.
Just trying to lend a hand and good luck
BG
The other issue Im seeing is your ppms are way to high for that small of plants bring it down to around 400 ppm if using the .5 conv. Trust me your plants and roots will take off quick.
If your tap is 160 ppm and your adding in 800 ppm of nutes that means you have 960 ppm total.
Just trying to lend a hand and good luck
BG
Numboard
Member
I just got my proprietary (fucking hanna) calibration sollution and right now the buckets are sitting at around 800ppm. They are growing fast already. im actually quite suprised at how fast. I always measure using "µS" which is electrical conductivity If I am not mistaken, thats a raw data point and isn't subject to a multiplier right? 2 oz each of micro, gro, and bloom.
I also added 50ml of "Hygrozyme" The bottle is really confusing. It wants 9ml per gallon? my system is 35~ gallons which means they want 315ml which is pretty much the entire bottle I bought. This seems like an absurd ammount of hygro to me. Thoughts? The reason I am adding hygro is because when I ran out of ph down I used organic cal mag to lower the ph slightly. I figured since it has some acid in it it might lower the ph a bit. I also figuired since around here the soil is RED RED RED that most of the dissolved solids in our well water is iron. (Should i be adding non organic cal mag?) This was a terrible idea and I shouldn't have done it. The next day i come in and the tubing connecting the pump is brown (clear tubing) So I went to the hydro shop and asked the guy "what can i add to get rid of brown algae" he said hygrozyme so i trusted him. I am unsure if he is right or not. Talk to me guys.
I also need some help diagnosing these little "bleached" spots:
My best guess is nute burn. (Following the directions on the bottles for "sprouts and seedlings" (gh flora series) led me to adding 3fl-oz each of gro bloom and micro. This got me in the 1k~ µS range which seems really high. So nute burn yeah?
I also added 50ml of "Hygrozyme" The bottle is really confusing. It wants 9ml per gallon? my system is 35~ gallons which means they want 315ml which is pretty much the entire bottle I bought. This seems like an absurd ammount of hygro to me. Thoughts? The reason I am adding hygro is because when I ran out of ph down I used organic cal mag to lower the ph slightly. I figured since it has some acid in it it might lower the ph a bit. I also figuired since around here the soil is RED RED RED that most of the dissolved solids in our well water is iron. (Should i be adding non organic cal mag?) This was a terrible idea and I shouldn't have done it. The next day i come in and the tubing connecting the pump is brown (clear tubing) So I went to the hydro shop and asked the guy "what can i add to get rid of brown algae" he said hygrozyme so i trusted him. I am unsure if he is right or not. Talk to me guys.
I also need some help diagnosing these little "bleached" spots:
My best guess is nute burn. (Following the directions on the bottles for "sprouts and seedlings" (gh flora series) led me to adding 3fl-oz each of gro bloom and micro. This got me in the 1k~ µS range which seems really high. So nute burn yeah?
Gotta get the numbers right..you said 800 ppm but them you said you were measuring in uS. Clarify for me ...is it 800ppm @.5 conversion, 800ppm@.7 conversion, for was that 800 millisiemens?
For the future, always state what conversion you are using, or report a straight EC value. This is just easier for people to work with, and it makes it easier to help you.
Now, on to some help....
Since I don't exactly know what strength your nutes are I will just give you some generalities that I use personally. I looked back at the beginning of your thread and it looks like you started these plants from seed. If that is the case, you definitely need to be in the very low end of feeding at the size they are currenty. .5-.8 EC (BTW starting EC of your tap water counts), and I would start on the low end of that and work your way back up at this point. Your nutes definitely look hot now as evidenced by the too dark green in the larger leaves w/necrosis/burn spots.
As for the nutes, it sounds like you are running GH Flora 3 part, but you said you ran 2-2-2 (G-M-B) ratio, that is the GH transition feeding schedule, and since you are just popping seeds and starting veg, you might wanna move to the traditional 3-2-1 (G-M-B) ratio for veg.
If you are using tap water you shouldn't need any calmag or anything like that. GH Flora nutes are designed to be used with tap water (and Flora Micro for Hard water is made for high ppm tap). If you were to start using RO water then calmag would be something to consider.
Buy regular pH up and down....in the long run those are the cheapest products to use to change the pH anyway....
My personal opinion with regards to organics in RDWC is NO. It can be done (bio-buckets etc), but in the scheme of things it is a way bigger pain in the ass in RDWC than it is worth. If you are already running GH flora series, stick with straight chems from now on lol, you'll thank yourself later. Plus in the event of any root zone devils, you can always apply some flora shield or other chem nockout to pretty much kick its ass, without any worry about loss of the bennie colony. Not to mention, chems ferts tend to be much thinner and run cleaner in rdwc...just my opinion.
I am currently testing hygrozyme, but honestly haven't found it to make one bit of difference one way or the other (except to my wallet), although i am gonna finish this run with it since a good many people swear by it. I will make a judgement afer i guess...
For the future, always state what conversion you are using, or report a straight EC value. This is just easier for people to work with, and it makes it easier to help you.
Now, on to some help....
Since I don't exactly know what strength your nutes are I will just give you some generalities that I use personally. I looked back at the beginning of your thread and it looks like you started these plants from seed. If that is the case, you definitely need to be in the very low end of feeding at the size they are currenty. .5-.8 EC (BTW starting EC of your tap water counts), and I would start on the low end of that and work your way back up at this point. Your nutes definitely look hot now as evidenced by the too dark green in the larger leaves w/necrosis/burn spots.
As for the nutes, it sounds like you are running GH Flora 3 part, but you said you ran 2-2-2 (G-M-B) ratio, that is the GH transition feeding schedule, and since you are just popping seeds and starting veg, you might wanna move to the traditional 3-2-1 (G-M-B) ratio for veg.
If you are using tap water you shouldn't need any calmag or anything like that. GH Flora nutes are designed to be used with tap water (and Flora Micro for Hard water is made for high ppm tap). If you were to start using RO water then calmag would be something to consider.
Buy regular pH up and down....in the long run those are the cheapest products to use to change the pH anyway....
My personal opinion with regards to organics in RDWC is NO. It can be done (bio-buckets etc), but in the scheme of things it is a way bigger pain in the ass in RDWC than it is worth. If you are already running GH flora series, stick with straight chems from now on lol, you'll thank yourself later. Plus in the event of any root zone devils, you can always apply some flora shield or other chem nockout to pretty much kick its ass, without any worry about loss of the bennie colony. Not to mention, chems ferts tend to be much thinner and run cleaner in rdwc...just my opinion.
I am currently testing hygrozyme, but honestly haven't found it to make one bit of difference one way or the other (except to my wallet), although i am gonna finish this run with it since a good many people swear by it. I will make a judgement afer i guess...
Numboard
Member
Okay...
When I measure the amount of nutes in my water I always use the "µS" setting on my black hanna combo meter. It is calibrated properly. I don't know enough about tds measuring to answer your first question. All I know is what I am doing. If that makes any sense at all....
This is the schedule I am following. (screenshot from genhydro's nutrient calc. Can be found here:http://www.generalhydroponics.com/calculator/index.html)
For "seedling" it calls for 3 ounces each of flora micro flora bloom and flora grow.
This is what I followed initially. This brought my "µS" to 1k~ I thought this was too much to I dialed it back to 2 ounces each of flora bloom micro and gro. On top of this I added 50ml of "hygrozyme" to supposedly eat up my brown algae problem caused by using "general organics CaMg+" as a temporary ph down.
(First res fill: 3 ounces of each flora)
(Second res fill: 2 ounces of each flora +50ml of hygro)
I am not familiar with these decimal values of "Ec" All I "know" is "µS"
I am using tap water, Well water to be specific.
I only tried using CaMg+ because I ran out of ph down (yes I know now that this is completely retarded) and couldn't immediately drive the 40 miles to the nearest hydro store to buy more ph down. I have since bought plenty.
I will agree with you organics in rdwc is a recipe for disaster. Every time. Wont even think about adding anything organic to my water ever again.
Will flora-shield/clean take care of brown algae?
When I measure the amount of nutes in my water I always use the "µS" setting on my black hanna combo meter. It is calibrated properly. I don't know enough about tds measuring to answer your first question. All I know is what I am doing. If that makes any sense at all....
This is the schedule I am following. (screenshot from genhydro's nutrient calc. Can be found here:http://www.generalhydroponics.com/calculator/index.html)
For "seedling" it calls for 3 ounces each of flora micro flora bloom and flora grow.
This is what I followed initially. This brought my "µS" to 1k~ I thought this was too much to I dialed it back to 2 ounces each of flora bloom micro and gro. On top of this I added 50ml of "hygrozyme" to supposedly eat up my brown algae problem caused by using "general organics CaMg+" as a temporary ph down.
(First res fill: 3 ounces of each flora)
(Second res fill: 2 ounces of each flora +50ml of hygro)
I am not familiar with these decimal values of "Ec" All I "know" is "µS"
I am using tap water, Well water to be specific.
I only tried using CaMg+ because I ran out of ph down (yes I know now that this is completely retarded) and couldn't immediately drive the 40 miles to the nearest hydro store to buy more ph down. I have since bought plenty.
I will agree with you organics in rdwc is a recipe for disaster. Every time. Wont even think about adding anything organic to my water ever again.
Will flora-shield/clean take care of brown algae?
tricky1
Member
Okay...
When I measure the amount of nutes in my water I always use the "µS" setting on my black hanna combo meter. It is calibrated properly. I don't know enough about tds measuring to answer your first question. All I know is what I am doing. If that makes any sense at all....
This is the schedule I am following.
For "seedling" it calls for 3 ounces each of flora micro flora bloom and flora grow.
This is what I followed initially. This brought my "µS" to 1k~ I thought this was too much to I dialed it back to 2 ounces each of flora bloom micro and gro. On top of this I added 50ml of "hygrozyme" to supposedly eat up my brown algae problem caused by using "general organics CaMg+" as a temporary ph down.
(First res fill: 3 ounces of each flora)
(Second res fill: 2 ounces of each flora +50ml of hygro)
I am not familiar with these decimal values of "Ec" All I "know" is "µS"
I am using tap water, Well water to be specific.
I only tried using CaMg+ because I ran out of ph down (yes I know now that this is completely retarded) and couldn't immediately drive the 40 miles to the nearest hydro store to buy more ph down. I have since bought plenty.
I will agree with you organics in rdwc is a recipe for disaster. Every time. Wont even think about adding anything organic to my water ever again.
Will flora-shield/clean take care of brown algae?
µS = MICROSEIMENS
1.0 EC = 1000 µS
As for .5 and .7 conversions...
1.0 EC = 1000µS = 500ppm(@.5 conversion) = 700ppm(@.7 conversion)
So were you saing your plants were at 800µS?
FloraShield will kill the brown algea. Best way to run it is to drain your system, refill with regular tap water. Add florashield at recommended strength, circulate for 6-8 hours (raise the light some if you have it lowered down on top of them, shield will make the plants a little more heat sensitive while it is in the res). dump res again, refill with fresh nutes. It is important to ensure that your water level is high enough to encompass the mojority of the root mass (into the netpot, but not all the way up obviously) during this process as you want the shield to be applied to and permeate as much as possible.
I would do the flush to kill the algea if you think you really have it going on, and then hit them with 500µS. Work your way back up from there after observing the condition of new gowth. The leaves that are damaged will not repair themselves (but of course keep an eye on them to make sure they aren't still burning up later on). Seedlings can be really sensitive to nutes...
don't forget that you are growing in a recirc system, but you are also growing with multiple phenos/strains so you have to grow to the lowest denominator in terms of feeding....
Numboard
Member
Right, thanks for all the help :3
Its going to be alittle while before I can make it to the hydro store again to get the flora shield/clean. Could I empty the buckets and circulate some diluted bleach water through the system, drain again, fill with plain water, Circ for a while, drain, fill with proper nute rich water and continue? Also does hygrozyme really want me to put 9ml per gallon? Thats almost an entire small bottle for my setup per flush. at 10 bucks a pop that gets ludicrous fast. Also 500µS of nutes? or total?
Its going to be alittle while before I can make it to the hydro store again to get the flora shield/clean. Could I empty the buckets and circulate some diluted bleach water through the system, drain again, fill with plain water, Circ for a while, drain, fill with proper nute rich water and continue? Also does hygrozyme really want me to put 9ml per gallon? Thats almost an entire small bottle for my setup per flush. at 10 bucks a pop that gets ludicrous fast. Also 500µS of nutes? or total?
If you can take the plants out of the system and keep them good for some hours, then you can run whatever. Bleach will work, so will hydrogen peroxide. If you use the bleach, make sure that you properly rinse afterwards as that stuff is toxic in the nute solution.
it takes nearly an entire bottle of hygrozyme to fill my system once as well. I think 9ml/gal is about right i would have to look at the bottle. It get expensive quick, esp if you are doing res changes frequently.
also..500µS total (including starting tap or well µS)
You always measure the strength of your solution as the whole....the number you actually get when you stick the meter in. Those µS in your well water count just as much as the ones in the nutes if that makes sense.
Numboard
Member
Esp after fucking up the mix regularly :/
Ill use peroxide as it sounds like you are implying its less toxic to plants than bleach. Just to be on the safe side. The plants would be out of water for no more than a half hour at most. Should be okay then.
