MrShpongle
Member
I've got a pretty well-dialed in RDWC system that does everything I want except one thing: maintain pH for more than a New York minute. Here's the details.
12 5-gallon buckets
55 gallon rez hooked up to a chiller set at 66 degrees F
Dyna Gro nutes (Bloom, MagPro & Protekt) at 900 ppm
airstones in each bucket + larger stone in rez
When I change the rez out I balance everything to 5.8, and it will stay there for a few days. Around day 5 it starts to drop massively every single day. It can start at 5.8 when the lights come on and 12 hours later be around 4.2! This happens over and over until I change the rez on day 15, then it starts repeating again around day 5. I've used both AN and GH pH Up drops to balance things out, but nothing sticks.
More info: the ppms are remaining solid in the 850-900 the whole time. I top off the rez w/ 2-3 gallons of pH 7 water (120 ppms) each morning to maintain water levels. There is no visible buildup of anything in the buckets or the rez, and the roots look perfect.
I'd like to think that my nutrient solution should be good for more than 5 days. I've considered the possibility of microbial growth in the system, so I've run H202 through the lines in between rez changes, but that hasn't changed a thing.
I'm at my wits end. This has been going on for 18 months, and it's making life difficult. Vacations are a thing of the past...
P.S. This is only a problem in flower.
12 5-gallon buckets
55 gallon rez hooked up to a chiller set at 66 degrees F
Dyna Gro nutes (Bloom, MagPro & Protekt) at 900 ppm
airstones in each bucket + larger stone in rez
When I change the rez out I balance everything to 5.8, and it will stay there for a few days. Around day 5 it starts to drop massively every single day. It can start at 5.8 when the lights come on and 12 hours later be around 4.2! This happens over and over until I change the rez on day 15, then it starts repeating again around day 5. I've used both AN and GH pH Up drops to balance things out, but nothing sticks.
More info: the ppms are remaining solid in the 850-900 the whole time. I top off the rez w/ 2-3 gallons of pH 7 water (120 ppms) each morning to maintain water levels. There is no visible buildup of anything in the buckets or the rez, and the roots look perfect.
I'd like to think that my nutrient solution should be good for more than 5 days. I've considered the possibility of microbial growth in the system, so I've run H202 through the lines in between rez changes, but that hasn't changed a thing.
I'm at my wits end. This has been going on for 18 months, and it's making life difficult. Vacations are a thing of the past...
P.S. This is only a problem in flower.