Need some info on my 5gal DWC set up

[FreezerBoy]

Man do I need to learn to type faster..... oh well

RO is reverse osmosis. Its a filtering system that removes dissolved minerals like calcium, magnesium, etc. Chlorine dissipates because it's a gas. Minerals dont dissipate, they precipitate. Pour tap water over clean glass and let it dry. See the spots? Minerals. It's the Electrical Conductivity of these minerals that is measured by EC meters. RO allows you to achieve, or near, an EC of 0. Because calcium and magnesium are essential to growth, you then add them back with CalMag.

Distilled is water boiled into steam. Remember how minerals precipitate? Ever see a moonshine still? Water is boiled underneath a tuba shaped coil. Steam enters the bell, travels the tube, cools, condenses and drips into a separate container leaving all minerals behind.

Distilled water is dead water. I leave it for batteries and irons. RO seems like a circle jerk to me but my tap isn't too bad with an EC around 0.5.

 

[BagseedBoy]

Gotcha.. THanks guys....... See I still don't have a ec or tds meter to check ppm(or what ever does it) But I went out and got those GH Drops for the ph and its helps.. I was wondering y my lil guys weren't going good and its cuz the ph was way too hi, but my guys that r a couple weeks old are right where I want umm. Hey where can I get a good PPM meter at a good price???????

 

[cygnus]

I just got the cheap one from walmart works great. 3 drops and compare to the chart.

 

[FreezerBoy]

still don't have a ec or tds meter to check ppm(or what ever does it)

There is no such thing as a PPM or TDS meter. PPM and TDS require chemical analysis. So called "PPM" and "TDS" meters measure the same thing as EC meters: Electrical Conductivity. The EC meter displays it's readings. "PPM" and "TDS" hide the readings, replacing them with lies and bullshit. Stick with EC if you do it at all.

 

[Mist]

There is no such thing as a PPM or TDS meter. PPM and TDS require chemical analysis. So called "PPM" and "TDS" meters measure the same thing as EC meters: Electrical Conductivity. The EC meter displays it's readings. "PPM" and "TDS" hide the readings, replacing them with lies and bullshit. Stick with EC if you do it at all.

Thank you for that Freezerboy. I have caught more crap from people because I don't have a ppm/tds meter. I keep telling them that I don't need it and they can look at my plants and see that I am right. But they only know what the person they cosider "The Guru" said to do.
All I check is the ph and temp of my nutrients and my plants tell me the rest.
I guess coming from a family where my mother and father both had master garder degrees it just comes naturally. But even my wife who can't keep a house plant alive on her own can grow some bad ass bud with simple instuctions on nutrient mixture, ph levels and one thing that is missing many times-Just watching your plants.
You got to FEEEEEEEEEEL them.

 

[FreezerBoy]

Thank you for that Freezerboy.

You're welcome. I'm days from harvesting a 12 week plant where never an EC measurement was taken. I love my Bluelab EC Truncheon, it taught me much but, it's little more than a $130 stirring stick now.

We know that EC and pH move in opposite directions. We know that EC up-pH down is too rich. This means all we really need know is: Feed in the direction of pH movement. pH up, feed more. pH down, feed less. First sign of stress, dump and replace the res.

 

[Mist]

The only meter that I really want is one of the Hanna continuos monitoring PH/Temp meters. That way I can see what is going on in my resovior at a glance.
One tool that I have never seen on here is a temp pen that you can instantly get the temparture of any object which comes in handy to see the temp in the resovior and also the temp in the bucket during a feed. I also use it to see what the surface temp of the plant tops is so that I know if the lights are too close. And I just aim it at the surface of the resovior and know what the nutrient temp inside is. It is a tool from my years of breeding boas and pythons, LOL!
Check it out. It is only $20.00>

http://www.pro-products.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=59&Itemid=59

 

[BagseedBoy]

Mist-
I feel yah.The plants tell me what they want,

I went out and got the ph drops, surprisingly the ones who had wks under their belts the ph was good... Right around 6.. The new rooted cuts I put in, that ph was off.. I'm guessing most water in neutral(ph7), but every where you go its diff, so I can only speak on behalf my water source...
Freezerboy-
thanks for clarifying that, I need to get the EC,....... so I don't keep wasting my used nute mixes cuz normally every week I dump the bucket and change the water and go back to where I was on the nutes and boy is that a waste I've went thru so much more nutes then I would of if I had a pen and just topped it off!!! OH YEAH FREEZERBOY THANKS FOR BREAKING DOWN THE DISTILLED WATER THING FOR ME!! I'm an ex-mechanic (I lost my license,so I'll prob. never get a job doing that again, plus oil will give you cancer and kill ya.. so its better off) but anyway I always thought it just had no oxygen in err.. that why peps aLWAYs let regular water sit before mixing into coolant systems.... I never asked anyone I just asumed but thank for the breakdown N skooling the KID!!!!!

I HEAR THEY DE-CRIMINALIZED MJ IN NY????????????????

 

[lysol]

Actually one of Girls looks like to be getting a phosphorous deficiency(brown spots on the older leaves then from the tips in to the stem it yellows then browns up^)

Sounds like K ( potas. )

@Mist, yeah the temp pens are great, good for debugging ventillation and hvac issues, a good way to save $9k on a FLIR gun to make sure you arent generating heat buildups by where you are venting.

 

[Crafty]

Great info here! Thanks everyone!

 

[BagseedBoy]

Lysol- Yeah its really not doing too bad actually.. The plant looks healthy as hell and is growing pretty quick.. I just topped off the nutes and made sure the ph was good, and she standing at attention, but thanks for the advice, hopefully I can get some pics up soon.....
~~~ITS REALLY A BEAUTIFUL THING~~~