Molasses in Reservoir

[jcdws602]

That would be a problem. On the other hand colder temps keep the molasses clumped together. Making it a little harder on the pumps and clogging of the system. A higher temp would help the viscosity of the molasses so that it would go through the system better. 70 degree is the temp right when those nasty pathogens start getting warmed up. Maybe if people tried to keep the res at exactly 69 degree it would help. Also benni's are a most for me. they work wonders. Great white is a good source of them. 34.95 for a small container that will work for most.

If you dilute the molasses in hot water....wait until the mixture cools, add to the res ,no clumping or anything occurs....my res temps stay cool but have warmed up to 72 and I didn't observe any clumping of which you speak of....anyways the reasons I made this thread is to show that molasses in hydroponics does add flavor an aroma to your buds and in fact works for a fraction of the cost of store bought sweeteners..I have looked online on the subject and really there is a lot of negative reviews which I thought were not entirely true......I know beneficial microbes is in fact beneficial and do aid in the uptake of molasses...but thats a whole other thread in itself,but thanks for your input.......

 

[Dirty Harry]

I think I see my problem. My res temps are in the right range, but I use H2O2 as a root rot preventative. Since it takes beneficial microbes to break down the molasses to work right, the H2O2 is killing them so that is probably why it results in rot as there is nothing there to break it down.

Again one of the reasons people have problems with molasses in hydroponics is usually high res temps..........I start at 1 ml per gallon the work up to 5 ml per gallon...I use synthetic nutrients......keep my res covered (the second most important variable)... temps 68 or below (this is vital) no probs...either you had a problem before the application or you didn't keep your solution temps with in optimal range and or one of the other variables in check.......

 

[jcdws602]

I think I see my problem. My res temps are in the right range, but I use H2O2 as a root rot preventative. Since it takes beneficial microbes to break down the molasses to work right, the H2O2 is killing them so that is probably why it results in rot as there is nothing there to break it down.

Yeah...that could be the problem.....Have you had a lot of root related problems in the past???Do you always add h202 to the res??.....You know the best preventative is keeping your res in optimal conditions and staying on top of it advidly......if you do that you don't need to add anything in your res as a preventative....

 

[Dirty Harry]

I don't do organic so I grow using chemicals. I normally never have had any rot problems but always use H2O2 here and there just in case. I do know for a fact the only times I have had root rot was shortly after adding molasses.
I think I need to find a chemical version that is ready for the roots right out of the bottle.
Thanks!

Yeah...that could be the problem.....Have you had a lot of root related problems in the past???Do you always add h202 to the res??.....You know the best preventative is keeping your res in optimal conditions and staying on top of it advidly......if you do that you don't need to add anything in your res as a preventative....

 

[jcdws602]

I don't do organic so I grow using chemicals. I normally never have had any rot problems but always use H2O2 here and there just in case. I do know for a fact the only times I have had root rot was shortly after adding molasses.
I think I need to find a chemical version that is ready for the roots right out of the bottle.
Thanks!

I use synthetic nutrients and molasses.....anyways bud candy ,pineapple rush and all those other sweeteners work great and are specially formulated for hydroponics...it's just a lot more expensive than using molasses.......hope you find a receipe that works for you good luck and good growing my friend!

 

[Dirty Harry]

100% agree with you on being expensive. That's why I tried molasses. I am using my own seeds I made from a seed grow so I am only out my time. It never really hurt the plants themselves, just the roots out side of the pots. I may try again without H2O2 and a smaller amount of molasses. When I figure this out and get it to work, then I will try it on some purchased seeds.

+rep

.....anyways bud candy ,pineapple rush and all those other sweeteners work great and are specially formulated for hydroponics...it's just a lot more expensive than using molasses.......

 

[phxfire]

Complete JOKE..... When does a plant in nature get molasses??

NEVER... Wait maybe a HIGH bear dropped his molasses on the crop... HEY YOGI!!!

 

[jcdws602]

Complete JOKE..... When does a plant in nature get molasses??

NEVER... Wait maybe a HIGH bear dropped his molasses on the crop... HEY YOGI!!!

Who said anything about nature??? Hey phxfire do what you do......and i'll do what i do......a joke is something funny and not serious and seriously molasses work.......if you don't likes it no sweat....I'll sleep at night....

 

[cowboylogic]

You forgot to mention unsulphured only.

 

[Dirty Harry]

You forgot to mention unsulphured only.

I thought that was a given, but I see your point and you are right.

 

[Dirty Harry]

Um, in indoor hydro we are nature and we are God. The plants only get what we allow them to have.
Hydro grows faster than indoor soil and faster than out door growing.
We control the light cycle and thus also control the plant height with lst.
We tweak the variables of nutes, light, and sometimes CO2. The idea is to press the plants to the max without crossing the line that causes damage.
Indoor growing is a science experiment. It is possible to do better than nature, but also possible to cause massive damage that nature would not cause.
This isn't the same as planting sweet corn and waiting all summer and hoping you have a good crop.

Complete JOKE..... When does a plant in nature get molasses??

NEVER... Wait maybe a HIGH bear dropped his molasses on the crop... HEY YOGI!!!

 

[braaap516]

Like the thread starter stated "I have been growing hydroponically for years."

Hey man its cool if it says it in the bible it must be true. Did it say anything about what it does to your system after you put it in your rez or the ramifications to your system on the next cycle or how hard it will be to keep shit from growing in your rez from all the sugars feeding bacteria? It might have said that but is it really worth all the headache of figuring it out , doing it and then cleaning it up not to mention maybe fucking up your grow? Like I said you are Way Way Way over thinking it for a first time grower. Good luck.

In the bible it was referring to using it with soil.

In this post, he talks about how you can use it in hydro.

 

[fritz357]

In the bible it was referring to using it with soil.

In this post, he talks about how you can use it in hydro.

whoa guys everyone smoke a joint and settle down i dont know too much about the bible but i do know i tried running organic chems in my waterfarm for the first hydro gro i ever tried and i just ripped out a tahoe og clone tonight cause of the aweful brown slime then tried my best to sterilize every thing best i could with physan 20 if it runs clean in a few days i might put a new clone in there and definetly mix some microbe tea for the entire grow thats for sure any other first timers out there gathering info strictly synthetic nutes i'd look into the lucas formula although i cant speak on yield it worked good for a week of veg for me why i tried to cure the slime before she made her way into the can and if you want a sweetener gh floranectar sugarcane with bennies gets good results my buddy grew some rude super fruity purps with it but thats about as far as my knowledge goes for hydro besides the basic temps but hey if you cant find those dont bother with hydro thats for sure, i got soil down figured i'd give a waterfarm a try and was blown away at the maintenence difference i only had to open my tent twice a week to water and empty the ac run off bucket with just soil i threw a waterfarm in the corner and haven't shut it til tonight when i threw out my plant even if i do clean it out and the browness goes away i might give up on the whole hydro thing and stick to my big dirty nugs peace guys good growin too all and to all a good joint

 

[LgHammer123]

I have used molasses in soil and have heard and read about how using molasses in hydroponics can reek havoc on pumps that eventually leads to disaster........I have even regurgitated this same info to others and now am feeling a bit guilty since I had never even given it a try.......I have looked online everywhere and really anything I have found is negative responses about using molasses in hydroponics....so this is for those who want to know (not for those who already know) for fact the effects of molasses in a reservoir

SKIP TO NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU ALREADY KNOW THE BENEFITS OF MOLASSES
Here is a short run down on molasses........molasses is very beneficial for plants as most of us already know.....in soil it is absolutely a must have...not only does it feed your plants with vital nutrients and trace elements it also creates a micro eco system in soil to aid plants throughout its entire life,.BUT WAIT thats not all!!sorry for the cheesy infomercial moment but my favorite part of using molasses is that it sweetens and enhances the aroma and taste of your buds.....

I waste lots of money on bottled sweetners that do work but are insanely expensive......paying 30 dollars for a pint of molasses in a bottle is insane...I know there are other ingredients in these bottled sweeteners but are pretty expensive....molasses cost 3-4 dollars a jar and last a lot longer than a pint of a bottled sweetner....waaaaay longer.....
I have been growing hydroponically for years....one of my favorite methods of growing is top feed...through drip lines because the simplicity and ease of use is hands down one of the easiest way I have ever grown.....I have been growing like this for a while now.....and since there are multiple parts that can clog up I dared not to even experiment with molasses for fear of loosing a batch....but I got tired of spending my hard earned money on these bottled sweeteners so I gave it a try.......Now I see what they mean when they say it can cause equipment to clog and pumps to fail....but the solution to this problem is easy,see since your res temps are cool,,at least they should be,molasses doesn't dilute easily in cool water......it falls to the bottom in clumps,even when stirred it doesn't dilute thoroughly and eventually gets in your pumps and lines and pretty much messes things up,and if left unattended you will be pretty screwed........So instead of directly putting molasses in your res you must put some water in a pot boil some water and stir it until it dilutes....doesn't take long at all.......then simply add to your res......I have yet to see any negative effects this way except that your ph will rise a lot faster than usual......I have to ph every other day but to me this is nothing since I spend a lot of time in my garden........I start with 1 ml per gallon and work up to 5 ml a gallon....now I haven't tried this in dwc and aero....but top feed and flood and drain I can vouch for....and again for those who already knew this this is not for you.....

the reason for this thread is to provide some first hand info and maybe save people some money...

This is awesome, truly informative! Thank you, I usually heat some water in a measuring cup before mixing it into my bucket & then hand watering my plants

Since I will be swapping to irrigation drip FloraFlex systems for the very 1st time this is super helpful! I usually mix 1Tbsp per gallon when hand watering, although I know from watching Cannabis LifeStyle TV (on YouTube) that they use 1Tsp per gallon. So I'd be happy to try this out

Cheers,
-LgHammer