C02 Injection Directly Into Water

[ActionHanks]

Has anyone ever done it?
I dont know about most people, but my last few DWC attempts have failed due to ph shifts being too rapid for me to keep up with. My ph always swings upwards, never down, and since I've actually learned some useful things in geochemistry this semester I figured I might try something new.

So we all know that co2 acidifies water. Would it be possible for me to set up a DIY co2 soda bottle, displace the hose below the water-level along with my airpump, and maintain a more stable ph? Anyone ever done anything like this before?

 

[dtischerd]

well everyone knows that roots need oxygen,but the top growth benefits from Co2.

after all we all know that plants and tree's change Co2 to oxygen.

thats why everyone is bitching about the people choppin down the rain forest.

this ain't rocket science..don't make it anymore dificult than it is.

i'm bettin the cause of your upward ph swings was due to you having a small rez.

my first DWC was in a 5 gallon pail..once i was done vegging i had a monster plant..i knew damn well i wasnt going to be lifting this plant for atleast another 8 weeks..that's when i made it a RDWC.

went from 4 gallons of water to 8 gallons,and man was i happy and so was my plant..water stayed much cooler and my ph held for a couple days.

i only checked my ppm's and ph once a day and that was in the morning after i woke up.

 

[guerrilla medic]

what nutrients are you using?

 

[Rascality Afoot]

When my ph swings it's usually when I'm using organic nutes and in a small res like dtischerd already mentioned. With chem nutes I rarely have issues.

 

[dtischerd]

if look at VO's grows you'll see he switched from organic to chem nutes.

there's a reason for this..for very few it works,but for most it doesn't.

i can't explain it..that's just how it is.

i.. personally have never grown organic..soil/hydro...to me it seems more hassle than its worth.

as i grew up on a produce farm,and my dad thought organic was hogwash!

although all/organic has come along way..i'm still not sold.

my father still grows some of the most amazing vegetables(especially his tomatoes)are bar none way above anything in the SuperMarket.

ive taken my dads experience and adapted it to my grows,and it's worked for me so far.

just my 2 cents worth.

i have nothing against organic grows..at all!

it just seems waay more hassle than its worth...considering the end product isn't much different..when you stack it all up.

 

[ActionHanks]

I've just been using botanicare cns17 bloom and veg. I dont do have any other nutes besides some calcmag and bud booster, so I'm not an organic guy. I do however, usually have a small res. I've seen it pulled off before, and i know these guys werent adjusting ph every 4-5 hours. I might test out a system with no plants in it just to see if the Co2 will keep ph lower for longer.

 

[BigBuddahCheese]

No but I thought about dropping my power strip for my 600w lights into my res.

 

[Antihero17]

Yea man I would have tol agree with l buddah on this one. What your thinking may just cause you alot of unnecessary work for nothing and at the worst like buddha said you may be risking your plants lives altoghther. I tried Organic DWC originally and I failed miserably(though I did learn alot, like DWC and organics are REALLY high maintainance if you can even pull it off) and Botanicare is a great co just not great for DWC(from all my research at least). I found a Very interesting article about Co2 and plants interactions with it, and it was very helpful so here is a link for anybody who may be interested in it though it is a long read. I personally use lucas formula and have my P.H. at 5.7 at the beggining and over about a week it will drift up to 6.4 which I allow it to do as many of the nutes us hydro growers need are locked out if left at a perfectly stable PH. Like I said buddy an upward drift is good but if it's more then that just try some good old trial and error to see if you can eliminate it without going so drastic. But I hope you find a solution to the problem either way. And good luck and good grow
http://www.stanford.edu/~cbauburn/basecamp/dschool/homeproject/Wullschleger_WaterRelwElevCO2.pdf

 

[missnu]

I started out in hydro with a DWC 5 Gallon bucket...went terribly everytime I tried...every run was as close to failing but keeping the plant alive...like they were alive, but barely...over and over and over...I would go ahead and flower them to get however many grams I could...I tried all kinds of nutes, but the pH wouldn't stay down...and it was like going up super super fast...and like way up...up high enough for the plants to just turn freaking crispy...the plants only looked good within a few minutes of a res change...beyond that it looked like they were strapped into some sort of water torture device...so eff all that...I went to organic soil with amendments a few years ago...did start using some botanicare here and there, so I guess I was only certified organic for one run, but whatever...I have just within the last few weeks started trying my hand at coco, and it's going really well...
To me a DWC sounded like the easiest hydro possible...but I don't know why I had all the problems I had...but I am doing good now...and I made a cloner that uses the buckets...so it all worked out in the end I guess....but I also experienced super crazy swings in my pH and pretty terrible plants.

 

[BigBuddahCheese]

I started out in hydro with a DWC 5 Gallon bucket...went terribly everytime I tried...every run was as close to failing but keeping the plant alive...like they were alive, but barely...over and over and over...I would go ahead and flower them to get however many grams I could...I tried all kinds of nutes, but the pH wouldn't stay down...and it was like going up super super fast...and like way up...up high enough for the plants to just turn freaking crispy...the plants only looked good within a few minutes of a res change...beyond that it looked like they were strapped into some sort of water torture device...so eff all that...I went to organic soil with amendments a few years ago...did start using some botanicare here and there, so I guess I was only certified organic for one run, but whatever...I have just within the last few weeks started trying my hand at coco, and it's going really well...
To me a DWC sounded like the easiest hydro possible...but I don't know why I had all the problems I had...but I am doing good now...and I made a cloner that uses the buckets...so it all worked out in the end I guess....but I also experienced super crazy swings in my pH and pretty terrible plants.

True.. do what works for you. I have excellent results in DWC but many do not and fail, glad to hear you found something that fits you and your growing. Each medium has it's plus and minuses, but it all boils down to what you and you alone can do effectively.

 

[ActionHanks]

Lol thanks for the help guys, its always nice to get feedback from more experienced growers. On that note though, I just checked my nutes, and it says they are safe for coco, hydro, and other soil-less mixes... Again this is botanicare cns17 and I'm pretty sure is NOT ORGANIC IN ANY WAY. I'm kind of a health freak (only when it comes to my body though, I could care less about organic nutes, or saving the rainforest etc), i wear gloves when I measure out nutes

I'm going to go ahead and give DWC another whirl with 1 or 2 freebies, the other 3 or 4 plants will be hempy buckets 60-70% perlite to 30% coco with individual trays & a water pump on a timer.

 

[guerrilla medic]

your nutrients are fine for water culture. one tactic you might give a whirl is to mix up your solution, let it sit for 6-8 hrs, then stir it up and recheck the ph before you throw it in ur setup. sometimes it takes awhile for ph to stabilize. you didnt mention what you start at but i'd start it at like 5.3 during veg and early flower while you are having ph spikes. once they start using less nitrogen and more potassium around wk 4-5 of flower the ph should start going the other way.

 

[Antihero17]

I started out in hydro with a DWC 5 Gallon bucket...went terribly everytime I tried...every run was as close to failing but keeping the plant alive...like they were alive, but barely...over and over and over...I would go ahead and flower them to get however many grams I could...I tried all kinds of nutes, but the pH wouldn't stay down...and it was like going up super super fast...and like way up...up high enough for the plants to just turn freaking crispy...the plants only looked good within a few minutes of a res change...beyond that it looked like they were strapped into some sort of water torture device...so eff all that...I went to organic soil with amendments a few years ago...did start using some botanicare here and there, so I guess I was only certified organic for one run, but whatever...I have just within the last few weeks started trying my hand at coco, and it's going really well...
To me a DWC sounded like the easiest hydro possible...but I don't know why I had all the problems I had...but I am doing good now...and I made a cloner that uses the buckets...so it all worked out in the end I guess....but I also experienced super crazy swings in my pH and pretty terrible plants.

Yea I can feel you on that my first grow was on organic coco grow and it did go great. I just dabbled in DWC and feel in love(after trying organic DWC) so yea man do what is feasable and good for YOU that's what matters and there will be people here to help no matter what you grow in