I read thru the first 20 pages of this thread and am really thinking about changing from DWC to Hempy. I would use a perlite/growstone combo of sorts. I figure since some use straight perlite that adding the grow stones can only help with my air/water ratio.
About nutes; Do most people just use the manufacturers recommended dose and wait till a little drains out of the hole at the bottom? Water every few days?
I'm not certain what a growstone is. Like an airstone you use in DWC? If so it really is not needed, just water till you get about 20% runoff and the rez will be refreshed. If you mean hydroton then yes that could help space the medium out some, but I use a mix of large and small perlite and havent had too many problems.
I have followed the drain to waste feeding schedule for the GH 3 part with pretty good results. I am starting to learn that in fact
less is more when feeding and have backed down my 3 part mix. I also supplement with Liquid Koolbloom, Floranectar, and Florabend. A friend of mine who does perlite/vermiculite hempys recommended the Florablend to me. It's a vegan plant booster and he swears by it and I have had pretty good results with it.
When you water get a good feel on the weight of a full bucket. In 2-5 days they should dry out fairly good and you will notice the difference in weight. I water when the plants tell me they are ready, with my smaller buckets it usually works out to every 2 days once I get into week 3-4 of flowering.
There is some debate on how dry to let them get. I personally let them get almost bone dry, but not to the point the plants are noticeably thirsty. Then I flood-fill my buckets, pushing the old air and water out the bottom of the rez and replacing with fresh oxygenated air and water. Ask some questions here, there is alot of hempy knowledge condensed here.
