Coco perlite Hydro combination - Drain to waste with recycling nutes. How long before draining ?

CBS2020 said:

I would like to convert the halo drip system i have to a octa/multi port floraflex etc head so its easier to add plants, move them around.
Will have filters on pump pickup, and filter before the floraflex etc

Suggestions on the best multiport head and halo, drip emitter alternative?

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I just got the rain Bird 8-port from home Depot and built a PVC setup for multiple heads with shut up valves for each one You can also turn houses off as you need and adjust the flow out of the heads but I leave them fully open just have to make sure you are hose lengths are the same. You can build your own emitters West tubing and some ts I just got those at home Depot outdoor section

tylerzigzag9029 said:

I just got the rain Bird 8-port from home Depot and built a PVC setup for multiple heads with shut up valves for each one You can also turn houses off as you need and adjust the flow out of the heads but I leave them fully open just have to make sure you are hose lengths are the same. You can build your own emitters West tubing and some ts I just got those at home Depot outdoor section

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Thats great, do you have pic of your full setup? Was thinking of a 8 port like the bird 8 port connected to Netbow or similar halo ring (i already have some 13mm sized inlet ones). How long have you used it for, what pre filters have you used etc?

TintEastwood said:

Some insight on plants usage of the elements in recycling

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Great article. I've been using coco/perlite for about 8 years for big indoor plants with nary an issue. I don't get how people can have problems with this medium if rinsed and mixed properly and not overfertilized or allowed to fill up with salts.

DaFreak said:

a fresh batch is always better

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I must agree! I love the consistency and cleanliness of DTW for coco/perlite, but not the manual watering part. So I made an automated system that does it for me. It's been in use about 3 weeks now and is working like a charm, fertigating and delivering 12 gallon batches of nutrient twice a day and then pumping the waste to a utility sink. Here's the thread: https://www.rollitup.org/t/low-cost-automated-drain-to-waste-system-for-coir.1045900/#post-16169322

nice setup.

Will buying a salt meter (salinity) be able to distinguish between types of salt or will it tell me Na build up? Using the salt strips it shows green (2000ppm) with fresh batch and yellow after recycling for 2 days (6000ppm)

CBS2020 said:

nice setup.

Will buying a salt meter (salinity) be able to distinguish between types of salt or will it tell me Na build up? Using the salt strips it shows green (2000ppm) with fresh batch and yellow after recycling for 2 days (6000ppm)

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That’s a good sign that it's to hot or/and too dry, you can dilute that back.
Your ec is largely affected by the environment.

CBS2020 said:

Using the salt strips it shows green (2000ppm) with fresh batch and yellow after recycling for 2 days (6000ppm)

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can you explain that plz?
it's reading 4EC with fresh and 12EC with recycle? those are crazy high #s.

6000ppm ? damn man

DaFreak said:

Coco has nothing to do with it. Growing with salts is faster than organics, yes, but coco does not offer faster growth compared to any other medium or substrate while using salts if done right. Only difference is that coco is not the easiest medium to use with salts, hence all the people not doing well with coco. Yes, once you learn how to do it it's easy enough like anything else but your comment I would call 100% nonsense and misleading.

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DaFreak said:

Hydro is a nonsense term, salts or shit is what it’s all about. Some people get it, some never will.

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You are confused. Salts vs organics has nothing to do with the effects of different mediums. It's all about oxygenation to the root system. The air-filled porosity of a medium is the only significant difference between any two mediums. If you have a medium like coco that has a high AFP it will drain better and leave the root zone with higher available oxygen. And it will allow you to feed at shorter intervals giving the roots better access to nutrients, as well as removing salt build up and re-oxygenating the roots. If you have a medium that you can only water every few days then the medium has a larger saturation volume which leads to an anaerobic condition in your medium.

Why do you think NASA chose aeroponics for their growing system? It is because in aeroponics the roots are basically growing in moist air which allows the plant to grow faster and produce more in the limited space they have.

You can produce the same growth speed and size with the right combination of organic nutrients as with "salts".

kingromano said:

6000ppm ? damn man

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no my Ec is 1200 , ppm around 600.

The pool colour salt strips that detect salt is what im referring to. When testing my 1300 Ec nutrient mix the strip shows green (which the bottle lists as 2000ppm) ... after the 3rd recirculation the strips went yellow which the bottle says 6000ppm, which is actually 1200 Ec on my meter.
I was trying to find a cheap way of monitoring my salt build up