There has to be an easier way!!!!! Right???

Detroitgrower313

Detroitgrower313

Active Member
ok, this is my first grow on my own and my first time useing an ec meter and i dont think i could make useing it any more complicated!can someone please tell me an easier way to get my ec readings where i need them? Here is what im doing. Im doing a dwc 12 site 2 gallon buckets.when i refresh my res i start off by adding 20 gals of h20 then mix my nutes according to the bottle.of corse my ec reading is through the roof so i add about 20 more gallons and my reading is a little lower than i want it but i let my nutes mix in my res all night with a pumpand over night they will drop pretty close to where i need em.so could i be mixing my nutes differently than i am? Less?more?.it just seems like it shouldnt be a guessing game when it comes to getting ec's where you need em.can someone please tell me an easier way to do this???
 
tenthirty

tenthirty

Well-Known Member
I'll see if I can explain this. Google is your friend when reading this.

Adding nutes is a problem in DWC. This is because (speaking from experience) Do not add nutes ph up or down or anything if you con help it with the plants in the system.
"The plants do not like rapid swings of PH or EC...."

My rule of thumb is. no more than .5 PH+- and .2 EC at any given time. Wait at least 30 minutes for the next change.

Now the way I get around this is to have a top off rez and a controller bucket with a shut off valve. You do all of your basic mixing to your desired levels in the top off rez with the valve closed.
Then just open the valve. Everything must be sized accordingly.
During the week I'll make changes to the top off rez and only if necessary I'll add very small adjustments to the controller.
The size of the controller is important. Bigger is better. My rule of thumb again. controller = sum of your 12 sites or bigger. The top off rez = 7 days of feeding more or less.
I find that I only fill the top off rez half full, just in case of change of feeding or PH trends. (less to dump)
Heath Robinson says he never feeds above 1.4 EC.

To see a good example of a top off rez and controller system, look up the instructions for a waterfarm 8 pack, that shoud give you a good idea of what it should be as well as sizing.

Go over to the thcfarmer and find the undercurrent section and read the first 20 or so threads UC is very similar to RDWC. These people go into great detail on how to run this type of system.
 
P

Plebscrubber

Active Member
Basically its lack of experience...
Just keep experimenting and you will get it down to a fine art...

Dont add what the neut bottle says, start with lower concentrations,
I wouldnt be using h202 unless your trying to treat a bacteria problem,

Just get your res 3/4 full of water, get a reading of what its ph and ec is
add half of what the neut bottle says, mix
check ec... adjust as needed with more neut
check ph, adjust as needed
if you go too strong, you can add more pure water to the res, because you left 1/4 room empty
 
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