johnnyrotten
Member
D9, since I'm still waiting on my water test results before I order Jacks I've been using Maxibloom... Are growers using PPK's adjusting the ph of the bottom bucket every day, every couple days or not at all?
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Operation Kill Shorty
- Thread starter johnnyrotten
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i don't think most growers are checking ph in the bottoms with pulsing but without pulsing it might be a good idea. check it and if it is anywhere between 5.0-6.3 leave it alone but adjust your input solution.
do you have a ph meter? i didn't see that you did. you don't want radical changes in ph so the best thing to do is a series of small corrections steering the solution in the direction you want.
it's been a while since i have used maxibloom but it was not nearly as stable as jacks.
the nutrient solution stability with jacks is almost uncanny in an eerie, freaky kind of way. it's so out of the norms for hydro where you are forever chasing concentration and ph.
after a while you just kind of forget about those issues instead of being preoccupied with them all the time.
do you have a ph meter? i didn't see that you did. you don't want radical changes in ph so the best thing to do is a series of small corrections steering the solution in the direction you want.
it's been a while since i have used maxibloom but it was not nearly as stable as jacks.
the nutrient solution stability with jacks is almost uncanny in an eerie, freaky kind of way. it's so out of the norms for hydro where you are forever chasing concentration and ph.
after a while you just kind of forget about those issues instead of being preoccupied with them all the time.
johnnyrotten
Member
Oh yeah, I do have a ph meter... As long as its in the 5.5-6.2 range, I don't touch it...
What affect do you think Drip Clean would have on salt accumulations with a bottom feed?
What affect do you think Drip Clean would have on salt accumulations with a bottom feed?
i have never used drip clean so i am not qualified to answer that but if you top water once in a while it should keep salt build up under control. i've never had any issues with salt accumulation in any form of ppk.
if you can get to your control reservoir easily water as frequently as you can from it. this method just blends the salts back into solution without adding volume so you can do it as often as you like.
if you cannot get to your res easily just top water a small amount of water only once in a while. this doesn't add much volume and will help keep salts under control.
johnnyrotten
Member
I said fuck it today and bought a cycle timer... I have a six site manifold already and a pump...just need to drill some holes and connect to the buckets... I saw somebody using what looked like a short pvc piece with the hose stuck into the side of it... Do you bury that in the coco or just set it on top?
How much volume an hour should I be feeding with a pulse?
How much volume an hour should I be feeding with a pulse?
johnnyrotten
Member
Should I pulse from the control bucket or the reservoir?
johnnyrotten
Member
Right now, I have 5 other plants in flower in a 4x4 tent with an open vert 600w HPS... In the next few weeks, we're gonna build a 4x6x8 space with 2x600... Right now they are in a 2x7x7 closet under a 6light T-5, they can stay in there a long time but it did get really crowded with 9 of them in there...
I'm gonna make a pump bucket from a 3gallon bucket and attach it to the control bucket, so it doesn't add from the res while sucking the control bucket... Then when it refills, it sucks back from the control bucket... And the control bucket level is rising from the flow of the nutes rising in the plant res's... It finally all makes sense to me... It's like a coco rdwc but easier and better!
I'm gonna make a pump bucket from a 3gallon bucket and attach it to the control bucket, so it doesn't add from the res while sucking the control bucket... Then when it refills, it sucks back from the control bucket... And the control bucket level is rising from the flow of the nutes rising in the plant res's... It finally all makes sense to me... It's like a coco rdwc but easier and better!
johnnyrotten
Member
My temps stay at 70 in and out of the tent, I have a dehumidifier, humidifier, ac... All controlling everything... My environment is good and my plants are good, I just want less work and this seems to be the way!
ain't it simple?
70 is too low lights on. i recommend 78-80 lights on and 68-70 lights off.
the 2 major regulators of photosynthesis are light and temperature, in that order.
the above is for naturally aspirated rooms. vented.
johnnyrotten
Member
Lol, gives me a good excuse for another light!
johnnyrotten
Member
Almost forgot, last week I put a Super Sour OG and Casey Jones in coco starter cubes and the CJ didn't come up, so on Mon night I put a CJ in between some paper towels and on Tues it had sprouted and yesterday it came out of the coco...I'm excited about those!
johnnyrotten
Member
Here's some pics of the ppk girls, the 5 gal res is pretty much empty now... I'll refill it Tuesday...
Romulan
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Shorty
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Sam 4
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Super Sour OG
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Casey Jones
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Romulan
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Shorty
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Sam 4
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Super Sour OG
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Casey Jones
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looking real good, jr! only thing i can add at this point is to never let the tailpieces dry out. keep the level high enough to keep them wet.
and the sooner you can get a little more coco in those containers the better as you will get a lot of early root growth and this is your chance to take advantage of it.
and the sooner you can get a little more coco in those containers the better as you will get a lot of early root growth and this is your chance to take advantage of it.
johnnyrotten
Member
Yeah, I put more coco in... I'll make sure the tailpiece doesn't dry out... I top watered out of the control bucket after adding...
johnnyrotten
Member
Hey D9, I'm gonna try and find this with the Zeke index but how do I determine how long to pulse and how often? I have a cycle timer that will pulse for as long as I want and as often as I want...I guess I would need to plug it into a timer so it would stop during lights out...
just to make sure, the end of the tailpiece should remain immersed in the water in the lower rubbermaid container, not just wet. you want a continuous hydraulic hook up at all times.
start with about a quart per hour. run it a day and look at the plants and the medium top. pick up a handful of coco and squeeze it. it should be wet enough in coco so that you can squeeze it and a little water comes out. or at least shows between your fingers.
that's wet enough. too wet is determined by looking at the plants. do they look over watered? are the leaves hooked over or are "claw like", or are the leaf edges rolled under?
also you want to run the pulse 24/7, not just during lights on. you are watering the medium, not the plant.
keep putting up pics of your plants and i'll check them as often as i can.
did you pre-condition your coco by rinsing and pouring a strong nutrient through it?
start with about a quart per hour. run it a day and look at the plants and the medium top. pick up a handful of coco and squeeze it. it should be wet enough in coco so that you can squeeze it and a little water comes out. or at least shows between your fingers.
that's wet enough. too wet is determined by looking at the plants. do they look over watered? are the leaves hooked over or are "claw like", or are the leaf edges rolled under?
also you want to run the pulse 24/7, not just during lights on. you are watering the medium, not the plant.
keep putting up pics of your plants and i'll check them as often as i can.
did you pre-condition your coco by rinsing and pouring a strong nutrient through it?
johnnyrotten
Member
Yes, I have two inches of tailpiece immersed...pretty sure they will be fine in the morning...
Ok, I will start at a quart an hour and go from there...if there are any issues I'm sure they will pop up...
I'm glad you told me about the time...I like that, it makes it easier!
Thanks!
johnnyrotten
Member
Damn, I've got good luck... All this talk of nutes got me thinking and I remembered that I ordered a really cheapie 25 gpd RO filter, I figured that was better than nothing... I had never opened the box before...
I opened it and there was an active aqua 100gpd dual stage pump in there! I'm switching to RO now!
I opened it and there was an active aqua 100gpd dual stage pump in there! I'm switching to RO now!
