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Something wicked this way comes
- Thread starter delta9nxs
- Start date
av8or
Member
That's the right question, brother. I don't been a couple of tiny white hairs sticking out of a rapid rooted cube, but that's only a week behind. I'm talking a 9-12" clone with a palm full of roots.
question about the wick
question about the wick
So, I've heard people say that one of the great things about this system is that in the event of a power loss the plants would still survive a while because of the wick (or tailpiece). I assume this is because the wick acts like a big straw and when the medium gets dry water will be drawn up into the medium via capillary action?
But, looking at D9's first page photos he has the hole for the return line at the bottom of the bucket, understandably so gravity can bring the nute solution back to the main res. But this means there is no nute solution left in the bucket. So what is there to be wicked up into the medium?
About to cut the holes in my buckets for the return line and what to make sure I get this right.
question about the wick
So, I've heard people say that one of the great things about this system is that in the event of a power loss the plants would still survive a while because of the wick (or tailpiece). I assume this is because the wick acts like a big straw and when the medium gets dry water will be drawn up into the medium via capillary action?
But, looking at D9's first page photos he has the hole for the return line at the bottom of the bucket, understandably so gravity can bring the nute solution back to the main res. But this means there is no nute solution left in the bucket. So what is there to be wicked up into the medium?
About to cut the holes in my buckets for the return line and what to make sure I get this right.
Snook
Still Learning
thirdtimes' explanation is right.. if 'power' goes out, the pump doesnt work and there will be no pulses and water will be
sucked up the wick ...
now if you run out of nutes, the pump will shoot blanks and yes, then any water left in the 'pots' will drain down..
Miraculous Meds
Well-known member
the float valve on the feed res sets the height in the buckets also, since they are connected via the rubber hose.
just saying. ... i left the pump timer unplugged yesterday, again. ( 3 different reasons why i occasionally unplug the timer)
this was like the 4th time over 5 rooms in like 2 years ive for one reason left unplugged. or i had a pump failure once to. all times came into room with wilted plants.
i ve never gone more then one light cycle left unplugged, or that i can remember. but in my eyes i dont think the tailpiece will save the plants in a series of days left not watered.
just saying....
awesome design. an i thank d9's time an effort for sharing these beautiful contraptions. they are my choice right now.
i also think that if the plant was trained to only get water from its tailpiece it would survive just fine. meaning that top waterings where limited an roots only saw constant moisture near the tailpiece or wicked area. roots would naturally congregate to that tailpiece an or upper tailpiece moist area.....
this was like the 4th time over 5 rooms in like 2 years ive for one reason left unplugged. or i had a pump failure once to. all times came into room with wilted plants.
i ve never gone more then one light cycle left unplugged, or that i can remember. but in my eyes i dont think the tailpiece will save the plants in a series of days left not watered.
just saying....
awesome design. an i thank d9's time an effort for sharing these beautiful contraptions. they are my choice right now.
i also think that if the plant was trained to only get water from its tailpiece it would survive just fine. meaning that top waterings where limited an roots only saw constant moisture near the tailpiece or wicked area. roots would naturally congregate to that tailpiece an or upper tailpiece moist area.....
what i also wanna try is setting these up like an old water farm that uses an air lift to constantly drip water from the water ring 24/7. water farms use to crush it too. then they had the recirculating kit an it only added to the growth....
keep the original systems drip ring to do " mass waterings/ recirculation" then have a 3/8ths air lift drip ring setup at each site
keep the original systems drip ring to do " mass waterings/ recirculation" then have a 3/8ths air lift drip ring setup at each site
Of course! I forgot about that part.
Also, does it matter how close the end of the tailpiece is to the water? Should the end of the tailpiece be almost touching the water?
The bottom of the tailpipe must be below water level for any wicking. How much depends on height of bucket and length of tailpipe. With the build here the top of bucket is 11 inches. For a 4 inch air gap water level is 7 inches that gives you 2 inches of tailpipe below water level.
Snook
Still Learning
what? True, the bottom of the tailpiece (wick) must be below the water level of the rez but I put the tailpiece (wick) down to basically the bottom of the rez.. why only 2"s down? or am I missing your point?
Snook
Still Learning
yes, unless u are at peak ec level u wish to be. then i would ride it for awhile.
one thing ive learned is its better to under feed then over feed. plants may suffer faded leaves but they will keep growing. most of the time when u over feed they will stall hard, loose pistol development, an even when problem is corrected the stall will last a week, or weeks. an the growth u loose due to that stall could equate to lbs an lbs depending on room size. not to mention smoke quality usually goes down. doesnt burn right, harsh etc etc ,if u cant correct it before harvest.
newguy41410
Member
Help! My Plant has looked a little sick lately (I think - 2nd grow 2nd fem pheno). I checked the pH of my Pump bucket and it is currently 6.9, in fact after checking all unused PPK buckets in the system i see a pH of 6.9 and I can think of two reasons why my pH is that high. I think its either because of some kind of algae + something else that has been forming in my pump bucket?
Here are some photos of the pump bucket water
Or If it's not that algae stuff then maybe it has something to do with the Silica (agsil 16) i add..? is it possible pH is drifting up so much due to silica? (i always ph to 5.8 though and let sit for 24 hours before re-checking pH again and pumping into reservoir)
Regardless, Is there any way for me to steer the pH back down?
Do I just put pH down in the elevated reservoir so pH drops dramatically from like 5.8 to 4.5 or a specific number or something? i would guess it would take a while for that lower-ph water to reach the pump bucket that way though wouldnt it?
Is there any way to intelligently lower the pH of my PPK?
I plan to disassemble my PPK system when this plant is finished. I will drain and clean the buckets and then install a "drain circuit" so i can drain the system easier in the future for maintenance. But for now please help me figure out how to get my plant back to happy and resume growing again. Im afraid she might be stalled atm
EDIT: PPM of bucket with pump and algae is 1160. All other buckets measure 800-900. I usually add about 750 PPM to reservoir (Jacks+Silica+pHdown) but it varies because sometimes i add too much silica or pHdown trying to balance pH
Here are some photos of the pump bucket water
Or If it's not that algae stuff then maybe it has something to do with the Silica (agsil 16) i add..? is it possible pH is drifting up so much due to silica? (i always ph to 5.8 though and let sit for 24 hours before re-checking pH again and pumping into reservoir)
Regardless, Is there any way for me to steer the pH back down?
Do I just put pH down in the elevated reservoir so pH drops dramatically from like 5.8 to 4.5 or a specific number or something? i would guess it would take a while for that lower-ph water to reach the pump bucket that way though wouldnt it?
Is there any way to intelligently lower the pH of my PPK?
I plan to disassemble my PPK system when this plant is finished. I will drain and clean the buckets and then install a "drain circuit" so i can drain the system easier in the future for maintenance. But for now please help me figure out how to get my plant back to happy and resume growing again. Im afraid she might be stalled atm
EDIT: PPM of bucket with pump and algae is 1160. All other buckets measure 800-900. I usually add about 750 PPM to reservoir (Jacks+Silica+pHdown) but it varies because sometimes i add too much silica or pHdown trying to balance pH
Last edited:
Snook
Still Learning
silica raises PH, the nutes lower it.. personally, I've stopped using anything but the jacks+.. When mixed in RO, the jacks+ @ 600-700PPMs brings in, last time I checked the PH, at 4.8. Things run so smoothly and from then on PH isnt fretted over.. the girls look great and yield is strong... the pump buckets PPMs is 1000+PPMs.
Silica raises PH..
Silica raises PH..
