Barneys Farm Cup Winners Bonanza Starring Root Rapid 8 Pot RWDC

[Ganjagrandaddy]

I get all my ro water from a machine for 25c a gallon. So that’s a really great price. But I use 5 gallon buckets with 3 gallons of water in them always. Until I have 3 sets of leaves I won’t feed them just a little rapid rooter and a touch of calmag to keep them healthy. But with the airlines coming in from the sides of the bucket can pose a problem later in the grow. The roots will grow around the air stone and every time you lift your lid they will rip the roots. And the top feed kinda defeated the purpose of having the roots chase the Rez. If your buckets are producing enuf do devolved oxygen you shouldn’t need top feed. When you remove your lid all your Hydrotun should be wet from the bubbles bursting at the top of the water. And that’s enuf to wick the moisture to the pots.

I am not top feeding them now . The return pipe from dwc is against the sidewall of the pot . Will try to move the airpipe to going through lid at side of basket now , will also avoid the stone moving positiin on the bottom , great tip fella thank you. Ro is not something I have seen in any stores here so tap was only option. I did check with water report for our area but got too much waffle alongside some of the stats. The water starts about 135ppm and has a lot of " acceptable level" crap in it. Flouride is also a big issue for the UK too. Poisening us slowly to make sure we all have medical prescriptions for the pharma gravy train sadly. Ph is 7 without any down added.
The hydration gets wet on all pots so hoping the new seedlings will adapt quickly so I can feed the older ladies too. Not been my usual or ideal start to a crop but roughing it and wrestling it to submission is my only option. Lol
Time will reveal my haste !!!. Hee hee. Fingers, legs ,eyes all crossed.
Thanks mate

 

[Icemann420]

We got this. I’m going to stay on track with your grow. I personally love dwc so simple. Well with general hydroponic and a base chart. To the master chart I can grow crazy big plants. Lol. It may be worth switching nutrients

 

[Ganjagrandaddy]

We got this. I’m going to stay on track with your grow. I personally love dwc so simple. Well with general hydroponic and a base chart. To the master chart I can grow crazy big plants. Lol. It may be worth switching nutrients

General hydroponics. Not sure if we can get it here. Never tried. Have used plagron , canna ,an additives , breast milk( honest see my 1st grow here ) did a lot of research on humboldts golden tree and am sold and using it at present. The canna aqua hasn't been used yet except initially when I fried all the ladies in 1st week. Have seen good results from years ago with it so went with it from that experience In nft for years. Am more than happy to take your help mate thank you. Am stuck with my commitment till harvest sadly financially but am interested in your advice on dwc nutes. Golden tree thoughts ??

 

[Ganjagrandaddy]

This was the tiny dwarfed g13 haze that I nearly pulled a week ago. Something good is happening iceman420?

 

[Icemann420]

She is doing something I have a hard time pulling plants. I just wanna grow them all I’d let them grow. So is that aluminum foil on your buckets.

 

[Ganjagrandaddy]

No Iceman420. It is insulation roll for roof spaces but works well at keeping the heat out of the buckets. Has layer of air between to for heat.The lids are foil though?. Am changing my airlines tomorrow following your advice too.

 

[Ganjagrandaddy]

Wow what a change is afoot with the ladies now. After the week of no nutes at all and waiting for the guests to settle in, it all seems to have happened right.
The PH has remained between 5.7and 6.0 , the ppm has been slowly dropping along with the water levels , so it looks like they are feeding finally. The growth difference is shocking to me in such a short time , compared to my exp of coco growing. THE G13 Haze has took off big time and looks nothing like the dwarf i nearly pulled last week ,the majority are picking up speed now and the roots in the pots are amazing already. To see how quickly the roots have sprung up is a real shock. The grow caps girls are going strong still and the buddha is looking like a biggy by the time she is flowered . Grumpy pineapple is very shiny green ,if anyone knows what this means? .
I had an excellent tip from iceman420 about using the airline through the bottom of basket into bucket so that when lifted out for root checks, I don't damage roots on airstone tube through side of pots and immobile. Thank you Iceman420,tears avoided

 

[Ganjagrandaddy]

This was the tiny dwarfed g13 haze that I nearly pulled a week ago. Something good is happening iceman420?

Her today.

 

[Ganjagrandaddy]

Another week,another punch up with the "easy" to use system !!!. Been convinced i had root rot going down but now think not, it is the golden tree i reckon. It is very dark and smells eggy before it goes into the mix. I rubbed and felt the slime bit it was not what i expected and the roots underneath it were strong and only mute stained. They are looking a lot better now amd there are plenty of white roots showing through amd growing to.
Ph has been between 5.7. -5.9 all week
Did put 50ml total in this week of canna aqua and the ppm has been dropping slightly now in the 400's. Will be aiming for the 800 mark this week after res change tomorrow. Nothing spectacular but def growing now. The grow caps girls are doing ok too. Still all a waiting game until the youngest have started feeding properly.
Been frustrating trying to find the products i see on here a lot like hydrogaurd ,z7 ect. Any ideas what tje uk equivalents are to these root helpers. Maybe cannazym or rhizotonic ???
Any help appreciated.

 

[IslandGrow420]

Hey GGD,

I've been following your journal. Sorry for not trying to help a little sooner. Your setup looks pretty cool. Love the insulation around the buckets! I'm a DWC fella, that's all I do now. I won't grow in anything else. Once you dial it in then it's easy and the results are better than any other medium in my experience. Ok, DWC sales pitch over...

I'll be brutally honest with everything and might scrutinize your methods so plz don't get pissed at me. I have done a lot of DWC research and I just know what has worked for me so I'm going to drop it. I have some questions, but some may be to satisfy my curiosity or help me learn something, if that's ok with you.

Questions:
1a) How high is the water level in each bucket in relation to the bottom of the net pot?
1b) How much water is contained in the entire RDWC system?
1c) How many gallons or litres are in each bucket?
2) What are the res temps and the tent temps at night time?
5) Is the Humbolt Golden Tree organic?
6) Why aren't you using the other Canna products that go with the Aqua base nute - rhizotonic, cannazyme etc
7) How many air stones are in each bucket and how big are they? Can you post a few pics inside a bucket plz?
8) What recirculating pump are you using, and does in run continuously?
9) How are you keeping your res around 20C when your tent is 27C? After time the res should end up at the same temp as the tent unless you use a res chiller.
10) Can you list everything that goes into the res other than the Canna, Thrive, & Humboldt plz? eg; pythium tabs
11) What do your roots look like, can you take a few pics plz?

Initial Observations:
1) Something is deffo wrong with your RDWC. Your plants should be dwarfing everything else by now, and look a lot healthier! For the first two weeks plants in DWC and soil mediums will keep pace with each other but then DWC takes off. It is either your nute mix (the Superthrive and/or the Humbolt), your aeration in each bucket, the res temps, or your bacteria culture in your res.
2) Canna is a pretty good nute company. I've never used Canna Aqua but I have a friend who has used the Canna Coco line with great success. I use the General Hydroponic Flora Nova series, but I've been dying to try out Canna Aqua funnily enough!
3) I would stop using Superthrive in DWC. I've done a little reading on it and would use it more for soil. It seems organic. I've never used it, but I've never had any problems! I would say stop using the Humboldt product but I don't know enough about it. It has kelp in it and if that is unrefined and organic then I would stop.

WATER:
If you are using treated tap water it will contain chlorine, chloride, floride etc. You plants will hate the first two for sure. Letting your water sit in a container for 24hrs lets the chlorine evaporate, but not the chloride apparently. So if you are not sure what is in your tap water, maybe try an r/o filter. Better to start with clean water and eliminate that aspect. I have the benefit of living in a country where I can catch clean rain water in large amounts.

STERILE vs BENNIES:
- Right now you are running a benny (beneficial bacteria) res but without the bennies unless I missed something. I use Hydroguard (fka Aquashield) which has a dominant strain of bacteria that runs riot on your root zone. I will never do DWC without it, no matter how perfect (68F-70F) my res temps are. I have never had root rot. I also use Hygrozyme, which is an enzyme (not a benny) that breaks down dead organic matter (dead roots etc) into food for the bennies. Cannazyme does the same thing.
- If you want to run a sterile res, you need to use UC Roots or Res Clear in your res to kill everything, so no bennies or enzymes, but no pythium or bad bacteria either. I've never used the sterile method before.

NUTE MIX:
Stick to non organic nutes in the res. Do not add anything organic (liquid seaweed, kelp, molasses, organic man made nutes, etc) except for humic/fulvic acids into the res. It might seem ok at first but things will get funky and slimy. My lineup is;

GH Flora Nova base nutes
Dyna-Grow ProTekt silica (throughout veg/only in first res mix for flower period, no additional added after that)
CalMag+ (small doses as the base nute has good amount)
Terpinator (small does in veg, large dose in flower)
FulPower fulvic acid
Hydroguard
Hygrozyme

There is nothing organic on my nute lineup except how the fulvic acid was refined. You should add silica for sure. And probably the fulvic but that's not as important as the silica. Stick with the Canna Aqua, and stop using the Thrive and Humboldt (yes I know it says DWC on Humboldt website for this product but I think it is organic in nature). The Terpinator is a carb with amino acids and magnesium. Use a similar sweatner that is meant for DWC, like Botanicare Raw or Cutting Edge Solution Sugaree etc. The bennies feed off of the sugars.

I've got some more suggestion on aeration and water levels etc but need to get some answers first. Sorry about the long post but I'm just trying to flush out all the possible issues.

Keep up the good work and don't let all this put you off DWC!
IslandGrower420

 

[Ganjagrandaddy]

Hey GGD,

I've been following your journal. Sorry for not trying to help a little sooner. Your setup looks pretty cool. Love the insulation around the buckets! I'm a DWC fella, that's all I do now. I won't grow in anything else. Once you dial it in then it's easy and the results are better than any other medium in my experience. Ok, DWC sales pitch over...

I'll be brutally honest with everything and might scrutinize your methods so plz don't get pissed at me. I have done a lot of DWC research and I just know what has worked for me so I'm going to drop it. I have some questions, but some may be to satisfy my curiosity or help me learn something, if that's ok with you.

Questions:
1a) How high is the water level in each bucket in relation to the bottom of the net pot?
1b) How much water is contained in the entire RDWC system?
1c) How many gallons or litres are in each bucket?
2) What are the res temps and the tent temps at night time?
5) Is the Humbolt Golden Tree organic?
6) Why aren't you using the other Canna products that go with the Aqua base nute - rhizotonic, cannazyme etc
7) How many air stones are in each bucket and how big are they? Can you post a few pics inside a bucket plz?
8) What recirculating pump are you using, and does in run continuously?
9) How are you keeping your res around 20C when your tent is 27C? After time the res should end up at the same temp as the tent unless you use a res chiller.
10) Can you list everything that goes into the res other than the Canna, Thrive, & Humboldt plz? eg; pythium tabs
11) What do your roots look like, can you take a few pics plz?

Initial Observations:
1) Something is deffo wrong with your RDWC. Your plants should be dwarfing everything else by now, and look a lot healthier! For the first two weeks plants in DWC and soil mediums will keep pace with each other but then DWC takes off. It is either your nute mix (the Superthrive and/or the Humbolt), your aeration in each bucket, the res temps, or your bacteria culture in your res.
2) Canna is a pretty good nute company. I've never used Canna Aqua but I have a friend who has used the Canna Coco line with great success. I use the General Hydroponic Flora Nova series, but I've been dying to try out Canna Aqua funnily enough!
3) I would stop using Superthrive in DWC. I've done a little reading on it and would use it more for soil. It seems organic. I've never used it, but I've never had any problems! I would say stop using the Humboldt product but I don't know enough about it. It has kelp in it and if that is unrefined and organic then I would stop.

WATER:
If you are using treated tap water it will contain chlorine, chloride, floride etc. You plants will hate the first two for sure. Letting your water sit in a container for 24hrs lets the chlorine evaporate, but not the chloride apparently. So if you are not sure what is in your tap water, maybe try an r/o filter. Better to start with clean water and eliminate that aspect. I have the benefit of living in a country where I can catch clean rain water in large amounts.

Hydro-Logic 31035 100-GPD Stealth-RO100 Reverse Osmosis Filter : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

STERILE vs BENNIES:
- Right now you are running a benny (beneficial bacteria) res but without the bennies unless I missed something. I use Hydroguard (fka Aquashield) which has a dominant strain of bacteria that runs riot on your root zone. I will never do DWC without it, no matter how perfect (68F-70F) my res temps are. I have never had root rot. I also use Hygrozyme, which is an enzyme (not a benny) that breaks down dead organic matter (dead roots etc) into food for the bennies. Cannazyme does the same thing.
- If you want to run a sterile res, you need to use UC Roots or Res Clear in your res to kill everything, so no bennies or enzymes, but no pythium or bad bacteria either. I've never used the sterile method before.

NUTE MIX:
Stick to non organic nutes in the res. Do not add anything organic (liquid seaweed, kelp, molasses, organic man made nutes, etc) except for humic/fulvic acids into the res. It might seem ok at first but things will get funky and slimy. My lineup is;

GH Flora Nova base nutes
Dyna-Grow ProTekt silica (throughout veg/only in first res mix for flower period, no additional added after that)
CalMag+ (small doses as the base nute has good amount)
Terpinator (small does in veg, large dose in flower)
FulPower fulvic acid
Hydroguard
Hygrozyme

There is nothing organic on my nute lineup except how the fulvic acid was refined. You should add silica for sure. And probably the fulvic but that's not as important as the silica. Stick with the Canna Aqua, and stop using the Thrive and Humboldt (yes I know it says DWC on Humboldt website for this product but I think it is organic in nature). The Terpinator is a carb with amino acids and magnesium. Use a similar sweatner that is meant for DWC, like Botanicare Raw or Cutting Edge Solution Sugaree etc. The bennies feed off of the sugars.

I've got some more suggestion on aeration and water levels etc but need to get some answers first. Sorry about the long post but I'm just trying to flush out all the possible issues.

Keep up the good work and don't let all this put you off DWC!
IslandGrower420

Phew that is a lot Sir. Can i have an extension and access to your library. Heehee. I will try to answer all amd update on what i have done to these poor girls.
My biggest issue has been. Trying to bring too many different aged ladirs to the table. The barneys had all rooted and began growing in rockwool cubes quite well. Due to being in uk , any grow has to be worth the effort amd risk. I did not end up with enough for the pots and was two short of final number so could not start the dwc u til new seeds sprouted and could go in ( still out them in too early in the end) . This meant holding them back for way too long in cubes and whrn i did have to put them in , i used too high ppm ( 400) straigjt off the bat. I fried tje poor girls and they took a lot kf damage. The G13 was pintless amd looked like a "puller" along with a couple of other dwarfed seedlings. The mix i did aas way overboard with added Golden tree,superthrive,power roots and plagrons zym.... holy crap even worse reading that back!!!!!
GOLDEN TREE . I have been interested in going this route for a while and did a lot of info searching . ( not a biologist or science minded at all so skipped this stuff at my peril !)
I do trust the product and it can be used with dwc at 1/4 to 1/2 strength as a guide. Seen good results on other grows with it and a superthrive one too as a supplement with it. The claim is no other nutes needed at all but i did get scared , hence the zym and power roots addition( not used again). The golden tree turns the water quite dark too and had me worried i had root rot but thanfully it was staining.
The temps of res bucket has hit 22 a couple of times when heatwave and silly night ti.e temps but on the whole the loft insulation around the buckets works amazing. It has an air gap between two layers by design. I have used ice ice bottles in control bucket too but seems and endless game. Lol. My outside air is directed towards control bucket too. Temps today are 26.6 in room and res is just tipping 20°.
Net pots i initially had the level touching them due to seedlings. I also think this affected the roots of the older ladies and threw root issues up. Now have about 2inches off the water with the air bubbles popping in the gap. The last few days have been a suprise with root growth and starting of new growth above too. They are feeding now too with drops of about 40ppm in six hours?. Keeping ph at 6.2 has done wondeds for them since i tried it high.
Some of tje products you use are not available in the uk and i cannot find what their European counterparts are either. Hydroguard , z7 ect.
I am from nft background and a CANNA fan from those days gone by. Changes to plagron for my coco grows and cgose Canna Aqua based on past use. As using golden tree ( with all its claims !) , i did not NEED any other product at all for complete cycle. Now things are simpler with my mix of just Canna and golden tree , it seems to all be settling down to growing. Waiting ( again) to up the ppm to about 800 once the seedling RQS girls can take it. Sadly i am financially committed to finishing this one with "what i have" now but i would love to use the uk available equivalents to those you have access to. Will re read your post again to see how many i answered with my garbling. Sorry mate . Thank you for the help here. Appreciated believe me.

 

[IslandGrow420]

ahhh ok, that's why the DWC plants are small while the others are a lot larger. sorry missed that part about different aged plants.

ok, it sounds like you know what you are talking about regarding DWC! Also, sounds like you have experience with the Superthirve and Golden Tree! They carry the Superthrive in a local store where I live (unbelievably as I usually have to order everything!) so I might give it a whirl.

I live in a pretty mild weathered place so I don't have access to loft insulation at all, or I would rig my RDWC sustem up with it for sure. I'm going to try and see if I can find an alternative supplied locally...commercial refrigerator duct insulation? I just made that up but sounds plausible lol.

Your air pump is rated for 1800 litres per hour (475 gallons per hour) so I was concerned that you didn't have enough aeration in your system. That's why I was asking how much water is in your system. I have a 32 gallon res and use two air pumps with about 1200 gph of air being pumped in. I have two air stones in every bucket and the plants love it.

Not sure where in the UK you live but try ordering Hydroguard from some of the larger Hydro stores if you don't live close to one. I found this store with it that you can order. Yes 30 quid seems a lot but the Hydroguard will last you 6-12 months.

Botanicare Hydroguard - One Stop Grow Shop Hydroponics

Cheers,
IslandGrower420

 

[Ganjagrandaddy]

I wish i knew what the hell i was doimg in dwc !!!. Lol. Really do appreciate your advice and time on it too. Not annoyed or put out or anything negative at all. I have learnt to accept changes in my learning from advice ect... I then dont have to rack my brain trying to resolve. I do get your thinking with the golden tree and thrive and am now goimg to go with canna , rhizotonic , plagron power roots and pure zym . Will go back to the gomeen tree come flowering as a booster. I also think i may have been hugely underfeeeding as i went with the 1/4 strength canna use based on stuff i thought i had read. Using only 75ml canna aqua to 130ltrs of ph water. This is below half the overall canna scheduled by a mile and nearer the 1/4 mix. I dont think this is nearly enough for them so am doubling it up today to total of 150ml /130litres have added 50ml of rhiz so far ( again less than half rec dose) am going to use 100ml more. Also adding 150ml pure zym( plagron) and 150ml power roots ( plagron)
Will dissolve 1 pythpatrol tab into this too . I dont have access to ro or filtered water and standing so much fir 24 hours is not possible for me either. ( huge res needed) . I hate being lost in translation for the nutes here and see some amazing growing with frustration at the lack of suppliers in uk for some of the products. Thank you for your input and am thinking along lines u suggest about second pump and stones going too. The system sells complete so assumed it would be a done deal on the requirements. Root rapid dwcr complete.
So much for " ready made" . Lol.
Again thank you and please feel free to comment ( negative /positive ,i will receive it with an open mind and gratitude). So want to nail this medium. Hopefully the increases will be a good move and new stones for second pump being worked on.

 

[Ganjagrandaddy]

ahhh ok, that's why the DWC plants are small while the others are a lot larger. sorry missed that part about different aged plants.

ok, it sounds like you know what you are talking about regarding DWC! Also, sounds like you have experience with the Superthirve and Golden Tree! They carry the Superthrive in a local store where I live (unbelievably as I usually have to order everything!) so I might give it a whirl.

I live in a pretty mild weathered place so I don't have access to loft insulation at all, or I would rig my RDWC sustem up with it for sure. I'm going to try and see if I can find an alternative supplied locally...commercial refrigerator duct insulation? I just made that up but sounds plausible lol.

Your air pump is rated for 1800 litres per hour (475 gallons per hour) so I was concerned that you didn't have enough aeration in your system. That's why I was asking how much water is in your system. I have a 32 gallon res and use two air pumps with about 1200 gph of air being pumped in. I have two air stones in every bucket and the plants love it.

Not sure where in the UK you live but try ordering Hydroguard from some of the larger Hydro stores if you don't live close to one. I found this store with it that you can order. Yes 30 quid seems a lot but the Hydroguard will last you 6-12 months.

Botanicare Hydroguard - One Stop Grow Shop Hydroponics

Cheers,
IslandGrower420

Yay managed to get some now thanka to you mate. Been using rhizo and zym with pyth patrol tabs. The slimyness is ongoing. I assumed it was the rhiz and zym getting busy as the ladies dont look negatively affected by it.???. Bought 10 airatones so can fire up second pump now too. Thank you for your advice here fella. Be good to be on same hymnsheet for a change. Will res change and half strength the canna amd golden tree along with the hydroguard. Although all seem to be happily bobbing along , the figures say different. Not taking much food from the mix. Ph drops from 6.2 to 5.6 over time
Water level seems to drop very very slowly
Ppm rose up by 17 to 717 too.
Res temp is still 20° and below. ( 16.8 with ligjts off)
The insulation is very cheap on my pots and is also used for hot tubs so may be available that route. Designed to stop heat coming into loft as well as maintaining the same temp as put to by lights ect.. this works so well i am suprised. Fingers crossed .

 

[Ganjagrandaddy]

ahhh ok, that's why the DWC plants are small while the others are a lot larger. sorry missed that part about different aged plants.

ok, it sounds like you know what you are talking about regarding DWC! Also, sounds like you have experience with the Superthirve and Golden Tree! They carry the Superthrive in a local store where I live (unbelievably as I usually have to order everything!) so I might give it a whirl.

I live in a pretty mild weathered place so I don't have access to loft insulation at all, or I would rig my RDWC sustem up with it for sure. I'm going to try and see if I can find an alternative supplied locally...commercial refrigerator duct insulation? I just made that up but sounds plausible lol.

Your air pump is rated for 1800 litres per hour (475 gallons per hour) so I was concerned that you didn't have enough aeration in your system. That's why I was asking how much water is in your system. I have a 32 gallon res and use two air pumps with about 1200 gph of air being pumped in. I have two air stones in every bucket and the plants love it.

Not sure where in the UK you live but try ordering Hydroguard from some of the larger Hydro stores if you don't live close to one. I found this store with it that you can order. Yes 30 quid seems a lot but the Hydroguard will last you 6-12 months.

Botanicare Hydroguard - One Stop Grow Shop Hydroponics

Cheers,
IslandGrower420

Have mow made new rws up today with hydroguard. Tha k you for the link. Brilkiant. Have now done mix at
150ml canna aqua
60ml hydroguard
20ml Golden tree
15ml Superthrive
15ml ph down
130 ltr tap water( no option to stand it and ppm is at 142 , ph 7.1 from hosepipe to pot. )
Now reads at 467 ppm (hanna)
5.81 P.h
Res temp 18.7
Room temp 24.6
They all look better than they did but i am not sure if it was all staining in my roots so switched following your advice. Pics are from just prior to res and nute line up change.
Fingers crossed for the hydroguard now.
All seems stable and happy. Hoping they drop the water level and ppm doesnt go down by morning. Am expecting some time adjusting to new bacteria but cant wait to check after been to bed now. Lol. A lot of white strong roots among the growth bit some is def staining from the golden tree and canna so will be interesting to see them cleaner and healthier.

 

[Ganjagrandaddy]

I dont want to say it too soon but... i think i may have finally got it !(No , not THAT!)
PPM only fell by 1 from 518 to 517 , PH rise by .1 from 57.9 to 5.8 and the water level dropped a bit too. Not the first noticed amount of about 2 inches !!!! , this was a blocked valve in the bottom of one bucket that caused it to fill to the brim( and remained there until cleared !) and also push water out of the lid and pipe holes. What next !!!!!!!!
The blockage was roots that had been sorted from the rootball by the hydroguard . Lots of small clumps floating around in the new mix. Fishing for crap today with a net in each bucket. The roots look so much healthier without the staining and possible rot ? But still have a lot if new white roots breaking free for water. I am shicked how quick the hydroguard is turning this around. Girls look happy enough and i am confident they will reward me with growth now. The learning curve here feels long and wide.lol .
Feel so green sometimes now. Appreciate all the help from friends here. Thank you for your welcome input. I shall reward you all with " bud porn" once i get them flowering and harvested.

 

[IslandGrow420]

nice! they look like they are on the mend. maybe experiment without the superthrive and then without the golden tree as well to see what happens...run a stand alone bucket by itseIf... think either/or are messing things up. And I would again suggest you get a sweetener for hydro (Botanicare Raw, Cutting Edge Solution Sugaree, etc) to feed your bennies. If you look after them they will look after your girls.

My roots go through stages but my plants are always lush no matter so I know all is good. When I first take them out of the cloner and into a net pot and its own res, the roots are thick and white, but get a small bit of black gunk on them, which seems to come off when you swirl the res around. Not sure what it is but it doesn't seem to hurt the pants at all. I think it could be the result of the bacteria trying to colonize the roots. After a week the roots have grown nicely and the black gunk falls away by itself. Sorry I don't have pic of the black gunk...

Black Domina one week our of cloner and topped once

Black Domina.JPG

• IslandGrow420
• Oct 29, 2018

My black dom cut that has been out of my cloner for 1 week and been topped once already

Black Domina.JPG

• IslandGrow420
• Oct 29, 2018

pearl necklace, baby!

My black dom cut that has been out of my cloner for 1 week and been...

Black Domina 4 weeks old and still only topped once

IMG_5537.JPG

• IslandGrow420
• Oct 22, 2018

Black Domina in a DWC bucket. 5 weeks since I took the cutting.

IMG_5536.JPG

• IslandGrow420
• Oct 22, 2018

 

[IslandGrow420]

forgot to add about ph!

Stay at that ppm level for now...from your last entry it sounds well balanced....circa 550 in veg. and 900 in flower is where i like to be (the 500ppm scale is what the GH line uses).

In veg your ph levels should rise and your ppm should fall due to the negatively charged nitrogen being reduced by rapid consumption from the plant (in very layman's terms). Your ph will drop and your ppm will rise due to the ppm of your res mix being too high. The plant is taking in more water than nutes thus making the res more acidic and that's why ph falls and ppm rises. Reduce to 500-600 ppm. When all is working right you should start your res ph at 5.8 and it will rise to 6.2 over the next few days, as ppm falls.

Inversely, in flower your ph should fall and ppm should fall due to the positively charge potassium being consumed by the plant. Start at 6.2 and when it drop to 5.8 adjust and feed.

As long as you stay within desired ppm and ph then happy days.

 

[Ganjagrandaddy]

Thankyou for your input here islandgrow420. It makes sense. Will sort the extea bennies too now. The roots do look better now amd the situation you mention is bang on the money about rising ph and ppm etc..
Ph seems to settle better now and only changes by a few increments , usually down ? And my ppm has been rising all the time . It is a mile better with the hydroguard and the ppm only rises by a couple of digits but is now about 530. Roots are hrowing but seems very very slow progress. Expect it is because of cleaning and building the herd and getting over her last res ?.
Kicking myself for switching to be honest. Loved coco and the yields were fair too. So far this medium is proving to be too much fiddling about for no gains over coco so far , which i realise was my own lack of experience but over a month gone and so little to show for the electricity and nutes , fighting sicknesses and constantly checking unblocking pipes and trying to ",dial it in" has proved to take all the pleasure out of the grow for me tbh. Will keep going till they harvest or drop dead( although tempted to pour neat bleach in and properly fry the fucking things atm!).
Have ordered some soaker microbore pipe and fittings to make some diffuser rings now too in case the air is an issue too( would never recommend this shit rdwc system to anyone due to having to make allowences for under par kit that comes with it. )
Frustrated is an understatement for this crop now. The older ladies are doing ok and seem to be slowly growing but the g13 now is starting to claw slightly after such a great recovery and growth spurt. Water here is awful too but cant get around that one atm.
Roll on the end of this one , one way or another !
Thanks mate

 

[Ganjagrandaddy]

Update: have now made some diffuser rings with soaker hose and replaced the airstones. Second air pump now running 4 buckets. Have deffo got some root rot happening so changed the res and used full strength hydroguard this run. Added 150ml canna aqua veg, 60ml hydroguard , 20ml Golden tree. 120ltr tap water. Initial ppm was 500 and ph was at 6.21 !!!. Too good to be true and checked an hour later all had changed. Ppm was at 678 and ph had risen to more than expected to 7.5..... 20ml down got it to 5.8 and at last check it had dropped too far into 4.9. Added 15ml of up. Ppm settled down too now hopefully till morning now.
Beside the g13 and a utopia, they are rooting nicely with lots of nice white webs forming in the pots ( sadly the root rot is being dealt with so some signs of that among the ladies foliage. But the others arw finally taking off again. Hoping more air and following islandgrow420's amd advice , this may all get better @IslandGrow420 and @Icemann420