Order of setup for water mixture

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phatz06

Active Member
I was thinking about starting fresh with new water/nutrient mix when I flip in another week or so since I'm pretty sure it could have been done better in the beginning. Keep in mind this is my first grow.

Is this a good idea given I don't trust how it was done? Or is it better to just keep going with what I've already got setup and continue putting nutrients through to the end? Things done look 'bad', but wondering if it could be improved.

Originally I used tap water and did nothing for calcium and magnesium. I also have not been using Hydrogen Peroxide and it sounds like that could be beneficial as well.

Answers to this question would guide me for the next questions.

Thanks in advance!
 
phatz06 said:
I was thinking about starting fresh with new water/nutrient mix when I flip in another week or so since I'm pretty sure it could have been done better in the beginning. Keep in mind this is my first grow.

Is this a good idea given I don't trust how it was done? Or is it better to just keep going with what I've already got setup and continue putting nutrients through to the end? Things done look 'bad', but wondering if it could be improved.

Originally I used tap water and did nothing for calcium and magnesium. I also have not been using Hydrogen Peroxide and it sounds like that could be beneficial as well.

Answers to this question would guide me for the next questions.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

I am no pro but here are a few tips I have learned. Peroxide can be helpful if you have root rot but if you are using beneficial microbes of any type it kills them also. It pretty kills anything lving in your water so if you have good natural stuff going, its gonna be gone. I only use it if the rot is there and needs to be treated. Keeping the grow area cooler and the water cold if possible will avoid root rot all together. My air pump intake has a hose attached (also reduces noise) that runs to the front of my AC unit. Made a huge difference in the pump temp and air temp going into the buckets. Saw my bucket temps drop a few degrees for just a few bucks of clear hose.

Preflip, this means turning your lights over to the 12/12 but not changing the nutes to a bloom mix. Basically keeping the veg nutes where they are and just changing lights for a week. I was told this is beneficial for helping the plant make the change. After a week with 12/12 then you can do a full water change and switch over to your bloom nutes. I personally only mix at 50% the recommended nutes after following the instructions on the bottles a few times and ending up with burn. I am using quite a few amendments and boosters so mixing at 50% helps the nutes last longer also. So far the ladies seem to love it and if anything they are growing too much.

I believe that when going from veg nutes to bloom you should change your water. I have seen 5 gallon bucket grows where the person will take an empty bucket, place next to the grower and just place the plant in there. Dump the nutes out and scrub the inside of the grow bucket with a rag or brush and warm water. Mix the bloom nutes and just add the plant back. Cleaning the buckets helps get rid of any salt buildup around the top. It also helps keep things well clean.

I don't trim much but this may be my mistake. I am not confident enough to know what or how much to cut. I still have some posts out here asking for help with this.

Silica is magic. I added a silica mix to my veg nutes and within 5 weeks of veg saw base stalk the thickness of a quarter. In the past after 2 months of bloom my main stalk may reach that size. I think it has to be the silica. Its cheap and people swear by it, I am sold. Branches are massive and look like they are just ready to support some monster fruits. I really love silica at this point and will never grow without it.

Most important thing I will say in this post. Don't listen to folks like me without a lot of posts or reputation on the forums for the most part. there are some very senior folks here who are the real masters and will give you good info. I think my suggestions are good but I am no expert. I am sure you will run into some replies one time or another where the info is just repeated bad advice they read from someone else. Double check what you are told just to be safe but for the most the senior members will have good advice that is trustworthy.


Good luck!
 
tyvm for the tips. I've never found a better place to learn something new, than from forums.

I'm not in a hurry to be an expert...I feel that there is something to learn at each new step, so I totally appreciate your 'caveats' as well.

As far as water temperature...its cold where I'm at now, and appears that my temp is pretty low. I see NOTHING but clean roots sticking out the bottom of the grow pots. There is some light film on the sides of the buckets...but not bad imo. During the summer it gets much warmer so I may have to pay more attention at that point.

When you say switch over to the 12/12 a bit earlier, do you also mean switch over to the blossoming light versus the vegetative one? Or keep going 12/12 with vegetative?

Sounds like I would try silica if I was starting fresh with vegetative, so use that for the next grow?

So if I'm swapping out the water when I go full bloom, how should I setup the mixture for a 5 gallon bucket?

  • Guessing 4 gallons water...does it matter if its distilled?
  • Take a PPM measurement at this point?
  • Add CalMag to a specific ppm? 200?
  • Add Bloom nutes to ~25% of what the nute vendor specifies in ppm
  • Even out the pH if necessary with ph down (probably)


and away we go???

I worry about trimming as well. My partner says to cut everything bellow the netting that I have the plants sticking through right now, but that sounds like a lot. Still not even sure if I did the topping correctly.

Thanks again!
 
phatz06 said:
tyvm for the tips. I've never found a better place to learn something new, than from forums.

I'm not in a hurry to be an expert...I feel that there is something to learn at each new step, so I totally appreciate your 'caveats' as well.

As far as water temperature...its cold where I'm at now, and appears that my temp is pretty low. I see NOTHING but clean roots sticking out the bottom of the grow pots. There is some light film on the sides of the buckets...but not bad imo. During the summer it gets much warmer so I may have to pay more attention at that point.

When you say switch over to the 12/12 a bit earlier, do you also mean switch over to the blossoming light versus the vegetative one? Or keep going 12/12 with vegetative?

Sounds like I would try silica if I was starting fresh with vegetative, so use that for the next grow?

So if I'm swapping out the water when I go full bloom, how should I setup the mixture for a 5 gallon bucket?

  • Guessing 4 gallons water...does it matter if its distilled?
  • Take a PPM measurement at this point?
  • Add CalMag to a specific ppm? 200?
  • Add Bloom nutes to ~25% of what the nute vendor specifies in ppm
  • Even out the pH if necessary with ph down (probably)


and away we go???

I worry about trimming as well. My partner says to cut everything bellow the netting that I have the plants sticking through right now, but that sounds like a lot. Still not even sure if I did the topping correctly.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Indoormang hit you with good advice, especially about checking for yourself and not blindly taking advice. :)

I use 4 gallons in my buckets when I change water. I try to keep it topped off there at all times and not let the water level drop too much. If it does the nutrient value gets very concentrated and not so good things happen. I take a ppm measurement of the base water, add nutrients, check ppm again, subtract the base number from that and you have your nutrient ppm value. I only use calmag when my plants tell me they need it. Otherwise you can over do the nitrogen, notice most calmag is 2-0-0 or even 4-0--0 depending on the brand. If you don't use pH buffered nutrients this would be the point you adjust pH. Fill the reservoir with that mixture, stick your girl in it and resume growing.

If you get the time my journal, The Roost, linked below, has a pretty good wealth of dwc info in it. Check my blog posts for charts and visuals to help also.

Posting full photos of any problems will assist in getting correct answers also. Good luck, feel free to shout if you have questions.;)

Photo Gallery Guide - How to Resize, Upload & Post Photos
 
phatz06 said:
Does it matter what type of water I use ? Distilled? Tap?

Maybe the better question is what is the best water to use?
Click to expand...

The preferred water is RO. I don't have access to that and just use my tap water, which is normally around 160ppm and 8.0 pH after it has sat for a couple of days to evaporate chlorine.
 
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