A pH of 7 is way too high for hydro. Aim for a drift from 5.7 to 6.2. I'll link a chart below that shows the pH range for both hydro and soil, as they are different from each other.
https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/500/pH_chart71.jpeg
A pH of 7 is way too high for hydro. Aim for a drift from 5.7 to 6.2. I'll link a chart below that shows the pH range for both hydro and soil, as they are different from each other.
https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/500/pH_chart71.jpeg
Dr GreenJeans
New Member
Something that will help is purchasing canna aqua veg a & b. Since canna has built in buffers to maintain your pH alongside you adjusting it with ph down.
Don't use anything apart from ph down after the next rez change. Also purchase canna online for a great price!
Don't use anything apart from ph down after the next rez change. Also purchase canna online for a great price!
- Thread starter
- #83
Well HECK! I have been PH Down adjusting to get to 5.2 every day and according to the table - THAT IS NOT OPTIMUM!
Scientific
New Member
As someone pointed out, there are lots of charts, and they don't all agree...
I'm pretty sure I already said this on this thread but I'm too lazy to scroll back so wtf.
5.2 is fine as long as the trend is to drift upwards. I did a side by side grow in soilless (a form of hydro). One clone at 5.2 and one at 6.2 and the 6.2 one turned sickly and stunted by the time I'd gone a month, while the 5.2 ph one was vibrantly healthy and twice the size.
Having said that- I generally ph to about 5.6 for soilless and let the upward shifting trend take care of the rest.
If the ph tended to fall (as it does in my DTW res) I would start high. Which is what I do- start at 6.0 and let it fall to the low 5's before balancing upwards again.
- Thread starter
- #86
Weaselcracker - again, "words of wisdom". much appreciated. BTW - what is a DTW vs DWC system? wtf
DTW = drain to waste. Which means my res is separate. I use an inert medium like perlite, coco, or rockwool and feedn/water often enough to keep the medium wet- usually 2-3 times a day.
- Thread starter
- #88
I bet that reduces the chances of "root rot" significantly, right? I'm also using Perlite, (cm size clay looking pellets), put my rock wool cube with 2.5ft plant in the middle of a plastic basket, then filled the perlite around it. The root systems on both my plants were about 2ft long - 50% of them sat in the reservoir water and 50% was above the water line. Fountain pump sprays the bottom part of basket 4x per day.
I'll do some research on DWT, mostly "Pro's / Con's". Why did you go with DWT instead of DWC?
Dwc for me would involve too much ph control, temp control, root rot control, etc and I suspect I'd fail completely at some point. Seems like a dwc system is so dependent on life support from the grower, and doesn't have a lot of wiggle room. I'm away a lot- usually 5 or 6 days a week and can't be there to baby things too much. Even the DTW thing is pushing it since my res ph doesn't like to stay steady.
- Thread starter
- #90
Ok - you and I are in the same boat! Except I have delayed travel lately because I did not want my plants to die. If the DWT is more forgiving, I'm seriously going to look at converting what I have. Is your drain from the "plant tank" gravity fed back into the reservoir or do you use another pump?
Dr GreenJeans
New Member
Just btw, 6.1 is optimum for nitrogen absorption and 6.5 for the phos and potassium. So a drift from 5.8 ph is fine
Seriously. Do a flush no matter how annoying it is, and just ph adjust without vinegar or lime juice. In my experience, they work, but then return to the original pH after 2 hrs or so. No good.
All the best! Never hesotate to ask for help!
Dr GreenJeans
New Member
Mate...please. 5.2 is most definitely not optimal. I know you aren't exactly saying that, But your input is not what op is exactly looking for...you're just throwing doubt around. Trust me when I say, 6.1 and 6.5 are the two absolute major scopes to dance between IF you want to stay in the optimal range. Which is why a pH of 5.8 is fantastic since it leaves you with a little buffer space before 6.1.
Scientific
New Member
Yeah, you're right. That comment definitely didn't help. My apologies. (My pH is at about 5.9 this morning, by the way.
)
I hate when a thread devolves to the point the original poster's question never gets answered, or gets so many conflicting that they leave more confused than ever.
I hope when that happens they seek out growers successful in their style and find what really works.
I hope when that happens they seek out growers successful in their style and find what really works.
I've never grown DWC so am basically pretty ignorant about it and wouldn't be the one to try to sell you one way or the other. And everyone's situations/needs vary.
Drain to waste is a one way trip from the res to the plants. It's not actually any different than soilless growing. Soilless is basically DTW. Saying it's DTW implies (to me anyway) that I'm using a res and doing frequent waterings/feedings.
May I pop in with a question? I have the option of using rain water. Would I need to be concerned about enough calcium and magnesium? Or would rain water contain those elements? That's the only reason I'm using our tap (well) water. The tap water is 100ppm and 6.3 Ph.
Most rain water collected in the open. Not from a roof or collection barrels from downspouts. Will be right around 6.8 - 7 pH, and 0.01 ppm. This is a clean slate for water. All nutrients have to be supplied either through amendments in soil or added to water during a feed cycle.
For those contemplating collecting rain water have a look at how easy it can be.
My experience is that rainwater is around 5.6. I think that's what's google will tell you as well. It picks up a little carbon (carbonic acid) from the atmosphere. But since it's nearly zero ppm- the ph is nearly irrelevant.
Yes you need to supplement those minerals.
Yes you need to supplement those minerals.