# How often should I turn on my drop system??



## EsC420PoT (Aug 16, 2012)

So I just got my hydro system set up. Although because of the type of pump I got, it's more of a stream watering more so than a drop. My question is how do I know how often to flip thd pumps on?? So far I have it turning on twice 8 hours apart 5 min per time. How often should I have the pumps come on?


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## Growdude (Aug 16, 2012)

Sounds like your missing the drop emiters?

What type of medium will dictate the run times but ive run 24/7, or one hour on one off, with hydroton .


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## Hushpuppy (Aug 16, 2012)

I am in coco and I normally run mine without the emitters so that it is a slow steady stream pouring in, and I run it for 10min every 2 hours. My bro has the same setup and runs his 24/7 so if they are not having any trouble draining and you are aerating the rez good then you can run them any way you want. I think having them run 10-15min every 2-3 hours gives them plenty of water/nutes while saving a little electricity. You can also extend the off time during lights out as they shouldn't be taking in as much but you don't want the medium to dry out either.


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## EsC420PoT (Aug 16, 2012)

Right on will do. Now iv hit a question as to why 2 of the plants are dying?? The rest look good, but one is almost completly dead.. Has maybe 2 leaves that didn't dry up and crinkle. Then there another that looks hella Wilty almost as if it's thirsty but has no crinkly leAves. I wield think that they won't getting enough water but the rest look great! So I'm real confused?? I'll upload pics when I can, ATM, stuck on my phone... Can't upload em unless I'm on my comp


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## Hushpuppy (Aug 17, 2012)

Hmmm, yeah that sounds like they weren't getting wattered enough if they were only getting watered twice a day for 5 minutes. That is too much time for the roots to dry out between waterings. most mediums for hydro are set up do drain fairly quick and if the plant is small enough that the roots aren't reall deep then that would allow for them to dry out between waterings and it wouldn't take long for them to suffer serious root damage. That would be my guess at this point.


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## Growdude (Aug 17, 2012)

Thirsty plants perk up real quick once they get water, so its pretty easy to tell.


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## EsC420PoT (Aug 17, 2012)

Growdude said:
			
		

> Thirsty plants perk up real quick once they get water, so its pretty easy to tell.



Thats the thing tho, I watered them and they didnt even change.. And the reason i started out with doing it once every 6-8 hours is because they are all in oasis cubes and then into pots of hydroton. But the cubes will stay wet for atleast 4-6 hours... Which is why i only water that often. Although I might try switching it to a more constant watering. Maybey once every 4 hours? Guess ill have to do some trail and errors before finding the right balance. But I still cant understand, (regardless wether im not watering enough or not) That the rest look fully healthy?!?! But just those specific 2 are looking to get worse and worse as they go on... What could be the cause of this??

Heres some pics to show yall what im talking about:
p.s. I know they look like they are thirsty, this pic was taken before it was there time to be watered again


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## ShOrTbUs (Aug 18, 2012)

there may be more then one cause so just to be prudent

whats your...

ph
rh
air temp
ppm
what nutes are you giving them, and how much

...how large are your oasis cubes? judging by the size of your plants the majority of your roots have prolly outgrown the cube. therefore your plants are only getting that 5 mins of water when the pump comes on. water runs through hydroton very easily.

try a full day or even 2 days of nonstop watering. if you see improvement, consider using multiple emiters per bucket. or blanketing the whole surface of the buckets with water to ensure even nutrients & water to all the roots.


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## Growdude (Aug 18, 2012)

EsC420PoT said:
			
		

> But I still cant understand, (regardless wether im not watering enough or not) That the rest look fully healthy?!?!


 
Im afraid none, look fully healthy, but not lost either.

See the problem is its not just water you are giving the plants but O2
Keed the rez well aerated and cool.

I also would start using the emiters so you can get better coverage as Shortbus suggested.


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## EsC420PoT (Aug 18, 2012)

i have the pumps running once every 4 hours 5 min at a time. The p.h. is 5.6-5.8, temps are no lower than 68 and no higher than 86. humidity is 40 % Not sure what RH is? I dont have a ppm meter yet, but according to the directions i'v given them half str. Also, i def have airstones in the resiviour for aeration. As for the nutes so far iv only given them Sub Culture -M (which is some kinda fungi stuff to promote fast and healthy root growth) And super natural brand Grow aqua. Also the cubes are tiny, the size of when you buy a clone. the roots are def out growing the cubes, but they are in 5 gal pots of hydroton now?? And the dripper is aimed right into the middle of the oasis cube. One thing i wanted to throw out there is these clones were chillin in a cloning trey under a small t5 floro set up for about 3-4 days while i was getting the actual grow room ready. And one day the two that are barley making it fell over, and that when the wilting started. I put them right side up and watered and they seemed to come back. but then when i stuck them into the buckets of hydroton they started to get shittier again.. not sure why these two just arnt makin it and the rest are??


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## ShOrTbUs (Aug 19, 2012)

do the buckets of hydroton fill up with water and hold it for a while when you run the pump? b/c if it drains away immediately, then i really think you need to be running water 24/7. 

also the roots don't all just grow straight down. therefore the water only  running right down the middle of your pots is only going to water the roots at the center. all of the roots that have grown laterally are going to dry up and rot.


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## Hushpuppy (Aug 19, 2012)

:yeahthat: I am thinking along the same line that Shortbus is talking about. As for the 2 that fell over, it could be a little root shock for them from falling over may have damaged the roots. They may all be suffering a little bit of root shock. Also, if you didn't rinse and condition the hydroton before using it, you could have some issues from that as well. Just have to wait and see, but I agree that using some kind of multiple emmitters(or an emmitter ring) to constantly pour down water through the hydroton to make sure everything stays wet would serve best.


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## EsC420PoT (Aug 21, 2012)

Hm will do. Yes i rinsed the hydroton as well as i could, but it seems some of the clay dirt still is in there.. Was hoping since i rinsed them all for a good bit, it wouldn't be a prob?? And yes im starting to get the idea that i might have to be running the pumps more often than once every 4 hours... Last time i did hydro they were in 4" RW cubes and therefore my once every 4 hours worked perfect. Forgot... I will be heading over there first thing tonight. Will keep yall updated Thanks for the great advice!


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## Hushpuppy (Aug 21, 2012)

It is not unusual for the PH to get off in the rez on recirculating watering systems. The smaller the rez is the more quickly it will get off. Also I don't know about the nutes you are using but if the concentration isn't high enough in the rez then it will cause the PH to swing wildly as the plants start taking in nutes and as the hydroton holds some nutes and water while releasing others. I have this issue with coco as it hold nutrients so well that you can test newly made water/nute solution as its going into the pots and again coming out and there will be a significant drop in the numbers in the water coming out. I have to adjust my PH on all my resevoirs every 2-3 days as the plants take it in. But you can look at my GJ pics of my hydro girls and see how well they are doing 

BTW; what is the rez water temp? very important to keep it around 65-75 all the time. If it gets above 80, the girls won't like it


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## ShOrTbUs (Aug 22, 2012)

yeah if the rockwool cube is 4x4, it will hold quite a bit of water for a good amount of time. even still, once the plants outgrow its propagation medium and begin to grow into the hydroton. the water will have to be run constantly to keep them fed and hydrated. as long as the oasis cube isn't exposed to light, your can run the water 24/7 without any mold problems.


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## Hushpuppy (Aug 22, 2012)

I never liked the RW cubes myself. I tried using the 6" cubes and had a hard time with the PH and had to keep the water running so that the moisture in the cube stayed oxygenated to prevent root-rot. Then I had to have something else to support them and something for the roots to grow out into so they wouldn't dry out. Maybe its just because I was already used to using coco but I found coco to be much more simple to work with with, easier to control, and easier to dispose of when done. I'm not dissing those who use RW, Kudos to you for making it work for you.


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## EsC420PoT (Sep 6, 2012)

Hushpuppy said:
			
		

> It is not unusual for the PH to get off in the rez on recirculating watering systems. The smaller the rez is the more quickly it will get off. Also I don't know about the nutes you are using but if the concentration isn't high enough in the rez then it will cause the PH to swing wildly as the plants start taking in nutes and as the hydroton holds some nutes and water while releasing others. I have this issue with coco as it hold nutrients so well that you can test newly made water/nute solution as its going into the pots and again coming out and there will be a significant drop in the numbers in the water coming out. I have to adjust my PH on all my resevoirs every 2-3 days as the plants take it in. But you can look at my GJ pics of my hydro girls and see how well they are doing
> 
> BTW; what is the rez water temp? very important to keep it around 65-75 all the time. If it gets above 80, the girls won't like it



Sorry for the late response, Been busy. Yes i too adjust the p.h. every 2-3 days, thats when iv noticed it changes enough to where I have to put it back to the right range. As for the temps of the water... I don't know... I haven't got a water temperature... Just was hoping that whatever the degrees of the room was, that the water wasnt too far off. At least enough to where it would cause concern. I think the highest the room has ever been is 80... Am I wrong here??


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## Hushpuppy (Sep 7, 2012)

Yeah depending on the size of the rez, it should roughly match the room temp or probably a few degrees less. I know with mine, I have a 10gal rez in 1 tent and a 14gal rez in the other tent. In the 10gal, I can fill it with fresh water that is about 72f and it will slowly rise up to 80f over about 1 weeks time. When it get up above 75, it seems like the plants slow down a bit. I set up a chiller system for the 14gal rez and keep it right at 70f all the time. I am going to connect up the 10gal to the same chiller system tomorrow so that I can keep the temps down in both tents as I can tell the plants definitely do better with cooler water. At one point this summer before I bought the chiller, I was going and putting ice in bottles in the rez to keep the temps down and it just didn't work very well. For hydro I love the chiller and can tell the difference with it.


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## CasualGrower (Sep 9, 2012)

I will be honest.... I have not read the whole thread so this is a quick and dirty response......


For a drip Hydro system system.....  My rule of thumb......  I would Irrigate 5-15 mins EVERY 3-4 hours depending on Pump Output and number of sites to be watered.....   (Quick and dirty).....   Every set up is a lil different though... BUT that might give ya an idea whee to start....


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## Time4Plan-B (Sep 11, 2012)

Its a constant changing of feed times watering from when they are small you just water enough for them to live and grow then when they are fully grown you need to adjust to allow relevant waterings to give them what they need.
T4


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## Old Resin (Oct 25, 2012)

If you water every 4 hrs for 15 min-and your ph is good-and some of your plants are doing OK-and some are not-and everything seems to be in order-more nutes. The ones that are fine will take it-and the ones that are doing poorly, probably need them. At the size in the pictures, you should prolly be between 300-450 ppm-possibly as high as 600 ppm depending on your nutes(I'm not familiar with the ones you are using). Also, some would say that your buckets are too big for those small plants. Rule of thumb is 1 gallon per month of life.


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