# top off res?



## loolagigi (Sep 20, 2009)

ok i know this must be in here somewhere, but i did a advanced search and got nothing.  how does it work?  i use a 5 gall bucket for each plant with each 5 gal bucket being its own res.  i feel like weekly when i dump out the res i throw away money.  can i reuse it?  and how?  thanks everyone, you guys and galls rock!


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## dirtyolsouth (Sep 20, 2009)

Hey Loola...

'Way back when'... lol...   When I used to grow with hydro I used to add plain water to the nutes as the reservoir level would drop over the course of 2 weeks.  As the nutes are used some water is evaporated from the res and the the nutes can get stronger so I found that adding plain water until my next res change every two weeks worked best for me.  Some growers add more nutes but I had better luck topping off with water and starting fresh every two weeks.  

Yup...  It does feel wasteful.  The quantities of nutes that you go through per plant in hydro vs soil is no contest lol...   In my last hydro setup I had a couple 3 x 4 ebb and flow tables and some bucket dwc's going and we even used the FULL Advanced Nutes 2+ lineup...  thank god my partner worked at the local grow shop that carried AN and we got it at cost but it was still amazing how much stuff we used...   It always seemed like we needed more Sensizym...  lol...   

Happy Hydro!


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## loolagigi (Sep 20, 2009)

thanks dirty, you always come through.


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## TURKEYNECK (Sep 21, 2009)

I think Dirty said it.. but In order to keep the solution at it's 'optimal' level nutrient wise I would bite the bullet and change out the buckets every 7-10 days..you'll waste some nutrients for sure, but happy plants grow big buds


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## cubby (Sep 21, 2009)

I run a hydro set-up over the winter months and have also felt the twinge of waste when it comes to changing my res. My solution is a simple yet often over looked one. I take what comes out of the res and feed it to my house plants. I've never experienced any negative effects, all the house plants seem to appreciate it.


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## Pepper (Sep 21, 2009)

When I first started hydro I would change the water + nutes every 2 wk and in the mean time if the rez needed water I would just add plain water to the rez, that is untill a good old friend of mine came over on vacation from Europe and told me YOU ARE A MORON    Why I am I a moron I asked him  He told me that I should stop reading the manufactores text book, and stop listening to the guy at the grow shop. So I hasked him why   He told me NO need to empty the rez every 1 or 2 weeks just dump full strenght nutes in the rez every 1 or 2 wks depending on strain, and in the mean time if the rez needs water add new water + full strenth nutes, so if I added 1 galon of water to the rez I would mesure the solution for 1 galon of water mix and add to the rez, never plain water, unless at the end of flower if I wanted to flush.

To make a long story short   I did what he sugested and I was amazed at how much faster my garden grew, and how much bigger my buds got   plus I dont need to lug water around anymore only the initial fill of the rez and at the end when plants are done :hubba:


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## pcduck (Sep 21, 2009)

I do what cubby does and feed my other house plants.

I have read where some growers just add micro one week and grow and bloom the next and back and forth but have never tried it. I would rather change out the reservoirs then risk disease or nute deficiency's.


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## Pepper (Sep 21, 2009)

pcduck said:
			
		

> I do what cubby does and feed my other house plants.
> 
> I have read where some growers just add micro one week and grow and bloom the next and back and forth but have never tried it. I would rather change out the reservoirs then risk disease or nute deficiency's.


 


YEP that is exacly what I do now, thanks to my friend that called me a moron   I only use FF hydro nutes, if I am in veg I will use grow big 1 wk and the following wk I will use big bloom, when I flower I just swich the grow big, for the tiger bloom. I also increased my the dose on the solubles from 1/4 tsp per galon to 1/2 tsp per galon every wk, the plants are loving the new feeding system :hubba:  but FF hydro nutes are not cheap  
At the end of the day all of this hydro stuff is still a hell of a lot cheaper than buying the smoke from someone else.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Sep 23, 2009)

pcduck said:
			
		

> I do what cubby does and feed my other house plants.
> 
> I have read where some growers just add micro one week and grow and bloom the next and back and forth but have never tried it. I would rather change out the reservoirs then risk disease or nute deficiency's.



:yeahthat:

Plants do not uptake all nutrients evenly.  So, the solution in the bottom of the res could be very high in some nutrients and very low in some others.  Nutrient solution isn't so expensive that it is prohibitive to do this, especially considering the end result .  

My girls also get clean buckets when I do a nute changeout, which can help stave off problems.


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## RiskyPack (Oct 19, 2009)

Hmm based on all this I think I'll only do a change every fourth night. I just started my first hydroponic grow in an Aquafarm system. The problem is however that it is different levels of nutes every week. So my question is if you should top up on the nutes every week, or you should add full strengh. E.g. I added 2.5 ml of each for the first week.. Next week requires 4 ml of each. So should I add 4 ml-2.5 ml=1.5 ml or 4 ml?


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## IRISH (Oct 19, 2009)

i think this chart is showing a rez change weekly Riskypack.2.5-2.5-2.5 let that roll in week one. week two, dump out old nutes, refresh with new water , and 4-4-4...

this is what i'm looking at on the chart...


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## DonJones (Oct 19, 2009)

You are all overlooking the basic advice that I see constantly here on the forum --* Get a good PPM/EC meter and adjust your nutrients to keep them in the recommended range.*

I would NOT use any brand that does NOT give you recommended PPM/EC/TDC  ranges in hydro.  In soil, that isn't nearly as important because it is nearly impossible to monitor the actual nute strength getting ot the roots because of differing soil retention characteristics.

Not being able to afford a good meter yet is the one thing that has me still growing in soil, but I'm transitioning this crop from real soil to "potting soil" (Black Gold) that is actually NOT a soil at all but a specialized compost.  True soil has mineral rock like components in varying size grits from dust size up to small gravel.  It never breaks down or wears out like the so called potting soils with their high peat moss content.  It will how ever eventually loose its organic components and compact badly and given enough time the soluble nutrients in it will be depleted unless they are supplemented.  Some of the most fertile soil in the world is what is called volcanic blow sand with nearly NO organic components.


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## RiskyPack (Oct 22, 2009)

DonJones said:
			
		

> You are all overlooking the basic advice that I see constantly here on the forum --* Get a good PPM/EC meter and adjust your nutrients to keep them in the recommended range.*
> 
> I would NOT use any brand that does NOT give you recommended PPM/EC/TDC  ranges in hydro.  In soil, that isn't nearly as important because it is nearly impossible to monitor the actual nute strength getting ot the roots because of differing soil retention characteristics.
> 
> Not being able to afford a good meter yet is the one thing that has me still growing in soil, but I'm transitioning this crop from real soil to "potting soil" (Black Gold) that is actually NOT a soil at all but a specialized compost.  True soil has mineral rock like components in varying size grits from dust size up to small gravel.  It never breaks down or wears out like the so called potting soils with their high peat moss content.  It will how ever eventually loose its organic components and compact badly and given enough time the soluble nutrients in it will be depleted unless they are supplemented.  Some of the most fertile soil in the world is what is called volcanic blow sand with nearly NO organic components.



Well I know about the EC meter, but as you said they are expensive.. I think however it is of more use when you are approaching the upper limits for fertilizer. I've also heard that the nutrients a plant can absorb change from strain to strain. Now the real problem for me is that I don't want to change the res every week, because it is a real pain, and if I can just top up the nutes every second week it will be great for me. But since no one in here has giving me a clear answer, I'll just try it my way.


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## IRISH (Oct 22, 2009)

RP. your reading too far into it bro. dump the 2.5. then add with fresh water, and 4.0... simple enough eh? 

if you see something that is showing signs of an intolerance to your plant, this is when you back down the nute strength.

you can turn that week into 10 days you know?...


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## The Hemp Goddess (Oct 22, 2009)

RiskyPack said:
			
		

> ...Now the real problem for me is that I don't want to change the res every week, because it is a real pain, and if I can just top up the nutes every second week it will be great for me. But since no one in here has giving me a clear answer, I'll just try it my way.



This is very risky, especially without a ppm meter.  You will have no idea of the concentration of the nute solution you are adding to.  _*It could be far higher than the ppms you started with.*_


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## cmd420 (Oct 22, 2009)

I think you could make it _reaaly_ simple and easy for yourself friend...

just save up or do what you have to do and *get a ppm meter*..

that's pretty much what you will end up doing eventually anyway, 

so just get a ppm meter and then you can mix your solution at full strenth and water it down to watever concentration (ppms) you want...

no more guesswork..period


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## dr pyro (Oct 22, 2009)

i do what pepper   said just add nute solution back to res every week. i never dump.just change my ratios every week. plants look great. im gonna do same grow in spring but dump every 2 weeks to see if there is a diffrence


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## RiskyPack (Oct 23, 2009)

Thanks dr pyro.. I'm still not sure what I will do, but so far the plant is looking good. I cannot afford a PPM meter, so I guess I'll have to keep on my trial and error.


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## RiskyPack (Dec 12, 2009)

I'm sorry to have ignored your advice all of you.. But I couldn't afford a meter, and seems to me that I didn't need it.. Maybe I was just lucky this time, but hydro can be done without a ppm meter.. Just don't overfeed those babies. Oh and one more thing... The PPM thing might work best, but you would have to measure every day.. My plants is currently using at least one liter of water every day, meaning the PPM will change from day to day unless you top up the res every single day.


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## zem (Dec 12, 2009)

i have a control res that tops off the tray and a drain hose back to control res that keeps the tray water level where it is, a small submersible pump and timer does that for me. the control res can hold 2times the tray volume so i start with one control res i fill my tray i still have 1/2 of my control res full and i can top for long time fill my res without need to change the res. i go for 1 month without completely dumping my solution i think i can stay longer without dumping but i just do it anyway. 
Risky you can try without a ppm it might work but it will be too much fuss you might end up having to dump more ferts cuz you cant tell the concentration and if your plants look bad youre not gona let em die just for some ml's of ferts, your gona dump the res and might mess up again it'll be trouble you'll wana know the ppm ratio i bet you're gona get the ppm meter eventually you will see


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## meds4me (Dec 13, 2009)

The Hemp Goddess said:
			
		

> This is very risky, especially without a ppm meter.  You will have no idea of the concentration of the nute solution you are adding to.  _*It could be far higher than the ppms you started with.*_




Okay I KNOW I'm going to get *ALOT* of grief for this but.....I dont have a meter / ec / test strips nothing ! I just listen to the plants and mine are *GREEN as anyone else's. *


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## meds4me (Dec 13, 2009)

But then again I READ THE DIRECTIONS and KEEP RECORDS....


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## TURKEYNECK (Dec 13, 2009)

The Hemp Goddess said:
			
		

> This is very risky, especially without a ppm meter. You will have no idea of the concentration of the nute solution you are adding to. _*It could be far higher than the ppms you started with.*_


agreed. if you dont know your ppm you'd better start fresh IMO.


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## cmd420 (Dec 13, 2009)

meds4me said:
			
		

> Okay I KNOW I'm going to get *ALOT* of grief for this but.....I dont have a meter / ec / test strips nothing ! I just listen to the plants and mine are *GREEN as anyone else's. *


 
Rule #1..if it aint broke......


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