Aero/nft --> NFT

How often do you top up/ change the res? I maintain mine almost daily, never leave it for more then A couple days, is it just the maintenance factor that drives you to a larger res?

Sorry if it seems like I'm not believing you, I'm definitely considering upsizing,
My veg and clones setup seems to be working great, and they don't have a very large reserve of water, and the ec ppm seems to stay stabilized. So far the flower is working, nft and 24/7...would really like to get the flower setup running decent before I throw a bigger light in there.

I often go 5+ days between pH checks and the only time I ever top off is the last week or so in flower to knock ppm down.

That sounds much nicer then a daily check...
Do you top up nutes at all or one dose is good for the flower cycle? I'm talking base nutes, I'm going to start playing with big bud and what by once I got a system, and routine..

I change my res at week 2, and week 5 and never add nutes in between changes.

generally the more water you have the longer it will remain stable and the less work you have to do. go ahead and use your 5 gallon bucket though if you insist.

if you are just going to spray 24/0 why not save the hassle and just run dwc...

Hydroburn said:

generally the more water you have the longer it will remain stable and the less work you have to do. go ahead and use your 5 gallon bucket though if you insist.

if you are just going to spray 24/0 why not save the hassle and just run dwc...

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I'm not really spraying anymore, I have changed the system to more of a nft style, by bypassing the nozzles and pushing the water to the end of the pipe so it can run back to the res. The roots move in the stream and get oxygen from surfacing, and nutes "film" on the pipe... Running 24/7 I've definitely seen root growth and these girls and continuing to stretch,

Ill revise the setup and bit and try a couple changes, thanks for the help so far !

I see... thought u were running aero, my bad.

JustADudeMan said:

Here's what the Rez looks like, water is stayin below 68, 24/7 on the pump, plants are looking very happy, I have a large 30 gal tote ready to swap out I things get out of hand.

I'll keep you posted, tossing around a res change, what's your plant to gal ratio?

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Roughly, depending on how far the rez is filled, 1 plant on 2.5-3.0 gal. That includes the contents of my pipes.

I run dft (deep flow) rather than nft, basically have a dam at the end of each pipe to control the nutrient solution level inside the pipes. Technically NFT relies on a thin flow, a film, which remains aerated easily because it's a film. In an aeroflo clone (tubes/fence poles with sprayers) the sprayers contribute to the aeration but don't have a true aero function. Nft technically can't be done with cannabis unless you have very wide trays to spread out the roots (like a feet would work), hence the sprayers in the aeroflo. Else they will still be in a pool of nutrient solution when the pump is off, a warming up pool that quickly runs out if oxygen.

Circulation is essential in an NFT/DFT. Pump off means no flow means no nft/dft but a poor attempt to replicate aero and asking for root probs. My point was however not that the pump always 'needs' to be on, point was it's not necessary to put it on a timer (minor but essential difference). It's not going to add something in a nft, only takes away benefits.

I currently don't actually have probs that justify replacing the sprayers with a direct line, but it fits in keeping it simple and does allow me to push through more nutrient solution p/h (meaning a stronger return waterfall and stronger flow which is the power of a flow system).

Sativied said:

Roughly, depending on how far the rez is filled, 1 plant on 2.5-3.0 gal. That includes the contents of my pipes.

I run dft (deep flow) rather than nft, basically have a dam at the end of each pipe to control the nutrient solution level inside the pipes. Technically NFT relies on a thin flow, a film, which remains aerated easily because it's a film. In an aeroflo clone (tubes/fence poles with sprayers) the sprayers contribute to the aeration but don't have a true aero function. Nft technically can't be done with cannabis unless you have very wide trays to spread out the roots (like a feet would work), hence the sprayers in the aeroflo. Else they will still be in a pool of nutrient solution when the pump is off, a warming up pool that quickly runs out if oxygen.

Circulation is essential in an NFT/DFT. Pump off means no flow means no nft/dft but a poor attempt to replicate aero and asking for root probs. My point was however not that the pump always 'needs' to be on, point was it's not necessary to put it on a timer (minor but essential difference). It's not going to add something in a nft, only takes away benefits.

I currently don't actually have probs that justify replacing the sprayers with a direct line, but it fits in keeping it simple and does allow me to push through more nutrient solution p/h (meaning a stronger return waterfall and stronger flow which is the power of a flow system).

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Thanks for that input, I'm goin to look into dft, seems that's more or less what I've got myself,
My leaves are starting to get almost plasticy, dark green, I h2o2 'd and added some zymes, would nute over load cause this? I've bumped nutes up 200 ppm in the last 3 days, running 1200 right now,
White widow

You can never have too big of a rez but you can easily have to small of a rez. Think of your rez like your cock. If you had a choice, would you want a big cock or a little cock. If you can't figure it out go ask your girlfriend...

A large rez will stay cooler, have less PPM fluctuation, less PH change. When the plants use up the water you don't have to worry about the PPM rising as much. Drawbacks? It might cost a couple of bucks more to buy and another few bucks to add more nutes each change. Do a risk analysis... What are you risking vs. what are your rewards.

And...listen to Superstoner, he knows his shit!

JustADudeMan said:

Thanks for that input, I'm goin to look into dft, seems that's more or less what I've got myself,
My leaves are starting to get almost plasticy, dark green, I h2o2 'd and added some zymes, would nute over load cause this? I've bumped nutes up 200 ppm in the last 3 days, running 1200 right now,

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Yeah that's likely from too much nutrients, too much N in particular. I had the same thing when I used H&G Multizym which is basically a high N booster that actually allowed me to push the ppm to the level you are using now, which is quite high ( in a system like that). I went to 450-500ppm from 1000+ppm runs.

Sativied said:

Yeah that's likely from too much nutrients, too much N in particular. I had the same thing when I used H&G Multizym which is basically a high N booster that actually allowed me to push the ppm to the level you are using now, which is quite high ( in a system like that). I went to 450-500ppm from 1000+ppm runs.

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Thanks I'll try reducing my nutes one I bump up the roots

StinkBud said:

You can never have too big of a rez but you can easily have to small of a rez. Think of your rez like your cock. If you had a choice, would you want a big cock or a little cock. If you can't figure it out go ask your girlfriend...

A large rez will stay cooler, have less PPM fluctuation, less PH change. When the plants use up the water you don't have to worry about the PPM rising as much. Drawbacks? It might cost a couple of bucks more to buy and another few bucks to add more nutes each change. Do a risk analysis... What are you risking vs. what are your rewards.

And...listen to Superstoner, he knows his shit!

Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll be bumpin the res size up. My biggest limit factor is height, being Able to drain into the res mean it can't be to high, has anyone put the pipes lower to the ground and run a recirc rump to pump the water into a larger res and have it drain back into the pipe.
Would I be better to go with 4 plants and a little bigger res or 6 plants?
I'm curious if 6 plants at a lower yeIld makes sense or 4, with lots of juice?

Oh and the wife says in too big as it is...

So.. I found 104l or 170l blacktotes, I the 170l arnt to tall ill go that way, if not I'll try and make due with the 104l.

I'll keep you guys posted on the swap over,
Thanks again the help guys! Keep the suggestions coming

superstoner1 said:

5 gal is barely enough for one plant much less six. Anything under 25-30gal will work your ass off for more problems, try to go as big as possible on res size. Running a pump 24\7 wastes energy, doesn't allow for roots to breath, and creates lots of heat which leads to bad things.

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First off let me say that I'm a real newb so if wrong approach tell me nicely lol. I run a tote with net pots suspended and my pump runs 24/7 with no air but I have designed an outlet on my pump that sprays a high pressure column of water at the lid creating an amazing amount of bubbles re o2. I was thinking of switching to tubes as well and putting outflow at upper level of pipe to help alleviate root blockage still leaving pump on 24/7 as I do now. Any thoughts? Water temp has never been an issue and is always 68f or lower by the way. Sorry if I've hijacked, couldnt help but ask.

I'm running a similar veg unit, it sprays 30min, off or 1.5hr, with a air stone, seems to be working great,

As for the pipe system, I capped the end off creating more of a "deep flow tech",
I'll be upgrading my res I a much larger size and setting up a second unit, I'll let you know how it goes

My main res is 100 litres with 4 plants for each system and its still kinda small re fluctuations in ph and nutes but workable. My upper tray has adjustable train that i keep at 6" when plants are mature higher when seedlings. Good luck!

Meant to say adjustable drain lol

My upper tote is appr 26 x 34" and running 6 plants gets a bit crowded but i dont train much thats why I reduce it to 4 plants this time. Height of system is an issue due to plant height at end if grow, my room is 7' tall and its maxed out at the end. I can post a pic of system but as said I'm thinking of going to square tubes to be able to move them individually from veg to flower area, kind of a plug and play system.

Thinking of stickin with two pipes or now, getting much higher res, then go for there,
With the 4" pipe 75-60% full now they seem happier, and the roots are looking better,
My veg unitis doing great, almost tempted to just flower in a couple dwc totes, if I had more height id be all over it..
Maybe a couple 5 gal pails with a Main res a recirc system? So many options,.. I hope I get this figured out soon...

I'm another note is the size of my Flower directly related to light? My white widows seem smaller to other pics I've seen, can I hope to see similar results when I go to 1kW from 400w.?