Microbes and pool shock

Hey all,
I’m growing DTW coco/perlite 70/30. I’ve been doing a microbe mix every other week, recharge, tribus, molasses and kelp. But I also run a reservoir for automatic watering. Would adding pool shock to keep it clean kill off the microbes? Am I basically flushing money away with the microbes in coco?

I should add that the microbe mix is a top feed with minimum runoff instead of a regular fertigation.

pizzax1 said:

Hey all,
I’m growing DTW coco/perlite 70/30. I’ve been doing a microbe mix every other week, recharge, tribus, molasses and kelp. But I also run a reservoir for automatic watering. Would adding pool shock to keep it clean kill off the microbes? Am I basically flushing money away with the microbes in coco?

I should add that the microbe mix is a top feed with minimum runoff instead of a regular fertigation.

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You do not want any sterilization in with micros so the answer is no because it will just kill off any micro life. If your using a res then maybe put a small pump in it to keep the solution circulating. If DTW you don’t want it be sterile from my understanding but I have heard of folks using H202 in DTW to add oxygen but no personal experience with it.

DTW does not lend itself well to organic growing, you'd be better off forgetting the microbes and running the poolshock

Well seeing how pool shock is used to sanitize water by killing microorganisms and doesn't know the difference between good and bad ones, I would say you're just going to kill any beneficials that you use.

I would just skip the recharge, tribus, molasses, kelp, and just run sterile. Save some money and hassle and end up with the same result. You don't need all that stuff with coco. Treat it like a sterile hydro grow and call it a day.

Yep skip the microorganisms and molasses and replace them with pool shock is also my response. I ran a shock sterilized flood and drain system for years and it worked great. A tiny amount of shock every 3-4 days and I never had a res issue again.