Top off or Completely Dump

i have a 25 gallon reseviour, i dump it ounce a week and make a new mix. During the week i just top it off about a gallon a day . My question is can i wait longer to dump it and just keep topping it off ....or because of salt build up u should dump it weekly ....heck is there really a paticular way or is it just really depends on how the plants react???

Took me a while to figure that one out.

There is not set amount but the trick is to start low and build up. When you find the nutrient ppms drop with the water level. Then you know your plant is using the nutrients correctly. Once you get there then add nutes with top off water and you can run your res for a couple weeks.

I change Res about every 10 days but have gone 2 weeks with no problem when I have been on business trips. If your concerned about salt buildup run your sysyem with 15-30ml per gallon of clearex while changing out the res. Clearex works really well. With my tap water at 80ppm I put on 2 gallons of water in a 3 gallon bucket in the bucket I also put in 50ml of clearex. After putting in the clearex it raises my PPM up to 90. I then Take out about 1 quart from the bucket. Then I change out the res(I grow DWC). When I put the plants in with the clearex I dump the quart of the mix ontop of the plant so it runs through the rockwool. Then let the system run for 60 minutes while I wash all the buckets and add fresh nutes. By that time the 60 minutes is up. Normally when I take the clearex mix out the PPM will be anywhere from 140-180. You suppose to do this every 2 weeks but you really dont need to. I normally do it about every 3 res changes or if I notice a problem

cruzer101 said:

Took me a while to figure that one out.

There is not set amount but the trick is to start low and build up. When you find the nutrient ppms drop with the water level. Then you know your plant is using the nutrients correctly. Once you get there then add nutes with top off water and you can run your res for a couple weeks.

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I really would'nt suggest doing that. We have no way of knowing which nutes the plant has used. Say the plants are takeing in more n than p and k. When you top off with fresh nutes you could be way over doing the p and k, setting up a good senerio to burn the plants.

i think he means top it off with water by all means do so dump every 10 days to 2 weeks like buddy said will be fine

DuBB P said:

i think he means top it off with water by all means do so dump every 10 days to 2 weeks like buddy said will be fine

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No, thats not what was said. Pay attention to the post.

where does he say hes gonna top it off with nutes he just says should i top it off you pay attention ive never heard anybody top off a rez with nutes he said a gallon im sure hes not talkn a gallon of nutes

DuBB P said:

where does he say hes gonna top it off with nutes he just says should i top it off you pay attention ive never heard anybody top off a rez with nutes he said a gallon im sure hes not talkn a gallon of nutes

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Look back a few posts. the poster was
cruzer. Pay attention

yeah ok but i was talkn about redcell i think he means topping it off with just water then its totally fine for 10 days

redcell7 said:

i have a 25 gallon reseviour, i dump it ounce a week and make a new mix. During the week i just top it off about a gallon a day . My question is can i wait longer to dump it and just keep topping it off ....or because of salt build up u should dump it weekly ....heck is there really a paticular way or is it just really depends on how the plants react???

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i change my res every 1-2 weeks depending on what stage of growth im in..but 2 weeks tops...keep an eye on your ppm levels and add nutes and water as needed to keep at the levels you want to be at...i flush for one day with straight phd water before mixing my nutes for the next 1-2 week cycle...topping off with straight water is fine when topping off nutes i go with half strength..i.e. if it calls for 2tsp per gallon i top off with 1 tsp per gallon...hope this helps....

I agree with Nick. half strength is what it takes if your doing it right.

I guess pinhead never has got his plants to use the nutrients correctly.

In that cas, by all means, top of with water only and change res once a week.

cruzer101 said:

I agree with Nick. half strength is what it takes if your doing it right.

I guess pinhead never has got his plants to use the nutrients correctly.

In that cas, by all means, top of with water only and change res once a week.

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OK PT cruzer, give us some details on how you know which eliments of the nutes the plant has allready used, and which eliments are still in the res. Come on details, not some bullshit guess.

pinspot said:

OK PT cruzer, give us some details on how you know which eliments of the nutes the plant has allready used, and which eliments are still in the res. Come on details, not some bullshit guess.

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one could never know which nutes have been used or not..thats why i have a constant meter meter on my res. like cruzer said if the ppms drop in concordance with the water level the plant is using the nutrients very well...if the water drops and the ppm rises the plants arent using nutes efficiently this is when i would only top with water and keep an eye out for deficiencies...if this continues its time to flush and change res. but as long as your ph. stays nice and consistant this is rarely a problem....but never..never....unless you want a mess of deficiency problems to work out..let that res go longer than 2 weeks without a fresh mix.....

I'm a dwc grower with about a 40 gallon red when topped off completly growing 6 plants right now the max capacity for the setup is nine plants. I've been growing dwc for three years and have never checked ppm I use filtered water that comes out at a ph of six from the filter I than add general hydroponic nutes and Ive gone as long as three weeks between res changes with out harm. My ph stays pretty stable throughout the time at about 6. Since I've been filtering I haven't added any ph adjustestment. I try to change ever two weeks or so but three weeks is not uncommon when I'm traveling.

OK guys, this is how I see it. If someone can please explain in detail where I'm missing it, I would definitely appreciate it.

If your topping off with extra nutes, your setting the plants up for possible problems.
Even though your adding the nutes at a specific EC/ppm, you have no idea which, or how much of each element the plant had already used since plants take in different elements from your solution at different times.
So for an example the plants used lots of N, but much less P and K, and your EC/PPM has dropped significantly. Now if you top off with more nutes to get your EC/PPM back up to that magic number. Is it not likely that your building up the P and K to toxic levels. Your meter is not going to decipher which of the elements is high or low. It's going to give you a total EC count.
Salts from the waste also build up in the solution as nutes are used in addition to bacteria and various pathogens. I would think that It's more work dealing with issues that arise as a result of short cuts than it is to just follow a recommended process of changing out the reservoir every one to to weeks.

pinspot said:

OK guys, this is how I see it. If someone can please explain in detail where I'm missing it, I would definitely appreciate it.

If your topping off with extra nutes, your setting the plants up for possible problems.
Even though your adding the nutes at a specific EC/ppm, you have no idea which, or how much of each element the plant had already used since plants take in different elements from your solution at different times.
So for an example the plants used lots of N, but much less P and K, and your EC/PPM has dropped significantly. Now if you top off with more nutes to get your EC/PPM back up to that magic number. Is it not likely that your building up the P and K to toxic levels. Your meter is not going to decipher which of the elements is high or low. It's going to give you a total EC count.
Salts from the waste also build up in the solution as nutes are used in addition to bacteria and various pathogens. I would think that It's more work dealing with issues that arise as a result of short cuts than it is to just follow a recommended process of changing out the reservoir every one to to weeks.

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wtf are you talking about here....yes salts build up that is why we change the res every 1-2 weeks...no one has anything about not switching the res..in fact its has been stated several times through this thread to change and flush routinley...but in the time between the 1-2 weeks you are going to want to top off your res with either water or a half strength nutrient solution....what is so hard to understand here...have you grown in hydroponics or just talking about what you have read or or seen?

Sorry your unable to take on such a complex question. Thats what it was, a question.

"wtf are you talking about here....yes salts build up that is why we change the res every 1-2 weeks...no one has anything about not switching the res..in fact its has been stated several times through this thread to change and flush routinley."

Which one is it nick. No one has said anything about switching the res. or, it's been stated several times through this thread to change. Make up you mind buddy. Maybe I'll help you out. Read the original post.


"but in the time between the 1-2 weeks you are going to want to top off your res with either water or a half strength nutrient solution....what is so hard to understand here."

Now if you took the time to read my post, you might have come back with a half way intelligent answer, ranther than ...What is so hard to understand here.

"have you grown in hydroponics or just talking about what you have read or or seen"

It's the only kind of growing I do. I Always change out my nutes every 7 to 10 days. I do not top off with any nutes, only ph water. I have never had any deficiencies or problems with over fertilizing.

So, If you don't know the answer to my question, I would expect no responce from you. Theres enough want to be weed gurus around.

pinspot said:

Sorry your unable to take on such a complex question. Thats what it was, a question.

"wtf are you talking about here....yes salts build up that is why we change the res every 1-2 weeks...no one has anything about not switching the res..in fact its has been stated several times through this thread to change and flush routinley."

Which one is it nick. No one has said anything about switching the res. or, it's been stated several times through this thread to change. Make up you mind buddy. Maybe I'll help you out. Read the original post.


"but in the time between the 1-2 weeks you are going to want to top off your res with either water or a half strength nutrient solution....what is so hard to understand here."

Now if you took the time to read my post, you might have come back with a half way intelligent answer, ranther than ...What is so hard to understand here.

"have you grown in hydroponics or just talking about what you have read or or seen"

It's the only kind of growing I do. I Always change out my nutes every 7 to 10 days. I do not top off with any nutes, only ph water. I have never had any deficiencies or problems with over fertilizing.

So, If you don't know the answer to my question, I would expect no responce from you. Theres enough want to be weed gurus around.

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wow...im absolutley speechless...you have got to be the biggest dipshit on here today....goodluck in life corky your gonna need it because you dont seem to bright.....and by the way your the obvious weed barron around here...

its obvious i dont know what im talking about right?

nickfury510 said:

wow...im absolutley speechless...you have got to be the biggest dipshit on here today....goodluck in life corky your gonna need it because you dont seem to bright.....and by the way your the obvious weed barron around here...

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Yea, thats pretty much what I expected... Could not answer the tuff ones.
Speechless...Dont we wish.