# How often should I water in clay pebbles & what interval



## iloveit (Mar 2, 2009)

Heres the thing, I have 4 clones in my Atami wilma system, the temp is always at 27C with low humidity at 25% rh (humidifier coming soon). The clones are growing in Root riot which are buried in clay pebbles. *
What would be the correct watering schedule, should it be altered as the plants grow?* *
How often should I water them?* *& for how long?
*It would be helpfull if somebody was to state a good rule for thumb.


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## HappyHomeGrower (Mar 2, 2009)

iloveit said:


> Heres the thing, I have 4 clones in my Atami wilma system, the temp is always at 27C with low humidity at 25% rh (humidifier coming soon). The clones are growing in Root riot which are buried in clay pebbles.
> *What would be the correct watering schedule, should it be altered as the plants grow?*
> *How often should I water them?* *& for how long?*
> It would be helpfull if somebody was to state a good rule for thumb.


For sure need to get the humidity up, at least to 50%. If all you are using is the root riot in clay pellets you may have to set it to water for 4 to 5 times per day at 15 minute duration. Expanded clay pellets don't hold water for very long. I use 3" rockwool cubes in clay pellets and only have to water 3 times per day at 15 minute duration. Thats because rockwool retains water really well. I'm not sure how long root riot holds water, but they are pretty small so they can't hold much in volume. Also, once the roots take up all the space in the root riot, the only thing you will have to retain water will be the pellets. As stated above they don't retain water for very long. I'd start with 4 times per day and keep an eye on them. If they dry out, go to 5 or even maybe 6 times per day. I don't think there is a "rule of thumb", your just going to have to experament with it. On a side note, how strong is your nute solution? I notice that the leaf tips are curling under.

Edit: Also keep the drippers close to the main stalk, that way the nute solution runs down the roots instead of just running right through the pellets.


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## iloveit (Mar 3, 2009)

HappyHomeGrower said:


> For sure need to get the humidity up, at least to 50%. If all you are using is the root riot in clay pellets you may have to set it to water for 4 to 5 times per day at 15 minute duration. Expanded clay pellets don't hold water for very long. I use 3" rockwool cubes in clay pellets and only have to water 3 times per day at 15 minute duration. Thats because rockwool retains water really well. I'm not sure how long root riot holds water, but they are pretty small so they can't hold much in volume. Also, once the roots take up all the space in the root riot, the only thing you will have to retain water will be the pellets. As stated above they don't retain water for very long. I'd start with 4 times per day and keep an eye on them. If they dry out, go to 5 or even maybe 6 times per day. I don't think there is a "rule of thumb", your just going to have to experament with it. On a side note, how strong is your nute solution? I notice that the leaf tips are curling under.
> 
> Edit: Also keep the drippers close to the main stalk, that way the nute solution runs down the roots instead of just running right through the pellets.


Thank you so much you given me a little confidence because thats exactly what I changed my schedule to last night (15 mins intervals):

on : off
6:30-6:45
9:30-9:45
12:30-12:45
15:30-15:45
18:30-18:45
21:30-21:45
23:15-23:30

I guess it would have been better to place the RR cubes in the 4" RW cubes. Yes the roots have way outgrown the RR cubes but it can be difficult to tell if the roots have absorbed the water because the cubes are buried quite deep as some clones are taller than others & placed them within the pebble making sure they are all one level. Il check every few days.

About the nutrients this is what is in the 30L reservoir:

Ionic grow- half strength (1000 PPM/1.5 EC).

PH @ 6.8.

Hydrogen peroxide @ 17.5% (to add a little oxygen).

An air stone for more oxygen.

Recently added superthrive & rePHed to 5.5 because the tap water of my PH always seems to be rising.


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## 9inch bigbud (Mar 3, 2009)

I see your problem now, you are using a drip system with clay, you can if you want let it drip all day it will be impossable to over water in clay there is so much air. leave the dripper go all day and turn off when lights go out, you will not have any problems. look up water farms they run on a continuous drip cycle in clay.


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## iloveit (Mar 3, 2009)

9inch bigbud said:


> I see your problem now, you are using a drip system with clay, you can if you want let it drip all day it will be impossable to over water in clay there is so much air. leave the dripper go all day and turn off when lights go out, you will not have any problems. look up water farms they run on a continuous drip cycle in clay.


Ooooo I like the sound of that, Ill finish off the entire watering schedule today & then have it on all day tomorrow just to compare the difference.

Theres something which just occured to me regarding PH which is: If at anytime you spot a plant defficiency does that mean you are supposed to adjust the PH rate to a level where the plant can better take in the specific nuterient it lacks in?

Despite the environment & plant issues Im having alot of fun in this project!


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## 9inch bigbud (Mar 3, 2009)

iloveit said:


> Ooooo I like the sound of that, Ill finish off the entire watering schedule today & then have it on all day tomorrow just to compare the difference.
> 
> Theres something which just occured to me regarding PH which is: If at anytime you spot a plant defficiency does that mean you are supposed to adjust the PH rate to a level where the plant can better take in the specific nuterient it lacks in?
> 
> Despite the environment & plant issues Im having alot of fun in this project!


what i would do if i was you is get some "T" pices and get some of that black feeder pipe and make a loop round the plant so more of the rock gets wet/ even. then put some rockes over the top to stop algae growing and less water to evaporate.

you can let the nutes ph drifft from 5.8 up to 6.8 and then bring it back down to 5.8 and let it go again and so forth, but try to keep it at around 6.0 -6.2 the plants will get all they need around that mark.

yes grate fun when you 1st start on hydro once you have a crop or 2 under you, you will become more confident and it will be a piece of piss. I have just dug out my NFT trays and started to clean them out for the next batch of clones. Iv been in soil for the past 5 years or so and its getting a bit boaring and hard work dumping about 1/2 tone of soil from the loft after every grow, with NFT all you do is roll the root mat up and put it in a shoping bag and throw it out  easy.


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## iloveit (Mar 3, 2009)

9inch bigbud said:


> what i would do if i was you is get some "T" pices and get some of that black feeder pipe and make a loop round the plant so more of the rock gets wet/ even. then put some rockes over the top to stop algae growing and less water to evaporate.
> 
> you can let the nutes ph drifft from 5.8 up to 6.8 and then bring it back down to 5.8 and let it go again and so forth, but try to keep it at around 6.0 -6.2 the plants will get all they need around that mark.
> 
> yes grate fun when you 1st start on hydro once you have a crop or 2 under you, you will become more confident and it will be a piece of piss. I have just dug out my NFT trays and started to clean them out for the next batch of clones. Iv been in soil for the past 5 years or so and its getting a bit boaring and hard work dumping about 1/2 tone of soil from the loft after every grow, with NFT all you do is roll the root mat up and put it in a shoping bag and throw it out  easy.


Ive been meaning to ask "Heath Rob" something but youve bought it up so Ill ask you first: When it comes to trimmings & medium waste what is the best undetectable/untraceable way to dispose of your rubbish? I dont want to bin it in my household its too risky.


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## 9inch bigbud (Mar 3, 2009)

iloveit said:


> Ive been meaning to ask "Heath Rob" something but youve bought it up so Ill ask you first: When it comes to trimmings & medium waste what is the best undetectable/untraceable way to dispose of your rubbish? I dont want to bin it in my household its too risky.


thats why im going back to NFT less waste to get shot of.you will only need to get rid of very little stalks and leaf. what i would do is shread it up put it in a bag and dump it in a headge row or smothing it will bio degrade so no problems there. my m8 asked me the same Q when i was up his house helping him trim up he said WTF shall i do with this I took it out the back garden and put it all under a steel sheet and told him not to worry it will brake down in a few weeks, you could also turn it in to compost get a big compo bin and pop it in with all your house hold food waste (makes exellent compo), its much safer than walking/driving around with trim on you looking for somewhre to despose of it = less chance of the police stop search if they smell it and lets be honust you can smell good shit from 100 feet away.

what ever method you chose break it up the best you can and let it rot down befor you dump it or compost it or put it under a pank or board in your garden, if you have to dump it off your property then put it in a plastic shopping bag add some water and close it up within a few days it will rot down and will just look like a bag of shit> green waste unrecognizable.

moving earth is not so easy under the cover of darkness is your best bet or at 6am in the morning or do it bit by bit fill 1/2 shoping bag full and go for a walk and when no 1s looking sling it over the heage repeat untill its all gone.

p.s 
dont throw away your clay keep it and wash it clean with bleach  that will last a life time.


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## iloveit (Mar 3, 2009)

9inch bigbud said:


> thats why im going back to NFT less waste to get shot of.you will only need to get rid of very little stalks and leaf. what i would do is shread it up put it in a bag and dump it in a headge row or smothing it will bio degrade so no problems there. my m8 asked me the same Q when i was up his house helping him trim up he said WTF shall i do with this I took it out the back garden and put it all under a steel sheet and told him not to worry it will brake down in a few weeks, you could also turn it in to compost get a big compo bin and pop it in with all your house hold food waste (makes exellent compo), its much safer than walking/driving around with trim on you looking for somewhre to despose of it = less chance of the police stop search if they smell it and lets be honust you can smell good shit from 100 feet away.
> 
> what ever method you chose break it up the best you can and let it rot down befor you dump it or compost it or put it under a pank or board in your garden, if you have to dump it off your property then put it in a plastic shopping bag add some water and close it up within a few days it will rot down and will just look like a bag of shit> green waste unrecognizable.
> 
> ...


Its a good thing I only use soil for my mother plant. I did read that you can reuse clay pebbles but can be a tedious chore to comb out the roots Id still like to give it a go though.

Nice convo mate Ive learnt alot from you these past 2 days. You definitely deserve a gold star just like primary school he he he. Rep given.


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## iloveit (Mar 3, 2009)

I forgot to remind you about the previous question in post No. 5, I think you missed it but here it is again:

"Theres something which just occurred to me regarding PH which is: If at anytime you spot a plant defficiency does that mean you are supposed to adjust the PH rate to a level where the plant can better take in the specific nuterient it lacks in?" Is that how we growers are supposed to rectify the deficiencies?


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## 9inch bigbud (Mar 3, 2009)

iloveit said:


> I forgot to remind you about the previous question in post No. 5, I think you missed it but here it is again:
> 
> "Theres something which just occurred to me regarding PH which is: If at anytime you spot a plant defficiency does that mean you are supposed to adjust the PH rate to a level where the plant can better take in the specific nuterient it lacks in?" Is that how we growers are supposed to rectify the deficiencies?


no if you keep in the right ph range you will not get any defficiency if you plants start to show any its time to change the nutes and make a fresh batch.


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## iloveit (Mar 3, 2009)

So in the next batch would it be a good idea to PH near to the range of nutrient(s) that the plant is deficient in so the plant can easily take it in? Does that make sense?  Or would your recent answer still stand?

LOL. Sorry for the lame questions & the hassle after this answer Ill let you be I promise dude.


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## 9inch bigbud (Mar 3, 2009)

iloveit said:


> So in the next batch would it be a good idea to PH near to the range of nutrient(s) that the plant is deficient in so the plant can easily take it in? Does that make sense?  Or would your recent answer still stand?
> 
> LOL. Sorry for the lame questions & the hassle after this answer Ill let you be I promise dude.


if you have your ph at 6.2 your plants will take every nute that it would need. there is no need to set it high or lower if you do you will lock out other nutes = more problems. dont try to reinvent the wheel it seldom works and mostly fails. your plants may look sick now if you f*ck about to much they will look a lot worse keep the ph around 6 and after a few days they will expload with new lush green gowth. keep your lights up high untill they recover trying to keep the light to low will not help and make things a lot worse.

_nuterants some people call it plant food nuterants are not plant food they only help a plant to grow the, real plant food is the light you give it, if you feel sick do you feel like eating? lift the light up and your plant will recover much faster than trying to force it with the light to close, once it does recover move the light back down. I have seen it 1000s of times ppl saying i have nute burn or nute deficiency, but the real problem more often than not is the inviroment mostly the light to close to soon burnt scorched pale yellow foilage, leaf curling under, brown spots ect... the 1st thing they think about is it has to be the nutes!
_


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## HappyHomeGrower (Mar 3, 2009)

Maybe this will help.


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## iloveit (Mar 3, 2009)

9inch bigbud said:


> if you have your ph at 6.2 your plants will take every nute that it would need. there is no need to set it high or lower if you do you will lock out other nutes = more problems. dont try to reinvent the wheel it seldom works and mostly fails. your plants may look sick now if you f*ck about to much they will look a lot worse keep the ph around 6 and after a few days they will expload with new lush green gowth. keep your lights up high untill they recover trying to keep the light to low will not help and make things a lot worse.
> 
> _nuterants some people call it plant food nuterants are not plant food they only help a plant to grow the, real plant food is the light you give it, if you feel sick do you feel like eating? lift the light up and your plant will recover much faster than trying to force it with the light to close, once it does recover move the light back down. I have seen it 1000s of times ppl saying i have nute burn or nute deficiency, but the real problem more often than not is the inviroment mostly the light to close to soon burnt scorched pale yellow foilage, leaf curling under, brown spots ect... the 1st thing they think about is it has to be the nutes!
> _


Ill keep this in mind from now on. Thanks a mill


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## iloveit (Mar 3, 2009)

HappyHomeGrower said:


> Maybe this will help.


Perfect thanks to you too.


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## dizwhatitis (Mar 3, 2009)

i use that kit.. if u g et one just keep the color of the test water looking like piss.


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## HappyHomeGrower (Mar 3, 2009)

dizwhatitis said:


> i use that kit.. if u g et one just keep the color of the test water looking like piss.


lol! That's about right. If it looks like Tang your fukd.


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## nira (Nov 20, 2009)

hi all, i know this is very old.

i have a wilma 4 pot, my seedlings have just sprouted out of the soil mix, how often should i water with the wilma kit? I dont have the dripper parts on, i have the small spray ones that it suggested to use..

but how often should i have it on and for how long?

thanks


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## BlackRoses (Nov 27, 2009)

nira said:


> hi all, i know this is very old.
> 
> i have a wilma 4 pot, my seedlings have just sprouted out of the soil mix, how often should i water with the wilma kit? I dont have the dripper parts on, i have the small spray ones that it suggested to use..
> 
> ...


I'm not completely sure about this one cause if you got the spray ones I think you might have an aeroponic system, and in that case you should keep them spraying continuously.
But I hope someone else can confirm this.


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## nira (Nov 27, 2009)

i have the hydroponics but the dripper tip is changed to the spray one but not the drip


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## scooby33 (Nov 27, 2009)

change to the blue dripper tips and water 2 times aday for 10 min it works for me


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