What's the longest time you can keep your res without topping off?

[southernguy99]

1 lb a plant is not saying a lot.
If you have 3 of those per 1 square meter with 1 x 600 W HPS and your whole run takes no more then 12 weeks, you should be crowned as The King.
If you have 1 per 1 square meter and your whole run takes 3 months, I would feel sorry for you.
So what is the yield per square meter with how much light in how many weeks?
I am really interested, because it would give me some insight in your system.

Yeah Myke is right I won't clog up the thread with this,

Keesje point was anyone should be able to get that with a basic system, if your serious and want to talk message me

 

[Keesje]

You guys still talking about this?
I use my ppm meter everyday.
Go like this
Day 1 1200. All good
Day 2 1150. Eating and using water all good replace back to 1200
Day 3 same as 2
Day4 same as day 2
Day5 same
Day. 8 or so ppm doesn’t drop. Actually goes up a little. Hmmm. Top up plain water
Day 9 ppm up again hmmmm top up with plain water
Day 10. Ppm staying same. Even though I’m adding 12 litres a day of plain water. Time to flush. It’s just that easy.
So if your system is bigger or your not hitting them hard with nutes your mileage may vary. The point is the ppm meter is telling u something.
Changing nutes in a hydro system is easy. There’s a pump in it,use it. Don’t be so lazy.

Thanks for your contribution, but this is not what the question or discussion is about.
We all know that it is better to monitor and adjust every day.
But I was curious about the experiences of people who have a different approach, or did or did not experience huge changes when they kept their rez for longer.
Some very interesting contributions in this topic, and different kind of views which helps us all to become better growers perhaps.

Edit.

Yeah Myke is right I won't clog up the thread with this,
Keesje point was anyone should be able to get that with a basic system, if your serious and want to talk message me

I am serious and I do invite you to contribute. We all can learn from it.
On a side note, a lot of people claim that they are doing well, but there are no ways of comparing it, because they come up with numbers that don't clarify a lot.
Gramms or ounces per plant are meaningless statements if one does not know how many plants per square meter or feet, and how long they are growing and flowering.
It's like telling someone how much your salary is and not telling them if it is daily, weekly, monthly, 4-weekly and if so how many hours per week, and before or after taxes.

That is why I ask for square meters, and KiloWatt Hour.
It is not the perfect system to compare (strain and where you are based do also count a lot of course), but at least it is something.
I have seen so many growers who were happy with their yield.
But when they showed their numbers they really should think again.
Or you see pics of plants and the grower is happy, but they are all foxtails.

When I was growing on soil and coco I used approximately 512 kWh per square meter on a grow and I yielded 500 to 600 gramms of Cheese or Amnesia per square meter. In wintertime sometimes a bit more, but not a lot. In hot summers less.
I calculated the kWH like this...
14 (days) x 18 (hours) x 0.3 kW = 75 kWh for the clones and some grow.
60 (days) x 12 hours x 0.6 kW = 432 kWh for the flowerstage.
Those are not exact numbers, but close.
This is also without a pump and other equipment. Just the lights, mainly HPS.
I am not an expert grower, but 1 gramm per Watt per square meter is my benchmark.
I hope to achieve that with E&F and as little work as possible. Not being lazy, but I like efficiency.

 

[2WorldsFrog]

If anyone knows where to find more information about the science behind this, as far ions and how different elements react within a solution, I would be really interested to learn more about it.

 

[Hydro4life]

You guys still talking about this?
I use my ppm meter everyday.
Go like this
Day 1 1200. All good
Day 2 1150. Eating and using water all good replace back to 1200
Day 3 same as 2
Day4 same as day 2
Day5 same
Day. 8 or so ppm doesn’t drop. Actually goes up a little. Hmmm. Top up plain water
Day 9 ppm up again hmmmm top up with plain water
Day 10. Ppm staying same. Even though I’m adding 12 litres a day of plain water. Time to flush. It’s just that easy.
So if your system is bigger or your not hitting them hard with nutes your mileage may vary. The point is the ppm meter is telling u something.
Changing nutes in a hydro system is easy. There’s a pump in it,use it. Don’t be so lazy.

Agree with you myke that when the ppm is staying the same for too long, plants aren't up taking nutes and may need a res change to remove salt buildup. But I've found you can prolong res changes by simply keeping the ppm at the lower side of the plants requirements. I just noticed in another thread i was in you said "youve run plants at 2 ec when their roots have just showed through the net pot. But they grew too fast so you starve them a little" I think 2 ec is very high for such a young plant. maybe that's why you have to change more regularly? More nutes equals more salts. And when trying to minimise res changes (And in general) i find less is best. Not hating on you myke. Nothing but respect for you brother. Just my opinion.

 

[myke]

As said if your hitting them hard because of time line or whatever the rez just doesn't last as long.
Different nutes for different strains I guess.
I got a bubba kush pre 98 that just doesn't like my system,tips dont burn but it just wont grow.Then theres gg4 at 2 ec has light green leaves.It out grows the bubba 2 to 1.

 

[Hydro4life]

Yes takes a bit to dial in some strains and work out their upper and lower limits etc. That's where having 1 pot for 1 plant (unless all cloned from same mother) can be very helpful i think. Some strains are very forgiving and could be run at 1600ppm or 1000ppm in flower. Maybe theirs an idea keesje? Find a strain that doesn't need big feeding hence minimising nutes/salts in res? And could mean less often res changes??

 

[myke]

I think this is why Coco is so popular,easy to feed different values.A lot of hand watering.

 

[southernguy99]

As said if your hitting them hard because of time line or whatever the rez just doesn't last as long.
Different nutes for different strains I guess.
I got a bubba kush pre 98 that just doesn't like my system,tips dont burn but it just wont grow.Then theres gg4 at 2 ec has light green leaves.It out grows the bubba 2 to 1.

Hey Myke something you can try if you haven't already I have no idea if it will relate to your issues, I seen what your talking about before, I have some really old cuts of stuff I've keep now for like 20 years, they act the same, they don't want to feed, once I figured it out I never had an issues since, i found with these strains the root ball will stall out if the temp of it gets below 68 and try not to let it fluctuate anymore the 5 deg. 68 being the lowest , also humidity , play with your room humidity and see if you can find a sweet spot, with some of my old strains I run it higher it helps them feed, lower RH usually makes the plants drink more water higher RH usually makes the eat more food. also just keep an eye on the plants themselves to see that they are not getting to hot from the lights. these old strains I have will eat 2ec for the fun of it as long as all the other variables are in check. and the plants are picky. hope that helps, oh and where you run high bucket water maybe try more oxygen in the water.

 

[Hydro4life]

I think this is why Coco is so popular,easy to feed different values.A lot of hand watering.

Never tried coco. Wouldnt mind giving it a go. See what all the fuss is about!?

 

[Jefferson1977]

Thanks for your contribution, but this is not what the question or discussion is about.
We all know that it is better to monitor and adjust every day.
But I was curious about the experiences of people who have a different approach, or did or did not experience huge changes when they kept their rez for longer.
Some very interesting contributions in this topic, and different kind of views which helps us all to become better growers perhaps.

Edit.

I am serious and I do invite you to contribute. We all can learn from it.
On a side note, a lot of people claim that they are doing well, but there are no ways of comparing it, because they come up with numbers that don't clarify a lot.
Gramms or ounces per plant are meaningless statements if one does not know how many plants per square meter or feet, and how long they are growing and flowering.
It's like telling someone how much your salary is and not telling them if it is daily, weekly, monthly, 4-weekly and if so how many hours per week, and before or after taxes.

That is why I ask for square meters, and KiloWatt Hour.
It is not the perfect system to compare (strain and where you are based do also count a lot of course), but at least it is something.
I have seen so many growers who were happy with their yield.
But when they showed their numbers they really should think again.
Or you see pics of plants and the grower is happy, but they are all foxtails.

When I was growing on soil and coco I used approximately 512 kWh per square meter on a grow and I yielded 500 to 600 gramms of Cheese or Amnesia per square meter. In wintertime sometimes a bit more, but not a lot. In hot summers less.
I calculated the kWH like this...
14 (days) x 18 (hours) x 0.3 kW = 75 kWh for the clones and some grow.
60 (days) x 12 hours x 0.6 kW = 432 kWh for the flowerstage.
Those are not exact numbers, but close.
This is also without a pump and other equipment. Just the lights, mainly HPS.
I am not an expert grower, but 1 gramm per Watt per square meter is my benchmark.
I hope to achieve that with E&F and as little work as possible. Not being lazy, but I like efficiency.

Some strains like to foxtail, has nothing to do with heat or environment. Even the breeders pictures will show it.

 

[myke]

Hey Myke something you can try if you haven't already I have no idea if it will relate to your issues, I seen what your talking about before, I have some really old cuts of stuff I've keep now for like 20 years, they act the same, they don't want to feed, once I figured it out I never had an issues since, i found with these strains the root ball will stall out if the temp of it gets below 68 and try not to let it fluctuate anymore the 5 deg. 68 being the lowest , also humidity , play with your room humidity and see if you can find a sweet spot, with some of my old strains I run it higher it helps them feed, lower RH usually makes the plants drink more water higher RH usually makes the eat more food. also just keep an eye on the plants themselves to see that they are not getting to hot from the lights. these old strains I have will eat 2ec for the fun of it as long as all the other variables are in check. and the plants are picky. hope that helps, oh and where you run high bucket water maybe try more oxygen in the water.

Some good points,humidity here one day its 75% the next its 30%.Its a battle,I run a dehum in my flower room and vent into veg.Then theres temp OMG,-20c my grow rooms look like an octopus with all the vent hoses lol.Spring cant come fast enough.

 

[Jefferson1977]

Im still working off the 5lb bag I got last year.

This grow I am changing my res every week, like clockwork until the end where I just taper off the nutes. Just for kicks since I have never bothered before.

 

[Hydro4life]

Hey Myke something you can try if you haven't already I have no idea if it will relate to your issues, I seen what your talking about before, I have some really old cuts of stuff I've keep now for like 20 years, they act the same, they don't want to feed, once I figured it out I never had an issues since, i found with these strains the root ball will stall out if the temp of it gets below 68 and try not to let it fluctuate anymore the 5 deg. 68 being the lowest , also humidity , play with your room humidity and see if you can find a sweet spot, with some of my old strains I run it higher it helps them feed, lower RH usually makes the plants drink more water higher RH usually makes the eat more food. also just keep an eye on the plants themselves to see that they are not getting to hot from the lights. these old strains I have will eat 2ec for the fun of it as long as all the other variables are in check. and the plants are picky. hope that helps, oh and where you run high bucket water maybe try more oxygen in the water.

Humidity is something I really underestimated. After running co2 with a co2 burner (byproduct is water vapour) humidity came up alot. I now monitor my humidity very closely and try to match it with my room temperature and keep an eye on how much the plant drinks to wether or not I need to tweek things. For example if humidity drops too low and temps are higher plant will initially drink more but if the plant drinks too much it will go into survival mode and start closing stomatas then the plant wont loose as much moisture out of its leaves and drink even less. growth will slow. Also generally the more the plant drinks, the more nutes it intakes so the lower the ppm will need to be. Having good control of humidity is very important especially when dosing higher co2 levels with higher temps i think.

 

[myke]

Never tried coco. Wouldnt mind giving it a go. See what all the fuss is about!?

Well since they take the same food as hydro you just dip from your rez and feed.The run off is messy though.My extra cutts go into coco and I give them away.Most people have a hard time as they think dirt so they dry out.

 

[Keesje]

Some strains like to foxtail, has nothing to do with heat or environment. Even the breeders pictures will show it.

I am aware of that, but often it has to do with not having the climate right.

@southernguy99
Could you please tell us the details of your room where you yield a pound per plant with 4 lights?
What kind of lights, how long is your run, and how many square feet.
Thanks!

 

[Hydro4life]

Well since they take the same food as hydro you just dip from your rez and feed.The run off is messy though.My extra cutts go into coco and I give them away.Most people have a hard time as they think dirt so they dry out.

Ahh ok. Is coco ph supposed to be slightly higher myke?

 

[myke]

Ahh ok. Is coco ph supposed to be slightly higher myke?

Seems they like the same,not a pro at it though.

 

[Hydro4life]

Seems they like the same,not a pro at it though.

Yep gona have to try it haha. Cheers myke!

 

[southernguy99]

Thanks for your contribution, but this is not what the question or discussion is about.
We all know that it is better to monitor and adjust every day.
But I was curious about the experiences of people who have a different approach, or did or did not experience huge changes when they kept their rez for longer.
Some very interesting contributions in this topic, and different kind of views which helps us all to become better growers perhaps.

Edit.

I am serious and I do invite you to contribute. We all can learn from it.
On a side note, a lot of people claim that they are doing well, but there are no ways of comparing it, because they come up with numbers that don't clarify a lot.
Gramms or ounces per plant are meaningless statements if one does not know how many plants per square meter or feet, and how long they are growing and flowering.
It's like telling someone how much your salary is and not telling them if it is daily, weekly, monthly, 4-weekly and if so how many hours per week, and before or after taxes.

That is why I ask for square meters, and KiloWatt Hour.
It is not the perfect system to compare (strain and where you are based do also count a lot of course), but at least it is something.
I have seen so many growers who were happy with their yield.
But when they showed their numbers they really should think again.
Or you see pics of plants and the grower is happy, but they are all foxtails.

When I was growing on soil and coco I used approximately 512 kWh per square meter on a grow and I yielded 500 to 600 gramms of Cheese or Amnesia per square meter. In wintertime sometimes a bit more, but not a lot. In hot summers less.
I calculated the kWH like this...
14 (days) x 18 (hours) x 0.3 kW = 75 kWh for the clones and some grow.
60 (days) x 12 hours x 0.6 kW = 432 kWh for the flowerstage.
Those are not exact numbers, but close.
This is also without a pump and other equipment. Just the lights, mainly HPS.
I am not an expert grower, but 1 gramm per Watt per square meter is my benchmark.
I hope to achieve that with E&F and as little work as possible. Not being lazy, but I like efficiency.

you are exactly right, I agree with all of that, but I don't think and maybe i'm wrong but most home growers probably couldn't careless about this, because there not paying for floor space they just look at how many light and total yield , and honestly for home growers I know they could careless about that lol most HG just want to grow , but when I was in the big commercial stuff we knew right down to the square foot what everything cost and yield whether it was 80 - 90 - 100g for each square foot we knew, but we were paying for floor space. But if anyone wants to check how there doing that is the way.

 

[Hydro4life]

I am aware of that, but often it has to do with not having the climate right.

@southernguy99
Could you please tell us the details of your room where you yield a pound per plant with 4 lights?
What kind of lights, how long is your run, and how many square feet.
Thanks!

Some strains like to foxtail, has nothing to do with heat or environment. Even the breeders pictures will show it.

I've also found some strains foxtail easier in a warmer environment than others. So maybe a bit of both?