neeed help newb to dwc

ok i just built 2 dwc grow pots yesterday in about 5 min. 1 is a 6x6x6 square with 4 2in net pots and covered in reflective tape with one cylinder air-stone 1/4 air pressure from 18w air pump. my other unit is a 5 gal bucket with one of those big circle air-stones (almost covers the bottom) with its own 18w pump on 12/12 my plan is to grow them short and quick. ideally i want to know what nutrients to feed and when too feed how often i should change res. what kind of water should i use. i usually aerate my water and mix rainwater with it. also i dont have tds meter how important is that?

TDS isn't all that important if you can measure nutrients and keep it on the weak side. PH is a different story, PH is set so certain nutrients aren't locked out. Res change once a week, the nutrients (how much and when) depend a lot on the nutrient line AND the strain you are growing. I use regular tap in flower, I de-chlorinate in veg only because I run beneficial bacteria and fungi. The main thing to watch this time of year is ground water temperature, make sure its not too cold.

I would invest in a TDS meter you can get a PRIMO for about 35 bucks its a wise investment cause then you can measure the PPM of the nutrient solution so you don't over feed. I use Botnicare pro two part Nutrients and they work great they don't throw the PH off like others that i have used. Having a TDS meter will also keep you from changing your Res as often as you can just top it off and you will save on nutes as you will make them last longer they can get pricey with all those Res changes

i went with ionic as i have had good soil grows with it, as far as the tds meter goes i will look into it but i will barely be using any nutes(4 ml veg 9ml flower) so re res cahnges are not a big deal deal. how does a mix of superthrive1ml ionic3ml and prozyme1ml sound?

alphawolf.hack said:

i went with ionic as i have had good soil grows with it, as far as the tds meter goes i will look into it but i will barely be using any nutes(4 ml veg 9ml flower) so re res cahnges are not a big deal deal. how does a mix of superthrive1ml ionic3ml and prozyme1ml sound?

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Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. I would recommend a purely synthetic nute line with some beneficial microbes and no vitamins, no enzymes and no organic additives. If you do not like this idea, you should think about something besides DWC.

http://www.suntekstore.com/goods-14000644-+TDS+Digital+Meter+Water+Quality+Tester+1999+ppm+.html $14 meter

okay give me some examples of these mixtures i am an orgainic grower and only have organic nutes here is a list of my current inventory


ionic bloom
miricle grow
some other green powder 10 -54- 17(peters or something)
mexican bat guano
indonesian batguano
bone meal
mayan microzyme
prozyme
superthrive
humbodlt honey
cornsyrup
kelp extract
great white shark mychorazzai
pureblend bloom organic soil
hormex
i might be missing a few things but thats most of what i have would MG work? followed by the other powder these and ionic are the only sythetic nutes i have i was not trying to do this organic tho because i heard it clogs up the system and defeats the purpose of hydro.

Organic DWC is possible but it's very time consuming, very involved and prone to failure. It's also, IMO, contradictory. DWC is about being optimal and precise, organics is about letting nature do it's thing.

Any synthetic nute line intended for hydro should work. I personally like Dutch Master, and GH three part is always a solid fall back. The great white product will do just fine for microbes. Also, think about a foliar feed. Be careful not to think of your DWC buckets as soil plants, even though it's tempting to rely on your experience with organics. Keep it simple is the best thing you can do.

ok i will killed clone in it already but the seeds seem fine i do foliar feed which is why i bought ionic (very water soluble). as far as buying more nutes im gonna try to get it to work with the sythetics i got. mychorazai will still culture in dwc? i thought synthetic nutes kill microbes? ionic isnt a good nute brand? in soil-less it worked wonders. i really dont want to buy more nutes and my tea would definitely be too thick.

TDS meter is completely necessary. Change water weekly. Pick a nutrient company with good reviews on here, buy their base nutes and 1 or 2 additives and follow the directions.

atl i appreciate the approach but im more of a "if you cant do it any way, then you cant do it all" meaning i want to make more with less less. i could go buy state of the art equip and yes i could buy the best nutes but if you cant do it at home without shit then it is not a feasible growing style. i want to use what i have or stuff that is easily attainable stuff that most indoor growers could make at home. if i want some "go buy it advice" i will ask the dude i am buying it from. as far as tds goes i agree it is eesential and i will buy one once i get some babys to the flowering point.

Change res every 2 weeks or so.Your ph should be 5.8 and your water temps should be around 68 and you should be good.
I use the humboldt nutes 3 part and 2 additives and thats it.

Your ionic probably works just fine. Synthetics will not significantly harm beneficials, but they also wont feed them, which means you should replace them every week or so. You may want to make a microbe tea as outlined in my signature link to make products last longer.