Res aeration... how much?

Gquebed

Well-Known Member
@klx

And anybody else who cares to share info...

Curious....
Do people circulate under table resoviors somehow? I was just thinking that nutes would likely settle at the bottom and if a guy (like me) uses bottom draw pumps then the tables will get flooded with a higher concentration of nutes for a time before the less potent water hits the pumps to go up.

Thoughts?
 

Keesje

Well-Known Member
Normally you do have to circulate your reservoir now and then to - as you said - keep your nutrients mixed.
The question is if this does not happen when your pump starts, pushing the water in the table above and the water returning in the reservoir?
I am not sure, but if you don't want to take a risk, get a small aquariumpump, put it on a timer and let it run now and then.

I have also seen set-ups where the outlet of the pump splits in 2 ways:
1 line goes up and fills the table above.
Line 2 goes directly back in the reservoir and only pushes water around, thus getting it mixed.
 

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
Usually my res doesn't sit for more then 72 hours without me doing something to it and stiring it up. But...

When I was using floranova specifically I would notice seperation and build up on the bottom of the res that I would stir in. It wasn't a big deal, but a circulation pump would have helped.

Since I've switched back to ENVY nutrients I haven't noticed any build up or seperation of the nutrients! The ENVY stays completely mixed and stable in my res.
 

Gquebed

Well-Known Member
Usually my res doesn't sit for more then 72 hours without me doing something to it and stiring it up. But...

When I was using floranova specifically I would notice seperation and build up on the bottom of the res that I would stir in. It wasn't a big deal, but a circulation pump would have helped.

Since I've switched back to ENVY nutrients I haven't noticed any build up or seperation of the nutrients! The ENVY stays completely mixed and stable in my res.
I bought into the GH Flora line. Hopefully that stuff stays relatively suspended... instead of dropping to the bottom like silt
 

Renfro

Well-Known Member
Just add them in the proper order and mix between. Add the Micro first, then the grow, then bloom. If using armor si and calimagic add them first starting with armor si.
 

klx

Well-Known Member
Any decent nutrient will not build up as silt. I have tried many over the years but always come back to Canna Classic A&B and some PK boost. No silt and res stays crystal clear with a little help from H2O2.
 

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
FYI I never had residue build up with the GH 3 part when I used it. It was specifically the floranova series. It still worked well, but I'm much happier with the ENVY still.
 

Keesje

Well-Known Member
Since I've switched back to ENVY nutrients I haven't noticed any build up or seperation of the nutrients! The ENVY stays completely mixed and stable in my res.
That Envy stuff is not widely available as it seems.
Do you have any problems with it concerning pH rise? Or is it the same as any other brand?
 

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
That Envy stuff is not widely available as it seems.
Do you have any problems with it concerning pH rise? Or is it the same as any other brand?
It's not super widely available sadly no. That was the only reason I hadn't been using it the last 6-7 years straight since the first time i tried it. I don't like ordering from hydro stores to my house and I didn't have another address to order too. However I found a way around that recently and I'm back to using it full time. I think a big reason it's not all over is that they are an agricultural company, and advertising to small-time growers isn't their main market. I've been so thankful I randomly got the sample bottles from the shop when I did or I would have never heard of this company. 2 other grower friends switch to it in the last 5 years, and swear by it now too.

It actually stays pretty stable in the res. If your plants are drinking a lot there will obviously be larger swings in nutes or PH, but otherwise, once I set my PH in the res it stays real close till I change again. Between res changes I'll top off the res with either fresh nutrient mix, or with just fresh water depending on what the plants are asking for.
 

Gquebed

Well-Known Member
Same here. The Floranova is a whole other beast compared to the flora series 3 part. The FN Bloom is like mud.
Hi Red.
Are you still running cobs with flood tables? If so i have a question.... (and any others running cobs/flood tables)...

I got my ambient temps set up for 83 to 85, which i hear is the sweet spot. That gives my res under the table a lights on temp range from 68 to 73f, from lights off (6 hours) to end of lights on (18hrs). The temp hits 73ish about 5 hours after lights on and stays there. Thats after two days of running (no clones yet, just testing).

That seems like it could be a problem??? And tips or advice, anyone???
 

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
Hi Red.
Are you still running cobs with flood tables? If so i have a question.... (and any others running cobs/flood tables)...

I got my ambient temps set up for 83 to 85, which i hear is the sweet spot. That gives my res under the table a lights on temp range from 68 to 73f, from lights off (6 hours) to end of lights on (18hrs). The temp hits 73ish about 5 hours after lights on and stays there. Thats after two days of running (no clones yet, just testing).

That seems like it could be a problem??? And tips or advice, anyone???
If your running with a bare tray then the water is soaking up all the light energy and warming up more then it will once there is plants in there. Once you have the tray full of plants they will be catching that light and preventing it from warming the water. I would be surprised if it went up as much with plants, so you might be just fine.

I used to use a regular Rubbermaid tote for a res and had a lot more temp swings. There were times I was freezing 2 liter bottles of water and adding them to the res to keep it cool in the summer.

A few years ago I found a large cooler(like for tailgating) it holds just over 40 gallons. The lid had a spot for reaching in without opening the main cooler that I just removed the hatch from and ran my water and hoses through there. Its been working great for about 5 years now. Temps stay way more stable and even in summer never get to warm :).
 

Gquebed

Well-Known Member
If your running with a bare tray then the water is soaking up all the light energy and warming up more then it will once there is plants in there. Once you have the tray full of plants they will be catching that light and preventing it from warming the water. I would be surprised if it went up as much with plants, so you might be just fine.

I used to use a regular Rubbermaid tote for a res and had a lot more temp swings. There were times I was freezing 2 liter bottles of water and adding them to the res to keep it cool in the summer.

A few years ago I found a large cooler(like for tailgating) it holds just over 40 gallons. The lid had a spot for reaching in without opening the main cooler that I just removed the hatch from and ran my water and hoses through there. Its been working great for about 5 years now. Temps stay way more stable and even in summer never get to warm :).
Clever!
I made tops for my tables out of that white corrugated plastic. The net pots will be set into holes in that and rest on the table. I figure the white should reflect any light/heat that passes through the canopy... but i didnt test with that. I wanted worst case scenario....
 

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
That should help a lot then. I used to put plastic over the areas between my pots for the same reason. After a while, it just got to be a pain the way my tray is set up. I like moving my plants around a lot for better light coverage and that was a pain with the plastic in place.
 

Renfro

Well-Known Member
...A few years ago I found a large cooler(like for tailgating) it holds just over 40 gallons. The lid had a spot for reaching in without opening the main cooler that I just removed the hatch from and ran my water and hoses through there. Its been working great for about 5 years now. Temps stay way more stable and even in summer never get to warm :).
That would make an interesting DWC/RDWC setup, coolers for plant sites and one for the controller. Got me thinking.
 
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