Just went down and gently squeezed each cube none had any water drop out they really didn’t feel too heavy. I did notice I have roots coming out of the bottom of 4 cubes how long do I leave them in the dome before putting into buckets?
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You can transfer anytime but you’ll need to keep a dome over them. Or keep them in there a little longer.
I use 2 liter bottles with the top cut off like this.
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You said to get liquid silica I see a lot of different kinds on amazon any certain one to get?
Also is there anywhere I can read or watch to learn how to properly add nutrients, do water changes so I don’t have to keep bothering everyone?
I use one that doesn’t have any nitrogen because I’m picky. But any of the liquid silica will work. I use Stout MSA from Alchemist. And unfortunately there’s nothing to my knowledge on how to do it. Some people use battery powered pumps to change the water out. I use a big pump to pump mine faster but mine holds a lot of water.
So when I do a water change do I need to scrub out each bucket?
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A peroxide rinse should be all you need. 3% peroxide is going to be your friend. $.88/quart at the WalMart.
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I don’t but if you have any signs of algae or root problems I would. And with smaller amounts of water it’s not too bad. Just like my friends said peroxide works well. It’ll kill anything bad or good though.
How do you do it? Drain the water/nutrients then refill with water and peroxide and drain again?
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I think it depends on your particular setup and the age/stage of the plants. My plan is to drain my totes with a small pump while the plant is in another stand alone tote with R/O water and an air stone while I rinse down the working tote. I have one of those 1/2 gallon Hudson type sprayers that I’ll mix a 50/50 solution in and rinse down and out. The roots will get a good rinse in it as well. With my setup I can load a couple of gallons of straight water or water and peroxide and pump it through the lines easily as well.
It’s a PITA but has to be done.
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I have a 25 gallon black tote with lid can I use this as a reserve tank with nutrients and just add to the RDWC system when needed?
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I’m going to get my buckets ready. With the hydroton balls I soak them in regular water for a few hours is this correct?
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You can add a extra water tank like that but you’ll need to keep ph adjusted water only in it plus it’ll need air stones as well. Later on once you get the hang of how it works you can play with putting nutrients in it at a slightly higher level than your reservoir so that it tops up the res with stronger food. But I wouldn’t try it until you know how much it takes. That’s a variable as no two setups are exactly the same.
Take mine for instance I don’t change my water until the switch to flower. But mine holds almost 75 gallons of water at the beginning and I let it drop to around 65 gallons after the plants get rooted well. My system is overkill when it comes to size but I have expansion plans for later on.
And you don’t need to soak the clay but you need to wash it very well. It will have a lot of dust in it and it’ll clog pumps if not.
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I’ve seen a few different videos of how to put the pellets in. I was thinking a small layer at the bottom of the net pot then the rockwool cube and fill in around the cube with pellets. Is that correct?
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If I understand correctly you are asking if you could pre mix nutes in a 25 gallon tote and then pull from that whenever you need a topping off etc. Correct? Unfortunately you really shouldn’t mix any nutrients until ready for use. If you are adding that into your total volume you should be fine but add an air stone.
The larger your supply, the less tedious it is to keep it in range with your TDS and PH.
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That’s pretty much what I do.
So I would need to drill holes like in my resivor bucket and run a return line back to the resivor bucket basically putting the 25 gallon in the circulation line?
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I wouldn’t. If I was going to add a extra bulk water tank i’d have it higher than my reservoir and just put a hose from the bottom of the water tank going to a float valve in the reservoir. That way it maintains the correct water level. But you won’t really need it until flower when they start drinking heavily.
But if you want to mix up higher volume of nutes then yes. You can go longer between water changes with more water.
Got them in their new homes. Humidity is running 63% temps 77F. PH 5.9 straight ro water. Everything look ok?
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Looks good!