I would spend a bit of time and read over that grow schedule: it will give you lots of information on all you need to know.
I did an RDWC grow with the full Monty of GH nutes and it did a good job, that said I prefer Jack’s over any other nutrient line due to it’s ease of use and insensitivity (relatively) to burning plants. Full strength from day one.
I agree. Silica first, then calmag, then nutes. You can add hydroguard before or after ph’ing your mix. It does nothing to the ppm’s or the ph.
I would go with just the three basics of GH nutes till the plant gets a little more established. Good luck!
You can be flexible to a point. Between 5.6 and 5.9 is fine. I would honestly set it to 5.8 and allow it to drift up/down and course correct once every 2-3 days for a while.
That seems cold to me. But I’ve only ever investigated what is “too hot” and not “too cold.” I keep my water at 68°.
You have a light leak. Period. I’m not sure where, or why, but that’s your answer. Light is getting into the system, whether through the hydroton (I.e. not enough, add more) or through somewhere else there is a break in the top of the container.
I have had to line the first 2 sets of holes on the tops of my net pots with opaque tape so the light didn’t continue to get into my reservoir.
The rest of the things about your grow are probably just nit-picking. You have a light leak.
If you can’t find anything obvious, hit those top 2 sets of holes with some silver duct tape and top off the pot with as much hydroton as you can pile on. As far as the smell goes, if you top-feed with water from the reservoir that’s been treated with Hydroguard, the microbes will make their way into the rockwool and hydroton that may be carrying the funky smell. It’ll go away eventually as long as you can stop the light leak.
Like others said above make sure you mix your notes in a specific order. I use GH in my DWC & absolutely love it. The order I mix is as follows;
1.Armor Si
2.CalMag
3.Micro
4.Grow
5.Bloom
6.Any additional (floralicious, koolbloom, etc.)
7.Hydroguard
Then I PH the note mix.
Agree w/ @graysin on the light leak. Happen to me as well, thought I had it all when slight smell happened. Checked the water pump, & had forgotten about the filter. . Took it out, no more prob. Just remember you can’t run peroxide & hydroguard at the same time, as the peroxide will kill all the bacteria, even the good stuff in hydroguard. Good luck & happy growing!
Thank you so much for helping me with my first grow. I truly appreciate it! I believe the problem is solved. For the first time since I’ve started I have has stable pH at 5.8, decreasing ppm and ec through the day, no smell (which actually decreased over time), and my plants are now perkier and more vigorous than ever.
I figure the primary problems were:
No silica
No Magnese in local water supply
Rockwool cubes far too saturated
Light leak causing a bacterial or algal growth.
All of this was fixed through your time and help, and I sincerely appreciate it!
Here is a photo series of the setup and grow as of 5 minutes ago.
Well folks, here I am on day 20 of Flower!!! YAAAY! I am so excited!
That being said, I am going to reach out for some advice and expert eyes once again!
-I have four healthy plants, and they are all performing well, however; One is massive, one is regular size, and two are runty. Generally Speaking, I have seen nothing but uniform plants on other peoples grows, and this seems highly unusual. What do you think?
-I have burnt tips, how will that effect the yield? I am concerned about them, and have researched causes, but would love second opinion. See Chem and Nute details below for full grow profile.
-Lastly, I have to post the obligatory “IS IT BALLS?!?!” question on one of my plants. The lumps on the stem in the attached photos are only on one branch of one plant. Are these late blooming flowers? I value all opinions on the matter. The lumps are on the #4 Plant, which also happens to be my monster plant.
I once again have to thank the whole team of support I have gotten here these past few months, and in 6 weeks, I will have the pleasure of harvesting the results that all of you have greatly assisted me in creating! Thank you so much