MAINTAINING HYDROPONICS NUTRIENTS:
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TIPS FOR A HEALTHY & POTENT
NUTRIENT RESERVOIR:
Maintaining hydroponics nutrients...
- If using chlorinated tap water, fill
reservoir or mixing bin and let the water sit for a day to dissipate the
chlorine.
- After adding the nutrients, let it settle
for an hour or two before checking pH.
- Keep the solution between 65-75 degrees
(60 min, 80 max). You may have to insulate the reservoir. Hot solution breeds
bad bacteria and will cook those tender roots. If nothing else works, you
can get a chiller, but they are expensive!
- Put a cheap floating aquarium thermometer
in the vat. Tie it to the tubing with rubber bands so you can find it.
- How much solution will you need? This will
take some trial and error for your particular unit. In my 40 gallon
reservoir, I use 36 gallons. This is for a 4' x 4' ebb & flow plot. You need enough solution so that when the pump
kicks on and most of the solution is moved to the plants, your pump is not left
sucking air.
- Enclose your pump in a strainer bag
or nylon hose to keep debris out of it.
- A few drops of hydrogen peroxide in the
reservoir weekly will cut down on algae and bacteria growth.
- You must aerate the solution 24/7 to keep
down the anaerobic bacteria (bad bugs) and oxygenate the roots. You can use
an inexpensive aquarium pump, and drop a large bubbler stone in the
reservoir. I find the sound of aquarium pumps annoying, so I use a special aerator
that sits right in the reservoir.
This one is called Hydor Ario 2 and you can order it below. Order two if you are making a lettuce raft at the same time, one for the reservoir and one for the lettuce bin.
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MIXING THE FIRST BATCH:
Maintaining hydroponics nutrients...
Follow Stella's cool
mixing
chart for the initial batch of grow juice. Warning: do not mix the nutrient
concentrates together. Add them one by one into the water, and stir; starting with
the Flora Grow, then Micro, then Bloom. [For a 40 gallon reservoir, I mix up 36
gallons]. Adjust the pH. MAKE SURE AND RECORD THE INITIAL VOLUME.
TOPPING UP THE
RESERVOIR:
Maintaining hydroponics nutrients...
The level of solution in the reservoir will drop in time due to plant uptake and
evaporation. You need to top it up every 3-4 days, when necessary. MAKE SURE
TO RECORD EACH GALLON ADDED FOR TOP-UP.
WARNING: top up with WATER only, NOT more nutrient solution.
Why? Only the water is evaporating, not the minerals. If you keep adding more
nutrient solution, you increase the strength of the mix. It will get stronger
and stronger each top-up, and might even kill your plants. So top up with
pH-balanced water only.
WHEN DO YOU MIX A WHOLE
NEW BATCH?
Maintaining hydroponics nutrients...
Some of the books say to drain your system and mix a new batch every week (ouch!). Some say every 2 weeks. Some even recommend monthly. Maintaining hydroponics nutrients doesn't have to be complicated or take much time. We follow the 50% method and have found it works great for us. This is how it works:
When you have replaced a total of 50% of the
original solution amount by topping up, (in our case 18 gallons), stop topping
up at that point. Then allow the level to deplete naturally until it reaches the
top of your pump. Then it's time to empty it out and mix up a whole new batch.
*Tip: If this is an ebb & flow setup, now is the time to flush the
pots to remove built-up salts. Gingerly drench each pot from the top with plenty
of clean water. Give the plants a gentle shower, too. Then let it all drain. Now empty your reservoir and fill
up with a
fresh batch of nutrient solution. We have an easy way to siphon out the vat without getting a
mouthful of muck, too! (See KISS box below).
THE ONLY NUTRIENT
SOLUTION YOU'LL EVER NEED
Maintaining hydroponics nutrients...
General Hydroponics Flora Series is the best, most widely used nutrient solution on the market. It was chosen by NASA for their hydroponics program. It is readily available, and reasonably priced. GH Flora is a three-part system, and comes in quarts or gallons. We buy it by the gallon and it gets us through many gardens. Don't forget to order the Hard-Water Micro if you have hard tap water (Calcium greater than 70 ppm).
Forget the charts on the bottles, we figured it all out for you in Stella's Flora Nutrient Mixing Chart. Print it out and stick it on the wall!
Order your GH Flora nutrients here:
FLORA SERIES HYDROPONIC NUTRIENTS
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K.I.S.S.
(Keep It Simple, Simon)
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