Bottom watering in coco

[Daskalot]

Hello I am growing in Coco coir 70%, perlite 30% haze strain with a 600W HPS setup.
The grow is pretty big so i am watering bottom-to-top. I use trays ( https://www.diosaplanta.com/789-large_default/bandeja-de-cultivo-80x80-cm.jpg ). I mix nutes in tank and then fill in each tray, and plants absorb the water through their roots.
My question is regarding watering frequency, i know many coco experts suggest giving water every day to your plants in amount greater than 1l when doing top feed with 20% run off.
Still this is a different setup and there are not many info online regarding watering. I tried to water everyday around 1l per plant but the plants just wont suck up the water and it stays in the trays for more than 8hrs. When i water them every second day they do suck the water in about 30min to 1hour.
If a water everyday also i add too much nutes to the plants since i do not have run off i risk salt buildup.
Obviously for me its better to water every 2 days, but i do not want to lose yield.
Can anyone suggest from experience or knowledge how often and how many(litres) should i water?
Regarads

 

[aphyllophoral]

Hey @Daskalot , I am having the same questions. At this moment I am doing scrog employing soil and watered them by hand from time to time having great results (1 gpw) but now I want to implement hydro so I am wondering how much water does each plant need for a scrog 2 weeks veg/8 weeks flowering (2.5-3 ft tall) under cmh employing soilless techniques?. Evaluating some hydro set ups I realized that using a bottom fed technique you are going to need a lot of water just for 1" meaning lot of nutes ($$$) to the drainage when the water reservoir is change. Any veterans could tell us which method consume less water maybe NFT or top fed??
@Renfro @ttystikk

Have a great day!

 

[myke]

Why water from the bottom?This defeats the purpose of coco.

 

[Nizza]

you want about 10% runoff on coco and to top water it, this will reduce salt buildup.
The water that runs off should be discarded , evaporated, or used on your veggie garden

how do you know the roots are growing throughout the whole pot and not just the bottoms?

what you are doing is almost like the hempy method, but not. It may be a lot easier though, so good luck to ya! I hope this works out well for you

 

[coreywebster]

So essentially your doing the same as what an autopot does without the auto.
Do yourself a favour and top feed and suck out the run off with a wet vac.
If you haven't much room between top of pot and canopy then buy a flexible waste that a plumber would use for a sink or bath, those extend , stick in a funnel used for fuel and you wont find it difficult.

 

[aphyllophoral]

Why water from the bottom?This defeats the purpose of coco.

Hey @myke I agree with you on the bottom feed employing coco subs but what about using netpots fill with hydroton or coco/perlite like in this draft. Maybe toss a coco pad on the bottom of the table with 6" rockwool cubes above it will be more water efficient? How much water does it will consume using a 9 ft x 4 ft table??

Thks in advance

 

[myke]

Hey @myke I agree with you on the bottom feed employing coco subs but what about using netpots fill with hydroton or coco/perlite like in this draft. Maybe toss a coco pad on the bottom of the table with 6" rockwool cubes above it will be more water efficient? How much water does it will consume using a 9 ft x 4 ft table??

Thks in advance

ebb and flow?No need for return line when pump shuts off water drains back.8" deep or so.timed floods every 4 hrs or so.net pots sit on tray not above.Water consumption im not sure.

 

[aphyllophoral]

ebb and flow?No need for return line when pump shuts off water drains back.8" deep or so.timed floods every 4 hrs or so.net pots sit on tray not above.Water consumption im not sure.

Ok, let me explain the return line is just in case the pump puts too much water in the table (my timers no always works fine). Do you mean 8" flood height??? Or just the free distance between the bottom of the net pots and the table?? Sorry if my questions are so basic. By the way how much chemicals do you use to achieve 2 lb of dried flower in your set up?

 

[myke]

Ok, let me explain the return line is just in case the pump puts too much water in the table (my timers no always works fine). Do you mean 8" flood height??? Or just the free distance between the bottom of the net pots and the table?? Sorry if my questions are so basic. By the way how much chemicals do you use to achieve 2 lb of dried flower in your set up?

Perhaps start your own thread,this has nothing to do with what the OP has asked.

 

[aphyllophoral]

Perhaps start your own thread,this has nothing to do with what the OP has asked.

Okay you are right I apologize

Have a great day

 

[Daskalot]

Why water from the bottom?This defeats the purpose of coco.

I know top feeding is right, but there is no way i can top feed 1300+ plants every day and the suck out the run off. It would take forever.
Someone can suggest how much water should i use and how often?

 

[ttystikk]

Hey @Daskalot , I am having the same questions. At this moment I am doing scrog employing soil and watered them by hand from time to time having great results (1 gpw) but now I want to implement hydro so I am wondering how much water does each plant need for a scrog 2 weeks veg/8 weeks flowering (2.5-3 ft tall) under cmh employing soilless techniques?. Evaluating some hydro set ups I realized that using a bottom fed technique you are going to need a lot of water just for 1" meaning lot of nutes ($$$) to the drainage when the water reservoir is change. Any veterans could tell us which method consume less water maybe NFT or top fed??
@Renfro @ttystikk

Have a great day!

Using less water is not a worthy goal. If your nutes are so expensive that you want to stunt your plants, then use dry nutrient salts; they're cheaper.