Dear Street Legal.....
I have a Quick Question about the Solution Levels in a DWC.
I've never grown anything but I've been researching my first grow for a while, now im at the stage where im considering the chemistry/nutrient side of things in detail. But before I get into that I first need to work out the plumbing and out how many Gallons I need my system to hold for my plants....Hopefully you can help me on my way.
Imagine I had 2 x 15Gallon Tubs, with 3 x plants in each tub, so 6 plants total.
Imagine I also had a third 15Gallon Tub which I use as a Control Bucket, complete with a Valve fed from a Large Reservoir that I mix my solution in.
Basically, I'd like to work out a rough estimate for how much solution each plant will drink, so I can finalize my tub and reservior size.
For instance, depending on the answer I may chose 6 individual Buckets over 2 Tubs, or chose a larger Reservior etc. So any info you can provide will be apprciated !
My set-up isn't set in stone as you can see, but im definetely going with a DWC/Control Bucket set up.
Now I just want an IDEA of what to expect from my Plants drinking habits, so I can continue my planning.... thanks!
From what I've read, and this could be wrong, the best nutrient set-up for a beginner is where you mix together your solution in the Reservior and then top up the solution level with fresh water as your plant drinks the level down. Apparently, adding fresh water as your plants soaks up the solution keeps the ppm low, which is a good thing. Then, when the nuterient strength in the Reservior gets low/too diluted, you add more nutrient to the existing solution along with fresh water to top the overall solution level back up. You then start the process from the beginning, allowing the plants to drink the solution back down while you refill the reservoir with fresh water and slowly dilute the Nutrient...
Some people think new Nutrient should be added weekly, gradually increasing its strength, so I need to know HOW MUCH my Ladies will drink in order to decide what Volume Reservior and Tubs to use in my set up. I'd hate to buy a Reservior that can't keep up with my ladies, as I'd have to top up mid-week to keep up. I'd rather be able to plan a system which can support my plants drinking needs for at least a week. ALSO, I've read some people keeping the same Nutrients in the system for the whole grow!!! Or for a few weeks at a time. For me to have the flexibility to chose how long I keep the same Nutrients in my system, I need an idea of how much each Plant drinks. Ideally, I'd like to plan my system around a weekly Reservior top up, but its nice to have options!
So thats my question - You might need to know how large I plan to grow my 6 plants to give a good answer - I want my first grow to be 3 months / 12 weeks. That means 1 month veg from clone up to 1FT tall then 2 months flowering up to 3FT tall at Harvest. Can you could give me an idea of how much one plant drinks on a monthly basis over 3 months, or better yet on a WEEKLY basis, 4 weeks veg and 8 weeks flowering? That would be perfect Bud !
Thanks again Street Legal, great Thread!
