Fully organic DWC

3rd Monkey · Jun 7, 2019

Running manure tea (rabbit and mule) and compost tea in the bucket. The only store bought item is Dutchmasters silica. Water temp has been 76-79. Compost tea is doing its job.

Wasn't sure if I could run full organic like this. Couldn't find hardly anything on the web. Well... so far so good.

Day 9 from sprout.

Logan Burke · Jun 7, 2019

Water temps 76-79F? That is seriously impressive if your res water is 76-79F and your plant is event alive, not to mention sprouting healthy roots in an organic setup.

3rd Monkey · Jun 7, 2019

That would be the compost tea. I've ran compost tea for a while in hydro. It'll handle anything under 80. It's the only way I fly.

This run is more about the manure tea though. Never tried it before in hydro and couldn't find hardly any info on manure tea in hydro anywhere on the net.

If anybody runs like this or finds any info, it would be greatly appreciated. Otherwise, I'll just keep pioneering this manure tea thing lol.

Aqua Man · Jun 8, 2019

Logan Burke said:
Water temps 76-79F? That is seriously impressive if your res water is 76-79F and your plant is event alive, not to mention sprouting healthy roots in an organic setup.

Warmer root temps in hydro are better for growth I think about 77F is ideal but also ideal for bacteria that have an explosive reproductive rate at those temps. The reason most hydro growers go with 68-70 is because it allows some time to react if things go south as the reproductive rates of bacteria is much slower. If you have a good amount of beneficial bacteria and look after them carefully there should be no problems running temps into the 80's. The thing is most people run sterile or change to much water or make complete changouts of water destroying the beneficial bacteria and never truly allowing to fully colonize. So without a good colony of beneficial bacteria it leaves the door open for bad bacteria to take hold. I would say the most beneficial would be denitrfying bacteria as they will break down ammonia/ammonium produced from dying organic matter and leaving no food for other undesired bacteria.

3rd Monkey · Jun 8, 2019

Aqua Man said:
Warmer root temps in hydro are better for growth I think about 77F is ideal but also ideal for bacteria that have an explosive reproductive rate at those temps. The reason most hydro growers go with 68-70 is because it allows some time to react if things go south as the reproductive rates of bacteria is much slower. If you have a good amount of beneficial bacteria and look after them carefully there should be no problems running temps into the 80's. The thing is most people run sterile or change to much water or make complete changouts of water destroying the beneficial bacteria and never truly allowing to fully colonize. So without a good colony of beneficial bacteria it leaves the door open for bad bacteria to take hold. I would say the most beneficial would be denitrfying bacteria as they will break down ammonia/ammonium produced from dying organic matter and leaving no food for other undesired bacteria.

Exactly. In hydro, they coat your roots in a slime to protect from pathogens, make uptake smoother, resist drought, etc.

Amazing little guys.

Aqua Man · Jun 8, 2019

3rd Monkey said:
Exactly. In hydro, they coat your roots in a slime to protect from pathogens, make uptake smoother, resist drought, etc.

Amazing little guys.

20 years growing aquatic plants... I still don't understand how this is not more widely used in hydro. Not necessarily the organic part but the bacteria. The stuff used right now needs to be continually added because its reproductive requirements but if we just change how we do things a bit you can have them thriving for free.

3rd Monkey · Jun 8, 2019

Aqua Man said:
20 years growing aquatic plants... I still don't understand how this is not more widely used in hydro. Not necessarily the organic part but the bacteria. The stuff used right now needs to be continually added because its reproductive requirements but if we just change how we do things a bit you can have them thriving for free.

Couldn't agree more.

There are a lot of commercial bacteria/microbe additives for hydro like hydroguard, gff, and plenty more.

I like the compost tea for the variety of bacteria, microbes and (the missing commercial ingredient) fungi you're adding along with its nutritional bonus.

Logan Burke · Jun 8, 2019

Aqua Man said:
Warmer root temps in hydro are better for growth I think about 77F is ideal but also ideal for bacteria that have an explosive reproductive rate at those temps. The reason most hydro growers go with 68-70 is because it allows some time to react if things go south as the reproductive rates of bacteria is much slower. If you have a good amount of beneficial bacteria and look after them carefully there should be no problems running temps into the 80's. The thing is most people run sterile or change to much water or make complete changouts of water destroying the beneficial bacteria and never truly allowing to fully colonize. So without a good colony of beneficial bacteria it leaves the door open for bad bacteria to take hold. I would say the most beneficial would be denitrfying bacteria as they will break down ammonia/ammonium produced from dying organic matter and leaving no food for other undesired bacteria.

I thought most hydro people kept temps below 70F because water's carrying capacity of O2 is a higher than it is with warm temps? I do agree though that with proper beneficial microbes colonizing the root zone, it does protect higher res temps from allowing bad bacteria to grow. But wouldn't it be healthier for a plant to get higher levels of oxygen to the roots combined with a healthy colony of good microbes?

Aqua Man · Jun 8, 2019

Logan Burke said:
I thought most hydro people kept temps below 70F because water's carrying capacity of O2 is a higher than it is with warm temps? I do agree though that with proper beneficial microbes colonizing the root zone, it does protect higher res temps from allowing bad bacteria to grow. But wouldn't it be healthier for a plant to get higher levels of oxygen to the roots combined with a healthy colony of good microbes?

Absolutely a benefit but there is still adequate O2 in higher temps the important thing is that the O2 can be replenished fast enough from surface agitation.You definately have more of a cushion with lower temps but temps in the high 70's still have adequate levels you just need to make sure its being replenished with surface agitation. 68-70 are actually on the low side of ideal but not so much so that it impedes growth a whole lot. Say if you were to run temps at like 60F they would have even more O2 but the growth would slow considerably more. Now the opposite 77F is deal for growth and still has adequate o2. If you go into the mid to high 80's you start getting closer to levels of o2 that may not be sufficient. This will be plant specific some plants that grow in warmer water have adapted to using less oxygen. With cannabis i believe 77F is the ideal root temp for growth and its just the same in regard to o2 as other temps, you must replenish o2 adequately.

3rd Monkey · Jun 8, 2019

Logan Burke said:
I thought most hydro people kept temps below 70F because water's carrying capacity of O2 is a higher than it is with warm temps? I do agree though that with proper beneficial microbes colonizing the root zone, it does protect higher res temps from allowing bad bacteria to grow. But wouldn't it be healthier for a plant to get higher levels of oxygen to the roots combined with a healthy colony of good microbes?

80 is not going to deplete O2 levels enough to effect it. I use a 2" pot to ensure the roots can gather plenty of oxygen as well.

My bigger concern would be the oxygen being depleted by breaking down the manure tea, but I won't know until I try. I've had several successful grows in water around 80, but never with organic nutrition.

3rd Monkey · Jun 8, 2019

Aqua Man said:
Absolutely a benefit but there is still adequate O2 in higher temps the important thing is that the O2 can be replenished fast enough from surface agitation.You definately have more of a cushion with lower temps but temps in the high 70's still have adequate levels you just need to make sure its being replenished with surface agitation. 68-70 are actually on the low side of ideal but not so much so that it impedes growth a whole lot. Say if you were to run temps at like 60F they would have even more O2 but the growth would slow considerably more. Now the opposite 77F is deal for growth and still has adequate o2. If you go into the mid to high 80's you start getting closer to levels of o2 that may not be sufficient. This will be plant specific some plants that grow in warmer water have adapted to using less oxygen. With cannabis i believe 77F is the ideal root temp for growth and its just the same in regard to o2 as other temps, you must replenish o2 adequately.

The roots also put O2 back into the water as a byproduct of photosynthesis.

Aqua Man · Jun 8, 2019

3rd Monkey said:
80 is not going to deplete O2 levels enough to effect it. I use a 2" pot to ensure the roots can gather plenty of oxygen as well.

My bigger concern would be the oxygen being depleted by breaking down the manure tea, but I won't know until I try. I've had several successful grows in water around 80, but never with organic nutrition.

yeah bacteria also consume o2. But the lower the o2 levels drift from equilibrium the more effective gas exchange becomes.

Changed the last part to be more accurate

Aqua Man · Jun 8, 2019

3rd Monkey said:
80 is not going to deplete O2 levels enough to effect it. I use a 2" pot to ensure the roots can gather plenty of oxygen as well.

My bigger concern would be the oxygen being depleted by breaking down the manure tea, but I won't know until I try. I've had several successful grows in water around 80, but never with organic nutrition.

Add a trickle filter to the system? highly effective at oxygenation of water and provides optimal home for bacteria

3rd Monkey · Jun 8, 2019

Aqua Man said:
Add a trickle filter to the system? highly effective at oxygenation of water and provides optimal home for bacteria

Perhaps that is a plausible solution if I encounter an issue with lack of oxygen. Good idea.

For now, I'll see how far I can go with just an air stone.

PadawanWarrior · Jun 8, 2019

That's awesome. I'll keep watching how it goes. I'm impressed.

Aqua Man · Jun 8, 2019

3rd Monkey said:
Perhaps that is a plausible solution if I encounter an issue with lack of oxygen. Good idea.

For now, I'll see how far I can go with just an air stone.

Another cheap easy way is to put a powerhead in your res. Really help with oxygenation.

3rd Monkey · Jun 8, 2019

Aqua Man said:
Another cheap easy way is to put a powerhead in your res. Really help with oxygenation.

I'm in a 3 gallon bucket lol. If I was rdwc, I could see it, but that's just overkill lol.

I cut my roots back anyway, so I think there will be plenty of oxygen to go round.

Aqua Man · Jun 8, 2019

3rd Monkey said:
I'm in a 3 gallon bucket lol. If I was rdwc, I could see it, but that's just overkill lol.

I cut my roots back anyway, so I think there will be plenty of oxygen to go round.

Ahh didn't realize it was not RDWC

3rd Monkey · Jun 8, 2019

Aqua Man said:
Ahh didn't realize it was not RDWC

Ran it a few grows, didn't care for it. I like to run multiple genetics and it's just too much of a pain the ass to fine tune.

3rd Monkey · Jun 8, 2019

Here's where the magic happens. Starting some new buckets so figured I'd show the process.

Fully organic DWC

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