keeping big reservoirs of water to use when needed

anyone have experience in doin this? thinking of instead of brita filtering every time i water which can be a ridiculously time consuming affair, to fill a huge rubbermaid storage bin and let it sit a few days to evaporate the chlorine and such, than using it as i need it....anyone do this? is it okay to mix nutes in big reservoirs....

NOT talkin hydroponics either

yes its cool to mix in a big res. its waaaaaay more efficient!
a lot of growers let their water sit, I used to until I bought a chlorine neutralizer, its cheap and you use one drop per gallon

wow really? that sounds way more efficient than dumping 10 buckets of water in a rubbermaid and waiting 2 days lol....do you ever pre mix your nutes in a big reservoir? i was thinking of doing that on the next grow, dont know how consistent the ratio will be though

I usually let my water sit in 5 gallon buckets for a day or two before using it. I had thought to use a larger container but if something went wrong with it, I'd lose all of it at once and that'd suck.

currently i mix about 20 gallons at a time, i have to be careful when mixing that much to spend a lot of time mixing or else the ph level will suprise me at some point. Other than that if i pay attention theres not really a big downside to mixing big batches.

lamofbodom said:

anyone have experience in doin this? thinking of instead of brita filtering every time i water which can be a ridiculously time consuming affair, to fill a huge rubbermaid storage bin and let it sit a few days to evaporate the chlorine and such, than using it as i need it....anyone do this? is it okay to mix nutes in big reservoirs....

NOT talkin hydroponics either

Click to expand...

i do. and i use a electric pump. way easier to deal with. i use to mix my fish emulshan but not no more, THAT SHIT FLAT STINKS AFTER A DAY OR TWO. my stuff ushally sits mixxed up for a wek or so be4 useing it all.

I have (3) 55 gallon reservoirs. They are food grade barrels, you can find them on eBay for about $40 shipped, and often off of craigslist for $10-$20. Hydro stores sell them for $100-$150, which is retarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrded pricing! TWO of the reservoirs I use for 4 lights. The third I just keep spare pH balanced water.

Why?

--> Dechlorinates
--> Allows time to go from 51(f) which is the tap water temperature to about 65(f) all by itself over a day or two
--> Heck of a lot faster!!!

When I EMPTY a reservoir full of nutrients, I'll fill up little milk jugs and the bathtub with it half full, then add water for the other half, then use it as plant food outside. Have a number of blueberry, strawberry, blueberry, and other vegetables that love it at half strength.

I have been using a UV pond sterilizer thingy with built in pump for years now. Works a treat, but an air-pump & stone will work fine too.

We let ours sit in large watering jugs, then adjust the PH for use on all our plants. Don't really have anywhere I want a big resevoir myself. In most cases, I think you're better off not mixing your nutes till you need them, at least a lot of the liquid ones say they are only good 1-3 days after mixed.

Amazingly, I also do exactly what researchkitty does...

I have three 55gl tubs. One for veg room, one for flower room, and one on standby with RO water. When I empty a resevior; I empty it into my outdoor garden with blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, many herbs and "garden variety" vegetables.

Man, I thought I was being creative and unique. Great minds think alike, I guess. (But I don't have a 6000w grow. Mine is a paltry 4200w.)

the ph definitely changes when it sits....mines went from 5.0 to 8.0 in 3 days...about 10 gallons or so....

after i mix up my nutes and fix the ph and let it sit my ph does not change.

yeah i made a big mistake, i was taking water from the sink and tub...figured it would be of the same source but apparently my kitchen water runs 5.0 and my tub 8.0....

lamofbodom said:

yeah i made a big mistake, i was taking water from the sink and tub...figured it would be of the same source but apparently my kitchen water runs 5.0 and my tub 8.0....

Click to expand...

what how can that be its the same water that runs threw the whole house.

mygirls said:

what how can that be its the same water that runs threw the whole house.

Click to expand...

i do notice they taste different.

perhaps the age of the pipes, or the various other metals might change the ph? i dont know

i have a 30 gallon res.
as long as the water has been sitting for a day or two, the ph stays for a couple days.

i have a circulating pump tho with a pvc rigged to bring the water to the top and back on to itself.

plus a couple airstones. i usually have to adjust the ph only once every time i fill it.

yeah its definitely a taste difference....the kitchen water has a distinct chlorine taste....i live in a fairly old town, from the early 1800's....so maybe the water here is a little harder than usual

probly old rusty ass pipes thats why. mine are all pvc.. big diffrence