PPM going down....

This is my first go at hydroponics. I keep reading about ppm going up in the reservoir, but why does it go down? I though plants drank more water than used nutrients? Should I just add the base nutrients straight to the res to bring them back up?

Therrion said:

This is my first go at hydroponics. I keep reading about ppm going up in the reservoir, but why does it go down? I though plants drank more water than used nutrients? Should I just add the base nutrients straight to the res to bring them back up?

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No. Mix in what you need into a separate container, then add that

This is an area ive seen a lot of varying info on but this is what ive gone with and its worked well for me so far.

The plants will take what they need from the solution be it specific nutes or just plain water. Thats one reason why we need to change out the solution often too.
So it can eat more than it drinks for sure. If youre seeing a big drop in ppm they want more!
Ideally you want your water level to drop without your ppm changing.

I run a top off system and make extra nutrient solution to last up to a week at the same strength. If ppm is more than like 50-75ppm lower ill aim for 100 ppm higher than i started the week before. If it goes up too much ill dump the system and start lower.
I just do my math for how much I need to add to get it to where I want and mix it in a bucket with a little bit of water and dump it in.

Big ph drops could indicate a problem in your root zone. What color are your roots? What are your water temps? Are you sure you have enough DO in your system. First go at hydro I’m guessing that you have messed up some or all the necessities of growing in hydro.

I get you were looking for a quick answer but it’s kind of like giving us a single peice to a 100 peice puzzle and expecting us to tell you what the picture is.

Ppm not ph.

They’re hungry. Feed them more.

I like to see ppm's drop a little, then I know they are eating. Just keep it in check and don't let it drop too much. I have had ppm's drop to 100 ppm. That is less than my tap water. It's an easy problem to fix.

When I start a new res with a new crop usually what happens too me is that my solution which will have a PPM of let's say 1000 and a PH of 6, the PH will increase (I buy more PH down than up) and my PPM's will increase.
Once my tank is set up (I use a RDWC drip with Hydroton), I simply add more water to keep my PPM's in check (no more nutes), and adjust PH accordingly, mostly down, but sometimes I have to bring it up.
That's the name of the game in Hydro, it's adjusting PH, which is extremely important.
No big deal, but it will fluctuate and should be adjusted daily.

Yup. You should have a target PPM for the most part and try to keep that, whether it be by adding a hot nute mix to raise the ppms or adding water to lower.....all the while while keeping the PH in a good range.

Never have checked PPM. I always checked PH, PH is king in DWC

Your missing the point.