Does "not topping-off" DWC affects yield?

[kubat]

Hello all,

I have a 5 gallon bucket for my DWC. Ladies drink like gallon per day. There are many discussions on what to top off with, like plain water or nute mix.

I prepare a nut mix consists of 9-10 different supplements, such as AN Nirvana, Bud Ignite, B-52 and so on.I dont wanna mix 10 solutions

So my question is how much yield/growth does the plant miss after drinking half of the rez?

Or let me ask this way, how much of the roots must be submerged?

What happens to the root in the air gap?

Thanks in advance. I love you all

[Blowdout2269]

Good question!
Welcome to the forum btw.
I'm new to hydro, so I'm just here for the response, lol.

[kubat]

thanks. I am kinda experienced with DWC. I have a complete hand made system. I'd love to help

[alltatup]

I usually top off during flower when the plants are drinking more, because it's kind of like flushing in a way in between adding nutes. My plants seem to like it, and it definitely keeps nutrient lockout at bay. I have no idea how it affects yield, because it's what I do.

[Blowdout2269]

Top of with just straight pH'd water? And just add nutrient water at res change?

[alltatup]

I wrote "in between adding nutes." Like a flush, a break from more nutes.

[DW2]

Howdy kubat, Maybe I can help you out. The roots need from 2" to a 3" air gap for absorption of O2 (as well as very well aeriated water). As for the toing off at mid-week, when to plants begin taking up a lot of water, during the rapid growth, the nutrients are not taken up as readily as the H2O causing the nutrients to become more concentrated. Topping of the reservoirs with plain pH'ed water helps the plants to continue to support the rapid growth without the chance of nutrient burn, or nutrient lock-out. I have found, thru trial and error, that giving the plants a 'break' with the mid-week top-off seams to prevent the lock-out and ad to over-all plant health. Just listen to alltatup and Blowdout2269
Good luck with your growing.

[Blowdout2269]

Thanks DW2 ! That's basically what I did through my first DWC grow. I gotta find a better system to build. The tub like shown on GWE is kind of a pain in the ass when u have a monster plant in it, lol.
Probably going to have some questions in the future.

[Going2fast]

Stellar. Dirt guy myself but love learning.

[DW2]

Hey Blowdout2269, in my (bubble Phonics style) DWC (or RDWC with the water pumps circulating the nutrient mix) I use 3 3/4" net pots and have raised plants up to 54" tall. I have since the early days, learned to better control the pants height (I still use a bunch of yo-yos though!). Once the root mass gets developed, it's weight adds stability to the plant.

[Blowdout2269]

DW2 - I'm assuming that your nutrient solution is circulated from a separate reservoir though, correct?
This was basically my original build:

Straight from GWE.

Wonder if the OP is ever coming back, or cares that we've pretty much highjacked this, lol.

[DW2]

Howdy Blowdout2269, I do not use a separate reservoir, my set ups are just like the schematic that You posted, water pump inside and feeding at the bottoms of the net pots. There are six locations in the top, but I use only five of them for plants, the other one holds an ice bottle to keep the water temperature down. I just cut out the bottom of the net pot to hold the bottle in place and have a cover over it to block out light leaks. This set up has worked well for me for the past 11 grows.

[Blowdout2269]

Damn, five plants in one tub???
Ok, next question(s) for ya DW2
How big is the tub?
Do you have a drain valve, or do you vacuum out remaining liquid when doing a reservoir change?

[DW2]

Blowdout2269 The totes that I'm using are Sterlite 10 gallon maximum, but I only use six gallons. I have a drain spout at the bottom to drain the reservoir into a bucket for the changes. The reservoirs sit on a board on top of two inverted buckets to allow gravity to do the work (lol). There are also four grommeted holes for the black airline tubing for the air stones (2" diameter x 4" long). To be clear, I start five plants in the reservoirs, but either due to a stunted plant, or just being 'crowded out by a more robust plant, the number of plants to maturity only averages around three lants to harvest. I also wrap the reservoirs with insulation (bubble wrap!) around the bottom and cover over the tops of the net pots with aluminum foil, to prevent light intrusions.

[BU2B]

kubat I’ve been growing pretty much hydro only for about 10 years and like you - I “used to” worry about all the minor details. Over time here’s the method I’ve come to use:

• once your tubs are full and the grow is underway I alternate water/nutes
• like you I grow DWC in 5 gallon tubs not a RDWC system. I found the benefits outweigh the convenience of a RDWC system if growing different strains
• because I use DWC and not RDWC nutrients and/or water can be used as needed to top off your tubs. e.g.; some plants like two gallons of water, some just one before adding more nutrients
• I mix either ph’d water or nutrients by the gallon. Most nutrient mixes can be safely stored for 7 days if kept out of direct light
• I’ve followed the above procedure for years now and generally average a lb of flower dried and cured per plant, so I really don’t think it hurts yield.

last photo grow

yield per plant ✌️ go, go hydro!

[Blowdout2269]

Is your nutrient solution plumbed from a separate container?

[kubat]

Thanks a lot BU2B

Can you elaborate "once your tubs are full and the grow is underway I alternate water/nutes" please? I am not a native speaker.

Thanks again bro for sharing your experience in such detail.

[BU2B]

kubat & Blowdout2269 you are probably going to have to glean through this and pick out the parts that answer your question(s) but here is my rather wordy reply:

I think I need to start by saying that this is NOT standard Hydro practice and is MY process and may or may not work for you or your sensibilities. As I said I've been growing in Hydro for some time so much of this is just what works for me, my set-up, plants and situational environment. Standard practice is to drain and refill tubs and reservoir's every 7-10 days, over time I've adjusted my grows to only completely changing out tubs 4 times per grow (unless root or other issues demand a tub change). I. Start of Grow, 2. When changing from mild to aggresive growth nutes, 3. Start of Flowering, 4. Finishing - I used to change out tubs every 10 days YEARS ago, but found it is really unnecessary as long as your roots and plants are healthy and your PPM/EC isn't going through the roof. So I start my grow out with full tubs of ph'd water and root innoculant. By sandwiching hydroton/jiffypod/hydroton in a 2" net pot and keeping the water level just high enough for the bubbles to burst and moisten the hydroton I've found that I can avoid top watering to establish roots. Once roots are established I allow the water to naturally evaporate and be used by the plant until it reaches 2-4 inches below the net pot (roots will follow water level downward). I next mix my nutes in a gallon jug and ph'd water and root innoculant in another gallon jug. As the plant needs water I use up first one gallon then the other. Depending on the strain and/or plant development it is YOUR choice to go with either two gallons of ph'd water or water/nutes/water (gallon, gallon, gallon) or water/water/nutes (again gallon, gallon, gallon). Please note that I mix nutrients at 3/4 level called for on the label i.e.; 1 tsp(5ml called for on label) I use a 3ml pipette.

I am hoping this all makes sense but if not, let me know and I'll try other word combinations

[Blowdout2269]

Ok, this is very helpful. I always wondered how you u could establish roots on a seedling without the recirculation part. Thanks bud!

[DW2]

kubat, the feeding schedule that I use for my hydroponic grows is.
First of the feeding cycle (for vegetative and flowering stages) I feed the water and nutriment mix (nutrient levels by the manufacture's levels for the stage of the lant's growth). I adjust the H to 6.0.
At the mid-week of the cycle, I top off the reservoir with plain water, pH adjusted to 6.0. I gage the amount by maintaining the air gap of approximately 1 to 2 inches (25mm to 50mm).
At the end of the cycle, I completely drain the reservoirs, refill and start over.
I hore that this will help You out with Your growing.

[Blowdout2269]

I'm soaking up evey bit of this. Much thanks fellas!

[DW2]

Blowdout2269, no problem, glad to help a fellow grower out when I can.

[Going2fast]

Great information. This has had me intrigued ever since seeing BU2B s grows. May have to set up a simple single bucket one day and do a side by side grow.

[Blowdout2269]

This was my original intention, but it got way out of hand.
I have NEVER had a stalk so thick on any plant, outdoor included. I literally had to take it down with my sawsall. It would have broken any of my pairs of shears and I didn't want to hike to the barn for a pair of loppers, lol. That Big Bud was a monster. Suggestion: much shorter time at 18/6!