Battling a res that is constantly dropping in PH, and climbing in PPM. Numbers yesterday morning was 3.6ph(wtf) and 5.0ec. Gave some ph up with some tap water to drop EC. This morning was 6.8ph and 9.0ec. So emptying the res, and starting with a new batch.
Last one got me about 2 weeks checking and adjusting ph and EC every morning.
Oddly my tomatoes are doing the opposite, climbing in PH.
Last grow I just yolod it, didn’t change the reservoir and kept adding full nutes every 3-4 days. Its ppm was off the charts and could have led to some issues, this grow appears to be doing better. All anecdotal and different strains so impossible to actually tell.
Im not correcting it every morning unless the numbers scream at me I’ll let it get from 7.5-6.0 before upping it, add water from 6.0-3.0, but it’s been getting more frequent, so figured time for a reservoir change instead of adding just more tap water again.
The plants not showing any issues I can see, but I don’t see how a reservoir constantly sitting above 4.0 can be beneficial to the plant. So a little preemptive handling before it becomes an issue is my goal there.
I would hate to empty my reservoir every 3-4 days and refill it like it’s recommended.
Yeah when doing this I try to err on the side of caution. It’s easy to see when the plants get a bit hungry from the hue of the green they have, imo. I mean, easier than waiting to see nute burn and lockouts if you have too strong a solution.
I’ve often grown the same strain, so that makes it easier as well. But I’m sure I’d get better harvests if I actually tried optimising that, but I’m lazy and the setup isn’t optimal anyways, and my harvests are decent enough.
And yeah, by the time you’d see actual problems, it’d be a bit too late. Which is why I err on the side of keeping them a bit hungry rather than giving too much.
If I changed the strain, the hydros and the nutes I use, then I’d definitely have to start monitoring.
I think some nutes buffer pH better than others. I use Canna Aqua series nutes, and have little experience with others… Biobizz is another I use but 90% Canna Aqua
Edit and yeah emptying and refilling is a bitch why I don’t do it lol. I’d love to have a proper grow room, a garage or something, and actually have reservoir barrels outside my tents. Small ones, perhaps, but still.