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chopficaro
- Full Member
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Do I have to change reservoir every week?
I don't want do that ----! It will wear out my water filters! Cant I just adjust the ph and add nutrients? I just want to do 2 reservoir changes, once between veg and flowering, and a flush a week before the end.
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rainbowgardener
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I looked back through all your posts and didn't find anywhere where you have really described your system and shown pics of it.
Perhaps people that know more about this would understand because you called it aeroponics, but I think you would get better responses with a good description, including telling us what you are growing in it.... There are lots of different aeroponics systems.
I have a little aerogrow which qualifies as one.
Also, even though you are doing indoor growing under lights, it is still helpful to know what part of the world you are in - is it summer where you are or winter? There are hardly any garden questions that can be discussed without regard to location/ climate.
Perhaps people that know more about this would understand because you called it aeroponics, but I think you would get better responses with a good description, including telling us what you are growing in it.... There are lots of different aeroponics systems.
I have a little aerogrow which qualifies as one.
Also, even though you are doing indoor growing under lights, it is still helpful to know what part of the world you are in - is it summer where you are or winter? There are hardly any garden questions that can be discussed without regard to location/ climate.
This is what I got from frequently asked Q&A questions.
At the farm in Hawaii, the water in the aquaponic tanks are drained weekly. There is more to it than just nutrients, bacteria and fungal counts will also rise in the water, some of the 'silt' ends up in the bottom of the tanks. Algae grows and takes up oxygen and turns the water green. Some types of algae will actually start to plug the system when it grows.
The hydro system also needs to be flushed periodically and everything needs to be cleaned.
How often should I change my nutrient solution?
There really isn't an amount of time that should be used to determine how often you should change your solution. A good rule of thumb to follow first of all is to top your reservoir off with fresh water without any nutrient added. This is because you will lose water to evaporation and plant uptake but the strength of the solution does not necessarily drop with the level of the water. So, in some cases as the reservoir water level drops the solution concentration actually goes up or gets stronger. So, add only fresh water and then adjust your pH accordingly. Try and keep a record of how much water you are putting in the reservoir to top it off and once the amount of water added equals half of the reservoir capacity it is time to change the solution and rinse the reservoir and growing medium. For example if you have a 20 gallon reservoir and over the course of 12 days you have added 10 gallons of water, then it is time to change your solution.
At the farm in Hawaii, the water in the aquaponic tanks are drained weekly. There is more to it than just nutrients, bacteria and fungal counts will also rise in the water, some of the 'silt' ends up in the bottom of the tanks. Algae grows and takes up oxygen and turns the water green. Some types of algae will actually start to plug the system when it grows.
The hydro system also needs to be flushed periodically and everything needs to be cleaned.
How often should I change my nutrient solution?
There really isn't an amount of time that should be used to determine how often you should change your solution. A good rule of thumb to follow first of all is to top your reservoir off with fresh water without any nutrient added. This is because you will lose water to evaporation and plant uptake but the strength of the solution does not necessarily drop with the level of the water. So, in some cases as the reservoir water level drops the solution concentration actually goes up or gets stronger. So, add only fresh water and then adjust your pH accordingly. Try and keep a record of how much water you are putting in the reservoir to top it off and once the amount of water added equals half of the reservoir capacity it is time to change the solution and rinse the reservoir and growing medium. For example if you have a 20 gallon reservoir and over the course of 12 days you have added 10 gallons of water, then it is time to change your solution.
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chopficaro
- Full Member
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- Joined: Sun Dec 13, 2015 5:40 pm
I have algae growing in my rain barrel. Depending on where you live, you can still have algae growth in hydroponic systems. I live on an island and the fresh water supply comes from the fresh water lens that sits under the caprock under the city and in dikes in the mountains. The algae are already in the groundwater when it is pumped and it is filtered but not heated so the algae is still alive. How, do I get algae in my rain barrels from rain water you ask. The answer is from the roof. Algae and fungal spores are spread from lichens growing on trees and even on the house in a moist humid envrironment so the runoff from the roof constains algae. If the barrel is in the light the algae is green when it is in a dark container or covered it is brown, but it is still algae.
The farm uses synthetic fertilizer in most of the hydroponic systems mainly because the organic hydro systems are not very good. Some of the rails are run from the fish tanks. The synthetic hydro and aeroponic towers still grow algae and still need to be cleaned and you still have the issue of the bacterial and fungal counts.
if you live in a dry environment and your water source does not contain algae. You have no algae growing on your sidewalks or mildew on your house, or algae in your pond, then maybe it won't be a problem for you.
The farm uses synthetic fertilizer in most of the hydroponic systems mainly because the organic hydro systems are not very good. Some of the rails are run from the fish tanks. The synthetic hydro and aeroponic towers still grow algae and still need to be cleaned and you still have the issue of the bacterial and fungal counts.
if you live in a dry environment and your water source does not contain algae. You have no algae growing on your sidewalks or mildew on your house, or algae in your pond, then maybe it won't be a problem for you.
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chopficaro
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applestar
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Is there an easy way to test the solution to determine when reservoir change is necessary?
What I got from imafan's first response is that it's not a maintenance chore that is/should be scheduled by time so much as by need. If your set up lasts for two weeks, then I imagine that's OK. But I suspect season and water temp will have an influence too. I can imagine that summertime temperatures would be higher and changing out will be needed more frequently.
What I got from imafan's first response is that it's not a maintenance chore that is/should be scheduled by time so much as by need. If your set up lasts for two weeks, then I imagine that's OK. But I suspect season and water temp will have an influence too. I can imagine that summertime temperatures would be higher and changing out will be needed more frequently.