Quote:
Originally Posted by Godzilla
I am a very beginner and have a question.
I understand you pump water into the clear bottles, as shown by the yellow lines. When you shut the pump off how does the water go back into the blue thing? Does gravity push it all the way down and up the water level pipe and into the blue thing? (as shown by the red)
Also, can anyone point me into information about how often you change out the water? I assume you add water as it evaporates and the plants absorb it.
One again, very new. |
Once the pump shuts off (because water seeks its own level) the water siphons back into the reservoir back through the pump. As far as changing the
nutrient solution, that will be mostly up to you and when you feel they need it. Some plants are considered heavy feeders, meaning they use up the
nutrients faster than other plants. Water temp and pH levels can have an impact on the longevity of the solution also. As well as the size of the reservoir in comparison to how many plants and how big they are (bigger plants will use up the nutrients faster). Although a basic rule of thumb, it is generally considered best to change the nutrient solution every 1-2 weeks. Yes, you would want to replace what evaporates because the elements in the nutrients don't evaporate and the solution would become concentrated as the water evaporates.
I have read that some people don't change them at all but just add more nutrients to what is already there, I haven't tried this myself. As the plants drink up what they need and leave what they don't it throws off the balance of the elements in the solution, and over time can cause bad chemical reactions with the plants and even cause nutrient lock. I changed the nutrients of my pepper plants every week because they are heavy feeders and using 14 gallons of nutrient solution for 10 plants. I changed the nutrient solution for my strawberry's every 3 weeks because I was using a 32 gallon reservoir for 32 plants and I am not sure but don't think they were heavy feeders. They were also less than half the size of the pepper plants. But I would keep an eye on them and if they weren't looking healthy I would change it earlier. Also if you need to keep adjusting the pH level more than usual that can be a sign that they are out of balance.