Answered How to keep a hydro resivoir clean

DopeDaniel

Taste The Spectrum
IPM Forum Moderator
Pool shock?
Peroxide?
Enzymes?
Bennies?
Air Stones?
Other?

Which method and why? I am currently using perixide but it seems like it has a short lifespan, considering pool shock but the zons priorities seem messed and its not expected until may, so I figure I have time to ask for opinions.
 

HydroRed

3Thirteen Seeds
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
3 days tops on H2o2 (3%) but I've found a sterile res either by pool shock or H2o2 works best for me. I lean toward the H2o2 of the two though. I didnt care for enzymes as it turned my res and flood tray to a foamy frothy mess and the plants didnt seem to like it much either after a week or so. At least with H2o2 theres a benefit to the plant as well as a benefit of keeping the res clean. Kills 2 birds with one stone so to speak.
 

Jewels

Tilts at Tables
Consider-
A rabbit can defecate into an open topped aquarium stocked @ 1 lb per square foot of Talipia.
The fish wish consume the bunny pellet, and produce their own feces.
This water can be directly circulated over cannabis roots, with excellent results.
How 'clean' does it really need to be ?

I vote bennies ?

Yes, I can be a dink.
In this case - Devils advocate.
My hydro experience differs from the online doom and gloom.
My res is 15 Gallon and I remove and replace (watering other plants) 5 gallon a day.
No time to gum up.
If you eat everything on your plate, the garbage can doesnt stink.

Is like sex.
When it's good -you're unstoppable.
When it's bad -no marital aid will save you.
 

spyralout

🌱🌿🌲🔥💨
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Although I would like for simple H2O2 to work for me, unlike Red, I have not been successful with it in F&D. Maybe it wasn't strong enough of a concentration in the water or I didn't refresh it often enough. I've tried two types of bennies, both of which work, but one I am going back to because I have a place to store it.

- "Brewed" Bennie Tea (Hydroguard, Great White, Molasses, brewed with air stones for 36+ hours)
- tried in UC RDWC
- Pros: Clean if initially decanted from brewer to bottle without froth. Doesn't froth up even with 7 air stones and a constant 300+ GPH under current.
- Cons: Almost 2 days to brew, then needs to be refrigerated or used within a couple of days. Better to make bigger batches and refrigerate vs. having to make a little and use up right away, especially if you have more water to treat).

- "Instant" Bennie Tea (Hydroguard, Great White, Recharge) (credits to @Phylex)
- tried in F&D Tote and RDWC Tote
- Pros: Easy. Add ingredients in jug with water and shake like crazy. Eyeball amounts. Recharge is a powder so it can keep for longer. On the fly batches are possible. No need for premaking and refrigeration.
- Cons: Can be frothy, especially if eyeballed amounts are a bit too much. If used in UC RDWC, the frothiness could bubble up out of the net pot if the water was high enough. Stains. The brewed tea can stain when made with higher concentrations but typically the brewing reduces this quite a bit. It doesn't seem to harm anything, but can be messy.

This next run I'll have aquarium UV in my RO collection cans to use for whatever (even outside of watering plants, just in case), then add brewed bennies to the feed water reservoirs.
 

macsnax

Pollen Slinger
Pool shock?
Peroxide?
Enzymes?
Bennies?
Air Stones?
Other?

Which method and why? I am currently using perixide but it seems like it has a short lifespan, considering pool shock but the zons priorities seem messed and its not expected until may, so I figure I have time to ask for opinions.
I use hydrogaurd and change res every 7-10 days. Haven't given the sterile res thing an honest chance so can't say. But I will tell you that you you'll never have that perfectly clean res with mc, even at a fresh change.It sucks for hydro imo, just not clean enough. With mc and bennies I just go by smell.
 

macsnax

Pollen Slinger
3 days tops on H2o2 (3%) but I've found a sterile res either by pool shock or H2o2 works best for me. I lean toward the H2o2 of the two though. I didnt care for enzymes as it turned my res and flood tray to a foamy frothy mess and the plants didnt seem to like it much either after a week or so. At least with H2o2 theres a benefit to the plant as well as a benefit of keeping the res clean. Kills 2 birds with one stone so to speak.
Dude I know, some of those enzymes can get pretty frothy lol
 

macsnax

Pollen Slinger
Consider-
A rabbit can defecate into an open topped aquarium stocked @ 1 lb per square foot of Talipia.
The fish wish consume the bunny pellet, and produce their own feces.
This water can be directly circulated over cannabis roots, with excellent results.
How 'clean' does it really need to be ?

I vote bennies ?

Yes, I can be a dink.
In this case - Devils advocate.
My hydro experience differs from the online doom and gloom.
My res is 15 Gallon and I remove and replace (watering other plants) 5 gallon a day.
No time to gum up.
If you eat everything on your plate, the garbage can doesnt stink.

Is like sex.
When it's good -you're unstoppable.
When it's bad -no marital aid will save you.
Yes but you also have to consider there's always fresh water coming into that water source ?
 

DopeDaniel

Taste The Spectrum
IPM Forum Moderator
Although I would like for simple H2O2 to work for me, unlike Red, I have not been successful with it in F&D. Maybe it wasn't strong enough of a concentration in the water or I didn't refresh it often enough. I've tried two types of bennies, both of which work, but one I am going back to because I have a place to store it.

- "Brewed" Bennie Tea (Hydroguard, Great White, Molasses, brewed with air stones for 36+ hours)
- tried in UC RDWC
- Pros: Clean if initially decanted from brewer to bottle without froth. Doesn't froth up even with 7 air stones and a constant 300+ GPH under current.
- Cons: Almost 2 days to brew, then needs to be refrigerated or used within a couple of days. Better to make bigger batches and refrigerate vs. having to make a little and use up right away, especially if you have more water to treat).

- "Instant" Bennie Tea (Hydroguard, Great White, Recharge) (credits to @Phylex)
- tried in F&D Tote and RDWC Tote
- Pros: Easy. Add ingredients in jug with water and shake like crazy. Eyeball amounts. Recharge is a powder so it can keep for longer. On the fly batches are possible. No need for premaking and refrigeration.
- Cons: Can be frothy, especially if eyeballed amounts are a bit too much. If used in UC RDWC, the frothiness could bubble up out of the net pot if the water was high enough. Stains. The brewed tea can stain when made with higher concentrations but typically the brewing reduces this quite a bit. It doesn't seem to harm anything, but can be messy.

This next run I'll have aquarium UV in my RO collection cans to use for whatever (even outside of watering plants, just in case), then add brewed bennies to the feed water reservoirs.
So am I the only one that can upvote the responses?
High quality answers folks, if anyone has more info on uv please post.
 

HydroRed

3Thirteen Seeds
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Far as I know, every member has the ability to "upvote" or "downvote" all replies to the original question.
as the OP, you have the ability to mark the question as answered or choose the best answer no matter what has been upvoted. The up/down vote is just to help the OP gauge the community's opinion of the answers. You would click the "trophy" next to the answer you find best to choose which you believe is best answer to your question. Once you do that, I believe it will "close" the original question.
 

DopeDaniel

Taste The Spectrum
IPM Forum Moderator
3 days tops on H2o2 (3%) but I've found a sterile res either by pool shock or H2o2 works best for me. I lean toward the H2o2 of the two though. I didnt care for enzymes as it turned my res and flood tray to a foamy frothy mess and the plants didnt seem to like it much either after a week or so. At least with H2o2 theres a benefit to the plant as well as a benefit of keeping the res clean. Kills 2 birds with one stone so to speak.
I read it helps with phosphate adsorbtion/metabloisim.
 

spyralout

🌱🌿🌲🔥💨
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Far as I know, every member has the ability to "upvote" or "downvote" all replies to the original question.
as the OP, you have the ability to mark the question as answered or choose the best answer no matter what has been upvoted. The up/down vote is just to help the OP gauge the community's opinion of the answers. You would click the "trophy" next to the answer you find best to choose which you believe is best answer to your question. Once you do that, I believe it will "close" the original question.
That's correct. Mods can also pick the right answer if they see something that hasn't had any activity in a long time. Highest upvoted post moves to the top of the answers. It gets credited to that poster. It's also set to auto award with 20 upvotes, but we can adjust that if necessary.
 

spyralout

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Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Attached is the document I was reading on UV. Seemed interesting and used the method @spyralout suggested if using bennie's..



Disinfestation of recirculating nutrient solutions in greenhouse horticulture

I would be leaving a light in the RO collection can as it has its own pump and recirculates the water in the can, like a fish tank. This one seems to be inline with the RO?
 

macsnax

Pollen Slinger
So am I the only one that can upvote the responses?
High quality answers folks, if anyone has more info on uv please post.
Copy paste from r.raider. A convo I was having with him today somewhere else. He battled root rot bad at one time and this is what he's up to. Running hydro as well......

"The uv should be used before adding to your system. I run my r/o straight to my uv filter and then to my res or holding tank".

Not 100% what he has going but can find out if you want more info.
 
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