Flushing/EC

[Guest]

Hi Oz stoners,When you first use a bag of perlite and flush b4 putting clones in what should the EC be (Truncheon) or do i just adjust the Ph,I have a choice of rain(0.0 EC) or tap water(0.2 EC) but am told tap is better,should you start in big pots or small and transplant if using rooted clones,Can you use tap water straight away or do you need to let it sit for 24 hours?PEACE

[Luke Skywalker]

When you first use a bag of perlite and flush b4 putting clones in what should the EC be (Truncheon) or do i just adjust the Ph

 

Well, you couldn't go badly using rain water, after all, it's as pure as it get's next to RO, but yeah, tap water, particularly good tapwater, is great as well.

 

I flush out the dust in my perlite by using a large bucket or container of ph adjusted, (5.0 - 6.0, lower end better) water and soak the amount I'm preparing to use in this. Dunking the perlite below the surface will wash out the dust and crud, which will go to the bottom, particularly if you leave it stand for an hour or so.

 

You can also just run fresh ph adjusted water through the bag initially, and then place the perlite into pots, which are then flushed out several times with water until the runoff is clean.

 

So yeah, don't add any nutrients to the water you're flushing out perlite with initially, just adjust the ph to the low side of the 5-6 mark and get it clean.

 

should you start in big pots or small and transplant if using rooted clones

 

You can go either way, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. For instance, many small pots can be placed closer together under a light, whereas large pots need the lamp to be higher to get light to all the plants. You may also have an advantage in potting up to large pots initially as there will be no "transplant shock" which can occur when you pot up to the next size. Transplanting need not be a harrowing process, and it usually isn't for clones, but sometimes it can set the plants back a couple days whilst they reacclimatise to the new environment... So yeah, there's advantages and disadvatages both ways, you should really think about it in relation to your own space, how you want to grow them etc...

 

Can you use tap water straight away or do you need to let it sit for 24 hours?PEACE

 

Some people insist that it be left for 24 hours to allow the chlorine which is added by the tap water authorities to evaporate. I personally have not seen any bad effects from it, some see the ec and ph drop substantially after leaving water stand open for a day, some don't... So yeah, you could certainly do it, but I wouldn't be beating yourself up about it if you don't, you may just need to keep a closer eye on the ph levels as the chlorine evaporates in the res.

 

Hope that helps mate.

[Pure]

the reason allot of people say tap water is because that is what nutrients are tested with but rain water is fine, really you just need ph at the right level though

 

as for leaving the water out it's an option thing , yes it';s better to leave it for 24 hours to let the chlorine evaperate but if you don't leave it you will still be fine , just make sure the water is not very cold because plants hate really cold water

 

hope that helped if not I'm sure others will add more

[Luke Skywalker]

Yeah, cold water hurts plants...

 

Try and keep res. at around 20 -24 degrees or so, you can cool them with bottles of frozen water in the res, and heat it up with an aquarium heater. Usually the res is kept near perfect in my room because of the sympathetic heat the lamp provides, but muchos changes can happen to nutrient availability in too cold or too hot water, as well as the amount of oxygen you can keep in it too.

[F420]

Hi Oz stoners,When you first use a bag of perlite and flush b4 putting clones in what should the EC be (Truncheon) or do i just adjust the Ph,I have a choice of rain(0.0 EC) or tap water(0.2 EC) but am told tap is better,should you start in big pots or small and transplant if using rooted clones,Can you use tap water straight away or do you need to let it sit for 24 hours?PEACE

 

The others pretty much said it all, but just a coupla things I wanted to add.

Water is a funny thing, I have tried growing with R/O water and what a pain in the ass. The shit goes through the filter so slowly that I wont use it again.

 

Chlorine for one, is NOT bad in the amounts that tap water contains.

Its actually required for plants, and they can suffer from deficiencies.

Thats also why its not always best to use R/O too, as it contains NO Micronutrients.

 

Chlorine, Cl, may affect carbohydrate metabolism and photosynthesis. Chlorine deficiencies may cause stubby roots and wilting. Excess chlorine may cause leaf edges to scorch similar to potassium deficiency.-http://www.rodsgarden.50megs.com/plantnutrients.htm

http://www.marijuana.reallybites.com/plant_abuse.htm

Chloride. These leaves (see Figure 10) have abnormal shapes, with distinct interveinal chlorosis. Plants require relatively high chlorine concentration in their tissues. Chlorine is very abundant in soils, and reaches high

concentrations in saline areas, but it can be deficient in highly leached inland areas. The most common symptoms of chlorine deficiency are chlorosis and wilting of the young leaves. The chlorosis occurs on smooth flat depressions in the interveinal area of the leaf blade. In more advanced cases there often appears a characteristic bronzing on the upper side of the mature leaves. Plants are generally tolerant of chloride, but some species such as avocados, stone fruits, and grapevines are sensitive to chlorine and can show toxicity even at low chloride concentrations in the soil.-http://www.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=5&id=289

Edited September 7, 2004 by Ferengi420