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1st DWC attempt

Hi guys,  
 
I've taken my first step into hydroponics with a homemade outdoor DWS set-up and have a concern and a questions that hopefully someone can hep with.  I've been trawling through web sites and to be honest its information overload for me as I tend to obsess / over think these things, so I thought it best to ask here for piece of mind.
 
Firstly a little bit of background... The system I've built is nothing fancy, just a 50L black tub, with about 30L of solution and two 190cm diameter baskets.  I've got a 400L/hr pump running two air stones (one below each basket).  I've covered the box in white paper to reflect the sun and the temp on a 32C day in the tank is between about 18-22C.  
 
DWC_zps9bde34dc.jpg

 
For nutrients I'm going with chilli focus as I had about 5L of it lying around from last years soil grow.  I've started out with tap water that has been de-chlorinated over 72 hrs.
 
Before I added the plants, I just ran the system for 72 hrs to get the pH set.  Day 1 was to de-chlorinate.  Day 2 was to assess and adjust the pH to 6.0.  Day 3 was to adjust the pH after adding my nutes.  My solution is running at about 800 ppm (1.6 ms/cm) with the nutes included.
 
Concern No. 1 - After the initial 72 hrs before I even added the plant to the basket, the solution is slightly cloudy (see below photo).
 
20141217_141133_zpsd9fd685b.jpg

 
Is the semi-clear colour of the water normal after adding some nutes? Should I be thinking of trying a new batch of water (I've had two goes at the water before I added my 1st plant, both times after 48-72 hrs the water turned out like this).
 
Question No. 2 - I've taken a bhut jolokia I've grown from seed in a soil mix and washed off all the potting soil.  The roots were white and healthy looking, but given the size of the plant and the matted roots its too difficult for me to get the roots through the existing holes in the hydro basket.  So what I've done is splay them out as best I can at the bottom of the basket and surround them in clay pellets.  
 
Do you think the plants roots will automatically move to seek out the solution below or should I clip out a few holes to make them bigger and push the roots through?
 
The reason I ask is I have a fatalli to go in the second basket and I'm worried I've ballsed this up and I don't want to kill two plants If I have.
 
Question No. 3 - An easy one, should I be lightly top watering for a few days if the roots are not yet in the reservoir, or do I just leave nature do its thing?
 
Thanks in advance for any advice / tips.

Cheers,
RM.
 
Looks good.
1) Don't over think this. If all you did was put the nutes in the water and adjust the pH, then don't worry about it if the water is a little cloudy.
2) They will grow out on their own.
3) You could do that or you could raise the water level up to cover the bottom of the pot for a couple of weeks until the roots grow out.
 
 
 
Biggest thing, you'll probably find out that two air stones isn't enough for the higher temps of an outdoor setup. Keep a close eye on those roots. If you see some dark and slimy roots, you have root rot setting in. It is caused by a lack of oxygen.
 
Jeff H said:
Looks good.
1) Don't over think this. If all you did was put the nutes in the water and adjust the pH, then don't worry about it if the water is a little cloudy.
2) They will grow out on their own.
3) You could do that or you could raise the water level up to cover the bottom of the pot for a couple of weeks until the roots grow out.
 
 
 
Biggest thing, you'll probably find out that two air stones isn't enough for the higher temps of an outdoor setup. Keep a close eye on those roots. If you see some dark and slimy roots, you have root rot setting in. It is caused by a lack of oxygen.
 
Cool - thanks for the heads up regarding the air pump Jeff, that would not have occurred to me at all.  I canalways get a second pump if needs must, but will check the roots regularly during the summer.
 
Had a slight melt down this evening as I forgot to attach the shade cloth door I'd rigged up to ease the transplant shock.  The damn wind got up and blew it over and topped the bhut! Not the end of the world as I know people top plants all the time, but I wasn't planning on it, so I'm a little pissed off.
 
Will give it a couple of days and then add the fatalli I think.
 
The faint cloudiness of your nutrient solution may be unimportant. In some cases, it is a problem called 'nutrient lock'. The two most common causes of it are as follows:
(1) the nutrient is a 2 or 3-part formula, and you mixed them together before you added them to the water. The calcium is usually in one part of most 2-part formulae, the phosphorus (technically, 'phosphate') in another. At such high concentrations, the two ions combine to form calcium phosphate, which is almost completely insoluble. It coalesces into colloidal particles, which can "fog" the solution. Your plant will show symptoms of calcium and phosphorus deficiency within a week.
Take two 20-liter buckets of water... if the totLal volume in your nutrient tank is (for example) 30 liters, apportion 15 liters water to each. Add part #1 to one bucket, mix thoroughly, pour into tank. Ditto for part #2.

(2) if this doesn't work, determine whether your water source has large amounts of impurities -- iron, sulfate, calcium, etc. If your water is quite 'hard', the excess calcium carbonate will react as mentioned in (1) above. Secure a better water supply.
If purer water is unavailable, and the contaminant IS CaCO3, one useful trick is to pH balance the water to neutral (pH 7.0) with phosphoric acid. Then add your nutrients.
Note: the water will still be fogged with CaPO4, but it will not lock nutrients out of solution.

Consult your hydroponic store or garden center for further details... Ca and Po3 aren't the only nutrients involved every time. And Jeff H is more likely to be right than me: often that haze means nothing.
 
mikeg said:
Consult your hydroponic store or garden center for further details... Ca and Po3 aren't the only nutrients involved every time. And Jeff H is more likely to be right than me: often that haze means nothing.
 
I guess I should have clarified what I wrote a little more.
 
 
Jeff H said:
Looks good.
1) Don't over think this. If all you did was put the nutes in the water (by following the instructions on the nutes) and adjust the pH, then don't worry about it if the water is a little cloudy.
2) They will grow out on their own.
3) You could do that or you could raise the water level up to cover the bottom of the pot for a couple of weeks until the roots grow out.
 
 
 
Biggest thing, you'll probably find out that two air stones isn't enough for the higher temps of an outdoor setup. Keep a close eye on those roots. If you see some dark and slimy roots, you have root rot setting in. It is caused by a lack of oxygen.
 
The component with the calcium always goes first and the parts never get mixed together while concentrated.
 
It's a one bottle nutrient called Chilli Focus by GT, but its good to know about adding stuff with calcium first.
 
Seeing as both times I adjusted the pH after the nutes went in, would seem logical that perhaps it could be CaCO3.  
 
I'm going to see what happens with this bhut for a week or so, then maybe move the next plant in if its does OK and does not start looking deficient.  
 
I knew I should have paid more attention to chemistry as a kid! Thanks guys...
 
So I followed the directions on the bottle and went for the lowest dose of the three they recommended... The plant is showing some serious fert burn!
 
Seems I will be struggling with DWC (as people have suggested) due to our very high day time temps.  I did a check the other day and the reservoir got up to 28C... I think evaporation is making the strength stronger.
 
I will probably opt for more litres in the reservoir (up it to 40L rather than 30L) and start with a much lower ppm while the plant is small - especially since I accidentally topped it.
 
So my plants in the hydo set-up are leaning over when its windy.  The expanded clay pellets don't hold it in place well enough.
 
Is this just because the root systems are not grown down through the netting yet and I should just wait it out until they are more established. Or, should I be trying to rig up a stake system? Its a little hard to stake tho, as The bulky nature of the hydro set-ups make it a little problematic.
 
Moving the plants to a less windy location is not really viable either.
 
I could use some help with a novel way to help stabilise the plants in a hydo setting, or some guru advice... like  if I should just wait until the root systems get bigger so the plant supports itself.
 
Valo said:
Can you setup some kind of wind barrier using tarps or similar?
 
I picked up 4 x 1.5 m long pieces of 20 mm PVC from the recycling centre and I will spud them in the ground like usual stakes can try tying them down to that... but the tarp idea might be possible on one side - I will take a look tomorrow.
 
Also, somehow a slug, spider and a tiny snail managed to get into the reservoir... so I've transplanted the net pot to a 18L barrel and put both air stones in that.  The system is a lot more air-tight so that should keep the pests out (I hope!).  It means I have one less DWC plant, but better than two dead DWC plants I guess.
 
The re-growth after the "accidental" topping is coming through much quicker than when I topped a plant last year in soil, so that is a good sign :)
 
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