do clay balls raise the ec/tds of a hydroponic solution

[bigred 24]

high just started growing with clay balls and i have noticed the ec has raised well above the strength i started with

i just followed these steps

step 1 was all clay balls thoroughly

step 2 put the clean balls in recirculating system

step 3 mixed 50 liters of cannna vega to a ec of 1.3 including tap water plus added rhizotonic

step 4 ad water to system and check ec and ph all is well

step 5 system has been running for a week now and ec is above 3.8

and the plant's are showing little signs of burn especially for week old seedlings in nutrient

that strong i dont think evaporation would account for such a high jump in ec could it be salt's

washing out of the clay

my ec meter is state of the art and is calibrated every week and checked regularly

your help would be much appreciated

big red

[Dust 6,284]

sorry mand on't have any hydro experience, i know it is normal to have some ph fluctuation during first weeks of growth most of the time. but don't particurly remember of high EC like this.

I'm sure someone will pass by and have a good thought

cheers best of luck

[lamsbread 1,369]

This is something I am looking into as well, my next grow (hopefully) will be hydro with clay pebbles.

Is you system a "drip" recirculating system? There are a few different types ie. NFT, Ebb &Flow, Aeroponics , satelite drip etc.

Here is a something i found reading a clay pebble description from a hydro supplier - "In drip irrigation systems the pellets can be mixed with a medium with better capillary action, so the feed is dissipated broadly through, to prevent salt build-up."

Hopefully a hydro bod can supply more details.

Peace

Lams

[bigred 24]

i use a recirculating system it works great and in the long run is so cheap the clay balls last forever

im thinking it was from poor quality balls as alot of mud has settled at the bottom of the reservoir

and evaporation so i just added ph stable water to it will flush the whole system in a couple of day's

lamsbread the best system by far is clay balls so cheap to set up and once you have it set up

it will last many years they are so reliable and the plants grow so fast the only thing im scared

of is pythium

[flowers to the people 147]

Clay balls should not do that - watch how much water is being take up by the plants, and how much is evaporating. If it is hot the plants only take up water, and you will lose some water to evaporation. It sounds like this to me, remember less water - high ec . You should check ec and ph every day, and adjust accordingly.

take care

john

[bigred 24]

i forgot to say i added rhizotoni after a i added the nutrient and ec it but they reckon it does not affect ec

been looking at a few other forums and it seems that it does not affect ec but i found it does can anyone else

give me some info on rhizotonic , or should rhizotonic's ec not be worried about as its not a NPK type fertiliser

[flowers to the people 147]

It would have to effect ec, as it contains dissolved nutrients. Ec is always important as if it is too high, then the plants can not absorb nutrients from the medium but instead have water drawn out of the plant. I have used the product you mentioned but it was some time ago, and from memory it most certainly did effect ec - not much but it did raise it.

take care

john

[bigred 24]

i ended up flushing the system and replacing the nutrient , the ec is fine now but if it raises over night it will have to be the clay

and with rhizotonic it doesn't effect the ec by much 4ml per liter for 20 litre's only raised the ec by .02 thanks for everyone's

help but i think in the future if your nutrient solution is worrying you just bin it and start again

[blueskyolympia 149]

dude expanded clay pebbles, ie baked clay/pottery is not plant food.... it is sterile and inert... if u dont wash it the only stuff that will b in the solution is chunks of clay which can damage water pumps...... not heavy meatals which is what an ec/ppm meter reads......

[bigred 24]

i wouldn't be to sure i did a experiment last night and it has a lot to do with the clay i added five litre's of clay and tap water (ec .3) now the

water in the bucket is at a e.c of 1.4 i think this has a lot to do with the quality of the clay

edit the clay was left to sit overnight will test it again tomorrow

[blueskyolympia 149]

if your having so much trouble with the hydroton just throw it out and cut your losses and save yourself the head ache of picking them up off the ground over and over again..... just move on to neoprene rings straight into the grow res..... and hang the plants through those with nothing..... took me over a year and mass money to come to the conclusion the simpler the better..... can use a 2 inch net pot or just neoprene rings from clone through flower if you think about it a little..... mite have to fabricate custom sized neoprene rings..... easy with a razor and pool noodle......

[bigred 24]

this lovely plant is only 8 day's old from seed using clay in these type's of systems expect ultra fast growth

it is currently under a 250 wat mh (to promote females) but once the hps starts up and the co2

you can actually see it grow. with the setup i am using i normaly get a pound per plant in seven

weeks of flowering . tokage there are a lot of good ones but superthrive is another good one

i am going to go back to it after this . blue sky the set up you describe can support the plants

i like to grow but this way gives you the yields clay ball's rock just make sure they are of

good quality

[blueskyolympia 149]

looks like a sweet set up!

more pictures please

[QUICKMARK 17]

i was told from my store that they are no longer going to produce hydrotron clay rocks round fire baked clay,becaus of to many complaints he said they are going off the market soon period. and i am telling you he nows what he is talking about i have duplacated his tecniches and my plants are growing 100 percent better from all of his advice if you are from my area let me no i will give you his nunber they are the biggest where i live and all the products i buy from him are like buying them over the net when you add up the delivery cost from the net his is a little lower,thats how he is a great place he cares about his customers. later

[gonzosghost 1,930]

Hey guys

Just like to say, this problem is surly resolved but I'm pretty sure I've read something about clay pebbles affecting the pH when using R/O'd water. Something to do with ions and such I can't recall