What up with driving straight Perlite...

[disciple]

:)

[nuggdigger]

Timing intervals can be longer when using media in the columns because the media will hold a certain amount of solution. We suggest you time how long it takes the pump to produce a trickle of waste nutrient out the bottom of the columns; this is ideally for how long the pump should cycle (be turned on).
The fresh nutrient only passes through the root zone once. It is VERY important to make sure that the roots are getting saturated during every watering. This is why gardeners will want to turn on the pump and time how long it takes for the first bit of waste water to trickle out of the bottom of the columns. Always increase timing intervals gradually to ensure ON cycle is long enough to prevent the plants from drying out. The reservoir will need to be monitored to avoid both overfilling it on one and or running the pump dry on the other.

From The Cage manual.

[disciple]

:)

[nuggdigger]

thanx for the timely encouragement!!

when you ran your pump for one minute how much volume did you pump?

are you able to lift the columns and 'feel' the weight?

[disciple]

:)

[nuggdigger]

high, i have a few DDoc quotes i could share, but i can't get to them right now as they are in the bedroom and i don't dare wake sleeping beauty...lol

so im going to step a bit off line here and dish nug style..


525 mls of water in 1850 mls of perlite is..(525/1850) roughly 28 percent moisture content by volume...
28% moisture content is not considered too wet by any means..in other words you can not overwater perlite.
keeping your plants wet all the time may not be ideal of course..

imo the biggest worry with dtw is that they will waste to much feed..
first off...your growing how many plants with how much yield, your last concern should be a few dollars worth of food..in fact it can be one of the best investments in the plants overall health..
but mainly, i feel this is due to the fact that they think they are wasting more feed then other growing systems. Take any other hydro system short of soil and you will not find less waste imo..every bubbling bucket, ebb/flow aeroponic system has its volume at least half replaced/thrown out every week or should..lol.
10-25 % runoff is much less then replacing half or all.

so you already know that the top drys out faster then the bottom..and your going to find out that those plants are the ones that are going to harsh out faster due to higher EC media from 'deeper' wet/dry cycles..this is good to know because this is where the plants will always show signs first.

so...if you really want to know how frequently to water,
you could..
give a fresh full feed at lights on..then unhook/shutoff one of the columns. continue to water the rest of the system normally, but watch the top plants in the drying out column..and when you see the very first signs of dryout..take note of how long its been since the lights on watering interval and water the column of course.
you now know how long is too long..but its a base line..and from there go 1/4 to 1/3 that time as watering interval.

now here is where it gets fun:)
i know you love your ppm pen, but the easiest way we can watch our plants ppm condition is in the runoff..if you find your runoff is starting to climb then you need to increase your watering volume...try to maintain feed and runoff within 200ppm for ideal plant health.

now you can establish the frequency and volume;)

peace

[disciple]

:)

[nuggdigger]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turgor_pressure

turgor pressure is like a balloon full of air..let some out and the balloon starts to go down.
the same thing with plants..when they can't take up water..they lose plant pressure and start to wilt. I think you would see the first signs the farthest from the roots, at the top of the plant in the big fullest leaves. They will start to deflate, curl, go down, wilt, lose pressure, whatever..its loss of turgor.
watch closely for the first noticeable sign that should show on the top plant and water the column well immediately. I also suggest you shut off the lights and foliar the plants to assist them in rehydrating without stress. When the plants are back 'up' and dry the lights can go back on and i dont think there will be any sacrifices.
got some great ddoc reads on 400 vs 600 in the cage i can try to get up when i find them...

peace

[disciple]

:)

[nuggdigger]

great!! thanx.

i dint know if you ever got a chance to see the cage and cube manual so i put it up for you..one painstaking keystroke at a time...

peace