Hydroponics....Everything You Need To Know!

[Ric]

Bizzaro

No my meter has not arrived yet. I double checked UPS tracking and they say it is on time and due for delivery tomorrow Wednesday Mar 30.

My well water is good, but that is the first thing I will test with it. From there I will try Distilled water and then the Spring water sold at the stores. I am sure spring water will have a lot of TDS added for taste. But it will be interesting. Of course once I get a base line I will start my Bubbler and add only 100 PPM to establish roots on my clone. If by chance my well water is low enough in TDS I will use it. But that is a fat chance. BTW I also have city water in the house, But I wouldn't even think of using it. Of course I will test it also.

[Mike J]

Ok guys, the setups you guys have sound very technical to a Green (Rookie) person like myself.

How much space do you need to set up a system?
What all plants or veg. do you guys grow, if it is limited?

Im still picturing my Grandma's window ledge with a glass full of water with a plant growing in it that she just filled up when it got low.
I dont even remember her ever taking the plant out of the glass and planting anywhere...LOL

Anyway I will just keep reading your posts and may start something up when I get some time.

Very good Thread guys!!

PS Thanks GM

[Dr.Bizzaro]

I need 2 units to move to the south, cover the assualt team, the enemy will be driven into a kill zone to the North...
I want all captives, alive.
Also, burn all captured gear..

Units will converge on area !, attack and fall back towards the berm...



good luck, and know we are driving a stake in the heart of horrible enemy...

[lorenzo piedra]

My setup:

Photoron with 2.5 gallon homemade bubbler in a Sauder wardrobe with power vented exhaust.

Nuff said?

[Woody]

Kaiser Stone:

Your setup sounds strikingly similar to that of someone I know out in California.

B.G.V.:

The BEST magnets are of the neodymium/iron/boron variety. I know of places to obtain them in outrageous flux densities and sizes. The 2 biggest problems with using the bigger Nd/Fe/B magnets are, with the larger ones (1-2 inch diameter, 1/2 inch or more in thickness) of the higher flux densities (grade 35SH and higher), if your finger gets between 2 of these while they are pulling towards each other, you will most likely have a BROKEN FINGER. No kidding. Also, if 2 of them attract and slam into each other, they will shatter into a million pieces, a bigtime eye hazard.

Let me ask you... How do you have the magnets arranged. As a single, as a pair in mutual repulsion, or as a pair in mutual attraction?

Woody

[Dr.Bizzaro]

attraction.....

[Ric]

Woody

You have my curiosity about the Soviet Engineers and their uses of magnets in steam lines. If you insist on keeping this a secret I will be forced to call My PhD brother in Law. I am sure he would know being he is a retired chemist.

BGV.

As per the shipping tracer My Meter arrive but a few minutes ago. I have in out the box and have finally started to read the instruction since all else has failed. I presently have it standing in a Glass of Distilled water watching the pH meter slowly drop. I will offer only a little info about pH here for those who might be reading.

pH is the inverse proportion of the Hydrogen Ion in a solution. In layman terms it measures acidity vs alkalinity. Vinegar or Baking soda. 7 is neutral and 1 is very acidic 14 is very alkaline. The pH of my distilled water is 6.48. I am not sure it is right at this point since I have just started to play with it. After it is calibrated in a buffer solution I can get perfect readings.

EC Electric conductivity is .09. Now it might be pointed out that distilled water can not pass electrons and is actually and insulator. How ever particles in water cause it to conduct electrons. Salt Water will pass the most Electrons and this is the way the amount of salt is measured with the PPM part of the meter. Knowing the PPM of fertilizer which is a salt is what we are trying to calibrate for in a Hydroponic set up.

Now a problem has arisen The meter send to me is model # G78130 and it only reads in Parts Per Thousands PPT and not PPM Million. I have called Gempler's and they have G78129 in stock and will exchange the meters for me. However I must attach a decontamination document to the return shipping box. Of course This is more hassle than I want, but Life is a Beach and then we Die.

[Ric]

BGV

I have returned the wrong Meter and hopefully will recieve the correct one shortly. Yes I was very excited yesterday when I recieved that meter. I am all set up with a small bubbler ready to go. One last thing holding me up is the PPM Meter. Could I start without it? Sure. In fact the local Hydroponics store has a lot cheaper models that would work just as good. But I am an Equipment freak and like to have good stuff. Therefore yesterday afternoon I went out and purchased a very good laser level for a small grading job I have to do on Friday. Sure my old one would have done the job, but it is a two man operation with one looking through the level and the other holding the stick. With the new laser level I can do it alone by setting up the level and then holding the stick with a laser detector. It has a range of over 2,000 feet with the laser detector.

BTW above I misstated pH. It is the inverse proportion of the LOGARITHM of the Hydrogen Ion in a solution. Logarithm is a function of math that deal with extremely high numbers.

[Woody]

Ric:

They used very large electromagnets to keep the ions from coming out of solution, thus keeping the boilers quite clean. I actually viewed a patent on it at one time.

More goes on than meets the eye when dealing with water. There are ways to actually change its structure (water is a polymer, believe it or not, or rather, behaves like one), which are verifiable by an actual change in viscosity, by utilizing nothing more than motion and a few strong magnets. This effect has been verified many times over.

On the subject of distilled water...... To check distilled water, I use the Hanna PWT (Pure Water Tester), which is designed to read from 0.1 microSiemens up to about 50 microSiemens (uS for short). They also make an Ultra Water Tester for checking deionized water. It reads from 0.001 uS to about 2.0 uS, very pure water indeed. For the record, 2 uS is roughly 1 PPM of dissolved calcium carbonate, the calibration standard.

Ric, your distilled water will ALWAYS be slightly acidic (pH lower than 7.0), unless you vaccuum outgas it, and keep it under an argon environment. Distilled water is VERY "aggressive", and it will absorb carbon dioxide right from the air, thus forming weak carbonic acid, thus lowering the pH. The dissolved CO2 also increases the conductivity of the water, which is why it is near impossible to get water that measures less than about 0.8 uS on a Hanna PWT. Using a reverse osmosis/deionization unit will get you water that is purer than distillation, because you can limit its exposure to CO2, and you can always keep recycling it through the deionization media until it is time to use it.

B.G.V., your orientation of the magnets is correct. Some people aren't sure just how to do it. Big changes would occur to the water if it were to be allowed to form a natural vortex (especially if the spin was clockwise, looking down from the top), and there were a few pairs of magnets right at the apex of said vortex.

Woody

[Ric]

Ok Fellows

I am Guessing, But it have something to do with 'Ions"? And keeping the plumbing lines free of dissolved solids??

Woody

Thanks of the education once again. I had the right Idea just not all the facts. At one time I thought I was pretty sharp but you are proving me wrong and in a great way. It is interesting how water the Universal Solvent works. One fact I know is it both expands under the addition of heat and the subtraction on heat. Ice actually expands yet the air around it contracts. Please keep it coming my way I am rather enjoying the knowledge you have to offer. It is the most I have learned on these Forums in a long time.

[Mike J]

Ph Tester...?

Ive got a 2 Hanna ph testers that wont stay calibrated.....any suggestions?

How do you guys clean it after use....do you just rinse it with tap water?

Woody...What type of boilers are you referring to.....high or low pressure? Ive got 3 low pressure boilers that I maintain.....If I can keep them a little cleaner to avoid brushing tubes as much (every other year ) then fill me in? Providing its cost effective?

[Woody]

Mike J:

Brushing tubes?? Sounds like a Fulton boiler. I've worked on a few of those. Prone to sight glass leakage. The BEST option for boiler feeds is to work with a water engineer. He can test the source water, and recommend treatment. The Soviet systems were most likely very high pressure steam, which was regulated down before entering homes. They used MASSIVE DC electromagnets on them. I mean HUGE. THen again, you are talking about heating an entire city, some of which are very close to the arctic circle (or possibly even above it).

Ric:

Yep, water contracts (becomes denser) all the way down to 34 degrees F. After that, it DECREASES in density. This is why ice ALWAYS forms on the top of a lake, and why the bottom is always the last to freeze. This is also why ice floats.

And yes, I have WAYYYYY too much stuff in my head. LOL!

Woody

[Ric]

Woody

I got a question about the electronic Dog fence with dog collar. Do you think is might be of some value in keeping undesirable Ions out of our Reservoir. We seem to be having trouble with over fertilization. Could a magnet field caused by the DOG fence around our perimeter help keep out unwanted and undesirable Fertilizer. We seem to be having a continuing problem with a Undissolved solid waste. I believe the hold Hydroponic system would express itself to the fullest if we could just totally get rid of this Undissolved Solid waste. I also believe there are alternatives to having this undissolved solid waste in our system.

[Woody]

Ric:

I'm not sure I'm fully following you. The magnetic flux fromm a dog-type buried perimeter "invisible fence" is very weak.

Sodbuster:

At this point in time, hydroponics is a hobby for me. In my longer range plans, it iwll become a huge money maker for me, ideally becoming the majority of my income.

Woody

[GrassMaster]

LOL, this thread will probably close the Forum Completely Down?????

Gentlemen:

Would one of you Rocket Scientist or Power Reel Techs Please give...

The Definition of what Hydroponics actually is so the masses will know if they are Qualified to Participate or not?????

Please participate on this thread if it Concerns Hydroponics!

If it's not about Hydroponics... STAY OFF & GO TO ANOTHER TOPIC!

I will Baby sit this Motha till I die...