Technically they don't talk to you lol. but just watch them once a day when you ph and see if you notice anything different from the previous day. youll see some sort of sign if your not meeting their needs. Generally when they drink alot thats a good sign their healthy. Also they will most likely be uptaking more nutrients if they drink more. Alot of people drop their ppm if their plants are in a warmer environment and drinking alot.
Alot of people suggest to the bottom of the net pot but i fill mine pretty much all the way up. As long as you have no light on your water. This is one reason you can get root rot. (Dwc growers nightmare lol) and just be careful not to let the water drop too low between top ups as over time you will get salts build up from your nutes and your plants wont uptake as much nutrients. And the water will become more concentrated/higher ppm. This is one of the main reasons you should replace the water in your res every 7 to 10 days.
I've used the little dual port air pumps before and found the flow to not be enough. You want plenty of fine bubbles. And make sure the air stones are right at the bottom. Yes you could block one off to give alot more to the other one but it also depends on the size of your stones. Have a look at the bubbles with both connected then with only one and see if their is a difference!? One of the things you definitely want to get right with dwc is air to the roots. Adequate bubbles to the res will give plenty of oxygen to the roots, keep your solution mixing with minimal settling and reduce the chance of root rot. Plants will grow faster and be generally healthier if it was lacking oxygen to the roots too.
Go with the 2 for now then. Maybe try and find out the flow rate...? You may need another one or a bigger unit?
Itl be safer for you to do it everyday till you get the hang of things and get dialled in i reckon.
If you've adequate air going to your roots, there is no problem with letting your water level stay right below or even touching the botton of your netpot. I leave mine this way. This avoids those nasty looking coord roots and gives your roots a larger space to grow and inhabit. Like you, I run standalones and their biggest downside is that their PH will swing much more frequently, and you have to add back water (and nutrients along with it to maintain ppm's) a lot, in mid flower I oftenly have to add back 1/4th to 1/2 of a gallon to each bucket everyday. But it's worth being able to tailor each plant's res to their needs. If you don't intend on buying a water chiller, I would look into getting some beneficial bacterias. I very oftenly get water temps at 72F or even higher and have never had root rot running beneficials. Like Hydro4life mentioned, it may be worth looking into larger air pumps, but that really depends on how many buckets you're connected to. If you've just 1 or 2 buckets, it's probably good to go. But if you're running 3 or 4, that may be a different story. I know setting up is a pain, but it is so worth it when you find your groove
Some very good points there Logan!!If you've adequate air going to your roots, there is no problem with letting your water level stay right below or even touching the botton of your netpot. I leave mine this way. This avoids those nasty looking coord roots and gives your roots a larger space to grow and inhabit. Like you, I run standalones and their biggest downside is that their PH will swing much more frequently, and you have to add back water (and nutrients along with it to maintain ppm's) a lot, in mid flower I oftenly have to add back 1/4th to 1/2 of a gallon to each bucket everyday. But it's worth being able to tailor each plant's res to their needs. If you don't intend on buying a water chiller, I would look into getting some beneficial bacterias. I very oftenly get water temps at 72F or even higher and have never had root rot running beneficials. Like Hydro4life mentioned, it may be worth looking into larger air pumps, but that really depends on how many buckets you're connected to. If you've just 1 or 2 buckets, it's probably good to go. But if you're running 3 or 4, that may be a different story. I know setting up is a pain, but it is so worth it when you find your groove
Yes, good luck!
