How do I manage nutrient balance?

Part 1
Question
Nutrition is the next aspect to be covered in this series about hydroponic management
fundamentals. It is the aspect that especially new and intending growers often consider to be
overwhelmingly the most important aspect of hydroponics. While it is certainly very important,
failure to appreciate that it is only one of numerous important aspects of hydroponic
management has often led to disaster.
There have been two classic scenarios: (a) Hydroponics is all about nutrition hence all my
problems must be nutritional. Wrong! and (b) I have a proven magic nutrient formula,
therefore my problems cant be nutritional. Wrong again!
Answer
Root zone solution
Those who have followed this series will not be surprised to find me pushing the following
critically important aspect. What is the most fundamental aspect of managing nutrition within a
hydroponic system? It is the root zone solution which needs to be managed. Dont get hung up
on only the feed solution, which is not very important in itself, but rather in how it influences the
root zone solution.
Nutrient balance change within a hydroponic system
An important concept to grasp is that the nutrient balance of the input (fertiliser, acid and water)
into a system, will always be different to the nutrient balance of the root zone solution. While
most growers come to terms with this, there are many who find the concept difficult.
The reason for the difference is that individual nutrients are taken up by the plant at different
rates. The apparent relative rates of uptake by the individual nutrients are listed in Table 1.

Commonsense would suggest that a reasonable balance of nutrient to have in the root zone
nutrient solution would be the same as the nutrient balance of the uptake into the plant. However,
unless some compensation is made for these different uptake rates, such a solution would get out
of balance.
The compensation made is to set up the nutrient balance of the root zone solution to optimise the
uptake of nutrients by the plant. This is done by substantially raising the relative concentration of
those nutrients with a slow rate of uptake, that is, calcium, magnesium and sulphur. This

significantly increases the driving force to uptake those nutrients. Similarly, the relative
concentration of those nutrients taken up easily is reduced.
In the special case of ammonium ion, the uptake is so rapid that it is gone soon after being added
in the feed. In fact, analysis of root zone solutions usually shows very little ammonium
remaining, if any at all. This rapid rate of uptake, especially relative to nitrate ion, can be used to
control long term pH drift within the root zone solution.
(Nitrate is a negatively charged ion (NO3-), but ammonium is a positively charged ion (NH4+).
With the rapid uptake of positive ammonium ions, to keep electrically neutral the plant roots
exude positively charged hydrogen ions (H+), the acid ion. The addition of this natural acid
lowers the pH and can be used to offset upward pH drift.)
Table 2 illustrates the typical difference in concentrations of the major nutrients between the
input solution and the root zone solution for a recirculating system.

For cucumbers in rockwoolrecirculating. Adapted from Sonneveld & Straver: Nutrient

solutions for vegetables & flowers grown in water or substrates, Praktijkonderzoek Plant &
Omgerving, Naaldwijk, the Netherlands.
These figures are the Dutch recommendations for cucumbers in rockwool in a recirculating
solution. Note that the input is the nutrients in the fertiliser, plus what comes in the water and any
acid/alkali added. This is different to the feed into the medium, which also includes the recycle.
Normally the root zone solution has a higher EC than the input, due to relatively higher water
uptake. In order to compare the two solutions, I have changed the input figures to the same
strength as the root zone solution. The slower nutrients have a much higher concentration in the
root zone, as shown in red.
It is important to recognise that the important guideline here is that for the root zone. The input
guideline is just to give an indication what may be required, but it may need to be changed to
keep the root zone solution steady throughout the life of the crop.
The classic case here is tomato, where the plant demand changes significantly throughout the life
of the crop. This particularly shows up in the ratio of potassium to nitrogen (K/N ratio), which
starts relatively low during the vegetative stage, then increases as the fruits grow with a high

demand for potassium. The K/N ratio peaks at the start of harvest and then falls slightly as fruit is
removed. These changes need to be followed in the fertiliser input in order to keep the root zone
solution steady at its recommended optimum balance.

Part 2 General Principles

There have been many articles written on hydroponic nutrient formulation and it is a topic
discussed at length in most hydroponic books. However, almost nothing has been written
about managing nutrition in hydroponic systems, which is a much more important topic. In
practice there is no such thing as a perfect nutrient solution. Even if a nutrient feed
solution app apparently close to ideal, if not managed properly it will eventually have
nutritional pro:) MS. The first part in the series introduced the principles involved in
nutrient management. Part 2 describes the detailed management of closed systems, and
open systems.
Water Quality
The quality of the raw water you use will have a major impact on the type of crop you can grow,
the system you grow it in, and how you manage it. In terms of nutrient solutions, by quality I
mean the salts (ions) dissolved in the water. This can only be found by having the water
chemically analysed. If you use town water the water authority will normally be able to provide
this for you. If you use bore, dam or stream water, etc, you need to send a sample for analysis.
Problem Ions in Water Supplies
The most common ions in water supplies which influence plant nutrition are:
Sodium (Na+) and Chloride (Cl-) the constituents of common salt. These normally occur
together and are not taken up to any degree by most plants, especially sodium. Therefore, they
tend to accumulate if present in significant amounts. This is shown in Figure 3. Chloride is
actually a trace element (micronutrient), but is usually available in far greater concentration than
required for nutrition. This is why it is virtually never included in formulations.
Iron (Fe ). Although iron is a micronutrient, in this form it rapidly oxidises and precipitates as
rust, which makes it unavailable as a nutrient. In practice this can give problems, especially by
blocking drippers, so the precipitation is best speeded up by aerating the water, followed by
settling or filtration.
Calcium (Ca++) and Magnesium (Mg++). These are constituents in hard water. As major nutrients
(macronutrients) they are usable in the nutrient solution. Their presence should be allowed for in
calculating formulations.

Bicarbonate (HCO3). Also a constituent in hard water. It is not a nutrient but is alkaline and will
raise the pH. It will need to be neutralised by acid, typically phosphoric or nitric. The amount of
equivalent phosphorus or nitrogen added should be allowed for in calculating formulations.
Boron (B). Boron is the micronutrient with the narrowest range. If present in the water it can be
omitted from your formulation. It can become a problem if its concentration is over 1ppm, or
lower for sensitive crops. This only occurs in a few water supplies.
High Salt Levels in Water Supplies
The level of salts which can be tolerated in the water depends on their composition and which
crop is to be grown. Even 50ppm of sodium can be toxic to plants such as lettuce, straw berry
and rose. In contrast tomato could cope with over 200ppm. Because of the accumulation that will
develop, water supplies with increasing dissolved solids will make management more critical.
Beyond a certain limit, dependant upon the crop, recirculating systems will become
unmanageable. Non-recirculating systems can continue to be used but with increased percentage
run-off. Eventually,, water becomes so bad that it is unusable in any system. In this case the only
possible solution is to remove the bulk of the salts from the water, typically with reverse
osmosis.
Water Treatment
If managed correctly reverse osmosis is capable of reducing the dissolved salts to very low
levels. The major and most expensive component of a reversed osmosis (RO) machine is the
membrane. The efficiency and life of the membrane is very dependant upon the water quality
being pumped through it. Often, chemical pre-treatment, such as removing iron, is necessary for
the equipment to work effectively, and to give reasonable membrane life. The discharge system
from an RO machine is more concentrate than the input and this may be unacceptable in some
circumstances.
An alternative is to collect rainwater. This may be used direct if sufficient is available or mixed
with the poorer water supply to make it more acceptable. Unfortunately, in many areas of
Australia, rainfall is so irregular that when you most need fresh water is when theres none
available.
There are other contaminants in raw water that need attention, but I will mention them only
briefly.
Suspended matter should be settled out if possible and removed. Good final filtration with a sand
filter for example, can avoid many of the dripper blockages experienced by some growers. the
water should be free of diseases (pathogens). Town water is usually safe but other sources need
to be sterilised, most commonly by chlorinating. Water also needs to be free of plant poisons
(phytotoxins).

Fertlisers
There are a very wide range of commercial fertilisers available and an even wider range of
formulations published. So, how do you tell which ones to use? Im obviously riot going to
recommend any individual commercial brands. What Ill do is give some principles for guidance.
Mix Your Own, or Buy Premix?
Firstly, do you mix your own, or do you buy a prepared fertiliser? For the beginner, especially, it
is best to buy a premix. For hobbyists, if part of the appeal of hydroponics is mixing your own
nutrient, then go ahead. The hobbyist without this interest is probably advised to stick with the
premix. Setting up to mix your own requires buying a moderately accurate capacity scale plus a
very accurate small scale for the micronutrient fertilisers.
For the commercial grower there are similar choices. The grower who manages the system well,
and is getting solutions analysed regularly, should obviously mix their own. In fact, failing to do
this removes the opportunity to make the adjustments indicated by the analysis.
However, there are growers who never have any analysis done and have no interest in accurately
weighing fertilisers. They are probably better off buying a premix with which they have
experience and are confident about. Mixing individual fertilisers gives a saving in direct nutrient
costs, however, there are extra labour costs involved. More importantly, if even one serious
mistake is made it can prove more costly than any number of years savings on fertiliser.
Unfortunately, I have seen several cases of total loss of crops through mistakes in mixing.
Types of fertilisers
For the inexperienced grower there are several major traps to avoid. Firstly, it is essential to buy
a hydroponic fertiliser. Normally these would be the only types stocked by a hydroponic
retailer or wholesaler.
Unfortunately, salesmen will sometimes promote a complete fertiliser as hydroponic. These are
usually soil fertilisers containing trace elements.
Unfortunately they are quite unsuitable for hydroponics. Typically they contain little or no
calcium (Ca++) or magnesium (Mg ++); they have a very high proportion, often 50%, of nitrogen
in the ammonium (NH4+) form rather than predominantly the nitrate (N03) form as with
hydroponic fertilisers; also they have a different balance of trace elements.
There are other fertilisers designed for liquid irrigation of soil crops by trickle irrigation. This is
also known as fertigation. For our purpose these fertilisers are similar to the cornplete types,
and should also be avoided.
How do you recognise these fertilisers? Check the following: the calcium (Ca) content should be
from about the same to 30% lower than the nitrogen (N) content. The magnesium (Mg) content

should be about 20% to 30% of the calcium content. No more than 10% of the nitrogen should
be in the ammonium (NH4) form, and none should be urea.
Occasionally growers unknowingly, or even deliberately, use these fertilisers. The first indication
of potential problems is the pH of the run-off or recirculating solution. Because of the high
ammonium content this drops quickly and severely, often to under pH4. With time the plant
shows obvious general symptoms of stress poor growth, and lack of vigour.
Preparing feed solutions
There are basically two choices of ways to mix and use the feed nutrient solution. Firstly, the
solution can be prepared at working strength, say at an EC of about 2mS/cm
(milliSiemens/centimetre). This is usually done in a suitable sized tank which is filled with water
and the fertiliser added. The solution is pumped and bypassed back to the tank for some time in
order to thoroughly mix the tank contents.
When mixing is completed the EC and pH of the solution should be checked and adjusted if
necessary. If you dont have a meter, then one trap to avoid is to take care to add only enough
fertiliser for the extra volume o22 f water you have added to the tank. Say you add sufficient
fertiliser to make a full tank of the strength you require, but the tank was not fully empty. The
actual solution strength will then be higher than you planned. Not only that, but it gets
progressively stronger each time.
This system is also used by small commercial growers. Particularly if they expand, the choice
eventually becomes one between the cost of a new mixing system, versus the inconvenience of
frequently mixing tanks.
Concentrated food solutions
With the second method, usually installed for convenience, concentrated fertilisers are used.
These are typically fed by injectors or injection pumps into the water or recirculating nutrient
solution. A feedback controller is often also installed to keep pH and EC controlled.
A complication arises when using concentrated solutions, which are typically 100 to 200 times
stronger than the normal nutrient solutions. At this strength calcium and most of the phosphate
combine to precipitate insoluble calcium phosphate. To a lesser extent, calcium sulphate is also
precipitated, as is iron phosphate. These reactions are not a problem at normal feed strengths,
because these compounds are sufficiently soluble at these much weaker strengths. As a rough
analogy, it is easy to dissolve one teaspoonful of sugar in a cup to tea, dissolving 100 teaspoonful
is impossible.
To avoid this complication the concentrated solution so split into two parts, usually referred to as
Part A and Part B. This split is to separate the calcium and iron from the phosphate and

sulphate. Therefore Part A usually contains the calcium nitrate and iron chelate. Part B contains
all the other fertilisers. These are then injected separately into the water flow to give a working
strength solution which is fully soluble.
It would obviously be more convenient and halve the cost of injectors, etc, if a single
concentrated mix was possible. There have been numerous attempts to do just this, but I dont
yet know of any that have been successful. In simple terms, there have been two basic
approaches to this.
One is to use a fertigation solution, as described in the previous section. this leads to the same
results as noted before. The other is to use a more typical hydroponic formulation and try to keep
the precipitate form forming . I dont yet know of anyone who has done this successfully.
This has implications for buying nutrients in liquid form. For buying concentrated nutrient
solution I would recommend a two part product. If you want a single part mix, check the label as
suggested earlier. If it seems to be a typical hydroponic formulation it will probably have
precipitated. It is essential to shake this product well, immediately before pouring it into your
working tank. This then gives you some chance of getting a balanced nutrient solution. Failure to
do this will give a phosphate deficient solution, which will result in pretty stunted purple tomato
seedlings, for example.
Nutrition in open and closed systems
Table 1. Comparison of nutrient composition of root zone and the equivalent recirculated and
non-recirculated feed solutions.

Notes:
(a) Corrected to the same strength for each solution for the comparison purpose.
(b)Totals for the columns only they do not indicate total TDS ppm.
(c)Based on Nutrient solutions for vegetables and flowers grown in water or substrates 1992.
Sonneveld & Straven, Glasshouse Crops Research Station Naaidwijk.

There are two fundamental types of soilless systems, mainly open and closed. The nutrient feed
formulations differ considerably and I discuss this here. Other aspects of man aging these
systems will be covered in later parts of this series.
In closed systems the nutrient solution is recirculated. They may be operated either continuously
as with the Nutrient film Technique (NFT), or intermittently as with flood and drain systems. In
closed systems the nutrient solution is recirculated. They may be operated either continuously as
with the Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), or intermittently as with flood and drain systems. In
closed systems the nutrient solution is not recirculated. Also known as run to waste systems, they
use dripper irrigation of soilless media in containers.
Nutrition in closed systems
A simplified background to the feed nutrition differences between these systems is as follows:
A healthy plant will take up the nutrient balance it requires provided the solution around the roots
contains nothing at a deficient or toxic level. In a totally closed system the only nutrient usage is
what the plant takes up. if the nutrient solution in the root zone is to remain in balance, then what
is fed in must have exactly the same balance as the plant uptake. If not, the solution within the
system gets out of balance and continues to get further out of balance. If this happens then
solution must be discarded from the system.
The concept many find difficult to grasp is that the solution in the system may have quiet a
different balance to the feed solution. Please refer to the Dutch guideline figures in Table 1.
The Root zone solution is the same for both recirculating and non-recirculating feeds.
Why is it different to the feed solutions? The answer is related to the rate of uptake. For growth
rates there needs to be maximum nutrient uptake. However, upta e is more difficult and slow for
some nutrients than for others. Increasing the strength of root zone solution for those nutrients
will increase the driving force and boost their rate of uptake.
Fundamental Management Techniques for all Systems
Sample regularly, preferable daily. Sample the feed and, especially, the solution around the plant
roots (or the run-off in open systems).
Analyse all samples for pH and, especially, EC.
Occasionally get a full chemical analysis done. If need ed this could be tied to a leaf analysis.
Record the results in a diary. Include other information such as weather conditions, crop
performance and symptoms, pests, diseases.

Manage by watching for trends and adjusting gently to correct them. Try to avoid taking severe
action.
Referring to Figure 1, compare the recirculating feed solution, which is the actual plant uptake,
with the root zone solution. Calcium, magnesium and sulphur are far higher, up to double the
strength of the feed. These are nutrients which have a slow uptake. In comparison, nitrogen is
about the same strength but potassium is lower indicating a faster uptake. Finally, phosphate and
especially. ammonium are much lower to compensate for their very fast uptake. in fact
ammonium uptake is so fast that its concentration may well drop to almost zero.
The intended balance in the root zone may be built up gradually or it may be done by having a
special starter solution. Starter solutions will obviously be higher than normal in calcium,
magnesium and sulphur.
Nutrition in open systems
With the non-recirculated feed there is not only plant uptake, but run-off as well. The feed is
therefore part way between supplying the uptake and providing the required root zone solution
strength. By the time it runs of it has built up to the required balance in the medium.
If and adequate run-off is maintained then any imbalance goes out with it. For this reason the
feed composition is nowhere near as vital as with the recirculating system. Therefore, nutrient
management is far easier in a non- recirculating system. This is a major reason why until the pre
sent over 90% of the worlds hydroponics systems are open type systems.
Nutrient Management Part 3

Issue 16
May/June 1994
Story Title: Nutrient Management Part 3 Recirculating Systems
Author: Rick Donnan
Recirculating systems (closed systems) have many advantages. However, one of their
major problems is the difficulty of nutrient management, an aspect which is rarely
mentioned in books and articles. Consequently many growers do not recognise the need for
good nutrient management techniques, and can get into severe difficulties. This is a major
reason why currently no more than 10% of the worlds commercial hydroponic crop
production uses these systems. This article details the basis of nutrition in recirculating
systems and gives practical advice on its management.
Scope
In this article I am only discussing aspects related to the nutrient management of recirculating
systems. There are many other aspects of overall management which are also important if a

system is to operate well. These include the temperature and aeration of the nutrient solution, and
the prevention and control of disease. General knowledge of the plant, how it grows, its pests and
diseases, etc., is also vital if you are to grow a good crop, especially on a commercial scale.
These aspects are not included in this article, but must always be kept in mind.
If comparing recirculating with non-recirculating systems, there are the following general
differences: Watering and EC (electrical conductivity) management are usually easier in
recirculating systems. Nutrient management is usually easier in non-recirculating systems. pH
management is usually relatively easy, especially with automatic control, but can give difficulties
in either system.
Types of Systems
There are two types of closed, or recirculating, systems: those with continuous flow, and those
with intermittent flow.
The most common of the continuous flow systems is NFT (Nutrient Film Technique). Here
nutrient solution is pumped from a tank into the top of channels. It flows down the channel in a
thin film and returns to the tank to be recirculated. Details of this technique are given in most
hydroponic books. The best known of these is The ABC of NFT by Dr Alan Cooper.
There was also a detailed article in the NFT the Channelling Challenge by Rob Smith in the
March/April 1994 issue of Practical Hydroponics &Greenhouses. Another technique is water
culture, where the plants are grown in a tank filled with nutrient solution. This is now rarely
used. It performs similarly to NFT in terms of nutrient management, but not in many other
aspects of management.
The most common of the intermittent flow systems is the flood and drain technique. Nutrient
solution is periodically pumped from a holding tank into a system containing a growing medium.
The surplus solution then drains back to the tank. There are many different versions of the
technique, but they behave similarly in terms of nutrient management.
Types of Management Techniques
The schematic diagrams in figures 1, 3, 5 and 7 give an indication of the four main techniques
for managing watering, EC and pH in recirculating systems. Paired with these in figures 2, 4, 6,
and 8 are typical patterns of the change in EC with time in an NFT system operated these ways.
Adjustments when water and/or nutrient is added are indicated.
These patterns are typical of summer conditions when nutrient demand is high and the water
demand for transpiration is even higher. I will consider the normal case where the aim EC is
typical, say EC about 2.0mS/cm (cF 20). Under these conditions, the plant is taking up relatively
more water than is in the solution around the roots. If nothing is added to a system, this will

result in the EC rising. The background to this was discussed in detail in Part 2 of this series in
the Jan/Feb 1994 issue of Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses.
The patterns for flood and drain systems will vary slightly from those shown because these
systems operate on cycles. The holding tank and the growing medium will have different but
related patterns. Once draining is complete, conditions in the tank will remain unchanged until
the next cycle. However, in the medium are changing similarly to the NFT system. Therefore the
typical flood and drain pattern will change in small steps rather than a continuous change as in
NFT. Other than this the overall patterns are similar.
For both types, how far and how fast the EC will change will significantly depend upon:
- climatic conditions and their influence upon plant uptake;
- the total volume of working solution per plant; and
- the initial EC.
In the case of flood and drain there will be the additional factors:
- the frequency of the cycles;
- the relative volumes of the solutions in the tank and the growing medium; and
- the degree of mixing and/or displacement of the solution in the medium by the tank solution
during the flood cycle.
pH is influenced in quite different ways to EC and has no general pattern. In the short term, high
pH is lowered by adding acid, and low pH raised by adding alkali.
Technique 1
This technique is illustrated in Figure 1. Water addition, pH and EC control are all automatic. For
convenience, the diagram shows only acid injection for pH control. Alkali may also be used. I
comment more on pH control later.
Obviously automatic pH and EC control of continuous flow systems is excellent, provided the
controller is functioning properly. A typical EC pattern is shown in Figure 2. Regular manual
checking of EC and pH is a sensible safeguard. EC controllers are usually very reliable.
Automatic tank control for flood and drain systems is also excellent, provided control is sensibly
tied in with the flood and drain cycle. Refer also to technique 2.
Technique 2
This technique is shown in Figure 3. The water make up of the holding tank is automatic, usually
by float valve, i.e. the tank level is held steady. Here both water and nutrient are being taken up,
but only water is being replaced. Therefore the EC will fall until the tank solution is brought up

to strength by nutrient addition. The EC is periodically checked and adjusted to the required
value by adding nutrient to the tank by hand. The pH is adjusted if necessary by adding acid or
alkali by hand. A typical EC pattern is shown in Figure 4.
Care must be taken when setting up this technique for flood and drain systems. If too much make
up water is added to the holding tank during the flooding cycle, the tank will overflow when the
drainage returns. There are a number of ways to avoid this, the simplest being to set the make up
float low enough that sufficient height is left for the returning solution.
Technique 3a
Technique 3 is totally manual control. There are two main versions of this.
Technique 3A is illustrated in Figure 5. The holding tank is partly, or totally, run down then
refilled as a batch by adding water and/or nutrient.
The important aspect of this technique is that the effects of the addition are checked. First the
original EC can be checked to allow an estimation of the amounts to be added. Once the tank has
been refilled it is allowed left to continue recirculating through the system until its readings have
stabilised. The EC and pH are then adjusted to the required value if necessary. A typical EC
pattern is shown in Figure 6.
The vital part of this technique is to allow time for mixing. This is because it is not only the
solution in the tank being used, but also the solution in the system. Mixing is even more
important for flood and drain systems. The first flooding cycle should be extended until the bulk
of the high EC solution in the medium has been displaced back into the tank, and mixed. Further
adjustments can then be made. Making no attempt to mix in the mediums solution before the
final EC adjustment can lead to severe problems.
Why mixing and checking are important will become obvious when we consider the second
version of this technique.
Technique 3b
Technique 3B is illustrated in Figure 7. The holding tank is partly, or totally, run down then
refilled using a standard strength nutrient solution. However, the resultant EC in the system is not
checked or adjusted. This technique really can lead to disaster.
Growers sometimes fool themselves that because they have mixed a tank full of fresh solution,
then the whole system is fresh and everything is OK. However, even if the new solution is at a
reasonable EC, the old stronger solution is still in the medium. When these are mixed the
resultant EC will be higher. If this practice is continued the EC will continue to rise until
eventually disaster strikes. A typical EC pattern is shown in Figure 8.

This situation usually occurs where growers do not have an EC meter, or do not use it. When EC
rises in a system, then eventually the plant will show symptoms of stress. If this is detected in
time, the grower can flush the system heavily with water. This gives quite a shock to the plants,
but it is much better than being too late. If not detected in time, the plants will die. I have met
cases where the EC has risen more than 5 times higher than the grower intended.
The main cause of this rise is the high water uptake by the plant. However, there is another
common cause to aggravate the problem. Often the amount of nutrient added when refilling the
tank has been calculated using full tank capacity. However, the tank may be refilled before it is
empty. Therefore less water is added than was calculated. Put the other way around, more
nutrient has been added to the make up water than was calculated. Hence ECs get even higher. A
variations of this is that the calculated volume of the tank is wrong. Another is that the
manufacturers specification volume has been used, which refers to the total capacity not the
working capacity.
Compounding Effects
For those patterns where the EC rises, there are a number of factors that can make the effect
much more severe. These are:
- higher temperatures;
- longer cycle times between floodings in flood and drain systems;
- longer times between adjustments;
- poor mixing within the system;
- small holding tank volume;
- small solution volume per plant.
The higher the EC aim, or the starting point, then the higher and more rapid the rise will be.
Where the aim is very low, say well below 1.0 mS/cm (10cF), the EC pattern will be reversed.
That is, the EC will fall because of the large amount of water present. Particularly with technique
2 this can lead to very low ECs and plant nutrient starvation.
Volume of Solution per Plant and EC Change
The smaller the volume per plant, then the faster and more severe the change in EC will be. This
applies to all types of systems. This is illustrated in Figure 9. In this case, it is not only EC for
which the changes are more severe. It also applies to other vital aspects such as pH, temperature,
nutrient balance, and the build up of problem ions such as sodium and chloride.
Cycle Frequency & EC Change
In flood and drain systems the time between pumping cycles will influence the degree of EC rise.
When the time between cycles gets longer, so the EC rises higher. Therefore the rise can be
reduced by keeping the cycles shorter, i.e. by pumping more frequently. This is indicated in
Figure 10.

Improving Manual EC Control

Studying the EC patterns described earlier can indicate ways in which techniques can be
modified to improve the control of EC in manual systems.
The most important is to check regularly to find out what is really happening within your system.
Is it behaving the way you thought, or in fact are you actually getting much higher ECs. Without
a meter, good EC control is virtually impossible. A good EC meter is essential for even the
smallest of commercial growers.
If you dont have a EC meter and cant check your solutions, then probably you will need to
discard regularly. Here are some points to consider that should help improve your EC control:
- Check and adjust the EC frequently, a high EC before adjustment indicates it should have been
done sooner;
- Consider whether your tank is too small for the number of plants it supplies, perhaps you would
do better with a bigger tank or split off part of the system to another tank.
- Collect your solution samples when the system is well mixed, i.e. for flood and drain after a
pumping cycle rather than before it;
- Pump for long enough to get reasonable mixing but no longer;
- Keep your flood and drain cycles short rather than long.
Installing a float valve in your holding tank can avoid the risks of high EC, as you now have
automatic water makeup and the EC will fall until you adjust it (Figure 4). It is still important to
check the EC regularly. Set the float at a sensible level for makeup sothat the tank isnt
oversupplied with water during the pumping cycle.
The hobby grower who cannot afford an EC meter need not despair. There is quite a wide range
of EC for most crops that will have only slight effects on yield and quality, significant only to the
good commercial grower. For more detail refer to Part 1 of this series in the Nov/Dec 1993 issue
of Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses. Therefore, many of the steps above will be useful to
the hobby grower.
In particular, having water makeup via a float valve substantially reduces risks. An old cistern
valve with a new washer would be cheap, easy, and effective. Calculate your nutrient addition to
give the maximum EC you are prepared to have. If possible, borrow a meter to check your actual
figure.
If automatic water make up is out, then make sure that your initial solutions are no stronger than
EC 1.5 mS/cm (cF15). To achieve this add no more than 1.0 gram dry fertiliser per litre of water,
or less if your water is already high in salts. Physically check the volumes of your tanks, and use
only sufficient fertiliser to match the actual water that you add. If in doubt, especially in summer,
occasionally add water only, without fertiliser.

pH Control
The pH of a solution can influence the availability of the individual ions within that solution. Put
simply, as pH changes on particular nutrient ion may gradually become more insoluble, leaving
less of that ion available to act as a nutrient. pH is of little influence over a range, but if it goes
too far, especially too high, then severe problems result. The direct influence of pH on plants is
important in the soil, but seems relatively unimportant in hydroponics. Quoting Salisbury and
Ross Plant physiology
Little is known about why some plants are native to low pH soils and others to soils with higher
pH values. Certainly one of the reasons is competition. If we use hydroponic techniques to study
the growth of various species apparently preferring different pH levels, we usually find that they
do reasonably well over a fairly wide pH range. But in nature, even a slight advantage of one
species over another can eventually lead to elimination of the less well adapted one.
There are many different suggestions as to the range of pH which wont cause problems with
availability and some of these are far too narrow. David Huetts recommendation of 5.2 to 7.5pH
is realistic, especially for hobby growers, provided a chelated form of iron is used. Commercial
growers would use a narrower range, at a level to suit their particular crop.
Control is done using acid to lower pH, which is the most common. If pH needs to be increased
then alkali is used. The acids commonly used are phosphoric, nitric, or sulphuric, and the alkalis
are potassium hydroxice and potassium bicarbonate.
The more expensive controllers have separate injectors for both acid and alkali. pH meters and
controllers are usually reliable, but the weak link is the pH electrode. They must therefore be
checked regularly, preferably daily, and standardised.
Obviously, if a commercial grower can afford pH control, this is a good way to go. If not, then a
good pH meter is essential, and should be standardised regularly as mentioned before. For most
hobby growers, pH strips would be adequate.
One aspect of pH control needs to be watched whether using manual or automatic control. This
is, that the acid or alkali contributes nutrient ions to the solution and must be accounted for.
Growers often fail to do this. One case to take special care is where the solution requires large
quantities of acid added to keep its pH controlled. If this is done using phosphoric acid the
phosphate levels can rise very high.
Water Quality
This is covered in detail in Part 2 of this series in Jan/Feb 1994 edition of Practical Hydroponics
& Greenhouses magazine.

As water quality deteriorates it has a increasingly severe effect on nutrient management in

recirculating systems. The worst problems nutritionally come from sodium, chloride and boron.
Depending on the crop, water quality can be bad enough that recirculation is impossible with
untreated water. The most feasible treatment in this case is reverse osmosis.
Nutrient Balance in Recirculating Systems
For more detailed information on nutrition please refer to Part 2 of this series.
The early part of Figure 11 shows a typical buildup with time of non-essential ions in a closed
system. This is looking at a recirculating system where the EC is controlled to an aim level. If
you start with a certain base level of non-essential ions, such as sodium and chloride, that arent
taken up by the plant, then they will build up. At the same time nutrients are being absorbed, so
their relative proportion is falling. This wont continue forever of course. However, the further it
goes, then not only is the recirculating solution building up towards toxic levels of ions like
sodium, but the amount of nutrients is also shrinking. This combination of nutrient starvation and
toxicity compounds nutrition problems.
At the same time similar sorts of things are happening with the various nutrient ions within that
system. They are getting out of balance.
A classic example of what can happen with poor management is shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Analysis of nutrient solution from a commercial NFT lettuce system showing severe
imbalance. Sydney, June 1990 (Finlayson)
Composition mg/1 #
Nutrient Commercial Formula Feed Solution Solution after 2 weeks
- Boron 0.42 0.31 1.35
- Calcium 104 130 276
- Copper 0.04 0.07 0 57
- Iron 3.2 1.1 2.8
- Potassium 255 211 3
- Magnesium25 32 97
- Manganese0.43 0.48 0.08
- Sodium 4 23
- Phosphorus29 31 31
- Sulphur 33 44 194
- Zinc 0.2 0.26 0.75
- Nitrate N 155 146 109
#all adjusted to the same strength as the other feed.

In only two weeks there is virtually no potassium left. Manganese has also almost disappeared,
and other elements are rising steeply, especially sulphur. While the sodium level is not yet high,
it has risen very sharply from an extremely low initial value.
Dumping
What is done when nutrients are getting out of balance, or when ions like sodium and chloride
are building up? The most common technique is to dump some solution from the system, as
shown in Figure 11. This is usually done once a critical point has seemed to have been reached.
This critical point is often based on a time interval, usually obtained from books, consultants,
other growers, etc. Typical suggestions may be never, 8 weeks, 4 weeks, 1 week, etc.
Which is correct?
I strongly suggest that every system is different. Firstly, there is the question of what the critical
point should be. Secondly, the rate of change of the solution balance within an individual system
depends upon numerous factors. These include the season, the climate, the quality of the water
supply, the geometry of the system, the suitability of the nutrient feed, the crop and its stage of
growth, etc.
Consider a system which has a small tank for a lot of plants, i.e. a low volume per plant in the
system. In this case nutrient imbalance will happen much faster than in a system which has a
large volume per plant. Obviously the grower needs to allow for this, and all the other factors I
mentioned. This is a virtually impossible task.
Therefore I suggest that the only way for a commercial grower to really know at which stage to
dump is by analysis. When they study the analysis, perhaps with some assistance, they can
accurately assess the situation. Yes, that balance is still quite reasonable, I could keep going a
while longer, or Oh dear, that is really too far out of balance, I should have dumped weeks
ago. You can really only tell by analysing. Also as the rate of uptake and change is much slower
in winter than in summer, you would expect to dump less frequently in winter than in summer.
Once you have some information on the way your system operates you should be able to prepare
a timetable for analysis. This will probably reduce the number required. Analysis will also enable
you to adjust your feed formulation if it is unsuitable.
If you have a system that is completely empty, then you start with fresh solution containing the
minimum proportion of sodium chloride. When you get to dumping from this system while it is
operating, you wont get back to the original level of sodium chloride, even if you have emptied
your tank completely. This is because the used solution is not only in the tank, but also in the
system, even if you let it drain fully . There is a surprising amount of liquid held within systems.
When mixed with the fresh solution this gives some initial imbalance and buildup.

Bleeding
The other way to go I call bleeding, which is done in many large systems. Instead of dumping
regularly, you bleed from the system a proportion of the amount that is used. This is either done
continuously, or at least daily. This is shown in Figure 5. In this case, from a fresh start the non
essential ions build up to a level, but then balance out. This avoids the peaks and troughs
associated with dumping and allows steadier control. Although rarely used deliberately in small
commercial units, bleeding is often used unintentionally. This is done by having leaks in the
system. Many growers unwittingly solve their potential nutrition problems in this way.
Waste Management
A later part of this series will deal with the responsible management of nutrient solutions which
are discharged from hydroponic systems.
The next part in this series will deal with the detailed management of open, or non-recirculating,
types of systems.