A quick word on no change reservoirs Nitrogen the problem child
Just going through some older notes and thought this would be helpful.
Plant waste isn't an immediate issue, without cleaners or frequent solution changes, the potential for toxicity or problems with crop growth increases over time. Lucas’s formula helps tremendously by getting rid of the excess nitrogen. The reason for this is that plants constantly change the chemistry of they watery environment through the process of respiration and metabolic root excretion. then oxygen-consuming bacteria go to work, releasing carbon dioxide as they degrade inorganic and organic nitrogen, which in turn allows free nitrogen gas to escape into the nute solution. Nitrogen gas (N2) is toxic to plants when left to accumulate in a nutrient solution. Over time, this biochemical activity within the nutrient solution begins to accumulate dissolved gases and numerous organic substances, affecting everything from pH to nutrient and dissolved oxygen uptake. As a crop matures, the increased biomass of the root system accelerates the deterioration of the nutrient solution. Additionally, a hydroponic nutrient solution having an excess of free carbon dioxide gas can result in low oxygen absorption, locked up calcium, low pH, chlorosis and phytoxicity in plants. An excess of carbon dioxide can easily occur since plant roots and bacteria continually excrete carbon dioxide as a free gas into the nutrient solution. The rate of absorption of dissolved oxygen by the roots is regulated with the simultaneous excretion of carbon dioxide. And when there's an increase in free carbon dioxide (as distinguished from carbonate and bicarbonate), oxygen absorption in the root zone is greatly reduced, making it even more difficult for the carbon dioxide to diffuse from the roots. A certain concentration gradient must be present for the exchange to take place. I hope this is insightful if nothing else. I hope you can make your own judgement on personal experience rather than on the word of others as far as yield/manageability because I myself have seen a difference in 5-25 gal. reservoirs. But hey I seen some nice looking crops too come from no change reservoirs also. I just wonder what the possibilities could have been?
