How long the plants can hold up out of a DWC in their net pots depends o how quickly the roots dry out. Also how hot and how humid it is plus the ventilation trhough the media, and the retention ability of the media. If the roots stay wet they last a long time, if they dry then you will probably lose them just as quickly. I lost two strawberry plants this morning that a squirrel pulled out, ahnd even though the hydroton was still a little damp the braids of root bit the big one. The Sun did it in probably 10 minutes. Aeration is the least of your problems and they can last days if they start healthy without it. If they are already a little slimy they won'rt last as long while the bad microbes multiply in the low oxygen environment.

thank you for the quick reply. im very new to this and am a complete novice. my new apartment get 0 sunlight which has inspired me to grow with artificial light indoors.

my question is this... "do i change they water out completely or do i just add new nutrients to the water?"

I get what you're saying. You are kinda stuck changing the nutes and water all new until you have a way of testing the strength of what's in the old one. So you might just keep it going fresh for two to three weeks, filling with dechlorinated or non-chlorinated water as the level goes down and then just starting new. The problem is you can't keep adding fertilizer because it is a type of salt and too much buildup and the plants just can't handle it. But if you can measure the strength of the salt with one of these you can go on adjusting for at least twice as long. The EC-3 in the video is my personal favorite for economy and decent readings and can be bought here.

It's a good thing to have even if not essential it sure can save you a lot on those high quality, expensive, nutes you have. If you get it, you will know how strong the nutes are so you can always keep the strength and change less often because your plants won't died from the salinity of too much nutrient in solution.

Best luck and hope you have good luck with this and maybe get a bigger system sooner or later too!

I have found with the Kratky method , that after I add the initial nutrients I do not top up as the plants grow the nutrients are taken up by the plant which increase with strength meaning the larger the plant the stronger the nutrient strength.I know that sounds like double Dutch but only if the plants use all the nutrients and they have not completed their growth cycle would I consider adding new nutrients. I know you are using DWC but I think the same principle applies.Please any one correct me if I am off base.

PupillaCharites
I forgot to agree with your comments , roots can dry out very quickly and stress the plants, I usually have a bucket of nutrients with about 2" in the bottom and put my containers in there while I am cleaning moving the system etc to minimise shock. As you say results in the negative can be very swift and put weeks of planning in the trash bin.

Hey Robert, I think I'm going to move to a farm by Nullamanna which is just a hop, skip and a jump from you!

Under attack from gray squirrels here, and read that when these rodents invaded Oz, you guys exterminated them so well that your continent is totally a tree-rat-free zone. Lucky, lucky. In Britain they are rodentia non-grata.

OP, about Robert's suggestion, it can work this way for lettuces and pak choi like veggies that mature in about a month, but I would suggest you get a little success under your belt by getting the hang of using nutrients since not all designs and plants work well for Gericke's lettuce method of growing plants which is by adding fertilizer just once and then growing them out up to 5 weeks as the reservoir levels are dropped.

thank you for all the great advice guys... i think ill only add nutes if my plants let me know they need them. lesson learned. well .. back to the drawing board :)