Help save my girls

Jypsy Dog

Well-Known Member
Don't add the CA back unless you see an issue. Pull up your local water report and see what they find it to be. If your Tap is good, you may need some Epsom in the future. Don't just dump additives in because you read about it. See if the plant wants it first.
 

im4satori

Well-Known Member
there are already some good instructions here

some of what I say will be just to agree with whats been said

like gypsy dog said;
knowing that your source water has 20ppm Ca is very useful
the calcium is also why your source water ph is at a nice 7.5 from the lime in the earch that's in your supply
that's about the best water you can ask for

you shouldn't need any or much calmag with that amount in the source, but you will need some Epsom salt for magnesium

using bleach is fine if you do it proper, but these days bleach comes in many different strengths... its easy to accidentally over do it on the bleach and h202 would be a safer choice

I wouldn't use any bleach on plants that aren't well established and larger... the risk issues on small plants like that increase

im not saying don't use bleach, if you do it proper its fine
I cant recall the dose I used when I did it many many years ago
but not on plants that small

mixing your nutes

redhydro had it right
those plants should be getting something around

3mls grow
3mls micro
3mls bloom
0.5 grams (max) of Epsom salt per gallon (1/8 tsp)


full strength veg formula
7.5 mls grow
5mls micro
2.5 mls bloom
1 gram (max) Epsom salt per gallon (1/4 tsp)

full strength bloom formula (option 1 with kool blom)
2.5 mls grow
5mls micro
7.5 mls bloom
1mls kool bloom
0.5 grams Epsom

full strength bloom formula (option 2 no kool bloom)
6mls grow
3mls micro
6mls bloom
2mls calmag

full strength late bloom formula (optional to leach N and boost P in late bloom)
0mls grow
6mls micro
12mls bloom

always mix your fertilizer the same
for a weaker solution mix it the same way but with more water
for a stronger solution mix it the same way but with less water

keep a daily log of your ppm and ph and
manage your reservoir with these rules in mind

PPM/EC goes up, ph goes down lower nutes
ppm/EC goes down ph goes up raise nutes

ideally your ph will swing up slow over the week, if it swings fast over night the solution is too weak

if the ph doesn't go up and or goes down your solution is too strong


mix a batch at 2mls grow, 2mls micro, 2 mls bloom and give them a good flush

then mix a new reservoir at the ratios I gave you above
3mls grow
3mls micro
3mls bloom
0.5 grams Epsom salt per gallon

and then start logging the journal

stop using the bleach for now and use h202 at least until there larger and healthy

when you see rapid growth and the ppms are dropping and the ph is rising start to increase your solution ppm and switch to the veg formula ( I don't mean the full strength formula, I mean mix it the same as the veg formula but diluted to the appropriate ppm)

mix your 50 gallon reservoir 1/2 to 3/4 full with full strength veg formula and then top off with water until you reach the desired ppm

the third bloom option that leaches N isn't really something I do but its an option if you want it

note; the formulas above are taking into account your 20ppm of Ca in your source water... if your source water doesn't have the 20ppm you may need additional calmag but not for any reason would you need more than 4mls per gallon even if you had zero calcium in your source water
 
Last edited:

lbristol

Member
Right now they're getting approximately 2.5mL/gallon of micro, grow, and bloom. I think I leveled out around 600ppm with that dose.
 

im4satori

Well-Known Member
that sounds good

your meter is likely in the 0.7 conversion scale so your ppms might appear to be higher than others whom use a meter that converts EC to ppm at the 0.5 conversion rate

whats the starting ppm of your source water before you add nutes?
 

lbristol

Member
that sounds good

your meter is likely in the 0.7 conversion scale so your ppms might appear to be higher than others whom use a meter that converts EC to ppm at the 0.5 conversion rate

whats the starting ppm of your source water before you add nutes?
Yes, .7. I thought that was the norm ... sorry I didn't specify. Starting ppm on .7 scale is between 90 and 110. My total ppm reading is 670ppm so figure I'm right around the 560 mark.
 

im4satori

Well-Known Member
now watch the ppm and ph over the next 3 days and log it each day

this will provide some indication as to if your under feeding or over feeding

th4e only other thing to consider... I large reservoir will take longer to show the ppm and ph swing changes

how many plants did you say you've got with that 50 gallon reservoir?
 

lbristol

Member
now watch the ppm and ph over the next 3 days and log it each day

this will provide some indication as to if your under feeding or over feeding

th4e only other thing to consider... I large reservoir will take longer to show the ppm and ph swing changes

how many plants did you say you've got with that 50 gallon reservoir?
I've got 8 plants, each in a single 5 gallon bucket plus a controller bucket approximately 3.5 gallon in each. A separate res auto tops with ph balanced water.
 

im4satori

Well-Known Member
ok so then you might actually be better off checking and logging the ph and ppm in the individual buckets
you don't need to do them all just 1 or maybe 2 if your curious
it just depends on how your system is set to drain or recirculate


does the water from the buckets pump back into or recirculate back to the 50 gallon reservoir? or does it drain to waste?

another option is to only fill the 50 gallons half way or whatever works until theyre larger
like I said a smaller water volume will give you some answers faster than a larger one
having said that a larger container is great because it keep your mix in range longer when the plants have gotten bigger
 
Last edited:

im4satori

Well-Known Member
the only other thing that comes to mind is to point out

since you had been over feeding the medium is potentially full of salt build up

that salt could throw off your ppm log, giving the illusion that your ppm in the reservior is rising when really your just rinsing the excess from the medium back into the res

so unless you do a good flush I wouldn't rely on the readings for a day or two
theres a good chance the reservoir ppm samples will spike over night even if you were to be under feeding just because of the salt build up in the rocks

for that reason you really want to watch it over a few days period before making any conclusions ... or just flush 20minutes one or two times before starting your log to make sure you got the medium rinsed out
 
Last edited:

im4satori

Well-Known Member
ya know I might dilute your nutes a little more

maybe get it down to 500 until you see it start to climb in the reservoir and then you can bring it up a wee bit

600ppm sounds like more than those little plants need...even at the .7 scale

that's about EC 0.8... id rather see it around EC 0.6 or 0.7 max

and like polish said make sure your roots are getting wet
drip stakes and rocks don't always get the water out evenly
 

lbristol

Member
I have just over 4mg/L (milligrams per liter) of magnesium in my tap. 20mg/L (again, milligrams per liter) of calcium. Are those values okay? Should I be supplementing with anything?
 

im4satori

Well-Known Member
I have just over 4mg/L (milligrams per liter) of magnesium in my tap. 20mg/L (again, milligrams per liter) of calcium. Are those values okay? Should I be supplementing with anything?
those values are fine/good
its awesome that you have that info and can apply it

the magnesium is a relatively small amount and doesn't change the formulas
the calcium amount in your source has already been figured in to the formulas

you don't need anything more than the recipes provided

the only other thing to consider if your the type that needs all the extras is

kelp
fulvic
aminos

all of which I would get from kel4less.com

personally I prefer to use them as foliar feeds and not add them to my reservoir where it tends to get mucky
 

lbristol

Member
So just to clarify, should I be using Epsom salts in my res with those tap values or not? I do have the CalMag if necessary. I'm still seeing what looks like possible calcium or magnesium deficiency (the little brown spots appearing on my leaves) but I'm not sure if it's new spots or just already affected leaves showing a little more. Just want to make sure everything is dialed in.
 
Last edited:

im4satori

Well-Known Member
mixing your nutes like one of these option
use Epsom when it says to use Epsom, use calmag when it says to use calmag, use neither when neither is listed

your 4mg/ppm of magnesium in your source water doesn't change anything

dilute the recipe to lower the ppm as need


young clones

2mls grow
2mls micro
2mls bloom
0.5 grams (max) of Epsom salt per gallon (1/8 tsp)


full strength veg formula
7.5 mls grow
5mls micro
2.5 mls bloom
1 gram (max) Epsom salt per gallon (1/4 tsp)

full strength bloom formula (option 1 with kool blom)
2.5 mls grow
5mls micro
7.5 mls bloom
1mls kool bloom
0.5 grams Epsom

full strength bloom formula (option 2 no kool bloom)
6mls grow
3mls micro
6mls bloom
2mls calmag

full strength late bloom formula (optional to leach N and boost P in late bloom)
0mls grow
6mls micro
12mls bloom
 
Last edited:
Top