Question on the Lucas Formula and using Add backs

http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/fourtwenty/articles/profiles.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/fourtwenty/articles/nutrientsolutionmgmt.htm

Just got done reading these VERY awesomely informational articles, but I'm left with a lingering question I didnt see answered.

When adding your "Add Backs" totalling your res size then replacing with new nutes... WHen adding the add backs, your TDS is going to be diluted right? Or no? So, if the add backs take a long time to complete are you not sitting with a nute strength that is way lower than what you've set it at to begin with?


Also, when adding the add backs, once added you still check and adjust PH yes?

And If im reading this right, "3" res changes for a whole grow?? (once your dialed in, of course) That seems frickin awesome! as of now I have been doing them weekly

Thanks for stoppin in here!!

And isnt 8ml micro and 16ml Bloom per gallon gonna give you like 1300ppm about??? you want that much in veg too?
Do you NOT use additives with this method? (Im using GH Flora series) so no, Diamond Nectar, Rapid Start, Liquid Kool Bloom, ect... ?? I guess Im left with more questions that answers right now lol..

i did lucas my last grow and did not do 8/16 it was way to high a ppm for them..when you top off your rez just add your water then add a little nutes untill your ppm is where you want it. just make sure you do a 2 to 1 ratio and you'll be fine. lucas worked great but i would suggest adding some silica...good luck

one more thing...during veg i added a little grow....i think it took care of any would be deficencies

So what would you suggest instead of 8/16? for veg and flower? I also thought that seemed really high. And is your tds meter coversion .5 or .7?
I'll be switching to an ebb and flow but right now i have 4 plants in DWC and Im keeping them about 800ppm right now..
Thanks man!

i think 800 is a bit hot...but it depends on how they are responding.... i did 2/4 during veg like 4-500 ppm i think gh is .7 you can call them. i have a blue lab that stays in my rez at all times. I cant remeber the conversion. I would add a bit of grow too....grow 1 micro 2 bloom 4 is what i think i did....i grew purple gorilla and it dint like a high ppm. if your leafs are burning cut the ppm in half and see if it fixes it...but with a low ppm you may see signs of defincies so thats why i added a bit of grow and it went great.....also silica helps with any shock and will strengthen your plants gereral health...

do you have pictures of them by chance?

as of right NOW i am using GMB all together. Im just looking into lucas because im out of base nutes now lol Honestly, something has been wrong with them over, well shit, since they got more than like 6 leaves on them. And I thought it was because we were using well water that was 245ppm and 8.4 ph. And while using that the PH would go up SOO quickly. We were using SO much PH Down.. Now we using RO and Cal Mag. But i dont think that was the issue because I'm still seeing issues. I'll dig up a recent pic from yesterday, hopefully you might see. The leaves that look damaged are almost looking like parts of the tips go straight to dying, like brownish crispyness rather than yellowing.. This was also our first time doing DWC and I'm already setting up an Ebb and Flow system right now so I only have to deal with ONE RES

Ahh shit... stupid phone pic.. not sure you can see but this was before I topped and took clones. That lil one there, its got some of what im talking about on the leaves there. But that same thing is on all of them..

Here is after I topped and took clones

sounds like nutes are way to hot....stop the cal mag asap! whats your water temp? do you have an air stone in your rez? get a picture of your roots if possible too..they tell a lot of whats going on....

keep your ph at 5.8 let it drift to 6.2 but nomore than that....you need to get your ppm down to 300 and let them recover....water temp shoul be 70 at al times......freeze 2litler bottels if you dont have a chiller

No cal mag? I thought you needed that with RO water? Been adding 100-150 ppm of it. I do have multiple airstones in each. The water temp has been a little issue tho, it goes up to about 73 74. I have been adding quarter strenght H202 to try and help that..

What im confused on is this then.. all these ppl saying to add 8/16ml micro and bloom like RIGHT AWAY. SHit thats like 1300ppm about.. Or would they actually be cutting that down to like the 2/4? if so, when do you step it up to the 8/16?

Much appreciated too man!!

Like this dude on the Lucas Formula thread:
"Not wishing to sound like I'm trying to critisize your response for no reason, but have you actually tried using 0/8/16 rather than 0/5/10? Lucas himself says using 0/5/10 is a misconception, as the quote says and I'm doing a grow now and 0/8/16 definitly is not too strong. It can even be used from seed, so it's not too strong for the actual vegetative stage, never mind the seedling stage.

I'm basing what I'm saying on what Lucas himself said. Straight from the horse's mouth, as it were.

I'm not talking about CFLs/low output lights. I tried to make it clear that I'm not disputing that 0/5/10 is used with CFLs - I said that. It's the vegetative stage under HIDs that I'm referring to. 0/8/16 is to be used throughout under these lights. With the original advice, people will think they have to have 0/5/10 in veg and 0/8/16 in flower, which isn't right"

8/16 is ok if in flood and drain- or soil......but dwc the roots are in constants nutes..... 1300 is way to hot. id try 2/4 with some grow get ppm around 500 and see how they respond... if you use cal/mag id us no more than 50ppm in dwc...

the base nutes have cal mag in them already.....

my last dwc grow i never got over 500ppm even in full bloom....i got 22 zips off 9 plants under a 1000w it was pure fire!

those plants look great.....9finger leaves are awsome.....nice work.....

Ok I will have to try lowering it like your saying. I WILL be doing flood and drain but these 4 ladies will be staying DWC until done. LOL my boy is gonna hate me, he just res changed last night (at his place) IM THE BRAIN, hes most of the labor and all of the housing

Ok so DWC, 50ppm Cal mag since using RO. 1/2/4ml GMB? And 500ppm total. Throughout too huh? Even thru flower. Ok, I mean it does make sense, but you get to reading ppls posts and now im at 800-850ppm, facepalm.

Should I be adjusting that 1/2/4 once I transition and start flowering you think? maybe no more Grow?

cancel the grow nutes in bloom, take the ppm up in bloom if it looks like they need it but they should be fine.....are you leaf tips burnt?