Styrofoam Coolers?

cindysid

cindysid

Well-Known Member
Billy the Mountain said:
So long as you figured out what went wrong, no worries.
I'd dilute the mix and double check your measurements.
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Ok, mixed up new batch measuring carefully. I decided to put in some armor si first. When I added the maxigrow the water became cloudy. I’m assuming this was the si falling out is solution. The tds is still showing over 900. Ph is 5.6. Maybe I’m too senile for this method! I haven’t added it to my reservoirs yet. Water temp out of my tap is 54 degrees.
 
TCH

TCH

Well-Known Member
cindysid said:
Ok, mixed up new batch measuring carefully. I decided to put in some armor si first. When I added the maxigrow the water became cloudy. I’m assuming this was the si falling out is solution. The tds is still showing over 900. Ph is 5.6. Maybe I’m too senile for this method! I haven’t added it to my reservoirs yet. Water temp out of my tap is 54 degrees.
Click to expand...
I think I'm in the minority, but I hate Si. It caused me nothing but issues. Some weird ass black cloud would fall out of my solution. It looked like something from Harry Potter. I ditched it pretty quickly. If you are using RO water, calmag and maxi are enough.
 
cindysid

cindysid

Well-Known Member
TCH said:
I think I'm in the minority, but I hate Si. It caused me nothing but issues. Some weird ass black cloud would fall out of my solution. It looked like something from Harry Potter. I ditched it pretty quickly. If you are using RO water, calmag and maxi are enough.
Click to expand...
Yes I checked my readings again and I think I got my reading backwards. Tds is 560 and ph is 9.3. I’m sure it’s the silica. I loved it in soil but with this I can’t figure it out so I guess I’ll leave it out next time. Wondering if I can use this batch of nutrients if I adjust ph. I have to let it sit a while to warm up and I’ll check it again.
 
ChemDogLover

ChemDogLover

Well-Known Member
TCH said:
One thing to consider before fully committing is that Styrofoam isn't necessarily watertight. I'd fill one up all the way and let it sit somewhere for a couple days to make sure it doesn't seep at all.
Click to expand...
Most of them do leak after a day or two.
 
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cindysid

cindysid

Well-Known Member
They’ve been in here since Thursday with no leaks so far but I’m moving up to totes in another week or so anyway, but I will keep an eye on them
 
Billy the Mountain

Billy the Mountain

Well-Known Member
cindysid said:
Yes I checked my readings again and I think I got my reading backwards. Tds is 560 and ph is 9.3. I’m sure it’s the silica. I loved it in soil but with this I can’t figure it out so I guess I’ll leave it out next time. Wondering if I can use this batch of nutrients if I adjust ph. I have to let it sit a while to warm up and I’ll check it again.
Click to expand...
That's perfectly normal as Potassium Silicate is a base and will raise the pH.
The acidity of the nutes will then lower the pH.
I use a few ml of K Silicate per gallon of RO water; after the addition of my nutes, the pH is a bit over 6. I'm effectively using it as my pH down instead of Potassium Carbonate. The main difference is that silicates must be added first.
 
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cindysid

cindysid

Well-Known Member
Billy the Mountain said:
MMV but I've had no issues adding Potassium Silicate to RO water.
My current recipe is 3ml ArmourSi, added first, followed by 2 ml of CalMagic, 1gMaxiGro, 4g MaxiBloom.
This

That's perfectly normal as Potassium Silicate is a base and will raise the pH.
The acidity of the nutes will then lower the pH.
I use a few ml of K Silicate per gallon of RO water; after the addition of my nutes, the pH is a bit over 6. I'm effectively using it as my pH down instead of Potassium Carbonate. The main difference is that silicates must be added first.
Click to expand...
I added the silica first but then when I added the maxigrow the water went cloudy. Now I’m wondering if it was a silica that fell out of solution or if it was the maxi grow. Do I need to pour this out and start again?
 
Billy the Mountain

Billy the Mountain

Well-Known Member
cindysid said:
I added the silica first but then when I added the maxigrow the water went cloudy. Now I’m wondering if it was a silica that fell out of solution or if it was the maxi grow. Do I need to pour this out and start again?
Click to expand...
That's odd.
I just mixed up a bucket of nutes myself. 15ml ArmorSi, 10 ml CalMagic, 5 grams MaxiGro, 20 grams MaxiBloom in that order to a 5 gallon bucket of RO water.

I've used the same basic recipe for many hundreds of buckets and have never seen what you've described.

Si + CalMag + Maxi:
1699208848858.png
 
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