Nutrient deficiency while flowering??

pH does not cause nutrient lock out.

Some of the microelements
are absorbed by the roots better,
if the pH is lower,

If the pH is too low,
the plant will absorb too much Iron,
and the Iron will cause the overproduction of alcohal,
and the plant will die very quickly.

If the pH is too high,
the plant will not absorb manganese and boron,
and will be deficient of these micro elements,,
even though these elements are still available in solution.

Lockout only occurs between Calcium and Magnesium,
since these two elements have a natural, covalent bond.

The plant can take in water at a wide range of pH,
just like you can, say between 5-8.5.


If the pH is too low,
and the water has Iron in it,
then the plant will overdose on Iron.

The plant will continue to use the elements it has already stored
in the big fan leaves, and the roots,
until these nutrients are exhausted,
and the leaves turn yelllow, and purple.

Here is a WW, after two weeks of RO only.


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pH does cause nutrient lock out.

pH affects plant growth and nutrient availability. pH values above 7.5 cause iron, manganese, copper, zinc and boron ions to become less available to plants. pH values below 6 cause the solubility (in water) of phosphoric acid, calcium and magnesium to drop.

This all means that you will get a build-up of nutrients in your medium that will have solidified, or become unavailable to the plant. To me this is tantamount to a lockout through pH.

Even in DWC you can get salt build-ups that are invisible to the naked eye, yet they hover around and are not available to the plants.

Maintaining the correct level of pH is essential to avoid 'locking out' of essential nutrients.

pH is a complicated subject, and goes far deeper than any of us here (I believe) can fathom.

There are ways to minimise pH variations and they are worth some consideration. Nitrogen is the essential inorganic nutrient required in the largest quantity by plants. Most plants are able to absorb either nitrate (NO3-) or ammonium (NH4+) or both. NH4+ as the sole source of nitrogen or in excess is deleterious to the growth of many plant species. Some plants yield better when supplied with a mixture of NH4+ (ammonium) and NO3- (nitrate) compared to NO3- alone. A combination of NH4+ and NO3- can be used to buffer against changes in pH. Plants grown in nutrient solution containing only NO3- as the sole nitrogen source tend to increase solution pH, hence the need to add acid. But when approximately 10%-20% of the total nitrogen is supplied as NH4+, the nutrient solution pH is stabilised at pH 5.5. NH4+ concentration needs to be monitored as it has been shown recently that micro-organisms growing on plant root surfaces can convert the NH4+ to NO3-.

Several things can affect your pH and change the way your plants grow and behave. They'll take in deadly amounts of one nutrient only to decrease availability in another... this is why it is essential that we monitor pH levels... and to my mind if a nutrient isn't available to the plant yet it is in the medium then that nutrient is locked out.

This thread has been very informative to this Noob. It's great to have Pros in this forum who are willing to take the time to impart their knowledge and help others.

420 Growper said:

They have misinformed you - With flushing your trying to get the nutes and/or any chemicals out.
How can you flush a plant with out correct PH water?
You cannot, In hydro we all know the plant will NOT drink the water if it is not the correct PH.

So I would say yeah, that dude @ hydro store does'nt know squat.

You were smart to not listen to him.

Click to expand...

what he told me was by not adjusting ph you are forcing the plant to use up its saved nutrients...it kinda made sense..he also mentioned that tap water has things in it that the plant will absorb so leaving it alone was a good idea

Earl said:

pH does not cause nutrient lock out.

Some of the microelements
are absorbed by the roots better,
if the pH is lower,

If the pH is too low,
the plant will absorb too much Iron,
and the Iron will cause the overproduction of alcohal,
and the plant will die very quickly.

If the pH is too high,
the plant will not absorb manganese and boron,
and will be deficient of these micro elements,,
even though these elements are still available in solution.

Lockout only occurs between Calcium and Magnesium,
since these two elements have a natural, covalent bond.

The plant can take in water at a wide range of pH,
just like you can, say between 5-8.5.

If the pH is too low,
and the water has Iron in it,
then the plant will overdose on Iron.

The plant will continue to use the elements it has already stored
in the big fan leaves, and the roots,
until these nutrients are exhausted,
and the leaves turn yelllow, and purple.

Here is a WW, after two weeks of RO only.

.

Click to expand...

i had just used a broken ph meter i was lowering my ph to just over 2 it locked out the phospherous and magnesium and all else,it caused severe damage.damage that never happened before i got the broken meter.

Sad about your meter.

That is why it is important to calibrate them every once in a while.

If you tap your meter on the side of the rez,
this will instantly cause it to lose calibration.

The best meter to have
is one where the probe
can be left in the rez full time,
and not be jostled about.

If you must move the probe around
then you should be very gentle,
and not bang it on anything.

Another tip, never leave your pH probe in RO or distilled water.

This will cause the probe to lose sensetivity
and become hard to calibrate.

Meters with a detachable probe are best,
since probe replacement is about half the cost.

I recommend a Milwaukee SM 101 9 volt pH meter made in Romania $89.

Or this American made PinPoint $110

Stay away from the Chinese meters.
They are only good for one grow at best.

You should always calibrate to 4 and 7

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Proper handling and storage of pH probe,
will not only help to prolong the pH probe's life,
but also will ensure fast, accurate readings.

General guidelines include:

•pH probes should be rinsed between samples with deionized or distilled water,
and then placed in a storage solution, or left in the hydroponic solution.

•Never wipe a pH probe dry,
as this can cause erroneous readings due to static charges.

•Never store pH probes in RO/DI water; doing so will cause a sluggish response.

•Always keep the tip of the pH probe moist.

In general, pH buffers only have a two-year shelf life, unopened.

Once opened, the shelf life drops to 2-3 months.

However an open bottle of pH 10 calibration solution,
only has a 30-day shelf life.


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