Question about Lucas formula from a noob

Hollatchaboy

Hollatchaboy

Well-Known Member
Hey all,

So if I'm using Lucas formula and I get a 1300 ppm reading on the 7 scale.... my ppm drops... my water level drops, and my ph rises. So my question is, shouldn't I raise ppm til the ppm and ph stay stable? Does it work that way with Lucas formula?
 
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DaFreak

Well-Known Member
No, don't go above mixing it at that ratio. The pH is rising because the plants have eaten the food which also buffers the pH. Add more food back and the pH will drop again. Forget about the idea of trying to get it so the water and ppm drops together. Lucas is strong enough as is.
 
Hollatchaboy

Hollatchaboy

Well-Known Member
Lol...i figured I'd hear something along those lines. As you probably know I'm still a noob and trying to figure out this whole feeding schedule thing.
 
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DaFreak

Well-Known Member
There are a few reservoir strategies out there that work well.

1) 100 add-back method. Once you top off your reservoir with water equal to starting volume dump reservoir and start again.
2) using a ppm pen to measure how much food to add back with each topping to keep a constant ppm. You can combine with 100 add-back or use same reservoir the whole grow.
3) top off with .33% nutrients and again combine with 100% add-back method or full cycle.

All three will work well with Lucas. I personally like using my ppm and keeping it constant and it’s easy to do this because of the simplicity of Lucas. I don’t know if I would do this if I had a seven product feeding recipe.
 
Hollatchaboy

Hollatchaboy

Well-Known Member
DaFreak said:
No, don't go above mixing it at that ratio. The pH is rising because the plants have eaten the food which also buffers the pH. Add more food back and the pH will drop again. Forget about the idea of trying to get it so the water and ppm drops together. Lucas is strong enough as is.
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Btw... thanks Dafreak.

Some of the advice you've given has gotten me to week 7 of flower. She started off rocky and she's still looks a lil rough but this is where she's at now. Next grow will be better! Thanks again!
 

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Hollatchaboy

Hollatchaboy

Well-Known Member
DaFreak said:
There are a few reservoir strategies out there that work well.

1) 100 add-back method. Once you top off your reservoir with water equal to starting volume dump reservoir and start again.
2) using a ppm pen to measure how much food to add back with each topping to keep a constant ppm. You can combine with 100 add-back or use same reservoir the whole grow.
3) top off with .33% nutrients and again combine with 100% add-back method or full cycle.

All three will work well with Lucas. I personally like using my ppm and keeping it constant and it’s easy to do this because of the simplicity of Lucas. I don’t know if I would do this if I had a seven product feeding recipe.
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I've been doing method 1 and it seems like I'm going thru a lot of nutes that way. It helps with the whole ph drift up tho.
 
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DaFreak

Well-Known Member
Yeah, you're never going to see all the sorts of problems you'll see on the forums when using Lucas. It just works. Remember for veg you can start with 5/10 instead of 8/16, I have never seen the need to go any lower than 5/10. Straight from rooted clones they can take 5/10 but a lot of people will suggest even given them 1/4 of that. More power to them, but I have never gone that low.
 
Hollatchaboy

Hollatchaboy

Well-Known Member
Well i will say this... the Lucas formula straightened my plant right up! I was dealing with purple stems and petioles. Yellow dying leaves. Switched to Lucas...a week later put her into flower. No more purpling... no more yellowing. Tho now, week 7 in flower, and she's got burnt tips. Not gonna worry about it now tho. Lol
 
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DaFreak

Well-Known Member
If you see tip burn you can always just add a little water to your mix to weaken it a bit. I love GH but they do lack in flavor a bit and I do recommend adding Floricious to your mix. I think it's called floricious anyway, it's from GH as well. During your dry you can also try dry trimming and hanging whole plants to try and preserve as much flavor as possible.
 
Hollatchaboy

Hollatchaboy

Well-Known Member
Ok... I'm guessing it's too late for the floralicious now, but I'll try the dry trim and whole plant hang. Do you add the floralicious at week 1 flower?
 
Hollatchaboy

Hollatchaboy

Well-Known Member
And how does that work? Do i add it additionally to the Lucas 8/16? Or do I weaken it then add the floralicious?
 
rkymtnman

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
DaFreak said:
I use it whole grow, just add it to Lucas.
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what's the mix rate for it?
i love bioag cyto plus: kelp, humic and micros in a powder. 0.5 g per gal. and cheap too.

but i think that and sulfur from epsom help the smells a ton.
 
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DaFreak

Well-Known Member
I think it's 1ml per gallon. Stuff is expensive but one bottle lasts me 24 plants. I've been using cal-mag a bit since switching to LED but I might just go back to epsom.
 
rkymtnman

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
DaFreak said:
I think it's 1ml per gallon. Stuff is expensive but one bottle lasts me 24 plants. I've been using cal-mag a bit since switching to LED but I might just go back to epsom.
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i think i'm gonna pick up a bottle of CES plant amp. it's a Ca only bottle. i'd like to have the flexibiltiy to add Ca if needed and Mg if needed via Epsom without having to use cal/mg and add all that N too
 
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DaFreak

Well-Known Member
Yeah but not by much. Don't let people scare you too much about ppm. Plants grown quickly and in good health can take it. Again if you see a little tip burn just throw a splash of water after everything is mixed to dilute a little. But like somebody once said, "I'm growing buds not leafs."
 
Hollatchaboy

Hollatchaboy

Well-Known Member
Ok... so far I've seen the proof with Lucas. I have no reason to doubt that they can handle it. I'm just making sure I don't screw anything up on my next grow. At least not the same things I did on this one. Lol
 
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