Try some Epsom salts if you can't get cal/mag. One teaspoon per gallon of water as a foliar application. That will take care of a mag deficiency if that's what it is.
-
Happy Birthday ICMag! Been 20 years since Gypsy Nirvana created the forum! We are celebrating with a 4/20 Giveaway and by launching a new Patreon tier called "420club". You can read more here.
-
Important notice: ICMag's T.O.U. has been updated. Please review it here. For your convenience, it is also available in the main forum menu, under 'Quick Links"!
*The K.I.S.S. Method*
- Thread starter Ioni Botani
- Start date
Try some Epsom salts if you can't get cal/mag. One teaspoon per gallon of water as a foliar application. That will take care of a mag deficiency if that's what it is.
MickFoster
Active member
I have been growing off and on for years and I was like most people - trying different additives and different brand nutes based on comments by the people on the forums. I was always looking for some edge, always tinkering to get better results, but all I was doing was spending my money with nothing substantial to show for it. Don't misunderstand, I've grown some nice weed and had healthy plants over the years, but after trying the KISS method I have found that none of those potions I put together were as good as KISS. I don't have to buy an EC meter. I don't have to buy r/o water - the 7 grams per gallon of my tap water puts the ph at 5.7 - I don't have to buy ph up or ph down. I use the GH ph drops instead of an expensive meter that requires storage solution, 4.0 and 7.0 solutions for calibration, and I don't have to worry whether the meter is accurate every time. And lastly I don't have to buy all those expensive additives. Nothing is simpler or less expensive.
Dr.RedWhite
Active member
My "bloom booster" is Maxicrop seaweed (1tbsp per gallon), 1 1/2 tsp mollasses per gallon and 2 TBSP Jobes 2-7-4 fert bubbled overnite or till foamy. Hit 4 gallons of media once a week with a quart of this and your res will stay clear, trichs will look great and swellage will be beautiful. I have started to do this the third week of veg and liking it.
brainzfuxed
Member
my city tap water comes out at about 650 ppm. Can i use this straight with 1tsp of maxibloom or will this be too hot for plants?
lock out. usually is because of soil conditions. over under watering and ph swings. too cold root zone will do it. to big a root zone for the plant size can make it easy for some or all of the issues to happen. that or feed salts absorb moisture in the bag or bucket and get clumpy. this causes the cal and mag to bind in salt form from having moisture present while salts are at too high a concentration. this causes them to form into cacium carbonate or gypsum and be unavailable to plant. so even though your ec is correct your cal and mag fallout upon hitting the tank water. ruined salt. cant unbind them once this happens. these are a few things that can cause this look.not saying that they are the reasons but something to cross off your list whiile investigating.
Dr.RedWhite
Active member
My tap is like that and I didn't have any issues other than having to PH down. The PPM's in my tap did not act as ferts but added much in mineral form. My ec with a tsp of Maxibloom, 1/4 tsp of PH down and 1/4 tsp of epsom salts was 2.7. EC of my tap is 1.1 so subtract that and my additives worked out to around 1.6 EC.
brainzfuxed
Member
My tap is like that and I didn't have any issues other than having to PH down. The PPM's in my tap did not act as ferts but added much in mineral form. My ec with a tsp of Maxibloom, 1/4 tsp of PH down and 1/4 tsp of epsom salts was 2.7. EC of my tap is 1.1 so subtract that and my additives worked out to around 1.6 EC.
So what was the ppm of your tap water? Also how did you start off your seedlings? I was really concerned about my tap water being so hard but after doing some more reading I am considering sticking to all tap water. I just hear mixed opinions about 650ppm being too high
We talk in ec here, not ppms.
1.1ec is 550 ppms on the X500 tds scale. But if you are going to follow that guys advice and feed your plants 2.8ec then just throw your meter away and quit worrying about ppms and ec. To say the tap water ec acts like minerals and not ferts is a fucking WOW.
brainzfuxed
Member
We talk in ec here, not ppms.
Can you elaborate on what you mean stoney? I'm debating just sticking with straight to water and 7 grams of maxibloom. My only concern is a cal mag deficiency
Darealkingjames
Member
High ec of tap water or water being used will really fuck things up if your trying to give it the right ec they're asking for. 2.8ec will fry your plants you can't subtract the ec from the water just cus you add nutes to it. It doesn't cancel out that way. Depending on the strain your growing 1.1 maybe enough for some plants in the beginning but since that tap water and it doesn't have everything needed nutes will have to be used to supply what isn't there. High ec tap water is hard to gauge unless you know all the elements that's in it but 1.1ec shouldn't have to worry about calmag but it could be filled with something else more than that
Dr.RedWhite
Active member
We talk in ec here, not ppms.
Well stoned all I said was that the PPM of your tap water is likely minerals not N-P-K. Maxibloom works better for us that have high PPM tap than Jacks Professional + calnit. There is a lot in my water that is not used by the plant so yes it does build up the PPM's and it is impossible to say what that comprises of. Change your reservoir weekly and it won't be an issue. If you can use RO water by all means do so but it is not always necessary. Some tap water is almost unusable.
brainzfuxed
Member
So does maxi bloom used with RO have enough cal mag or will I need to supplement. I have read conflicting information regarding this
I highly doubt you would need calmag. If you did see a mag deficiency you add a pinch of Epsom salts for the mag and sulfur. Don't worry about adding it unless you see a need which you probably won't. Use RO if you can, or a mix of your tap and RO, giving your plants tap and MB at 2.8ec sounds whack to me. If you are in coco do DTW so you don't get a massive salt buildup. I ran KISS through blumats,1.8ec and had salt buildup on top of the coco and the black fabric pots turned white from salts. I tested the runoff of my first flush before chop and the ec was 2.8. So I know plants can survive in that ec but the taste of all them nutes made me quit KISS.
That said too many people love this stuff and it works for them so give it a try. Maxibloom is nothing more than the dry salts of GHs liquid formulas, Grow, Micro and Bloom, mixed at a ratio of 3 parts bloom, 2 micro and 1 grow. If tap don't mean shit then why does GH make a hardwater liquid version of their micro to use if your tap is near or above 0.8ec (400ppm)?
brainzfuxed
Member
So should I run straight RO or do a split of 1/4 tap water and 3/4 RO? My tap water comes out at 650ppm. Also I read that in mixing maxibloom we should not use warm water in a mason jar, but rather just toss the 1 tsp straight into the gallon of water and shake at room temp. Is this true? Thanks
Dr.RedWhite
Active member
I have run some very nice plants using my tap water and would recommend trying your tap water before going nuts with RO and having to add calcium to it. 1 tsp Maxibloom and PH down to near a PH of 6 is a good place to start. Some plants like more magnesium so I add the 1/4 tsp epsom salts as a matter of a deficiency I don't have to fix later. Saying the 1.1 EC our tap starts with is some form is nutrient is just wrong. Some of those minerals are beneficial.
brainzfuxed
Member
Even at 650ppm?
oti$
Active member
You don't have to mix in a mason jar with hot water, it just dissolves faster. I usually just use a water bottle+hot water.
brainzfuxed
Member
Do you use Tap or Ro? I'm debating cutting my mix to 80% RO 20% tap to bring my hardness to 150ppm to 200ppm
Sounds like a good plan. Now quit worrying about it or changing your mind. Fucking do it
