G
Guest
Use better coco. Problem solved. *cough*botanicare*cough*
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Coco PH remedy
- Thread starter smurfin'herb
- Start date
Use better coco. Problem solved. *cough*botanicare*cough*
atami's bcuzz coco is supposed to be one of the best kinds tho....
A
Azeotrope
Hydroton is not needed and may be causing greif! If you go coco you go coco all the way. It makes a great base for organic mixes as well.
the hydroton was washed. Its an inert medium, so why would it affect ph?
G
Guest
Let me try this again... something ain't right with the batch you have. Unless your meter is busted, there is no way good, "aged" coco will have a pH higher than 6.5. "Young" coco will have a higher ph and EC.
Or just go with one of these
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^^thats interesting Gratefuldawg
i was going to suggest it may be the Silicon additive because i used it in hydro and found that it continually raises ph. I needed to use far more phdown, both to initially correct the ph and then to keep it down
cheers
eddie
i was going to suggest it may be the Silicon additive because i used it in hydro and found that it continually raises ph. I needed to use far more phdown, both to initially correct the ph and then to keep it down
cheers
eddie
Herb - Blind date touched on this, but just to accent the point, your feeding schedule sucks for coco. Coco, for all intents and purposes, is a hydroponic medium and you need to give it fresh nute solution at least once per day. (Right now I have some Widows in week five. The buds are 2' tall and as big around as a beer can. I'm going to start feeding twice per day now just because these buds are growing so well I want to make sure they have plenty to eat.)
Evlme2 is correct, new Hydrotron is notorious for upping pH. It doesn't just need to be casually rinsed, it needs a good washing. As long as you have what you have, take advantage of the situation. Start with a nute solution of 5.4. Between feedings it will wander up to 6.5 or whatever and, in the process, make all your nutes more available at the various pH levels that are ideal for their absorbtion.
I keep the pH of my nutes at around 5.4 for veg 5.6-5.8 for flower.
It sounds like you have put a lot of thought into your nutes, so blanket statements about getting rid of everything aren't really helpful. If you were some kind of idiot just throwing anything and everything together, maybe that suggestion would be ok. But, since you are using specific nutes for specific reasons, you might just need to tweak your dosages/ratios. Personally, I have real good luck with CNS17. Plants thrive on the CNS17 alone, and I'm talking here about impressive growth, and then you can add supplements, bloom enhancers, whatever you want.
Once a week is good for the hygrozyme. I only use the Silica once per week too.
How are your plants looking?
PC
Evlme2 is correct, new Hydrotron is notorious for upping pH. It doesn't just need to be casually rinsed, it needs a good washing. As long as you have what you have, take advantage of the situation. Start with a nute solution of 5.4. Between feedings it will wander up to 6.5 or whatever and, in the process, make all your nutes more available at the various pH levels that are ideal for their absorbtion.
I keep the pH of my nutes at around 5.4 for veg 5.6-5.8 for flower.
It sounds like you have put a lot of thought into your nutes, so blanket statements about getting rid of everything aren't really helpful. If you were some kind of idiot just throwing anything and everything together, maybe that suggestion would be ok. But, since you are using specific nutes for specific reasons, you might just need to tweak your dosages/ratios. Personally, I have real good luck with CNS17. Plants thrive on the CNS17 alone, and I'm talking here about impressive growth, and then you can add supplements, bloom enhancers, whatever you want.
Once a week is good for the hygrozyme. I only use the Silica once per week too.
How are your plants looking?
PC
Kenny Lingus
Active member
HELL-OOOOOOOO!!!!?!?
HELL-OOOOOOOO!!!!?!?
1st off) Coco fibres ARE porous by nature 20-30% of actual molecular weight is Oxygene. Hence it is porous enuff!!!
2nd off) You should feed coco coir always and often, with rich amounts of NS so it's always properly filled with balanced nutrients and NEVER dries out. I recommend feedings every other day as an absolute minimum. Dried out coir causes salt precipitates that block out multitude of elements. (Only when you've had an accidental dry spell you should give pure nitric acid pH'd water to re-moisten and dissolve solidified minerals.)
PS! weekly rinses of 1/2-2/3 strength feeding solution is always a wise precaution. And it become a necessity if you recycle the nutes. Also when recycling: a system of multiple small feedings every day with minimal run-off will give a continuously moist and EC/pH-balanced medium. This approach is good because the reduced run-back will avoid res instability and increase it's lifetime. Another thing in coco coir and especially when recycling w reduced run-off is to remember to lower the feeding strength some 10-25-% from other setups. It is advised that you sit back and just observe the needs as you go. (And as in any closed/recovery hydro setup you must check it's levels regularly and adjust eventual drifts. Also dumping the last 10-20% is wise, but I'd dilute it double and use the restbatch for rinsing before I change the solution...)
HELL-OOOOOOOO!!!!?!?
smurfin'herb said:
1st off) Coco fibres ARE porous by nature 20-30% of actual molecular weight is Oxygene. Hence it is porous enuff!!!
2nd off) You should feed coco coir always and often, with rich amounts of NS so it's always properly filled with balanced nutrients and NEVER dries out. I recommend feedings every other day as an absolute minimum. Dried out coir causes salt precipitates that block out multitude of elements. (Only when you've had an accidental dry spell you should give pure nitric acid pH'd water to re-moisten and dissolve solidified minerals.)
PS! weekly rinses of 1/2-2/3 strength feeding solution is always a wise precaution. And it become a necessity if you recycle the nutes. Also when recycling: a system of multiple small feedings every day with minimal run-off will give a continuously moist and EC/pH-balanced medium. This approach is good because the reduced run-back will avoid res instability and increase it's lifetime. Another thing in coco coir and especially when recycling w reduced run-off is to remember to lower the feeding strength some 10-25-% from other setups. It is advised that you sit back and just observe the needs as you go. (And as in any closed/recovery hydro setup you must check it's levels regularly and adjust eventual drifts. Also dumping the last 10-20% is wise, but I'd dilute it double and use the restbatch for rinsing before I change the solution...)
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PharmaCan said:
i dont think im using enough cal-mag (150ppm), i have had a cal-mag deficiency for a while, and what looks to be potassium def. but it may just be related to the cal-mag def. I watered them last week with 5.5ph and ever since that, the runoff ph has been stable. I havent been using silica or fulvic acid anymore either...
smurfin'herb said:
Well, I think you want to keep the fulvic acid because it helps the plant process P&K, making for bigger buds.
You should try CNS 17. I'm on my 4th grow with it and I love the stuff. It has all the micros in it, so you don't have to screw around with CalMag+, or anything else for that matter. I add some stuff during bloom to enhance the buds, but during veg the CNS17 Grow is good all by itself.
PC
G
Guest
Oh...you have deficiencies. I was wondering why you'd be worried about ph if you had a healthy plant.smurfin'herb said:
I think the reason for feeding with every watering is so one doesn't crash the buffering capacity of the coir. Aside from the oxygen-holding properties of coco, buffering is the reason coco is the shit; watering without nutes negates the benefits of growing on coco coir.
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Guest 18340
smurf', i just went back a re-read your initial post.
While i dont use the nutes you use, i will tell you what i use simply for comparrison.
First, i use Botanicare coco. I don't rinse it really. I put a whole brick into a bucket a fill it w/water. When its all broken up, i drain the excess water and scoop the coco into the pot for my plant. Thats it, not really rinsing.
At the bottom of my pots i line with decorative stones (the look like marbles) so the coco doesnt run outta the bottom.
Second, i use GH flora seies nutes, all 3 bottles. I mix my nutes into 100% r/o water (not a 50/50 mix of tap and r/o). Thats it. No cal/mag, no nothing.
I mix my nutes to my desired ec, ph to 6.0, and water 'til i get 25% run off. And i dont check the ph/ec of the run off.
I've NEVER had ANY defecencies or any other issues.
My point is MAYBE, maybe you should go back to basics instead of all the additives you're using
Heres a shot of my ak 47 thats vegging. Shes 28 days old from seed and she is perfectly healthy. I water her once a day with the above mentioned nutes.
Just trying to help. Peace, evl
While i dont use the nutes you use, i will tell you what i use simply for comparrison.
First, i use Botanicare coco. I don't rinse it really. I put a whole brick into a bucket a fill it w/water. When its all broken up, i drain the excess water and scoop the coco into the pot for my plant. Thats it, not really rinsing.
At the bottom of my pots i line with decorative stones (the look like marbles) so the coco doesnt run outta the bottom.
Second, i use GH flora seies nutes, all 3 bottles. I mix my nutes into 100% r/o water (not a 50/50 mix of tap and r/o). Thats it. No cal/mag, no nothing.
I mix my nutes to my desired ec, ph to 6.0, and water 'til i get 25% run off. And i dont check the ph/ec of the run off.
I've NEVER had ANY defecencies or any other issues.
My point is MAYBE, maybe you should go back to basics instead of all the additives you're using
Heres a shot of my ak 47 thats vegging. Shes 28 days old from seed and she is perfectly healthy. I water her once a day with the above mentioned nutes.
Just trying to help. Peace, evl
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G
Guest
runoff ph of 6.5 is fine. all that junk in your nute mix won't make an unhealthy plant better but it can lead to probs so keep your nutes basic til you can get your plants healthy... then experiment with additives if you must.
unrinsed hydroton will cause your ph to rise btw
unrinsed hydroton will cause your ph to rise btw
Think about this: When a bunch of Hydroton balls are touching each other, because they are spheres, there is an air gap between them. This is what makes Hydroton such a good medium for hydroponics, plenty of air space. Now lets add Coco to the mix. Coco is very fine and will fill all the gaps by surrounding the hydroton. This eliminates the air gaps. So you see that adding Hydroton to coco is no different than if you were to put a big rock into your bucket. All you are doing is reducing the volume of the bucket.
"You have to let go Luke. Use the force."
Use pure coco.
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G
Guest 18340
I gotta agree w/BlindDate, straight coco is the way to go. I only line the bottom of my buckets (with glass rcoks, they look like flattened marbles) to prevent the coco from coming out the bottom when i water. 
Personally I think you are over complicating things. Just use a basic nutrient that is PH ballanced and includes all it's micro-nutrients - use it every watering and forget about measuring PH run-off. When you have healthy plants, then think about adding additives one at a time over many grows. That way you see what works and what doesn't. Just my opinion.
TGT
TGT
