Question about measuring PPM's for all you Hydro guys

[ninjagaiden]

Hey There,

Quick question from a soil guy converting to Hydro in the near future

This example will be hypothetical.

Lets say i use the following 2 products in flowering:

AN Sensi Bloom
AN Big Bud

Lets say that the nutrient calculator calls for a 200ppm solution. Does this mean i add the Sensi Bloom to my water until it hits 200ppm and then add the big bud according to the bottle instructions? Or do i have to add the sensi bloom and big bud together to reach 200PPM? So maybe 150ppm Sensi Bloom and 50PPM Big Bud for a total mix of 200PPM.

Thanks!!!

 

[BlueberryLovr]

Total.

 

[ninjagaiden]

Total.

hmm so how do u how know much more you need of something?

should it be 50/50? 40/60? 10/90? or anything else?

Thanks!

 

[MrBlue2]

i fill a 55 gal res with 50 gallons of water. then i mix the recommended amount of of nutes for 50 gallons to a 5 gallon bucket. i then add little by little from the 5 into the 55 until i reach i reach my desired level of ppm's. this method allows you to get your ppm's in their proper amounts with your nutrients in the ratios that they were intended.

this meathod often results in a waist of some nutes. if i know that the recommended dose for my nutes will give me way too high of a level of ppm's, then i will adjust accordingly. for example: if i know a full strength mix of nutes will give me a ppm reading of 1000, and i am aiming for 500, i will mix half strength into the five gallon bucket the next time i fertilize.

 

[humble1]

That hypothetical is ridiculous. No one uses 200 ppm solution in flowering.
The first answer is still correct, if vague.
It says right on the label that Big Bud will boost your overall ppm by 200-300 ppm, or at least it used to. I have a big bucket of the dry mix and I know they changed the labels a while back. Anyway, figure that you're going to reduce your target ppm for the base nutrient (Sensi Bloom A&B in your case) so that when you do add the additional 200-300 ppm of Big Bud you will be in your target range. For example, and a much more reasonable one at that, suppose that you were aiming for 1200 ppm overall. You would add Sensi until you hit around 900 ppm and then add the appropriate amount of Big Bud. Then check your total combined ppm and if it is too low add more Sensi until you are where you want to be.

 

[generalgrievous]

like mr.blue, my nutes are mixed in a ratio, than cut to desired strength...

for example... gonna mix some veg nutes... PBP grow, PBP bloom, LIquid karma, aqua shield, CaMag+... these are mixed at 2:1:1:2:2 respectively with a 1/2 teaspoons in a gallon of water... this reads 1250 ppm on the meter and i'm shooting for 2 ec... i cut with more water till i reach 1000ppm... somewhere around 1 1/4 gl.... ph and feed.

after say 2 feedings you have an idea how much nutes to how much water gets you where you need to be....

hope that helps....

 

[ninjagaiden]

thanks all

 

[kcbudz31]

in addition, everything is strain specific. It's impossible to give exact perfect mixes - you need to run crops with different variants to find out if you're even in the sweet spot.

Scientific method will never let you down.

 

[farmdalefurr]

when i mix my sensi part a (12ml) into my ro water (14ppm) it takes my water to 544ppm. i then mix my part b (12ml) and it takes it up to 986. then my bud candy to get me up over 1000 for flower. those numbers in the OP dont seem right at all

 

[HydroJen]

i fill a 55 gal res with 50 gallons of water. then i mix the recommended amount of of nutes for 50 gallons to a 5 gallon bucket. i then add little by little from the 5 into the 55 until i reach i reach my desired level of ppm's. this method allows you to get your ppm's in their proper amounts with your nutrients in the ratios that they were.

I hope you mean you would mix nutes into a 5 gallon bucket... OF WATER?
Please do not recommend to mix concentrates! Always mix to water!

Always add cal/mg to fresh water, not mixed nutes

Commonly, ppm in flower could be 600-1600 (except during flush)

AN instructions make a very hot mix, could probably thrive at half that

 

[humble1]

Even so he could still have drop out, or precipitation. From what I understand it is best to mix different nutrients in no less than 2/3 of your intended volume. All the best!

 

[HydroJen]

Even so he could still have drop out, or precipitation. From what I understand it is best to mix different nutrients in no less than 2/3 of your intended volume. All the best!

I'm with you. Straight into the Rez. That's why they r sold in different bottles.

 

[MrBlue2]

I hope you mean you would mix nutes into a 5 gallon bucket... OF WATER?
Please do not recommend to mix concentrates! Always mix to water!

Always add cal/mg to fresh water, not mixed nutes

Commonly, ppm in flower could be 600-1600 (except during flush)

AN instructions make a very hot mix, could probably thrive at half that

Yeah i usually have 2-3 gallons of water in the 5 gallon bucket. sorry i left that part out. I also should have wrote that you should not let the concentrated mix sit for any amount of time. it should be used within a few minutes of mixing to prevent the nutes from binding up.

obviously most nute line are different, some are more likely to bind up then others. this method is just an easy way to figure out how nutes will translate into ppms in your rez. once you have it figured out you can mix right into your rez.