NEWBY QUESTION - half way through mixing solution and ARGHH!!

[GhettoGospel]

Hi there dudeys and dudeyettes

To start with i have read the sticky threads but need a bit of help.

I'm a tad confused with EC's

I read that 1.00 EC is good for young plants and 1.6 is good for mature plants.

Well, I use the coco line A+B i have just applied the nutrients at half the recomended dose. My plants are still babies but they have outgrown their seedling status - they have a few nodes and leaves etc.

My readings say 1.6 EC and PH 6.9

I'm going to adjust the PH down with my PH down solution...
...which what makes me think the EC will rise... makes sense right?

So to clarify what the hell am i meant to be doing with the EC???

Exuse my ignorance please!

 

[GhettoGospel]

this is well important

 

[GhettoGospel]

or i'm going to call 911

 

[Buddler]

Hi there dudeys and dudeyettes

To start with i have read the sticky threads but need a bit of help.

I'm a tad confused with EC's

I read that 1.00 EC is good for young plants and 1.6 is good for mature plants.

Well, I use the coco line A+B i have just applied the nutrients at half the recomended dose. My plants are still babies but they have outgrown their seedling status - they have a few nodes and leaves etc. Ec and ppm are the same thing also the conversion for ec to ppm .5 or .7 so if ec is at 1 thats 500 ppm @.5 conversion or ec1 @.7 conversi0n then its approx 700 ppm all the same thing just a bit confusing at first..Its important to check ec after adding base nutes to make sure its low enough adding ph down will increase ec but wont effect ppms of ferts. Also get the ph down to around 5.8 adjust ph after adding all nutes. they will handle a wide range of ppms depending on the strain some more some less.hope this helps you also find out the conversion on your ec pen ..Buddler

 

[Buddler]

Also check water with ec pen for hardness sounds high if you have add ph down after adding ferts ,with my water i have to use ph up..

 

[Snow Crash]

Would it have been hard to tell us what "1/2 strength" means to you?

Canna recommends a range.

I have done a large range of tests with A+B and the EC of the final solution. To hit 1.6 EC on my Hanna meter, starting ec at 0.12, I'd need to use 9ml of A and 9ml of B.

9ml is not 1/2 strength.

I would consider 1/2 strength to be 5ml or 6ml per gallon.

5ml per gallon should be about 0.88ec of nutrients.
6ml per gallon should me more like 1.08ec.

So if these are the levels you are using then your starting EC could be around .6, which indicates poor quality tap water.

Also, my 7.4 pH tap water drops to about 6.5 when I add this volume of nutrients to the solution. Yours is about .5pH higher, which indicates a 7.9 to 8.0 starting pH as well. A further indicator of poor quality water rich in calcium carbonate probably.

The pH down will increase the EC, but not by a significant margin. Perhaps as much as 0.02ec for every 1ml used per gallon.

 

[GhettoGospel]

Buddler thanks for the reply dude i kind of feel relieved now as i went ahead and watered. I'd check the PPm conversion but i've locked all the gear away it was a good ol' reliable bluelabs had it in storage for a while just had the chance to use it 1st time!!

snow crash i did clearly state it was 'recomended dose' sorry if you missed that. It was a short time frame to do the watering so i didn't have time to get a real recomended dose from someone like yourself. And thanks for spending your 8th post.

 

[Buddler]

Ghetto you'll be fine just learn to read plants if they look limey increase ferts if they burnt on tips really dark green back off. Coco is pretty forgiving long as ph is in the zone plus you have coco nutes as well .Only thing i would watch is your water might have to mix with distilled to get hardness down.. read H3ad sticky on growing in coco it will answer all your questions. Best of luck Buddler

 

[Snow Crash]

snow crash i did clearly state it was 'recomended dose' sorry if you missed that. It was a short time frame to do the watering so i didn't have time to get a real recomended dose from someone like yourself. And thanks for spending your 8th post.

Was that meant to be as unfriendly as it came across?

Recommended dosage doesn't mean a thing! Canna recommends different levels at different times of life. Also, their Nutrient Calculator located on www.cannagardening.com has a light, normal, and heavy calculations. So telling us "1/2 of recommended" doesn't tell us anything useful because it could be 1/2 of any one of many different "recommended" levels.

All you'd have to say is "I used X milliliters." That's it. Why go through all the trouble of saying "1/2?" Why bother to try and insult me because you somehow thought I was dissing you?

Whatever.

Coming from someone with fewer than 40 posts themselves... You have no right to even bring up post counts. Regardless, the number of posts a person has denotes neither their experience in the grow room nor their history on other forums. Your ignorance bothers me. I've been around for a while kiddo.

Have fun killing your plants.

 

[bonecarver_OG]

hm... keep it cool i hope...

no dissing in here.

post-count is not important, but beeing nice is..

 

[gaiusmarius]

you did it right, fill tank, add nutrients, add supplements (zym product, boost, pk 13/14 or what ever), add ph adjuster and your done. you will find that the ph adjustment doesn't change the ec level hardly at all if any. still always good to do a final measurement of both ph and ec after a good stir. just to double check.

 

[GhettoGospel]

Buddler I've gone out and took the plunge with some distilled water. Got my EC down and PH perfecto' . My water is disgusting it sort of looks like milk when it first come out the tap!! H3ads thread looks awesome i got a feeling if i follow the recomendations on H3ads thread my plants will flourish.

gaiusmarius i stirred it like 50 times lol Your right though my EC reading stayed the same!

Snow Crash your post appeared like a kick at me for my vague post. But I am still learning about the precise art of nutrition. I find any diss about my intelligence hurtful.

I was talking about the recommended doses printed on the back of the bottles. I used half that recomended dose on the back of the bottle.

Anyway, thanks for the links i've got some good info now for feeding and won't need to ask anymore about it.

P.S to the kid remark.. I have been in the game since the age of 16, not so much doing grows but sourcing/wholesaling products mod'ing and I'm in my 20's now I live this.

 

[Scrogerman]

Yeah your doing it right dude, just needed that final PH adjustment to (5.8) or so & a final EC check. Using the half recommended is a good way of doing it. would be slightly less with other Hydro systems/nutes(not coco specific nutes etc.). also, check to see what other ICmaggers do/use for stage of growth in coco.
Check Canna's website Nute calculator for exact dosing rec's & your away.
I like to use an airstone/airpump, esp for mixing nutes up, better than stirring any day.
Fill res with De-chlorinated water(left to stand for 2-3 days), Add Canna part A, leave mix with your bubbler on for 5 mins, then add Canna part B, leave mix another 5 mins, Add your additives(but follow instructions for those). Check & adjust PH. Your go to go! I like Bubbling my solution for a good few hours before use to help increase Dissolved O2 content, i always do a final PH/EC check before giving to plants. Ideal solution Temp 68f-70f.
Hope that helps.
Peace!

 

[Snow Crash]

I like to use an airstone/airpump, esp for mixing nutes up, better than stirring any day.

I just read a letter from Canna regarding the lifetime of mixed up nutrients and they spoke about not using air stones in the reservoir with canna nutrients as it will cause the elements to break down and change at a rapid rate.

If you'd like to increase the circulation of a reservoir a water pump can be used to agitate the surface of the water. Breaking the surface tension and oxygenating the water as it would be in nature (like waves or river currents).

 

[roseta_stoned]

whiteish looking water from a tap is usually really aerated it disappears and goes clear after a few minutes?
out of interest whats your EC and PH of your water straight from the tap.

 

[Scrogerman]

I just read a letter from Canna regarding the lifetime of mixed up nutrients and they spoke about not using air stones in the reservoir with canna nutrients as it will cause the elements to break down and change at a rapid rate.

If you'd like to increase the circulation of a reservoir a water pump can be used to agitate the surface of the water. Breaking the surface tension and oxygenating the water as it would be in nature (like waves or river currents).

Ive used Canna in DWC, 70lpm compressor pump, 6 x 12" airstones 70ltr Res, start to finish with exellent results. Plants luv the shit man, maybe Canna mean an older solution. iirc Canna recommend 10 days mixed solution life, I change my Res's out every 7-9 days, i like to keep everything balanced. I'd of thought Canna mean older than that, never had that issue with huge amounts of air being pumped through my res. Never had an issue with Canna & air man!?

Have you got a link to that letter? is it on their website?

 

[Snow Crash]

Canna Aqua and Canna Coco are different stuff. Only reason I can think of.

They said 12 days max. 7 days is a good time to change. And that if an air stone is used to change them more often.

I'll go dig up the letter in a bit.

 

[Scrogerman]

Aqua works great in DWC, runn that too, i aint run the Coco yet though, ran all the rest.

 

[Snow Crash]

They said 12 days max. 7 days is a good time to change. And that if an air stone is used to change them more often.

I'll go dig up the letter in a bit.

Straight from the horses mouth...

With the exception of the Bio line, a week to 12 days is about all the time you want to hold onto nutrients that are mixed. Once mixed with each other and exposed to air, they begin to change a little and the ratios of available elements to each other change. Bio Canna should be used up in about 5 days. All products do better if allowed to sit for about 1 hour after mixing. Adding an airstone only speeds decay so it is not advisable.

 

[maxmurder]

I just read a letter from Canna regarding the lifetime of mixed up nutrients and they spoke about not using air stones in the reservoir with canna nutrients as it will cause the elements to break down and change at a rapid rate.

If you'd like to increase the circulation of a reservoir a water pump can be used to agitate the surface of the water. Breaking the surface tension and oxygenating the water as it would be in nature (like waves or river currents).

can you post a link to the canna letter? i'd like to check it out too