House and Garden nute's and ph drifting

[Gregster]

I am using H&G nute's again it's been a while.My question is does any one else have your ph go from 5.8 to 6.8 overnite? I remember these nute's being much more stable.The only thing I am using different is my up and down solution.I did use general hydro and now am using technaflora. I understand there will be drift I just don't recall it so often.Any comment's??? p.s this is in coco..

 

[the_extremist]

Is this a recirculating res or drain to waste? R/O or tap water? Using Cocos or Aqua Flakes? I don't believe Cocos is meant for recirculating setups. I believe I read that on this forum before, but I could be wrong.

FWIW, I use Coco's A+B in R/O, drain to waste in coco and my res pH stays exactly where I put it when I mix it, won't budge at all. If you're using tap water, the alkalinity of it could be swinging pH upward.

 

[Gregster]

I run water to run off.I believe maybe it is the acid used in this product,not strong enough to hold it steady.I think it is nitric acid ,I am going to make my own using sulferic acid and see if that helps, thank's for your input...

 

[Homebrewer]

I'm currently testing Aqua Flakes in my ebb & flow system and I've been seeing an upward drift but not nearly as severe as yours. I see 5.8 move up to around 6.3 in 24-48 hours with RO water and these nutes need about 2-3 adjustments per week.

 

[green thumbs]

I'm currently testing Aqua Flakes in my ebb & flow system and I've been seeing an upward drift but not nearly as severe as yours. I see 5.8 move up to around 6.3 in 24-48 hours with RO water and these nutes need about 2-3 adjustments per week.

How are you liking H&G compared to Dyna Gro?

 

[Homebrewer]

How are you liking H&G compared to Dyna Gro?

Aqua Flakes is doing pretty well actually. While the pH tends to drift, I've found that I can stabilize the pH with Protekt at about 3mls per gallon. The plants look great, resin production is excellent, we've got about 25 more days until harvest but so far it's been pretty easy to use. In regards to cost, DG is more expensive by the gallon but it's also more concentrated so at the end of the day, both brands would cost about the same for a grow when using base nutes only.

I should add that I'm not using any 'boosters' from H&G but instead using DynaGro's Magpro (2-15-4) because I use RO water. I like how magpro matches up with the NPK content of AquaFlakes and like I said, things are going pretty smoothly.

Day 32 I think.....

 

[YosemiteSam]

What is the alkalinity of your water? And what is the NH4 and NO3 of the H&G

 

[Homebrewer]

What is the alkalinity of your water? And what is the NH4 and NO3 of the H&G

I use RO but our tap water's Alkalinity as CaCO3 is 57.

H&G's nitrogen composition is nearly all nitrate with a very small amount being NH4. It's hard to find an exact number as they don't fully list everything on their label. I think they list 'minimums' as to not get in trouble with the states for mislabeling their product. Maybe someone can post exact numbers as the backs of my bottles aren't very helpful.

 

[Gregster]

I changed to ro water and now the ph stay's where it should be.I did not realize how bad the water is at my new location.Tap alway's worked fine before.Thank's for the input...

 

[Homebrewer]

I changed to ro water and now the ph stay's where it should be.I did not realize how bad the water is at my new location.Tap alway's worked fine before.Thank's for the input...

The pH of my Aqua Flakes res is starting to drift again just like before. It seems that some days I don't need to adjust the pH, other days I do. It's still shaping up to be a high quality fertilizer at an excellent price, it's just not pH stable as it eventually wants to creep up to 6.3. Glad yours is working well.

 

[UnknownProphet]

So I feel like I've been doing things backwards but maybe it's just because I'm new to running H&G as a base, but I have a question...

I'm running their bases Coco A&B and have read to Mix A for 15 mins....THEN....Add B....THEN PH to 5.8...*here's what I find odd* after PHing then add additives!? What if after adding everything else you get to 4.0 or 7.2 or something crazy like that? It says it will eventually restabilize but when?

I'm looking forward to using their base as I've enjoyed their additives, but it just seems odd and backwards to everything I've done until now adding the additives after PHing.

Thanks in advance for any experienced advice.

 

[UnknownProphet]

Oh and reading this is good to know...I've been using a GH PH down and I think over time as well as being weak to start it just plain sucks. I may get some Advanced PH down if I find issues with drift, but I'll let you guys know what I find too.

 

[Homebrewer]

So I feel like I've been doing things backwards but maybe it's just because I'm new to running H&G as a base, but I have a question...

I'm running their bases Coco A&B and have read to Mix A for 15 mins....THEN....Add B....THEN PH to 5.8...*here's what I find odd* after PHing then add additives!? What if after adding everything else you get to 4.0 or 7.2 or something crazy like that? It says it will eventually restabilize but when?

I'm looking forward to using their base as I've enjoyed their additives, but it just seems odd and backwards to everything I've done until now adding the additives after PHing.

Thanks in advance for any experienced advice.

I read that 'wait 15 minutes between the bases' rule too and called H&G about it. They told me that as long as Part A is mixed up thoroughly, you can then add Part B. As far as pH-ing goes, I'd pH your solution after everything is mixed up. It doesn't make sense to me not to do it like that.

 

[UnknownProphet]

^that's what I've always done and what I figured was the correct way of doing things. BUT H&G's website says it multiple times to:
BASE>>>SIT/MIX 15 MINS.>>>PH>>>THEN ADDITIVES

BUT I'm going with:
BASE>>>SIT/MIX 15 MINS>>>ADDITIVES>>>THEN FINALLY PH

Anyone who can tell me different I'm willing to listen, but please be experienced not just going off what you've heard or read. Thanks in advance.

 

[Mia]

Advanced PH down and up is like four more times more concentrated than GH.
Way more bang for your buck.
I dilute it shot glass up/down per gallon ro water.

 

[the_extremist]

So I feel like I've been doing things backwards but maybe it's just because I'm new to running H&G as a base, but I have a question...

I'm running their bases Coco A&B and have read to Mix A for 15 mins....THEN....Add B....THEN PH to 5.8...*here's what I find odd* after PHing then add additives!? What if after adding everything else you get to 4.0 or 7.2 or something crazy like that? It says it will eventually restabilize but when?

I'm looking forward to using their base as I've enjoyed their additives, but it just seems odd and backwards to everything I've done until now adding the additives after PHing.

Thanks in advance for any experienced advice.

I'm using Cocos A+B, Roots Excel, Algen Extract, Drip Clean, and Bud XL in R/O, drain to waste. No other additives to speak of. I'm just starting week 9 of 10 on my first run with H+G and couldn't be more impressed. Looks to be a very good yield even without a PK boost, and resin production is fucking insane. EC never exceeded 1.6 and this is with 1000ppm of CO2. Picture perfect plants.

I mix the A thoroughly, though certainly not for 15 minutes. Maybe a minute or so of vigorous stirring with a boat oar (I use a big-ass 90-ish gallon recycle tote for a res). The pH has not dropped much at this point, maybe by.2 or so. Then I let it set for another minute or so and add the B, stir for another minute, let it set for another minute. At this point the B has dropped my pH to somewhere around 3.8-4.2 depending on EC. Then I add pH up to 5.9-ish. Then I add each additive and mix thoroughly after each one. My pH doesn't budge a bit. Even after a few days, pH stays rock solid.

As far as any other additives or a recirculating system, I can't comment with any experience, but it seems that the H+G additives I'm using don't really mess with the pH even when added after the fact. I probably won't change anything for the next run, save maybe a tiny shot of koolbloom or something around week 7 maybe, but it doesn't even seem like they need it. Cocos A+B has a shit ton of K in it already and I'm not convinced they need any more P anyway.

Good luck, hope this helps.

 

[Grizz]

^ exactly, way more bang for the $$.

prophet i have been using tap water , my tap water is 400 to 500 ppm by its self , i mix everything then adjust ph. i get about a 3 point drift in a 55 gal res in about 7 days.

what im finding with H&G is its cal mag deficent, even with my tap water at the ppm's it is im having to add 5 mil per gl. i think its more mag deficent than cal. changing to r o this week and wanting to see if it changes the cal mag problem.

also have found flora nova bloom works better than the Bud booster from H%G

 

[the_extremist]

There's no way that you're Ca deficient with H+G Cocos. It has 12% Ca, which is a fucking ton, lol. Cocos does seem to be a bit light on Mg though. I'm using R/O water and had to add .5g/gal of epsoms during stretch to keep them lush green, but they were fine without it after stretch. H+G is designed to be used with R/O, so I would try that. I imagine your hard water combined with the fact that H+G has a ton of Ca already may be locking out other elements.

 

[Grizz]

There's no way that you're Ca deficient with H+G Cocos. It has 12% Ca, which is a fucking ton, lol. Cocos does seem to be a bit light on Mg though. I'm using R/O water and had to add .5g/gal of epsoms during stretch to keep them lush green, but they were fine without it after stretch. H+G is designed to be used with R/O, so I would try that. I imagine your hard water combined with the fact that H+G has a ton of Ca already may be locking out other elements.

pretty much what im thinking but the truth is in my plants, no cal mag added and yellowish leaves , add the cal mag and there green and soft to the touch,

 

[Homebrewer]

pretty much what im thinking but the truth is in my plants, no cal mag added and yellowish leaves , add the cal mag and there green and soft to the touch,

If your water is 400ppm (regardless of ppm scale), I would bet that you have plenty of calcium already. Your yellow leaves are probably the result of your sh*tty, unbalanced tap water that probably shouldn't be consumed, let alone fed to your plants.