House and Garden / Coco question

[AloeRuss]

Hello

Since I am using coco, I went ahead and change my base nutrient and went with House and Garden Cocos A and B

I went on H&G web site and went through their feeding chart.
They recommend mixing A and B and bring PH to 5.8
After that they recommend adding other micronutes.
The notation states that PH may lower after adding those.
My question is do I live PH as is or do I adjust it to 5.8 again?

Please advice if you can
Thank you

 

[stoned40yrs]

If you are using protekt or a silica additive you add that first to the water, then the base nutes and then any other additives. The last thing you add is your ph up or down to get to 5.8 or your target ph.
If you do it their way yes you have to end up at 5.8 by adding up or down. Never read of anybody adding up or down twice during the mix no matter the nutes.

 

[AbeFroman]

I follow the directions and Add the base nutrients and wait a while to PH. I add the other stuff and set the PH again. Usually I don't see a discrepancy. I have heard of ph rise over time from the base nutrients but I have not confirmed it. I assume though H&G instructed the mixture to take place in such a fashion for a reason.

 

[stoned40yrs]

I follow the directions and Add the base nutrients and wait a while to PH. I add the other stuff and set the PH again. Usually I don't see a discrepancy. I have heard of ph rise over time from the base nutrients but I have not confirmed it. I assume though H&G instructed the mixture to take place in such a fashion for a reason.

Note to self- cross H&G off my list of nutes to try in the future!

 

[AbeFroman]

Note to self- cross H&G off my list of nutes to try in the future!

For the record H&G does not call for a second PH after setting the base, even after additives. But since I add a couple things not in their lineup I do it anyways for piece of mind.

But I have also been looking for a good H&G alternative.

 

[DrKanobie]

Hello

Since I am using coco, I went ahead and change my base nutrient and went with House and Garden Cocos A and B

I went on H&G web site and went through their feeding chart.
They recommend mixing A and B and bring PH to 5.8
After that they recommend adding other micronutes.
The notation states that PH may lower after adding those.
My question is do I live PH as is or do I adjust it to 5.8 again?

Please advice if you can
Thank you

I've been using coco for some time. Whenever I mix my nutrients of any brand, I always mix all my nutrients first and the very last thing I do is adjust my ph.(5.8) If you are curious as to what nutrients move your ph, I would use a digital ph meter and test your solution after you add each nutrient.

 

[RonSmooth]

Check/adjust pH last. You want to know the pH of the solution the plants are getting.

I think I recall someone saying Dynagro said to mix Protekt first. I use it as a pH down so I add it after my base feed (Maxibloom). Never ran into problems.

I don't check the pH/EC with instruments much anymore. Once I figure out the ratios, you should get within +/- .2

 

[moxil]

Depends on your water quality you can get a ph rise, my water comes out of the tap at .1ec after i mix up the base and ph it to 5.8 i add all the additives. Within 12 hours the ph has risen again to 6.5 that is using no air stones in a dtw coco res

 

[Coconutz]

You shouldnt ph right after adding the supplements because it can take a while to naturally stabilize in the rez.
Thats why they also recommend waiting 15mins between adding a and then b
The say that adding the ph after the beneficials can harm them
Knowing aloe hes bought every additive he could and hes not going to listen, so I dont even know why Im typing this

 

[AbeFroman]

Its also my understanding that they suggest you ph the base to create a suitable environment for any live beneficials within their addatives.

 

[Coconutz]

yea that^

 

[AloeRuss]

So, if I could sum all info here, the safest way is to add base, add micro mutes, adjust PH to 5.8?
Easy enough. Thank you gentleman.

 

[Coconutz]

nope
if you are adding micros like calcium they go first.
I wouldnt add calmag to hg
that would be outrageous
also make sure silica goes in the water before anything else

 

[Medium Pimpin']

Protekt silica acts as a ph up, not down.

 

[Ez Rider]

nope
if you are adding micros like calcium they go first.
I wouldnt add calmag to hg
that would be outrageous
also make sure silica goes in the water before anything else

 

[AbeFroman]

My suggestion would be to follow H&G directions and test the solution yourself to see how it reacts with your water. Chances are if you do see a ph drop after adding micros it will be slight and go back up to you adjusted ph over time.
My order is
1. Add silica since it seems to be most soluble added first..
2. Add base A wait 15 min
3. Add base B wait 15 min
4. Ph solution 5.8-6.0
5. Add additional Micros.
6. Check PH of solution to make sure its within acceptable range (Over 5.5 is ok in my book).

Others may do it different. But different but that's my method.Hope that helps

 

[Coconutz]

My suggestion would be to follow H&G directions and test the solution yourself to see how it reacts with your water. Chances are if you do see a ph drop after adding micros it will be slight and go back up to you adjusted ph over time.
My order is
1. Add silica since it seems to be most soluble added first..
2. Add base A wait 15 min
3. Add base B wait 15 min
4. Ph solution 5.8-6.0
5. Add additional Micros.
6. Check PH of solution to make sure its within acceptable range (Over 5.5 is ok in my book).

Others may do it different. But different but that's my method.Hope that helps

Like what micros?
Are we talking about actual micros, or are we talking about additives & macros?
Micros are trace elements like iron and shit in calmag.
Calcium is a macro, npk are macros
Silica and calcium should be added first because they can lockout or bond with other elements.
This is why A/B type nutes are separated in the bottle and also why base ferts usually lack much silica

 

[AbeFroman]

Like what micros?
Are we talking about actual micros, or are we talking about additives & macros?
Micros are trace elements like iron and shit in calmag.
Calcium is a macro, npk are macros
Silica and calcium should be added first because they can lockout or bond with other elements.
This is why A/B type nutes are separated in the bottle and also why base ferts usually lack much silica

All of my other addatives go in after my PHed base.

 

[stoned40yrs]

My suggestion would be to follow H&G directions and test the solution yourself to see how it reacts with your water. Chances are if you do see a ph drop after adding micros it will be slight and go back up to you adjusted ph over time.
My order is
1. Add silica since it seems to be most soluble added first..
2. Add base A wait 15 min
3. Add base B wait 15 min
4. Ph solution 5.8-6.0
5. Add additional Micros.
6. Check PH of solution to make sure its within acceptable range (Over 5.5 is ok in my book).

Others may do it different. But different but that's my method.Hope that helps

add shit- wait 15 minutes- add some more shit- wait 15 minutes-ph- add more shit-ph again.
That about cover it on how waste time with no gains Vs keeping it simple with a one or 2 based nute?

 

[AbeFroman]

add shit- wait 15 minutes- add some more shit- wait 15 minutes-ph- add more shit-ph again.
That about cover it on how waste time with no gains Vs keeping it simple with a one or 2 based nute?

Well I don't stand there and look at it for 15min, Im a multi-tasker. Besides Im not working, gardening is therapeutic