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Dry/powder Cal-mag recommendations?

GOT_BUD?

GOT_BUD?

Weed is a gateway to gardening
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Dirt Bag said:
I can also easily dissolve calcium phosphate or calcium nitrate, of which I have both, into RO water.
The precipitation happens when magnesium enters the picture. Separate they all seem to dissolve easily, but when they are combined a chemical reaction occurs and something along the lines of gypsum precipitates to the bottom.
I could and have added nutrients individually, but it's much more work. I like less work. Take the extra time needed, divide it by the cost difference between Calmag and the separate ingredients and I guarantee you wouldn't work for that wage. This, besides the fact that the Calmag Plus is just better. Perhaps they should rename it Braundo...
Click to expand...
I'll keep a closer eye on it then.

I mixed up my first batch of nutes with it on Monday night, and didn't notice anything when I added my epsom salts. But I wasn't looking for it either.

Nice thing that surprised me was when I went to check pH 9 hours later, it was dialed right in a 5.65. And 24 hours later it had risen to 5.7.
 
D

Dirt Bag

Member
GOT_BUD? said:
I'll keep a closer eye on it then.

I mixed up my first batch of nutes with it on Monday night, and didn't notice anything when I added my epsom salts. But I wasn't looking for it either.

Nice thing that surprised me was when I went to check pH 9 hours later, it was dialed right in a 5.65. And 24 hours later it had risen to 5.7.
Click to expand...

Adding them to your reservoir individually should be fine. The precipitation occurs when they're combined in the concentrated form, which requires something more than simply adding the different ingredients to some water.
 
C

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
The reason you have precipitation is because you are using Epsom salt. Use magnesium nitrate instead of magnesium sulfate. Mag nitrate is somewhat difficult to find. Calmag+ uses mag nitrate.

It really sounds like the OP has n deficiency though. I think most people experiencing yellowing in flower are. U need N in flower and calmag has way more then a 2 for N.

I don't understand why people use RO water for the most part. RO is so slow and wasteful. Besides all the water RO wastes, i don't see why you would remove minerals from water, to just have to put it back in. Good old fashioned well water has allot of mineral in it already.
For organic soil, calmag is entirely unnecessary. I only use it for my soiless greenhouses. For organic soil, i get most of my calcium from cal phos and chicken manure. For mag i use langbeinite.
 
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GOT_BUD?

GOT_BUD?

Weed is a gateway to gardening
ICMag Donor
Veteran
CrushnYuba said:
The reason you have precipitation is because you are using Epsom salt. Use magnesium nitrate instead of magnesium sulfate. Mag nitrate is somewhat difficult to find. Calmag+ uses mag nitrate.

It really sounds like the OP has n deficiency though. I think most people experiencing yellowing in flower are. U need N in flower and calmag has way more then a 2 for N.

I don't understand why people use RO water for the most part. RO is so slow and wasteful. Besides all the water RO wastes, i don't see why you would remove minerals from water, to just have to put it back in. Good old fashioned well water has allot of mineral in it already.
For organic soil, calmag is entirely unnecessary. I only use it for my soiless greenhouses. For organic soil, i get most of my calcium from cal phos and chicken manure. For mag i use langbeinite.
Click to expand...

Can't use my well water. Way too much sediment and iron in it.

I also have city water. Which is terrible where I live. Not Flint, MI bad, but bad enough I won't drink it or give it to my cats or plants. I really don't even like washing my dishes in it.
 
C

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
You still probably don't need reverse osmosis. I don't understand why RO is the go to for water cleaning. Sounds to me like a simple paper filter would remove that sediment. Even if you are trying to remove mineral, you could use a water softener. I feel like RO should be a last resort.
 
Douglas.Curtis

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
CrushnYuba said:
You still probably don't need reverse osmosis. I don't understand why RO is the go to for water cleaning. Sounds to me like a simple paper filter would remove that sediment. Even if you are trying to remove mineral, you could use a water softener. I feel like RO should be a last resort.
Click to expand...
With cannabis, RO is your first choice for superior quality for several reasons.

You can duplicate it nearly anywhere on the planet
pH changes can be predicted and duplicated in multiple gardens
The remaining minerals will not affect quality in a detectable way
RO provides hydration without affecting the balance in the root zone

With fruits and vegetables, having excess and/or unwanted minerals in your water is no big deal. With hyper/dynamic accumulator plants like cannabis, especially ones which will be smoked, you want to severely restrict what is present in the root zone.


RO lets you start with a clean base, adding only what's needed, when it's needed. :D
 
C

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
I get that RO water can be duplicated anywhere. And it would make following a recipe exact between 2 gardens... But is that really even necessary?
I use 4000 gallons of water a day. I would be wasting 12,000 gallons a day to get 4000 gallons if i used RO.
A much more sensible approach is to get a water test. Only put minerals in that you need. That's a downfall of using pre bottled calmag. Make your nutrients work with water instead of the other way around.
 
Douglas.Curtis

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
CrushnYuba said:
I get that RO water can be duplicated anywhere. And it would make following a recipe exact between 2 gardens... But is that really even necessary?
Click to expand...
It makes getting and giving advice extremely easy. In today's age of muddled information, having a standard is a ray of light.

CrushnYuba said:
I use 4000 gallons of water a day. I would be wasting 12,000 gallons a day to get 4000 gallons if i used RO.
Click to expand...
Actually, you would have an additional 4000 gallons of potable water for other uses. It's a waste if you mismanage it, since there's nothing wrong with it for plants which are not hyper/dynamic accumulators. ;)
CrushnYuba said:
A much more sensible approach is to get a water test. Only put minerals in that you need. That's a downfall of using pre bottled calmag. Make your nutrients work with water instead of the other way around.
Click to expand...
The downsides to this are season/weather related changes can and do affect the makeup and quality of your water. It's also difficult to find water sources with only the elements in it we desire for cannabis.

There are a lot of places on the planet where tap or rain water is perfectly fine for decent quality cannabis. Seek out all levels of cannabis quality and water quality, and do what works for you. :)
 
D

Dirt Bag

Member
The municipal water supply here is processed in a treatment facility and piped great distances through massive systems that are aging and often outdated. The warm weather aids in the proliferation of harmful contaminates (like cryptosporidii or deadly amoeba) which require additives to ensure safe drinking water. In our area they use chloromines and chlorine. PH buffers are added to help reduce the pipe erosion.
As a result, our tap water smells like a swimming pool when it first leaves the faucet, the pH is a very consistent 7.8 with right around 250ppm dissolved solids. Adjusting the pH is next to impossible due to the added pH buffers. Cannabis plants don't really like this water. Used regularly, they quickly develop the obvious nutrient deficiencies associated with high pH, calcium, and magnesium.

Reverse Osmosis is our saving grace. We couldn't operate without it.
There are places where tap water or well water are pristine. They grow fewer everyday. Chances are, you live where the tap water is not suitable for use on cannabis.
 
C

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
Wow. I guess i take water quality for granted here. We are in a drought though so quantity is in short supply. I'm not trying to get off topic here. I'm just saying that there are alternatives to completely stripping the water and starting from scratch and there are other alternatives to filtering water besides RO. I'm not saying it's never necessary, I just don't think it should be the first choice. Water softeners and Whole house filters would work for allot of water sources and applications. I do understand the allure of a blank slate.

The OP was describing N deficiency and said calmag fixed it and askes for a cheaper dry version of cal mag. He could make his own calmag concentrate, add separately or just give his plants the N they needed without the cal and mag.

Calcium nitrate
Magnesium nitrate
Iron edta
Ingredients are dirt cheap and when combined in a concente do not precipitate.

I think this is a problem allot of growers are having. They are adding extra cal and mag they don't really need just to get the N they need in flower.
 
D

Dirt Bag

Member
CrushnYuba said:
Wow. I guess i take water quality for granted here. We are in a drought though so quantity is in short supply. I'm not trying to get off topic here. I'm just saying that there are alternatives to completely stripping the water and starting from scratch and there are other alternatives to filtering water besides RO. I'm not saying it's never necessary, I just don't think it should be the first choice. Water softeners and Whole house filters would work for allot of water sources and applications. I do understand the allure of a blank slate.

The OP was describing N deficiency and said calmag fixed it and askes for a cheaper dry version of cal mag. He could make his own calmag concentrate, add separately or just give his plants the N they needed without the cal and mag.

Calcium nitrate
Magnesium nitrate
Iron edta
Ingredients are dirt cheap and when combined in a concente do not precipitate.

I think this is a problem allot of growers are having. They are adding extra cal and mag they don't really need just to get the N they need in flower.
Click to expand...

  1. Water softeners SUCK for agriculture.
  2. Whole house water filtering systems are extremely expensive.
  3. There is currently no better, less expensive, easier or faster means to clean water than reverse osmosis.

I have never used magnesium nitrate because magnesium sulfate is so readily available. Perhaps they will mix. Magnesium sulfate will not.
 
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