FireIn.TheSky
Active member
Simple question, I was wondering how much Gen Hydro cal mag you guys use for R/O?
Do you pH it afterwards?
Do you pH it afterwards?
-
Happy Birthday ICMag! Been 20 years since Gypsy Nirvana created the forum! We are celebrating with a 4/20 Giveaway and by launching a new Patreon tier called "420club". You can read more here.
-
Important notice: ICMag's T.O.U. has been updated. Please review it here. For your convenience, it is also available in the main forum menu, under 'Quick Links"!
How much Cal Mag to use with R/O?
- Thread starter FireIn.TheSky
- Start date
_tessarecting
ஓ
5ml/gal
Always pH
Always pH
gotta agree w/ BC. somewhere between .2-.4. i tend to start in veg around .4 and drop to .2ish in mid flower. I lower somewhat in flower because both calcium and mag can lock out K+ and P which is more important for bud and flower formation. these recommendations are frohydro and more specifically dwc.
Last edited:
FireIn.TheSky
Active member
I'm liking the replies so far, I'm trying to out together a concensus then see where everyone's average falls.
Definitely something wrong with the soil. Supplementing that much nutrient for healthy growth, especially excessive Mg, indicates this.
Throw up a few pictures and an idea of what your mixing/reamending with and someone may be able to help.
You may catch a bit of flack for.. well they'll be here soon enough, you'll see.
Throw up a few pictures and an idea of what your mixing/reamending with and someone may be able to help.
You may catch a bit of flack for.. well they'll be here soon enough, you'll see.
FireIn.TheSky
Active member
The soil is old soil, reused or a few years
My thoughts are I am either using too little lime or my water is out of whack.
The problem is in veg only, plants will veg fine for about a month, if I slack on transplanting that's when I start having issues. When the plants are growing good they are real good, when what ever happens happens they get all fucked up over night.
I use the call mag simply to remineralize the water, good well water would include calcium and mg, I have to use the r/o only because my water can turn unpredictably rusty. The r/o removes all of the unwanted shit so I use the call mag to bring it back to a normal level.
I am mainly here to see what other use for calling mag with organic soil. I know there is ppl here that will tell me not to use r/o Yada Yada yada, r/o is simply an insurance policy for me. I am here to learn how to crate good water. Whether that be in tbs or ppm I want to know what great water looks like in terms of formulation.
Last edited:
The soil test nazi is here Mikell! I got up extra early to patrol the organic soil threads lol.
Fire, I second Mikell that you probably have an excess of Mg. Its counterintuitive but I've seen this with some of my plants and am seeing it more often with other growers. Nobody, to my knowledge even in big agriculture, can explain why additional soil applications make the problem worse but they do. If you think of your soil like a sponge, it has a set capacity to hold nutrients and the addition of one thing will often make it harder for your plant to absorb other elements. All that epsom or cal/mag may have also given you low Potassium but pictures would help.
If you're still getting inter veinal chlorosis then you can foliar epsom salt to help correct the issue without risking further soil imbalance. Without a soil test you're flying in the dark though. There is a second option: deduction. Figure out your soil pH as a reference to whatever deficiency is showing up. I.e. soil pH is 5.8 and the margins of your leaf are light ---> apply potassium silicate or the soil pH is 7.4 and the new growth is light and stunted plus old leaves have patchy necrosis ---> apply gypsum
Edit: I just saw your response after I posted this. With all those amendments I wouldn't be surprised if your soil pH is higher now. Try and get it down to 6.4, either by flushing with just pure water or pH is down to 6ish. All that cation excess and you're bound to call in the bad bugs.
Fire, I second Mikell that you probably have an excess of Mg. Its counterintuitive but I've seen this with some of my plants and am seeing it more often with other growers. Nobody, to my knowledge even in big agriculture, can explain why additional soil applications make the problem worse but they do. If you think of your soil like a sponge, it has a set capacity to hold nutrients and the addition of one thing will often make it harder for your plant to absorb other elements. All that epsom or cal/mag may have also given you low Potassium but pictures would help.
If you're still getting inter veinal chlorosis then you can foliar epsom salt to help correct the issue without risking further soil imbalance. Without a soil test you're flying in the dark though. There is a second option: deduction. Figure out your soil pH as a reference to whatever deficiency is showing up. I.e. soil pH is 5.8 and the margins of your leaf are light ---> apply potassium silicate or the soil pH is 7.4 and the new growth is light and stunted plus old leaves have patchy necrosis ---> apply gypsum
Edit: I just saw your response after I posted this. With all those amendments I wouldn't be surprised if your soil pH is higher now. Try and get it down to 6.4, either by flushing with just pure water or pH is down to 6ish. All that cation excess and you're bound to call in the bad bugs.
FireIn.TheSky
Active member
I thought the bulid up of mg was what was causing the problem that's why I stopped using the Epsom salts.
So I am aware the Epsom was most likely the issue. What I am here to learn now is how to make good water to avoid this issue in future. I know the water needs some cal mag added back after RO. I am here to find out how much.
Now I know there is ppl that will say don't use cal mag but any other water source from city or well will contain calcium and magnesium so if you are not using RO this problem will seem foreign.
Last night I flushed out all of the pots with straight ro to get out build up and then fed RO plus 2 tsp cal mag. I will see later if things look better.
Typically things improve after a flush when this issue arises. This is why I'm confident the build up of Epsom of repeated recycling is the culprit. Like my soil has been heavily contaminated.
So I am aware the Epsom was most likely the issue. What I am here to learn now is how to make good water to avoid this issue in future. I know the water needs some cal mag added back after RO. I am here to find out how much.
Now I know there is ppl that will say don't use cal mag but any other water source from city or well will contain calcium and magnesium so if you are not using RO this problem will seem foreign.
Last night I flushed out all of the pots with straight ro to get out build up and then fed RO plus 2 tsp cal mag. I will see later if things look better.
Typically things improve after a flush when this issue arises. This is why I'm confident the build up of Epsom of repeated recycling is the culprit. Like my soil has been heavily contaminated.
I use 5ml/gallon from veg until the 3rd week of 12/12. Then starting at 22days 12/12, I drop it down to 2.5ml/gallon til I start to flush.
Speed of green
Active member
I add cal mag until 150 ppm, then base nutrients, then PH.
Delving into theory here (personally, at least), but I prefer 2-1-1 limestone or oyster shell flour-gypsum-dolomite. The Ca-Mg ratio is more in line with modern thinking.
Epsom is soluble enough the soil is salvageable and a decent soil test will give you a plan for future use
Epsom is soluble enough the soil is salvageable and a decent soil test will give you a plan for future use
FireIn.TheSky
Active member
I think I found a solution, I bought a remineralizing RO system specifically made for wells. This system will put back 30ppm of calcium and magnesium before finishing the water.
This system is specifically made for hydro growing so I am hopeful it will be enough to solve my long running issue.
The water will come out with a stable pH value suitable for gardening.
This system is specifically made for hydro growing so I am hopeful it will be enough to solve my long running issue.
The water will come out with a stable pH value suitable for gardening.
Truthful
Member
Not too many of the RO filters on the market really produce true RO water, they still have lower ppm in the water whether it's 10ppm or 20ppm it's not pure RO unless it's 0ppm. My tap is 110ppm, 7.89pH I add Cal/Mg till I get 300-350ppm then I'll add my nutes. I don't really believe you need one unless you have water over 450ppm other than that finding out what's in your water and tailoring your nutes around that is a the way to go, it don't make sense to buy something you have already.
FireIn.TheSky
Active member
My tap is really bad, I have seen PPM into the 900s, my old standard R/O cleaned it up tremendously. The problem I have been having is getting my water back to a suitable spot after the R/O process.
Most standard R/O's are made for PSI over 50, this new R/O system I just bought runs efficiently on as little as 35 PSI. It has a non electric booster pump and a special Iron and Manganese filter, something my conventional R/O system didn't have.
Standard R/O's produce water with a very low unstable pH in the 4's or 5's with a near 0 ppm, this new R/O system will strip the water clean, add back 15-30 ppm of calcium and magnesium and produce water with a 7 pH. And because of the stabilized pH it is much easier to bring the pH down from 7 then it is to bring an unstable pH up from 4.
This system was a bit pricey almost double the price of other R/O systems but it was the one and only system I have found designed specifically for hydro gardening with well water.
Im going to install it tonight, the only bummer is the piping is opposite a standard R/O. With standard R/O the feed line is 3/8" and the exit line is 1/4", this is backwards with a 1/4" feed line and a 3/8" exit line.
Most standard R/O's are made for PSI over 50, this new R/O system I just bought runs efficiently on as little as 35 PSI. It has a non electric booster pump and a special Iron and Manganese filter, something my conventional R/O system didn't have.
Standard R/O's produce water with a very low unstable pH in the 4's or 5's with a near 0 ppm, this new R/O system will strip the water clean, add back 15-30 ppm of calcium and magnesium and produce water with a 7 pH. And because of the stabilized pH it is much easier to bring the pH down from 7 then it is to bring an unstable pH up from 4.
This system was a bit pricey almost double the price of other R/O systems but it was the one and only system I have found designed specifically for hydro gardening with well water.
Im going to install it tonight, the only bummer is the piping is opposite a standard R/O. With standard R/O the feed line is 3/8" and the exit line is 1/4", this is backwards with a 1/4" feed line and a 3/8" exit line.
Exactly what it says on the bottle!
What kind of EC rating are you getting with that amount.
I know it says that on the label, but I get about .7 EC
My water starts out at 0.
Tynehead Tom
Well-known member
I've got well water where I am. It comes thru a cistern that "cleans" it to make it potable. It's good drinking water but it's 450ppm at 7.2PH whereas the place in town I fill up my RO bottles it is 6.0ph and doesn't read zero , generally as you say, about 10ppm.
In another thread it was suggested I send my well water in for testing which I'm going to do. After that I can research nutrients that lend themselves to my water instead of having to deal with buying or producing RO. the last time I bought cal mag it was two separate products (long time ago) and if memory serves I mixed at 150ppm cal/50ppm mag for feeding and foliar but I would have to check my notes. I was on high quality BC city water back then so my notes are kinda useless now. That and Cal/mag comes together in one bottle now so I'm gonna have to check this out.
