RO and cal-mag

[joe fresh]

I mixed in tap @ 25-30%
I see a big difference when PH'ing the water now.
your right on the money about tap buffering RO GP2B



tested with the kelway and the soil is @6.7

ive learned in the past that soil ph meters(the ones you stick in the ground) are very inaccurate unless you spend more than 500$, ive done some looking around and came to the conclusion that it just wasnt worth it....although i have no experience with the meter you have, this was the conclusion i came to.

i find the 2 best ways to test soil ph are the pour through method, and the squeeze method

here is a great link to testing soil ph in containters http://www.specmeters.com/articles/GMPRO_SoilTest.pdf


there is also this quote from one of my posts from another site

How To Measure Your Growing Medium pH​

So it’s important to monitor the pH levels in your medium as well as your nutrients and the alkalinity of water you​

are using. So how do you measure your growing medium pH? Basically, there are three ways to do it:​

1. Saturated media extract – you add distilled or de-ionized water to the medium just to the saturation point
and measure.

2. Pour-through method – the water is poured through the pot to replace the water that was in there and
collected.

3. Squeeze method – the water that already exists in the medium is
gently squeezed out in a measured amount and pH readings are​

taken.

In all three of these, you just use a pH meter or color test to measure the pH. The easiest of the three is the squeeze method. If you are using rock wool, you just take
one of the cubes after a feeding and you gently squeeze it.

Repeat this with at least six different cubes so that you get a couple ounces or 60 milliliters from each cube. After combining and mixing these six extractions together,
check the pH. This tells you what the pH is in the growing medium.
What you’re looking for is a pH range of 5.3 to 6.8. In our labs we’ve extensively tested pH ranges and yields, this is the “sweet spot” for nutrients that are not
fully chelated. The range is even wider for fully chelated macro, micro and secondary nutrients. When your growing medium is coco coir or sphagnum moss, you water your medium to the point of being saturated (but not leaking out the bottom) and then take a sample from the bottom 2/3 of your pot where your roots are most actively growing.
Next...you take the same amount from six different pots and mix them together. Make sure to take the same amount from each pot. Then gently squeeze it and get an extraction from which you will measure the pH. Look I realize that taking samples from grow buckets is a hassle however; it is the most accurate.

There’s An Easier Way​

A much easier way is to get a pH meter with a metal spike probe and take readings simply by sticking the probe deep down into the growing medium and calculate the average of all six containers. Now, don’t take the sample from the top third of the container, here’s why. There isn’t as much root growing activity at the top of the soil. So use the bottom two thirds of your growing medium to take your pH readings
because that is the active zone for root growth. There’s another reason for taking the samples near the bottom of your container, and that’s because nutrients will tend to crystallize near the top and can precipitate out a little bit and will give you a false reading. Although meters come in all prices, you get what you pay for, and a lower end product will be much more inaccurate compared to a higher end more expensive meter.
​

Using pH Meters​

So now, we should look at the meters we need to measure the pH. There are so many different pH meters available, but get one that uses dual solution to calibrate your pH meter. It’s a good idea to get one that auto adjusts and has ATC (automatic temperature compensation). This will be more expensive but worth it. The cheaper ones are a pain to use while the auto-adjust ones calibrate at a press of a button, which makes it a lot easier. You want to make sure that calibration is done every week. If you’re fanatic to detail like I am you’ll want to have a pH meter with ATC because as your nutrient solution temperature changes so does the pH of your nutrients when your nutrient temperature gets warmer your pH goes down and when your nutrient temperature gets cooler your nutrient solution pH goes up. Here’s an interesting side note, a pH of 7 is considered to be pH neutral, but in fact is only an approximation and is accurate only at 25 °C or 77°F. A true neutral pH is when the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) is exactly the same as the concentration of hydroxide ions (OH- )
and those concentrations are effected by temperature so your pH neutral point varies from pH 7.47 at 0°C or 32°F to pH 6.14 at 100°C or 212°F.​

A Good Resource​

If you’re looking for really high quality pH measuring instruments and​

electrodes check them out: www.pulseinstruments.net​

​

 

[GP2B]

gnome..any updates? How they doing?

 

[Nationwide]

Just a thought here....I use ro water and use general hydroponics floranova. Its mADE FOR RO WATER AND HAS PLENTY OF CAL AND MAG ALREADY PREASENT. Whoops caps lock.

Just a thought..trying to help...

NW

 

[AladdinSane]

well AS, thats a a great system you have going on and I'm glad it works...for you
...
telling me/others here your great success growing organic doesn't help me in any way with this particlular prob? I wish it did.

Well, sorry about that there, Gnome! Who'd have thought that adding six cups of bagged dry fertilizer when you mix the [identical] soil instead of each time you water was "changing everything".

But no problems, mate! The simple solution is to add you to my "do not respond" list, and keep my thirty years of experience to myself. Done!

Welcome to Oblivion

 

[the gnome]

gnome..any updates? How they doing?

hey GP2B, and everyone else that had an intrest in this thread.
I isolated the prob, it wasn't calmag or fertz def. or a PH issue or lockout(s)
or the water softener... or growing nonorganic
none of that
it was the mosquito dunks I was adding to the water to combat the gnats.
after my last post on this thread the plants just wern't responding to the flushing etc etc.
there were very few factors left,
the possibility of off gassing with the 32 gal.trashcan so i started keeping in water in 5 gal buckets but it made no difference.
the last thing were the MDs and after getting rid of them in my water supply things started looking up within a week and right now i have beautiful new spurts of green foilage eveywhere and all the plants have rebounded to where I can get many cuts and not lose a single one of my A list plants

what really bites is the damn MDs did nothing to the gnats, they swarmed everytime i watered so I tented the grow and tossed a few no pest strips in for a day and that was all she wrote for the gnats save for a few stragglers and sevin dust and pyrithrin spray will take care of them and they're larvae.

once again many thanks to "everyone" who offered help and advice.
this a great place teeming with knowledge and I hope my silly mistake will help others to avoid any similar problems in their own grow.

 

[Baba Ku]

I would highly suggest you leave the sevin in the store. Pyrithrin is fine to use.
I can't see how you could isolate anything with all the things you are throwing at your plants. And it's fine to throw what you want at them...just don't dust your shit with sevin and smoke it with ANYONE else.

 

[the gnome]

thanks for chiming in again boofuku
you posted earlier in this thread that FF OF would take a plant all the way through a grow cycle, I *politely disagreed* and set you straight on that one son.
you acknowledged it

OK, so they need some supplement after 4 wks.

then ran that yapper of yours some more

you seem to have a greater appitite this month for a smelly foot and seem bent on sticking your own in your mouth... AGAIN

as for your concern and advice about me using of sevin dust for gnats but have no real knowledge of how its used to control them... just like the OF thingy.
you don't dust the damn plants for gnats.
the larvae live in the soil as I posted earlier so just a little bit of sevin is worked into the top of the soil will work on them.
i use the pyrithrins for the flyers.
as for your other concerned with *all the shit I throw at my plants*
I got 47oz of top notch weed from two-1000w lamp using on my 1st grow.
I'm satisfied,
if your not, I'm still good with it and its your prob to deal with.

you have offered no real help in this thread and only seem to post criticism, berate, and give advice that reeks of know it all arrogance in that anyone that doesn't grow
as you do or agree 100% with you is somehow wrong and inferior.

so run along now or post more BS
I posted what I wanted to let those intrested to know what the problem was.

the shows all yours if you want