The New & Improved [ROLS MEGATHREAD].

[xmobotx]

IOW correlation =/= causation

& common sense isn't common

& i dont know how to spell "many"

 

[Wendull C.]

This is a very good thread. it explains much about something few i know at least seem to fully grasp.
Very Informative. Thanks to all who contributed.

 

[vonforne]

Yes sir...just two tablespoons top dressed on a 5 gallon no-till pot will burn the tips on some types. No till pots run so much more efficiently though...so a little definitely goes a long way there.

I recently topped with neem and this happened to a few of the plants.

And with no till I have lessened the number of plants from 22 to 11 under 2k and the plants are performing better so far.

Amd I have been giving them this special tea..........water. Plain ole water.

 

[dogfishheadie]

figured i'd throw up a good conversion chart for Agsil16 and Pro-Tekt I found deep in the old rols thread. thanks mm!

Still playing with the math on this.

Quote:
Okay - here's what is on the AgSil 16H label:

Potassium Silicate Guaranteed Analysis
Nitrogen - 0%
Phosphate - 0%
Potassium - 32%
Silica (SiO2) - 52.8%
0.7 grams in 1 gallon of water yields 49 ppm Potassium and 98 ppm SiO2


Dyna-Gro Pro-TeKt Guaranteed Analysis
Potassium: 3.7%
Silicon (SiO2) 7.8%

So how does one take the AgSil and make a gallon of concentrated Pro-TeKt?
Some stuff left out of quote.

*******************
1 PPM is 1/1,000,000 = 0.000001 which would be 0.0001%

Therefore divide (~) by 10,000 to convert to percentage

e.g. - 10 ppm = 10 ~ 10000 = 0.001%

or multiply by 10,000 to convert from percent to PPM

*******************

Potassium - 32%
Silica (SiO2) - 52.8%
0.7 grams in 1 gallon of water yields 49 ppm Potassium and 98 ppm SiO2 [or 46 ppm of Si]

To convert these amounts to percentage;
49 ~ 10,000 = 0.0049% Potassium
98 ~ 10,000 = 0.0098% Silicon

For Agsil 16 we can therefore state that;
0.7 grams in 1 gallon = 0.0049% K & 0.0098% SiO2

We wish to know how much Agsil we would need to use
in 1 gallon to = 3.7% K & 7.8% SiO2
right?

To get very heavy concentrate

If we divide 3.7 by 0.0049 & 7.8 by 0.0098 = 755.1 & 795.9 respectively (x 0.7 grams = very thick sludge it would seem)

To do it another way to verify.

Protekt
PPM 3.7% x 10,000 = 37,000 ppm K
7.8% x 10,000 = 78,000 ppm SiO2

divided by the PPM of Agsil
37,000 ~ 49 = 755.1
78,000 ~ 98 = 795.9

The very heavy concentrate again.

Do an average 755.1 + 795.9 = 775.5 x .7g = 542.85g per gal.
Still seems like an awful lot...right?

Using the dilution instructions for Protekt

This is dilute at ¼ teaspoon or 1.25 ml/gallon for application

Or

1.25 ml ~ 3,785.4 ml (represents 1.25ml/gal) = 0.00033 (or 0.033%) x 542.85 = 0.179 or just under 2 grams per gallon

What do you think?

 

[vonforne]

Check this out gang. I have purchased some of this from the local fish tank store and am going to run some of this in a new soil mix. It is called Fiji mud.

It is 100% natural calcium derived from seawater and coral reef substrate. None of the natural resources utilized in this product are derived from living coral. This product can be used effectively to raise calcium, alkalinity and PH levels in your aquarium.

Fiji Gold Coral and Live Rock Supplement is beneficial to all organisms especially those that excrete calcium from their exoskeleton or utilize calcification as part of their physiological process. This product will also rapidly increase the growth of coralline algae on your live rock.

Fiji Gold Coral and Live Rock Supplement contains calcium, magnesium and all major and minor trace minerals in their natural quantities and molecular structure to benefit invertebrates and fish. Because the minerals are in their natural state absolutely no waste or harmful build up of unused minerals will accumulate in your aquarium.
It is collected from rare mud patches, discovered by science years ago, which are found in clear uncontaminated seawater. These patches typically occur at 40 - 50 feet of cool, clear water just off the coral reef.

Fiji Mud is unique in its ability to release essential minerals and vital nutrients that will allow hard and soft corals to flourish whether you are starting a new refugium or topping up your existing one. This product contains all the major and minor trace elements as they naturally occur as well as an elaborate network of 5-100 micron size organisms that are critical for the success with Acropora and other small polyp stony corals. Walt Smith's Fiji Mud Refugium Booster & Starter

Alternate use: this product can also be added directly to your aquarium at the rate of one teaspoon per 100 gallons twice weekly. Mix with tank water and pour directly into water flow, the water will become cloudy but will return crystal clear overnight. This will add the essentials nutrients when no refugium is available.

 

[Gascanastan]

Being that coral calcium is calcium carbonate and highly digestable for humans btw... I would use coral calcium in a soil mix. In fact wasn't it you Von who actually did....props on that one. Not sure about the "derived from seawater" part and the sales pitch. Calcium carbonate is calcium carbonate from coral or oyster alike..not sure if there are different breakdown rates between different types of critters that have calcium carbonate exoskeletons or shells.

 

[TwistedPistils]

The Fiji mud does sound interesting, does it have a lot of salt in it?

 

[invocation]

I used lot's of Rock dust and food grade DE cause I had some leftover from a buddy who failed at organics. I think the soil really utilized it.


Gogi OG update:

Nice Strong stems!

 

[bigshrimp]

Would high levels of dissolved calcium in well water ever become a problem for recycled soil?

 

[vonforne]

Being that coral calcium is calcium carbonate and highly digestable for humans btw... I would use coral calcium in a soil mix. In fact wasn't it you Von who actually did....props on that one. Not sure about the "derived from seawater" part and the sales pitch. Calcium carbonate is calcium carbonate from coral or oyster alike..not sure if there are different breakdown rates between different types of critters that have calcium carbonate exoskeletons or shells.

Yes I am using coral calcium in my mixes. I am looking at this product for its concentration more than anything. They are using small amounts to `activate´ their live rock. When I run it it will be in small quantities and closely watched but I see no problem with it.

 

[xmobotx]

Would high levels of dissolved calcium in well water ever become a problem for recycled soil?

yes

 

[bigshrimp]

At what sort of levels and over what period of time?

I've got a TDS of 300, nearly all calcium.

 

[xmobotx]

well; the problem is going to be the build up so, yeah time is the factor and recycling may become difficult but what really matters would be if you compensated w/ your amendments {Ca lean} and even moreso the quality of your materials {i.e. both the typical CEC of your overall mix and the level to which your soil is "alive" since the best humus sources might just lock that Ca up and release as needed by the plant}

there are a shit ton of variables including the degree to which we are communicating accurately

 

[ixnay007]

Yes please, I would love to know why a plant looks like this:

[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=38993&pictureid=985243&thumb=1]View Image[/url]

And within an hour of a sprouted barley seed tea soil drench it looks like this:

[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=38993&pictureid=985244&thumb=1]View Image[/url] [URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=38993&pictureid=985245&thumb=1]View Image[/url]

I have only see such drastic examples of 'praying' from sprouted seed teas - i notice praying leaves from aloe, kelp, fulvic acid, alfalfa....but sprouted seed teas seem to take it over the top...

I would love to know what exactly is occurring in the soil and the plant for this to occur so quickly, or at all.

My plants tend to start 'praying hard' after a decent budset, 2 to 3 weeks into flower and at that point the leaves never leave that position for the remainder of its life....

Shitty lookin plants never pray - that part is simple lol

The plant pictured started praying during lights off.

IMHO, it's based on two simple concepts, one is the first weeks of life stretch, that race to get up and catch as much light as possible, against other seeds coming up at the same time. Look at newly sprouted plants, almost all have the paying for light look, maybe a half vertical leaf will catch some of the early morning angular light. Which segues into my second point that plants which are photoperiod sensitive probably have a plant form of circadian rhythms, and know when the sun will be coming up, so they put their leaves almost vertical to catch as much early morning sun as possible, to get up above it's neighbors, it's a race in nature, indoors they don't know this.. probably most of it's non flowering life it will do this.

 

[LITHOS]

I won't comment one way or the other on the value of Fiji Mud.It might be great stuff but i will observe that imo the reef supply industry uses the same play book as the hydro industry,ie:take low priced bulk chemicals,formulate the latest,greatest potion and sell it at a huge markup using a sexy name & label. Any reef hobbyists (reefers?) care to comment.

 

[Coba]

I won't comment one way or the other on the value of Fiji Mud.It might be great stuff but i will observe that imo the reef supply industry uses the same play book as the hydro industry,ie:take low priced bulk chemicals,formulate the latest,greatest potion and sell it at a huge markup using a sexy name & label. Any reef hobbyists (reefers?) care to comment.

I've found coral bits at the local pet store... they're cheap, and I was wondering if it's worth smashing them to smithereens with a sledgehammer for my garden. I'm already smashing oysters, granite, and lava rock.

 

[LITHOS]

Would high levels of dissolved calcium in well water ever become a problem for recycled soil?

I too have been wondering about calcium and magnesium build up from hard water ever since jumping on this ROLS band wagon. I don't think it's been adequately addressed since most of our resident gurus are PNW guys who don't have this problem.

At 300 ppm (very high) tds I've calculated that this would be the rough equivalent of adding 1 cup of solid limestone for every 527 gal. (2000 liters) water used. I converted to cups because that's a measurement we commonly use in soil mixes. Somebody please feel free to check my math as this is not my strong suite.

Of coarse 1 cup of solid limestone (163 lbs/cu. ft.) would be larger in volume if ground and Ca.Mg & Iron ratios vary according to location.This was just to get some rough idea.

My own water isn't quite that hard but if I'm anywhere near right this does'nt appear to be much of a problem but I'd like to hear other opinions from the more learned among us.

 

[xmobotx]

rain water is best; maybe mountain stream too if you can find a remote enough mountain stream; in town, distilled

some folks have their own well and w/ testing that can be quantified and may be a good source

municipal is usually crappy

idk; seems like i have said this before ~lol

anyway; if the tap water isnt up to snuff, choose whatever of the above

RO seems like its too expensive and brings some issues of it's own {much as people swear by it}

 

[Gascanastan]

Rain water here...The One x BMR F2

The One x DGSC99

 

[W89]

I use half rain water half tap as I cant collect enough rain water atm.... I was thinking of buying an RO machine or a similar filter type thing that gives close to 0ppm water my tap water is like pH7 and ec 0.4 from when I last checked in my hydro days