New user help with ppms

[phxazcraig]

@phxazcraig, to make it less confusing you should express EC in millisiemens instead of micro. It's easy to confuse microsiemens for ppm and most people talk in 'milli' when dealing with EC.

It's easy to confuse 320 µS with 320 ppm. 0.3 EC, not so confusing.. haha

OK, no problem. I gave up on PPM right way when I had that 700ppm scale meter. OK, so EC went from .95 to .32 in the reservoir, at 1pm today.

I still measure runoff at the end point, when everything has mixed together, plus mixed with what is in the sump bucket. 2pm runoff 1.250, 4pm runoff 1.350.

The more I reflect on this watering system, the more I realize it has been uneven and unknown. Much different than using a watering can. Gotta figure that out for next time.

 

[phxazcraig]

I've got about 20 gallons of EC 320 to get through at this point. (My original mix diluted from about 1000.) I can manually pump all that through or let it go through the usual every-2-hour feedings until it's gone.

First watering runoff dropped to 1280, so a little progress there. How long before the Hygrozyme makes a difference, if any?

24 hours later, and my runoff is under 0.8. Input still 0.32.

My plan is to drop the water level down more, perhaps to 10 gallons or less. Then I'll mix up 10 gallons of nutrients to add to the reservoir and gradually raise the EC back to 0.8-1.0 or so. Not sure how much to do this close to harvest.

 

[Aqua Man]

I've got about 20 gallons of EC 320 to get through at this point. (My original mix diluted from about 1000.) I can manually pump all that through or let it go through the usual every-2-hour feedings until it's gone.

First watering runoff dropped to 1280, so a little progress there. How long before the Hygrozyme makes a difference, if any?

Almost immediately you will see runoff numbers spike then start to come down over feedings

 

[phxazcraig]

Almost immediately you will see runoff numbers spike then start to come down over feedings

Considering .32 going in, 1.3 coming out seems to be the peak. EC didn't drop for several feedings, then trended down. Still almost 3x the input.

 

[Aqua Man]

Considering .32 going in, 1.3 coming out seems to be the peak. EC didn't drop for several feedings, then trended down. Still almost 3x the input.

Just keep frequency of feeding high until the numbers come in line.

Or flush with enzymes and water 1 times the pot volume. Then tomorrow 3x the volume with 0.8 EC.

the one thing you don’t want is to go from over feeding to under feeding and I can kinda see that in the making here.

I have seen that many times

 

[Aqua Man]

Also test from a syringe drawing from the bottom inch inside of the pots…. It’s FAR more accurate as minerals salts can also build up on fabric pots then leech into the runoff. While the EC in the root zone may be perfectly fine or low

 

[phxazcraig]

Just keep frequency of feeding high until the numbers come in line.

Or flush with enzymes and water 1 times the pot volume. Then tomorrow 3x the volume with 0.8 EC.

the one thing you don’t want is to go from over feeding to under feeding and I can kinda see that in the making here.

I have seen that many times

I'll be mixing 10 gallons of nutes tomorrow.

 

[phxazcraig]

Also test from a syringe drawing from the bottom inch inside of the pots…. It’s FAR more accurate as minerals salts can also build up on fabric pots then leech into the runoff. While the EC in the root zone may be perfectly fine or low

I'll give that a shot. I try to stay out of the tent down there. Zippers are a pain. I'm using plastic Airpots though, no fabric here. I'll see what I can do with the holes in the sides.

 

[Aqua Man]

I'll give that a shot. I try to stay out of the tent down there. Zippers are a pain. I'm using plastic Airpots though, no fabric here. I'll see what I can do with the holes in the sides.

Yeah that will work. Those should be much less likely to have buildup but none the less I’d try it just to be sure.

 

[The3luedevil666]

I grow in coco and am currently using general hydroponics with some additives. I go up to 1000ppm peak veg (my plants are huge) in flower I start at 1000ppm bring it up 100ppm per week till I reach 1600ppm (stay under 1600 so like 1580ppm)... your runoff should be a couple hundred more ppm then what you put in (those are salts getting flushed) alway ph to 5.8 not 5.9 ... 5.8.. I've been growing pot in coco for 12 years now. Make sure to water till runoff as well

 

[The3luedevil666]

I grow in coco and am currently using general hydroponics with some additives. I go up to 1000ppm peak veg (my plants are huge) in flower I start at 1000ppm bring it up 100ppm per week till I reach 1600ppm (stay under 1600 so like 1580ppm)... your runoff should be a couple hundred more ppm then what you put in (those are salts getting flushed) alway ph to 5.8 not 5.9 ... 5.8.. I've been growing pot in coco for 12 years now. Make sure to water till runoff as well

 

[The3luedevil666]

Black mamba

 

[phxazcraig]

Just keep frequency of feeding high until the numbers come in line.

Or flush with enzymes and water 1 times the pot volume. Then tomorrow 3x the volume with 0.8 EC.

the one thing you don’t want is to go from over feeding to under feeding and I can kinda see that in the making here.

I have seen that many times

OK, I figured 36 hours or so should be ok for a flush. I've gotten around 8 gallons of runoff since then. The runoff EC (combined) was down to just over 0.5. I mixed up another 10-12 gallons today and got an EC around 0.95 in the mix. Measured reservoir EC and was surprised to find it up to 0.42. Anyway, in order not to have nutes drop to near nothing and then spike up again, I decided to start raising EC again. I poured in my nute mixture into the reservoir, and I got an EC of 0.78. pH still set at 6.0.

I switched to the last phase on the GH chart (ripen), and besides lowering the amount main nutes, it eliminated the Floralicious (stinky stuff, that) and Koolbloom entirely. I still added some humic acid and yucca powder, then more Hygrozyme instead of any H2O2.

So - 3x volume of usual watering? Or just let go normally every 2 hours? It will get some 'high flow' with today's waterings since the reservoir level is up again.

 

[Aqua Man]

OK, I figured 36 hours or so should be ok for a flush. I've gotten around 8 gallons of runoff since then. The runoff EC (combined) was down to just over 0.5. I mixed up another 10-12 gallons today and got an EC around 0.95 in the mix. Measured reservoir EC and was surprised to find it up to 0.42. Anyway, in order not to have nutes drop to near nothing and then spike up again, I decided to start raising EC again. I poured in my nute mixture into the reservoir, and I got an EC of 0.78. pH still set at 6.0.

I switched to the last phase on the GH chart (ripen), and besides lowering the amount main nutes, it eliminated the Floralicious (stinky stuff, that) and Koolbloom entirely. I still added some humic acid and yucca powder, then more Hygrozyme instead of any H2O2.

So - 3x volume of usual watering? Or just let go normally every 2 hours? It will get some 'high flow' with today's waterings since the reservoir level is up again.

There ya go see how fast those enzymes work. Good stuff

3x is just a flush and reset to get the EC where you want it, this late on flower their needs slow down a bit so I’d say rough place to start is around 1-1.2 EC.

now if the ppm is coming down just do a 1x pot volume.

now let’s calculate your feed and frequency. It will be slightly lower then Would be needed during peak.

what’s the pot size?

I’ll link you an article I did in my next post. Use a container next feeding on one of the pots to catch then runoff so you can measure it. You will only need to do this until you get an idea, so like a couple times for a day here and there throughout the grow.

 

[Aqua Man]

HOW TO WATER COCO FOR BEST RESULTS.

Ok writing this cause i see this issue often and rather have a thread to link than explain this each time. This is not my work but a collection of info from many members here and I have put into practice myself. So first off COCO is NOT soil. For best results we want to keep it saturated...

www.thcfarmer.com

 

[phxazcraig]

There ya go see how fast those enzymes work. Good stuff

3x is just a flush and reset to get the EC where you want it, this late on flower their needs slow down a bit so I’d say rough place to start is around 1-1.2 EC.

now if the ppm is coming down just do a 1x pot volume.

now let’s calculate your feed and frequency. It will be slightly lower then Would be needed during peak.

what’s the pot size?

I’ll link you an article I did in my next post. Use a container next feeding on one of the pots to catch then runoff so you can measure it. You will only need to do this until you get an idea, so like a couple times for a day here and there throughout the grow.

Pot size is 3.5 gallons. If you are not familiar with airpots, you should know they gave a raised plastic floor that prevents roots from sitting in drain water.

When I fed anything over 1.2 EC, I got tip burn, so most of my feedings have been 1.2 or less. But I'm figuring that feeding diluted nutes more often makes up for the strength.

As mentioned before, I can't really measure the water input at this point. I'd have to cut the plants to get the halos out now. Plus the plants are entwined in a net so I can't just move them around either.

And, my input rate varies with reservoir water level, so I have inconsistent amounts. I just overwater to get a lot of run-off.

I'll run extra thru today to make sure I've really flushed.

 

[phxazcraig]

Ok, after 6 watering today, input and output are matching, at about 0.73.

I turned the lights down a bit as well, to baby these buds through to the end.

Here is today's runoff.

And some buds.

 

[Aqua Man]

Ok, after 6 watering today, input and output are matching, at about 0.73.

I turned the lights down a bit as well, to baby these buds through to the end.

Here is today's runoff.
View attachment 1236558

And some buds.

Yeah 2-3 weeks left I think. EC of aroun 1-1.2 for another week then take a look at them.

 

[Madmax]

They look alright mate and seem further along than 6 weeks .all hairs dying off but that doesnt mean much..just that if a nanner pops up right now cant do much damage.you got a loupe to view the trics.look sticky af from here..i keep mine going hard right to the end .Bugbee seems to agree in one of his vids.

 

[phxazcraig]

They look alright mate and seem further along than 6 weeks .all hairs dying off but that doesnt mean much..just that if a nanner pops up right now cant do much damage.you got a loupe to view the trics.look sticky af from here..i keep mine going hard right to the end .Bugbee seems to agree in one of his vids.

They've just completed 8 weeks of flower.