R
rbarter
- 13
- 3
I have a question concerning the adjustment of my nutrient concentration based on the needs of my plants.
I operate on a 24 hour cycle, I start with a full nutrient tank with known EC and pH and feed for 24 hours. At the end of 24 hours I measure the concentration and pH, top off the tank with distilled water, measure concentration and pH again and adjust nutrients and pH accordingly.
I am making some simplifying assumptions:
My question is this: does the EC changing from 1000 to 1200 indicate that the EC was too high, too low, or does it mean nothing?
I've seen two explanations regarding plant nutrient uptake: One would suggest that an increase in EC indicates that the EC was too low, the other that is was too high.
When I assume an increasing EC is an indication of the EC being too high, and adjust the new EC to be 800 in the above example, then things seem more stable. If I assume the opposite and adjust the new EC to 1200, the things seem to go off the rails, but I'm not sure.
Any thoughts, comments are welcome.
By the way, my nutrient tank is only 1.5 gallons -- that is the reason for the large EC change when I add distilled water. You can see the nutrient tank under the Grow Cabinet in the image below:
I operate on a 24 hour cycle, I start with a full nutrient tank with known EC and pH and feed for 24 hours. At the end of 24 hours I measure the concentration and pH, top off the tank with distilled water, measure concentration and pH again and adjust nutrients and pH accordingly.
I am making some simplifying assumptions:
- EC is a good overall indicator nutrient concentration
- The NPK and Micro nutrients RATIOS as recommended by the nutrient supplier are correct (even if the recommended concentrations are too high).
- The Hydroton and stainless steel container are not contributing to EC and pH changes (this may be a very bad assumption)
- Any change in EC (other than adding distilled water) is caused by plant nutrient uptake.
My question is this: does the EC changing from 1000 to 1200 indicate that the EC was too high, too low, or does it mean nothing?
I've seen two explanations regarding plant nutrient uptake: One would suggest that an increase in EC indicates that the EC was too low, the other that is was too high.
When I assume an increasing EC is an indication of the EC being too high, and adjust the new EC to be 800 in the above example, then things seem more stable. If I assume the opposite and adjust the new EC to 1200, the things seem to go off the rails, but I'm not sure.
Any thoughts, comments are welcome.
By the way, my nutrient tank is only 1.5 gallons -- that is the reason for the large EC change when I add distilled water. You can see the nutrient tank under the Grow Cabinet in the image below: