Athena Pro line help with EC issue

Makaz · Jul 7, 2021

Hi,

I recently switched from GH to Athena Pro line and have a question about target EC. My target EC is 2.0 in Veg and 2.7 in Flower (following the heavy feed chart). I converted the powder nutrients to liquid using 25lbs of nutrients to 25 gallons of water. I was very very careful with this step. I measured the water very precisely , used a aquarium heater to increase water temp to 90 degrees and used a aeromixer to mix everything.

I'm following the Athena guide to using Pro line as a liquid nutrient and for a 2.7 EC you need 33.3ml of Core and 55.9ml of Bloom. The individual EC chart states that for a 2.7 EC target, the Core should put you at 1.08 EC and the Bloom adds another 1.62 which is the 2.7 EC.
Now here's my issue, when i add the Core the EC is 1.10 which is on target but when i add the Bloom its only reaching 2.3 EC. So the Bloom is only increasing the EC by 1.20 EC and NOT the 1.62 like it should.

To get the EC to 2.7 I am adding approx. 50% more Bloom! For my 50 gallon res I should be using 2,795ml of Bloom but im having to add another 1350ml of Bloom to get to my target of 2.7 EC.

The Athena support rep i spoke with said its possible I had more than 25 gallons of water in tank i used to convert the nutrient from salt to liquid which I don't think is true since i filled the tank myself and was very careful to get it exact but assuming I was off by a few gallons, that shouldn't equal a 50% increase in nutrients needed.
Note: I used 3 Blue Guardian PPM/PH meters to confirm the PPM when testing the above.
My questions are,

Can a few gallons really throw off the concentration by 50%?
According to the Athena rep, as long as I hit my target EC's I will be fine from the standpoint that my plants are getting the correct EC with the correct rations of nutrients. Is this true?
Has anyone else had a similar issue using Athena?

Thanks!!

Dub_City405 · Jul 7, 2021

1. Not by that much.
2. Yes. Pay attention to the plant and adjust accordingly to what the plant tells you she wants.
3. No. I just liquid. But im switching to powder soon. Glad to know information.

Makaz · Jul 7, 2021

Dub_City405 said:
1. Not by that much.
2. Yes. Pay attention to the plant and adjust accordingly to what the plant tells you she wants.
3. No. I just liquid. But im switching to powder soon. Glad to know information.

ok thanks. That’s what worries me. Can that mean there is something wrong with the batch I bought?

Per Athena I should add 2100 ml of Grow for 2.0 EC but I’m having to add 2900 ml.

I don’t mind adding more nutrients I’m worried there are other issues with this batch of nutrients.

pork · Jul 12, 2021

I've had the same problem. I haven't mixed a whole 25lb bag into 25 gal, but I've done 1 gal and 2 gal mixes with 2lbs/gal and 2.5lbs/gal, and each time I've mixed, I've been sure to get it all into solution, however my needed ml/gal is not what the athena chart calls for. this ends up taking a good deal longer to get each component EC to what its supposed to be, rather than just dumping pitchers into my res. One thing I've noticed is that I've gotten a couple bags of athena that are bone dry powders. the last bag I got was clumpy and wet. this could have contributed to me weighing a wet weight vs a dry weight. but i don't really have a dehydrator to dry this wet ass batch of athena out.

AMBITIOUS · Jul 28, 2021

Exactly same issue here, it's because the grow and the bloom suck in moisture from the air so now we cant go based off weight. I'm trying to figure this out myself. . All I know is their charts that they give us are INCORRECT.

Anthem · Jul 28, 2021

I have been using the Athena Proline for about 10 months and I have no had these problems. I do use their weights to achieve the desired PPM and they are usually right on the money. Also I have not had that much trouble with the grow and bloom gaining moisture. I do store my nutrients indoors in plastic tubs. Once I break the seal on the 25 pound bags I place the remainder into plastic tubes so that may help but the EC is on mark for me, using Blue Lab pens

Bbonez · Jul 28, 2021

Makaz said:
To get the EC to 2.7 I am adding approx. 50% more Bloom! For my 50 gallon res I should be using 2,795ml of Bloom but im having to add another 1350ml of Bloom to get to my target of 2.7 EC.

Were the salts wet? If so perhaps some of the 25lbs of "salt" was water weight?

Have you tried different measuring cups? I've noticed the cheap shot glasses and plastic cups from grow stores are not as accurate as a syringe.

In the future, I recommend using 3lbs per gallon so you don't take up so much space.

DazedNconfused78 · Aug 8, 2021

Bbonez said:
Were the salts wet? If so perhaps some of the 25lbs of "salt" was water weight?

Have you tried different measuring cups? I've noticed the cheap shot glasses and plastic cups from grow stores are not as accurate as a syringe.

In the future, I recommend using 3lbs per gallon so you don't take up so much space.

Holy crap! You use a ton of nutes with Athena for a 50 gallon res. I use GH and i also have a 50 gallon res. For the light schedule in full bloom i might use 500mls of bloom for a full res. If im just adding water. Like 8.0 mls a gallon. Not saying your doing anything wrong. Just pointing out how much less i use. I have heard though you feed heavy with Athena. But thats what they want you to do so you buy more product. All about the $$$

StealthLED · Aug 20, 2021

Yeah same issue with me. I used the 10lbs tub to make the 2.5lbs/gal mix. Core is always just about spot on the ec it should be but grow is 0.5 ec under. I asked athena they told me I've mixed wrong, which I know I haven't. Looks like now I need to use almost twice the amount of grow so I'm guessing Bloom will probably be the same... I'll see how this run ends and make a decision on whether to stick with athena unless they come back with some help...

No3r · Jan 2, 2022

I was gifted the proline with stack, balance and cleanse since I run RO water. Same issue. Once I’m done with these I’m switching to jacks which is the same shit but a lot cheaper.

Rainmaker994 · Jan 22, 2022

Makaz said:
Hi,

I recently switched from GH to Athena Pro line and have a question about target EC. My target EC is 2.0 in Veg and 2.7 in Flower (following the heavy feed chart). I converted the powder nutrients to liquid using 25lbs of nutrients to 25 gallons of water. I was very very careful with this step. I measured the water very precisely , used a aquarium heater to increase water temp to 90 degrees and used a aeromixer to mix everything.

I'm following the Athena guide to using Pro line as a liquid nutrient and for a 2.7 EC you need 33.3ml of Core and 55.9ml of Bloom. The individual EC chart states that for a 2.7 EC target, the Core should put you at 1.08 EC and the Bloom adds another 1.62 which is the 2.7 EC.
Now here's my issue, when i add the Core the EC is 1.10 which is on target but when i add the Bloom its only reaching 2.3 EC. So the Bloom is only increasing the EC by 1.20 EC and NOT the 1.62 like it should.

To get the EC to 2.7 I am adding approx. 50% more Bloom! For my 50 gallon res I should be using 2,795ml of Bloom but im having to add another 1350ml of Bloom to get to my target of 2.7 EC.

The Athena support rep i spoke with said its possible I had more than 25 gallons of water in tank i used to convert the nutrient from salt to liquid which I don't think is true since i filled the tank myself and was very careful to get it exact but assuming I was off by a few gallons, that shouldn't equal a 50% increase in nutrients needed.
Note: I used 3 Blue Guardian PPM/PH meters to confirm the PPM when testing the above.
My questions are,

Can a few gallons really throw off the concentration by 50%?

According to the Athena rep, as long as I hit my target EC's I will be fine from the standpoint that my plants are getting the correct EC with the correct rations of nutrients. Is this true?

Has anyone else had a similar issue using Athena?

Thanks!!

What we do is completely forget about the measurements of core and grow/bloom. What we do is mix an unmeasured amount in concentrate and put our EC/ PH meter in the rez and add 40/60 core grow. For example if you want 2 EC, pour core until .8 EC and then mix bloom until 2.0ec is recorded.

No3r · Jan 22, 2022

Rainmaker994 said:
What we do is completely forget about the measurements of core and grow/bloom. What we do is mix an unmeasured amount in concentrate and put our EC/ PH meter in the rez and add 40/60 core grow. For example if you want 2 EC, pour core until .8 EC and then mix bloom until 2.0ec is recorded.

Exactly. The measurements are all off, you have to go off ppm/EC to dial in otherwise it’s a mess. Let’s say target EC is 3.0 like mine is that’s 1500 ppm so I take desired ppm and x 0.6 = to get 900 ppm (grow or bloom) then the rest is core @ 600 ppm

I don’t measure by gram or mL. I go by ppm/EC then pH and feed.

(well I’ve measured once just to see what it took after ppm/EC readings and from then I knew exact amounts to mix.)

hope this helps someone.

No3r · Jan 22, 2022

I use this bad boy. Here are EC/ppm values

Rainmaker994 · Jan 22, 2022

No3r said:
Exactly. The measurements are all off, you have to go off ppm/EC to dial in otherwise it’s a mess. Let’s say target EC is 3.0 like mine is that’s 1500 ppm so I take desired ppm and x 0.6 = to get 900 ppm (grow or bloom) then the rest is core @ 600 ppm

I don’t measure by gram or mL. I go by ppm/EC then pH and feed.

(well I’ve measured once just to see what it took after ppm/EC readings and from then I knew exact amounts to mix.)

hope this helps someone.

Yes sir, you got it! This is my meter I use now instead of a sick and it’s changed my life, I just set it in while the pump circulates and I get super accurate real time data. Worth the few hundred bucks all day. Cheers!

Jaysee · Mar 23, 2022

pork said:
I've had the same problem. I haven't mixed a whole 25lb bag into 25 gal, but I've done 1 gal and 2 gal mixes with 2lbs/gal and 2.5lbs/gal, and each time I've mixed, I've been sure to get it all into solution, however my needed ml/gal is not what the athena chart calls for. this ends up taking a good deal longer to get each component EC to what its supposed to be, rather than just dumping pitchers into my res. One thing I've noticed is that I've gotten a couple bags of athena that are bone dry powders. the last bag I got was clumpy and wet. this could have contributed to me weighing a wet weight vs a dry weight. but i don't really have a dehydrator to dry this wet ass batch of athena out.

Regardless of how many pounds/gal you use. It's not actually per gallon like the mixing instructions claim. Find your 20 0r 25 gallon water increment on your stock tank and add salts before topping it off to your given gallons increment. So technically this would be less than a gallon. That and having warmer water to break down the salts. This should help to achieve the given EC value as stated on the feeding chart. As for those bags that have took on moisture. Make sure you get it all in and rinse bag with water for the batch your making. Should achieve the desired EC value again, here as well.

Anthem · Mar 23, 2022

Jaysee said:
Regardless of how many pounds/gal you use. It's not actually per gallon like the mixing instructions claim. Find your 20 0r 25 gallon water increment on your stock tank and add salts before topping it off to your given gallons increment. So technically this would be less than a gallon. That and having warmer water to break down the salts. This should help to achieve the given EC value as stated on the feeding chart. As for those bags that have took on moisture. Make sure you get it all in and rinse bag with water for the batch your making. Should achieve the desired EC value again, here as well.

So what you are really say is to mix the whole bag or container because Athena is extremely hydroscopic and cannot be mixed to say be used in a 200 gallon rez but the whole container must be mixed all at once? Why is Athena publishing grams per gallon feed charts? What is someone suppose to do with the other 2070 gallons worth of ferts?

StrainCanes · Apr 16, 2022

Makaz said:
Hi,

I recently switched from GH to Athena Pro line and have a question about target EC. My target EC is 2.0 in Veg and 2.7 in Flower (following the heavy feed chart). I converted the powder nutrients to liquid using 25lbs of nutrients to 25 gallons of water. I was very very careful with this step. I measured the water very precisely , used a aquarium heater to increase water temp to 90 degrees and used a aeromixer to mix everything.

I'm following the Athena guide to using Pro line as a liquid nutrient and for a 2.7 EC you need 33.3ml of Core and 55.9ml of Bloom. The individual EC chart states that for a 2.7 EC target, the Core should put you at 1.08 EC and the Bloom adds another 1.62 which is the 2.7 EC.
Now here's my issue, when i add the Core the EC is 1.10 which is on target but when i add the Bloom its only reaching 2.3 EC. So the Bloom is only increasing the EC by 1.20 EC and NOT the 1.62 like it should.

To get the EC to 2.7 I am adding approx. 50% more Bloom! For my 50 gallon res I should be using 2,795ml of Bloom but im having to add another 1350ml of Bloom to get to my target of 2.7 EC.

The Athena support rep i spoke with said its possible I had more than 25 gallons of water in tank i used to convert the nutrient from salt to liquid which I don't think is true since i filled the tank myself and was very careful to get it exact but assuming I was off by a few gallons, that shouldn't equal a 50% increase in nutrients needed.
Note: I used 3 Blue Guardian PPM/PH meters to confirm the PPM when testing the above.
My questions are,

Can a few gallons really throw off the concentration by 50%?

According to the Athena rep, as long as I hit my target EC's I will be fine from the standpoint that my plants are getting the correct EC with the correct rations of nutrients. Is this true?

Has anyone else had a similar issue using Athena?

Thanks!!

I use Athena also, correct me if im wrong though. Their conversion chart says to add 2lbs of Athena to one gallon of water to make powder into liquid, so if you were to have a 25 lb bag of Athena you would only need 12 1/2 gallons of water. Maybe i am missing something here. But thats what their conversion chart says.

DNhappy · Sep 23, 2022

What is your guys take on the Athena line? I heard it makes different plants all taste the same is that true?

abbs951 · Dec 29, 2022

Makaz said:
Hi,

I recently switched from GH to Athena Pro line and have a question about target EC. My target EC is 2.0 in Veg and 2.7 in Flower (following the heavy feed chart). I converted the powder nutrients to liquid using 25lbs of nutrients to 25 gallons of water. I was very very careful with this step. I measured the water very precisely , used a aquarium heater to increase water temp to 90 degrees and used a aeromixer to mix everything.

I'm following the Athena guide to using Pro line as a liquid nutrient and for a 2.7 EC you need 33.3ml of Core and 55.9ml of Bloom. The individual EC chart states that for a 2.7 EC target, the Core should put you at 1.08 EC and the Bloom adds another 1.62 which is the 2.7 EC.
Now here's my issue, when i add the Core the EC is 1.10 which is on target but when i add the Bloom its only reaching 2.3 EC. So the Bloom is only increasing the EC by 1.20 EC and NOT the 1.62 like it should.

To get the EC to 2.7 I am adding approx. 50% more Bloom! For my 50 gallon res I should be using 2,795ml of Bloom but im having to add another 1350ml of Bloom to get to my target of 2.7 EC.

The Athena support rep i spoke with said its possible I had more than 25 gallons of water in tank i used to convert the nutrient from salt to liquid which I don't think is true since i filled the tank myself and was very careful to get it exact but assuming I was off by a few gallons, that shouldn't equal a 50% increase in nutrients needed.
Note: I used 3 Blue Guardian PPM/PH meters to confirm the PPM when testing the above.
My questions are,

Can a few gallons really throw off the concentration by 50%?

According to the Athena rep, as long as I hit my target EC's I will be fine from the standpoint that my plants are getting the correct EC with the correct rations of nutrients. Is this true?

Has anyone else had a similar issue using Athena?

Thanks!!

hay there bro this is a problem for most when you mix the pro concentrate you need to top off what i mean by this if your mixing 5lb to 2.5 gallons of ro need to mix 5lb to 1.5 gallons of ro then once mixed you fill ro water to your 2.5 gallon mark this will help

if you was to dump 5lb to 2.5 gallons it would not be 2.5 gallons any more it will measure grater then 2.5 gallon witch then will be weak

recap mix 5lb concentrate to 1.5 gallon when mixed top off to your 2.5 measurement

DNhappy · Dec 30, 2022

Im using their line right now and it works great!
Here's a chart of how to mix there pro line. I use low dosage for my garden and if you want to go heavier on the feed you can up it. Here is what they Recommend I hope this helps

Athena Pro line help with EC issue

Athena Pro line help with EC issue

Makaz

Dub_City405

Makaz

pork

AMBITIOUS

Anthem

Bbonez

DazedNconfused78

StealthLED

No3r

Rainmaker994

No3r

No3r

Rainmaker994

Attachments

Jaysee

Anthem

StrainCanes

DNhappy

abbs951

DNhappy

Attachments

Athena Pro line help with EC issue

Athena Pro line help with EC issue

Makaz

Dub_City405

Makaz

pork

AMBITIOUS

Anthem

Bbonez

DazedNconfused78

StealthLED

No3r

Rainmaker994

No3r

No3r

Rainmaker994

Attachments

Jaysee

Anthem

StrainCanes

DNhappy

abbs951

DNhappy

Attachments

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