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Salt For Ever In Coco?

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Salt For Ever In Coco?

brianneil 45 Replies 17,091 Views
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brianneil

brianneil

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#1
Hiya crew. I have a query about coco and salts. I run to waste. I usually flush new coco by putting it in a large bin and running the garden hose through it until the run off turns clear - depending on the brand of coco I use, this'll take about 15-30 mins - then I measure the EC to be sure it's all properly flushed and ready to use. I've used coco for years. Never had issues. Always been reliable. But never as good a yielder as hydro.

Serendipity walks through the door.

I happended to leave a bucket of flushed coco and water lying around for a few days and I stuck the meter in just to see if it was still clean - and the reading was though the roof!! So I flushed again - thoroughly, and let the coco sit in some new water. To days later...the salts were back!!!

This is certainly a worry..becos I use the reading from the runoff from of my plants to dictate how much to to increase or decrease the feed strength. Now I'm not sure what I've been reading all this time.

Scratching my head on this one boys and girls. Any feedback/thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Cheers.

B
 
#3
brianneil said:
Hiya crew. I have a query about coco and salts. I run to waste. I usually flush new coco by putting it in a large bin and running the garden hose through it until the run off turns clear - depending on the brand of coco I use, this'll take about 15-30 mins - then I measure the EC to be sure it's all properly flushed and ready to use. I've used coco for years. Never had issues. Always been reliable. But never as good a yielder as hydro.

Serendipity walks through the door.

I happended to leave a bucket of flushed coco and water lying around for a few days and I stuck the meter in just to see if it was still clean - and the reading was though the roof!! So I flushed again - thoroughly, and let the coco sit in some new water. To days later...the salts were back!!!

This is certainly a worry..becos I use the reading from the runoff from of my plants to dictate how much to to increase or decrease the feed strength. Now I'm not sure what I've been reading all this time.

Scratching my head on this one boys and girls. Any feedback/thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Cheers.

B
Click to expand...
First, use the cleanest water you can to flush. Second, soak rather than just running water through the coir. Third, learn how to use the slurry method rather than the run-off method.

All that said, if you've been doing it this way and your plants have been doing well for you and performing, I wouldn't worry too hard on it.
 
#4
I grow in coco Hempy and the soft cloth bags 70/30 coco hydroton
I use salts too all Jacks Pro and OG bioWar
I have reused my coco 3 times
seamaiden is right as rain
I do soak my reused coco over night and rinse with PHed water
then go right back to it
as long as my PPM are under 70-100 after the rinse
then slurry test after the next few watering s and adjust from their.
Good luck and super grow vibes to ya
FlyJ
 
#6
Wet coco in pure water shouldn't affect conductivity, coco is mainly cellulose and hemicellulose, these aren't charged ions if memory serves me right.

I could be off the mark completely, but perhaps try calibrating your meter to see if that changes anything

Goodfuck
 
#8
To properly measure EC of pots, its best to test the day after watering. As the coco dries the readings go down,
@pharmafarmer - water contains a charge, water conducts electricity.
Wet coco will have higher ec readings than dry coco.
 
#9
Pure, as in distilled water, with zero minerals or other impurities, will not accurately measure EC as it is not conductive. But, tap water is absolutely conductive.

RO or RO/DI is not pure water, even if you're getting a EC of 0.

But, I interpreted the original post to be discussing the salts already present in coir, likely sea salts, and how that may be causing an issue, not an issue of salt-based fertilizers building up and causing problems. Perhaps I misunderstood.
 
#10
EC is the opposite of electrical resistance, so the ability to to conduct a current. In electrolytes electrical conduction happens by full atomic species (ions) traveling, each carrying an electrical charge. The resistivity of ionic liquids varies tremendously by the concentration – while distilled water is almost an insulator, salt water is a very efficient electrical conductor. In biological membranes, currents are carried by ionic salts.

I think the issue here is there are salts locked up in the lignocellulosic structures of the coco. This material is in fact hydrophobic and hence might be able to prevent water from reaching microscopic pores which take time to dampen and eventually leach out salts and other soluble compounds. Most of this salt will be undoubtedly NaCl, so if you really want to get rid of it perhaps soak your coco in hot water first which will accelerate the leaching process, or simply soak it for longer before you use it.

I think you will increase your yield without the salt there, although your plants may not look stressed things like salt sodium exclusion pumps in the cell cost energy and ultimately will compromise yield.

I hope this helps
 
#11
No your right i side tracked explaining why new wet coco would give an ec reading.
Maybe its different coco sources but i soak my bricks and use, and have never had any issues. All coco now is washed pretty thouroughly before its packaged.
 
#13
I think the main issue here is quality of the coco. Perhaps I am wrong, but the only time I did bricks I had to toss it. I got crap results, even after I flushed the hell out of it. I've been running the same Canna and Gold Label Coco for over three years now. I never really worry about my ec runoff. I just pay attention to what the plants look like and adjust accordingly. My last run I did not have the ability to have runoff, so I gave them lower feeds and like @Seamaiden's signature.....A hungry plant is a happy plant.....I had one of the best runs I have ever had quality wise.

One other thing I would like to touch upon. I was always taught to NEVER run straight RO/DI through coco when flushing. Something about stripping away the buffer. So IF I flush anything.....I always run a 1/4 strength nutrient with a little added calmag.
 
#15
CelticEBE said:
I think the main issue here is quality of the coco. Perhaps I am wrong, but the only time I did bricks I had to toss it. I got crap results, even after I flushed the hell out of it.
Click to expand...
Now see, when I'm doing an indoor run, I like running coir. But I am fucking CHEAP, so I like the bricks. I only had a problem when I tried to use (VERY cold) tap water to expand and flush. It just wasn't working well. Then someone told me to use warm or hot water, and the coir absorbed it and I was able to get it flushed. I soak in a bin, then stuff it into a pillowcase or sheet and let that run through--soak and run through, soak and run through. So.. maybe the method I've been using makes a difference. I don't know, but I know that my well water is super hard so I do find myself wondering what's happening on a molecular level with it. I *must* use RO/DI to mix feeds, cannot use my well water for coir.
 
#16
Can't say I've had these problems, and like SM I am a cheap bastard. I pay 7 bucks for three bricks locally. I do soak them overnight and change the water daily, I do this for three days. Takes my starting EC from 2.2 down to 0.1 or so by doing it this way and I have yet to see a salt buildup. But again, I do this because the coco I buy is CHEAP. Plants don't seem to mind so long I stick with my procedure.
 
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