What EC Conversion Factor for General Hydroponics Feed Charts?

[seaslug]

I'm happy (so far) with my decision to switch from Veg+Bloom to GH Maxibloom for my Blumat/coco grow. Right now I'm using 11 grams of Maxibloom and 3ml Drip Clean per 3 gallons of tap water. EC is 1.3 mS and pH is about 5.9 (with an occasional ml of GH pH down).

Question: what conversion factor (.5 or .7) is General Hydroponics using on their feed charts; they only show ppm?

 

[seaslug]

Answer, found in a GH blog post:

"The .5 conversion factor is the proper one for our nutrients. You can
just measure in EC and multiply by 500 to get the ppm value."

 

[budm]

Shouldn't you only be using closer to 1ml of drip clean per 3 gals? Their instructions are for 0.4 ml/gal, so 3 x 0.4 = 1.2 ml. I've had the little bottle for quite a while since the use is so small...

 

[seaslug]

Good point, budm. "Rives" is one of my forum heroes. From the big Tropf Blumat thread at IC: " I have been using 1 ml/gallon [of Drip Clean] for the last several years with no issues." [posted 10-02-2013] He is running Veg+Bloom in coco.

 

[budm]

I'm sure there might not be issues at the higher rate of use, but why spend 3X the $ when it's simply not needed?

 

[seaslug]

I haven't had a grow in many years so I'm following a working example. I've had one clogged 3mm Blumat carrot line which I attribute to the hard crystals of the Veg+Bloom.

 

[budm]

Makes sense then. Instead of blumats I put a small pond pump (350 gph) in a trash can to use for my res. The pump is on a timer that waters the girls X # of seconds every Y minutes/hours. (You can dial values for the X and Y on the timer, depending on the needs of your plants) The other ends of my drip lines are open, so no chance for clogging like the blumats. Just an alternative for your consideration.

 

[seaslug]

I'm embarrassed to say how long I've been planning this grow, buying equipment and then changing my plans. Anyway, I figured out white balance on my camera so here is a shot of my new flower room. The plants were over crowded and neglected in the veg room before they moved in here a few days ago.

 

[budm]

Looking good, on with the show! :)