A question for the growers using Jacks 5-12-26

[Ganjaganjakush]

I don't get that but I've been getting more solids that won't dissolve

 

[caljim]

only on my recent order of jacks have I noticed this, wonder if they changed the formula?

This was from a batch bought in the last couple weeks.

Are you still using yhe stock solution with the precip on the side of the container? Have you noticed any difference?

I called Jacks and they said that 2lbs , or 896 grams, was the limit of solubility into 1 gallon of pure water and that at 880 maybe I was pushing it based on the true pure ess of my water source. I would swear that it was a 1 lb higher but cannot find the post now.


Ganjaganjakush ......I don't get that but I've been getting more solids that won't dissolve......

I have been getting very little residual magsulfate after two days. Do you feel that you were getting less before?

 

[Ganjaganjakush]

Yeah it use to fully dissolve when I make stock solution, now it looks like a few grams of sugar that won't fully dissolve in the most recent stuff I bought

 

[caljim]

A Haiku....

To make the Jacks's right
Stir, Stir ...five ...twelve...twenty six
Calnit makes plants bright

 

[Hookah79]

I did notice a black rusty ring in the rez with Jack's and calnit mixed together.The mix was bubbling for 2 days,and it was a batch i just picked up 3 weeks ago.

 

[caljim]

I did notice a black rusty ring in the rez with Jack's and calnit mixed together.The mix was bubbling for 2 days,and it was a batch i just picked up 3 weeks ago.

I never get the bkack ring when mixing into my larger reservoirs, just when mixing a stock solution. .....So, i am just mixing the dry salts per batch...giving things plenty of time to dissolve and stablize. Honestly, now that I am getting more comfortable with the product I dont see a ton of value in making stock solutions unless I was seriously pressed for time.

 

[AWDTERROR]

On my bag it says Solubility of 3lbs per gal.
This has happened to me on few different batches. Never as bad as yours though.
I am really getting annoyed with the lack of consistency in the bags though. Some of the bags ive got you can see different color patches throughout the bag. Really pissed me off. I am about done with Jacks, just going to make it from scratch.

 

[caljim]

I called jacks help line to ask them about it. When I got a call back the lady on tne other end sounded kind of scattered. She quoted me a solubility of 2#s a gallon. I lost a little faith in their customer service. Like you say it states right on the data sheet 3#s to a gallon.

In any case Im going to get some ro water to test a small batch with just out of curiosity....maybe something residual in the distilled water I had used.

I noticed some varying colors in the 5-12-26, my plants dont seem to care about it and are very happy. Jacks has been working well for me. And for the price per gallon its worth it to me to be patient while mixing.

 

[MrBungle]

Are you mixing the jacks and CaNO3 together in a concentrate? I'd keep em separate... and I've found that distilled water is not so great for concentrates.. I get gallons of purified drinking water from Wally for my concentrates...After I adjust the pH I've noticed less precips in the purified drinking water than the distilled... Curious about the RO

 

[caljim]

Are you mixing the jacks and CaNO3 together in a concentrate? I'd keep em separate... and I've found that distilled water is not so great for concentrates.. I get gallons of purified drinking water from Wally for my concentrates...After I adjust the pH I've noticed less precips in the purified drinking water than the distilled... Curious about the RO

Im not mixing them together...jacks in one, calnit in the other.


You bring up a great point though...the ph of the water that the solution is being made in. This may be the overlooked element here. I did not check the ph of the distilled water that was used. Adjusting it into the 6.0 range just might be the ticket to keep the Jacks from percipitating that black ring out of solution.

I will give this a try next chance I get.

Thanks MrBungle...I would bet that proper PH of the stock solutions carrier will solve the problem.

 

[MrBungle]

Glad I could help... The only time I really care about solution pH is when I'm mixing concentrates or stock solutions... if the stock solution pH rises over a couple of days thats no big deal.. for me at least... if media pH rises over time i add a lil more NH4 to bring it back down....

 

[caljim]

What ph is the water that you are making your stock/concentrated solution into?

You are adjusting the ph of a made stock solution?

Your last post has me a bit confused.

Would you mind going over how you make your stock solution....ph of carrier water, how many grams of jacks to a gallon?

...........Reread the post....makes sense to me now.

 

[MrBungle]

Unfortunately I'm not using jacks.( but I'm interested in it) I mix individual salts into concentrates at a certain strength to achieve my desired profile ppms in my stock solution

for the concentrates I make... I use advanced nutes pH down, and purified drinking water.... 1 drop of the pH down takes the water into a safe pH range for mixing the salts into solution with minimal precips... unfortunately I'm not in a lab so its not perfect...

for stock solution I kinda cheat... I start out by adding Ksil into normal tap water which skyrockets the pH, then I bring the pH back down with pekacid which is basically an acidic form of MKP which allows for the rest of my salts to be mixed into solution saving CaNO3 for last.. To simplify it, you could just use your pH down of choice

The stock solution is hand fed to my girls individually, and I may doctor my stock solution further based on the plants individual needs.... it sounds way more complicated than it really is, and I had a lot of help figuring it out (thanks guys)

 

[caljim]

My answer to stock solutions

My answer to stock solutions

A big ass mixing paddle. 50" of stainless steel....gets things mixed to the bottom of my 44 gallon res. without having to get my hands all covered in solution every day. The extra aggittation it provides gets the 5 12 26 into solution, well...quicker.

 

[MrBungle]

I had a horrible time mixing dry stuff into a rez... I just weigh out what I need, fill up a quart jug halfway with water( lukewarm is good), add the dry nutes, top off, and shake till its all dissolved, then add that to the rez.... much easier to mix liquid into the rez than the dry stuff... I'm still a lil jealous of that paddle, mine is a 4 ft stick of 1x2

 

[caljim]

Mixing by weight, and being off, is what brought me to stock solutions......which has brought me to this. I have gotten better at guestimating my ppm per scoop into an approximate volume. If I over shoot the jacks, i adjust the calnit to match. Then dillute the whole solution to my desired ppm.

Same for veg, take a couple gallons and dillute that down to suit their needs.

Dont get paddle envey, it was 21bucks on amazon.

 

[maxmurder]

A big ass mixing paddle. 50" of stainless steel....gets things mixed to the bottom of my 44 gallon res. without having to get my hands all covered in solution every day. The extra aggittation it provides gets the 5 12 26 into solution, well...quicker.

View Image View Image

ha! i have the same brute can on a flat dolly too

 

[caljim]

But is your flat dolly built like a presidential limousine underneath to carry that 320+ lbs daily? Mine is...lol

 

[maxmurder]

no but mine has a mini bar.
a saw on the farm people making a stock solution using 145 grams calnit per qt and 220 grams per qt jacks hydro, then just using 10 mils per (each) gallon x how many gallons in res.
this seems simple have you (or anyone reading this) tried it?
i suck at math but i figured i could make 378 gallons of res from 1 gallon of stock solution which is waaaaay cheaper than buying micro, bloom and calmag.
i have the jacks but for some reason not pulling the trigger cuz my regular nute mix works great and has for years....

 

[2000pm]

I don't do exactly that ratio or keep it the same all of the time but I am still using the stock mix and its working really great (~700ppm). The Jacks seems to dissolve 98% of the way pretty quickly and there is always some residual. What I do now is not try to shake the hell out of it but just leave it alone for a few days, mixing it a bit here and there. Fully dissolves that way. The Cal-nit dissolves with zero issues.