any kiss users have exp. with veg+bloom

[dansbuds]

I always just top it off. It stays in solution great, I had emailed Chris at H-R about whether or not it would be a problem to just keep topping off or if there was an issue with running a large reservoir over an extended period, and he said no problem. The only thing that I have seen with it is the slow downward drift of the pH, as I mentioned above. It would be interesting to find out if that is a characteristic of my water, or a normal progression on a DTW system.

How big is your rez rives ?? & how long does it last ?? I'll have to check mine . I have 3 18 gallon rez's that feed 3 trays & they last about 4 days feeding 6 to 12 plants 2x during the light cycle . didn't think the PH would drop in my rez cuz it doesn't in the 5 gallon jugs i mix for veg . you have me curious now

your using PH adjusters to keep your rez a perfect 5.8 right ?
I'm not . i don't adjust the PH at all .... don't really need to . at lower EC's i should bring it down a touch cuz it comes out @ 6.0 but i've just been letting it go as is & have had no problems . higher EC's the PH comes out 5.7 .... so i just leave it alone there too .

any time in the past that i used PH adjusters (tried many brands ) the PH of the mix goes back to the PH levels i had before i mixed it in , within 12 hrs . this is with RO/DI water .

 

[rives]

My lower reservoir is 20 gallons, and the upper one is 5. Since I only run either 3 or 4 plants, it will last me 2-3 weeks if I fill it up completely. I don't try and hold a given pH - depending on the EC that I'm running, a fresh tank will come out at 6.0-6.2, and over the course of 7-10 days it will drift down to @ 5.5. I will then take it back up to 6.2 over the course of a couple of days (adjusting up a maximum of .5 at a time) and let it do it all over again. The only time that I've ever seen the pH rebound to it's starting point quickly is when I used lemon juice as an adjuster. I use tap water, but it is very close to RO in composition - the pH is 7.1, total alkalinity is 24, 4.4 ppm of Ca, and 1.1 of Mg.

 

[dansbuds]

I've gone through at least 4 different kinds of PH adjusters ... the best so far as far as holding the PH for any length of time is the earth juice crystals . a pinch of that stuff goes a loooonnnngggg way .

I'll check mine every day on the next refill & see if i get any drop or raise in the PH . like i said though .... it only lasts about 4 or 5 days max .... so i'm curious if it will do anything .

 

[Cannabloomer]

Sorry to be off topic but ive heard a lot about those earth juice natural ph up and down, my buddies say its some crazy shit i just havnt gotten any yet

Also what is everyone's thoughts on using something like snow storm ultra or bud blaster from supernatural for some more frost?

 

[dansbuds]

Just add some more silica to your nutes like protekt or something . i'm adding powdered DE to my coco when i do transplants cuz i don't want to mess with the PH of my nute mix . never read up on the 2 you mentioned ... but any silica would help .

the EJ PH crystals are the best & longest lasting PH adjuster i've tried .

 

[dizzlekush]

Earth Juice Natural Down is citric acid marked up in price by several hundred percent. Buy it at any local brewery or brewery supply store or online for a fraction of the price. Other common horticultural acids for lowering pH are Phosphoric acid and Sulfuric acid (can be purchased at ~29-33% as electrolyte grade battery acid at auto supply stores).

Here are some common companies pHing products

pH downs:
Earth Juice - Pure Citric Acid
Advanced Nutrients - Phosphoric Acid (70%)
General Hydroponics - A solution of Citric and Phosphoric acid and orange coloring.

pH ups:
Earth Juice - Potassium Bicarbonate.
Advanaced Nutrients - a solution of Potassium hydroxide
General Hydroponics - a solution of Potassium Carbonate and Potassium Silicate and blue coloring.

Now that you know what these products are made of, buy the pure substances online or elsewhere where they aren't drastically marked up in price. No need to pay so much for a label.

In all honesty the fact that Earth Juice uses Potassium Bicarbonate surprised me, since citric acid and potassium bicarbonate dont buffer pH together. The citric acid reacts with the bicarbonate and bubbles off as CO2, making the combo not too helpful. Good substances for lowering pH are Citric, Phosphoric and Sulfuric acids (also Nitric acid if you're savvy around more corrosive chemicals). Citric acid is a weaker acid than Phosphoric or Sulfuric and will require more pH adjusting as time goes by than Phosphoric or Sulfuric. Citric acid is also a chelating agent (for P, Ca, Fe etc.). Adding Phosphoric or Sulfuric acid will add plant available P or S to the solution so that must be taken into account (for flushing for instance).

Good substances for raising pH are Potassium Carbonate (not Bicarbonate) and Potassium Silicate can also be used to an extent if Si is desired.

BTW Advanced Nutrients Final Phase (flushing product) is nothing but Citric acid, free-form EDTA, and Epsom Salts (thats right, they put salts in the flushing product).

 

[netprophet]

can't figure out this EC thing... these got up to 2.1 and they still look plush... I added a grip of water to bring the EC down?? but am wondering if I should leave it high because they look damn fine

 

[TribalSeeds]

can't figure out this EC thing... these got up to 2.1 and they still look plush... I added a grip of water to bring the EC down?? but am wondering if I should leave it high because they look damn fine

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IME thats how my large fans looked right before they clawed and all hell broke loose. I wouldnt keep the feed up that high for too long. Nice and frosty for now!

 

[Cannabloomer]

^^^ this post just blew my mind. It makes me want to go back to school and take more science classes

 

[dansbuds]

Ok rives ... lets see how the PH does on my DTW rez . 18 gallon just refilled with RO . started out with .8 EC .... added 7 heaping tsp of the V&B ... nothing else . that brought it to 1.8 EC ...PH of 5.7 .
This is feeding 6 plants 2x during the light cycle @ 24 days 12/12 today .i will keep the EC high untill 35 days cuz its a 70 to 75 day strain . then i'll taper down from there .
I will check it every night to see what happens with the PH & EC untill the rez is empty ... should take around 4 days .
lets see what happens

 

[dansbuds]

Net ... they do look great but i think your right on the border of to much .... I don't see any burnt tips but the fans are a darker green than i think they should be . like i said ... i think your right on the edge . keep it below 2.0 & i think you'll be happier .

 

[Mtn Dew]

not sure about copper and zinc but it has small amounts of silica, but the owner of the co. advised me to add more.


smells like gatorade, thats the carb additive

Mine also smells like green koolaid or gatorade

 

[dansbuds]

I forgot to check it last night with everything i had going on , but just checked it now & my EC / PPM's went down about 30 ppm from 1.8 to between 1.8 & 1.7 & my PH went down to 5.6 . kinda weird ..... i didn't see any sediment in the bottom of the rez , so not sure why the EC dropped . but it looks like i am having a slight drop in my PH too rives . i'll check it again tomorrow to see if drops any more & by monday night it will need refilling again , so maybe with the smaller rez i'll be ok as long as it doesn't sit more than a few days . otherwise i'd have to PH up .

 

[Musicianized]

Still diggin the Veg+Bloom even though its early yet. the stalks on these are as big as pencils already.

 

[kushedphantom]

Still diggin the Veg+Bloom even though its early yet. the stalks on these are as big as pencils already.

Little shrubs. Looking happy. Can't wait to try out my Veg + Bloom.

 

[netprophet]

Net ... they do look great but i think your right on the border of to much .... I don't see any burnt tips but the fans are a darker green than i think they should be . like i said ... i think your right on the edge . keep it below 2.0 & i think you'll be happier .

thanks bro! I dropped it to 1.7 and 3 days later they are looking good. Stacking up like a mofo for 4 weeks in!

 

[dansbuds]

Rives .... looks like yer on to something here with the DTW rez's . i checked again just a few minutes ago & the PH has dropped to 5.4 Hmmmmm
EC is the same .... so i'm wondering if when its freshly mixed .... it reads a little strong . really wish i had checked the night after i mixed this last rez.
gonna have to check every rez & jug for awhile till i see exactly whats going on with the PH & EC .

What are you doing about the PH drop ? I'm thinking of just leaving as be cuz I haven't noticed any problems with it & 0.4 point drop doesn't seem that bad . yeah its out of the correct range for a couple days ... but the PH for me on the lower dose feeds is a little high ... so maybe this will help bring my low dose feeds into correct ph range .
this might be why i'm getting a slight calcium def on the last round later in flower .... i thought it was from the feeds dropping as i went into the last 3 weeks & a 2 week flush of .2 EC .

 

[rives]

Dan, I think that it is actually more of a benefit than a detriment. There seems to be a wide variety of opinions as to what the "ideal" pH is, and if you look at the absorbency charts, the peak for each nutrient varies all over hell. I use Botanicare ReadyGro, and the package recommends anywhere from 5.8-6.2, and I've read where people had actually had better success both further up and down from there! The consensus seems to be to let it swing - I think the trick is to insure that it doesn't stay anywhere for too long.

I start with a fresh rez at 6.2, and let it drop to about 5.4-5.5. That's actually a little further than I'm comfortable with, but that is what happens over the time period that I'm away and it sure doesn't seem to have hurt anything. The only time that I have seen anything resembling a deficiency is when I was starting out with very low EC levels during veg, and that went away once I got up to about .8.

 

[Cannabloomer]

Holy shit thats weeks 4, if my plants get even close to that production by harvest ill be stoked. very frosty net, keep the dank growing

 

[smoooth]

Looking good net! Can't wait to see them in 2 weeks