Blumat auto watering

[RiddleMeThis]

Not necessary. Chlorine is neutralized very, very rapidly when it comes into contact with organic matter like peat & coco. It will inhibit soil microbes only within a very short distance of the drip point.

Honest. You'll see.

My man! Thats great news, much appreciated!

 

[Bwanabud]

Has anyone found that reducing the Mfg.'s nute schedule is required ?

I spoke to Blumat the other day about my drippers constantly clogging(using H&G coc A+B), and he said my nutes were too strong....he said use 1/3-1/2 the recommended nute schedule, because they feed 24/7 for 7-8 weeks. Being I've had some deficiencies last run, wasn't sure if my feed rate is off, or my clogged drippers didn't supply the necessary amount of water the plant called for.

The Mfg. feed schedule chart is based on a water/feed rotation(let's say every other watering, or 2 waterings),,,but what about constant feed like Blumat ? Or you running straight water thru the system with no nutes, on a regular basis ?

I'm just starting to question my problem:
1) Is it salt build up from nutes ?
2) Is it the drippers plugging ?
3) Is it they require more than 5-6ml per gallon ?
4) Is it a lock-out situation ?

WTF is causing it ? It's either a CalMg or potassium problem, I also feed 2-4ml per gallon of CalMg with each rez filling.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[rives]

I have been using V+B for several years, but only with Blumats, so I don't have a comparison for them vs a conventional feed. However, I stay pretty close to the recommended feed rates that V+B has published. If I drop lower, I start getting some pretty weird deficiencies, but that seems to be a characteristic of V+B. I don't use CalMag, but do supplement with epsom - my water has virtually no Mg in it, and V+B has plenty of Ca.

 

[Bwanabud]

I have been using V+B for several years, but only with Blumats, so I don't have a comparison for them vs a conventional feed. However, I stay pretty close to the recommended feed rates that V+B has published. If I drop lower, I start getting some pretty weird deficiencies, but that seems to be a characteristic of V+B. I don't use CalMag, but do supplement with epsom - my water has virtually no Mg in it, and V+B has plenty of Ca.

Rives I was hoping you'd chime in, I respect your opinion and thoughtful posts...a great asst to the IC community

Then we can assume the H&G and V+B have similar attributes, and should work the same here. I'm on well water too, but very high quality at 45-55ppm. Maybe I just need to add a bit more to the mix, and see if they straighten up for me. I'm new to coco and Blumat, and on my 3rd run of both now...a bit of a learning curve on coco alone.

I've run Promix for years, but changed over because of the rave reviews and stability...so far I'm impressed but still trying to understand the nuances of the media. When things go south in coco, my knee jerk reaction is to apply Promix fixes...and that's not a sound choice it appears. I always have good yields in my rooms & quality product..but they struggle in the last 2-3 weeks with yellowing top leaves...hell sometimes crispy yellow.

I see the mfg feed chart suggests 6.5-10.5ml per gallon during flower, so you may be spot on that I'm just starving the ladies...I'll address the application on the next rez filling, and keep my fingers crossed.

 

[rives]

Thank you, Bwana.

If you have experience with using spreadsheets, you might want to try downloading the nute calculator in my tag line. Be sure and use the download version, not the online one - it is far more tuneable and you can keep your edited version. There is a great deal of information in the link on the necessary levels of each element related to the maturity of the plant. You can input the guaranteed analysis for your nutrients and any additives that you are considering using. Then, get a water analysis and plug in the numbers from that. You will then know exactly what the plant is getting, and have a good idea what most plants require at that stage. Some tuning may be required for things like mag hogs, exceptionally hungry plants, or plants that are very sensitive to overfeeding, but I've found it to be very accurate overall.

Perhaps it's just the way that my mind works or maybe I don't have a genetic green thumb, but for me, it took away all of the experimentation, Kentucky windage, and pure damn luck that it takes to hit the proper mix and quickly get in the ballpark.

 

[Bwanabud]

Rives,
I live and love spreadsheets, but have been relying on Kentucky windage for far too long I have far too much of an investment, and too big of an operation to continue the nail-biting BS when week 5 hits.

I've had this problem for a while really, can't figure out if it's a lock-out or needs more nutes. Once the plants are mature enough they won't heal, and finish slowly but surely.

I'll take a look at your nute calculator, and start fresh...thanks.

 

[Bwanabud]

I bumped up the base nutes and cut out the CaMg, and they look much better. Running about 700-750ppm, sending my water out for new testing.

 

[stoned40yrs]

Unless you run RO then that calmag is pure poison and will cause lockouts. Say what you want but at some point you gave them juice that was too low of ph. Keep that ph as close to 6.2 as you can.

 

[Bwanabud]

Unless you run RO then that calmag is pure poison and will cause lockouts. Say what you want but at some point you gave them juice that was too low of ph. Keep that ph as close to 6.2 as you can.

Man are you spot on there my friend, appreciate the advice

I'm a new Coco grower, just switched from many years of ProMix, and everything I read/researched said to stay between 5.4-6.2...with 5.8 being the sweet spot, so I nail it at 5.8 every rez filling...allowing it to drift here and there maybe once a month.

So 6.2 is my new magic number in bud ?

PS: That would really explain the problems I've been having, between using CaMg(which the base provides/I don't need/and causing lock out) and low PH...the lock out of elements was inevitable. Plus with increasing base feed, shit I'm pumped up now

 

[rives]

Man are you spot on there my friend, appreciate the advice

I'm a new Coco grower, just switched from many years of ProMix, and everything I read/researched said to stay between 5.4-6.2...with 5.8 being the sweet spot, so I nail it at 5.8 every rez filling...allowing it to drift here and there maybe once a month.

So 6.2 is my new magic number in bud ?

PS: That would really explain the problems I've been having, between using CaMg(which the base provides/I don't need/and causing lock out) and low PH...the lock out of elements was inevitable. Plus with increasing base feed, shit I'm pumped up now

For me, it works best to veg in the 5.8 region. When flowering, I bump it up to 6.2.

 

[dansbuds]

For me, it works best to veg in the 5.8 region. When flowering, I bump it up to 6.2.

agreed , except my DTW system likes a 6.0 to 6.1 in flower ..... i start to get lockout if i go over that .

 

[silver hawaiian]

agreed , except my DTW system likes a 6.0 to 6.1 in flower ..... i start to get lockout if i go over that .

Interesting y'all - I've always set mine at 5.8, let it drift up to 6.2, lather, rinse, repeat. Veg or flower.

Now I'm curious about keeping it on the upper end of that range for flowering.. ?

 

[rives]

Interesting y'all - I've always set mine at 5.8, let it drift up to 6.2, lather, rinse, repeat. Veg or flower.

Now I'm curious about keeping it on the upper end of that range for flowering.. ?

Mine always drops over time, so I let it drift down about .2 and bump it back up.

 

[stoned40yrs]

Mine can drop from 6.2 to 5.5 in two days and there is nothing but well water and V+B in the 30 gal res. Gotta stay on top of ph bigtime.

 

[rives]

Mine can drop from 6.2 to 5.5 in two days and there is nothing but well water and V+B in the 30 gal res. Gotta stay on top of ph bigtime.

Express elevator!

I've noticed that some pH adjusters seem to fluctuate in the time that they will hold an adjustment. Ever played with that?

 

[Vanilla Phoenix]

Ever since i started using AN pH Down, my pH barely moves....even using tap water

 

[spaceboy]

Hey guys, just setup the pump system that sustainable village sells and ive got some water leaks on each side of the accumulator and also each side of the white fitting that goes between pump and accumulator. I not sure if i overtightened or what, but was wondering what you guys thought. I dont think im first person to have this happen with these pumps.

 

[Bwanabud]

Hey guys, just setup the pump system that sustainable village sells and ive got some water leaks on each side of the accumulator and also each side of the white fitting that goes between pump and accumulator. I not sure if i overtightened or what, but was wondering what you guys thought. I dont think im first person to have this happen with these pumps.

The stock accumulator is female fitting, did you insert the rubber washers inside first ?,,,,how many turns after rubber contact did you tighten the fitting ?

 

[nastynate420]

I would just get rid of the things it comes with and use shark bites and pex. It works much better. It's what they use for plumbing in newer houses so it's high psi and there's never any leaks.

 

[Bwanabud]

I would just get rid of the things it comes with and use shark bites and pex. It works much better. It's what they use for plumbing in newer houses so it's high psi and there's never any leaks.

I just built another system with John Guest fittings and Pex, worked out great...and very simple to reconfigure set up at a later date.