Carbonate buildup from GH Organic Cal/Mag?

[Mister_D]

Not sure if this would become a problem, or if i'm just over thinking things. Either way i'm curious. GH organic cal/mag is made of calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate. If a person were using this as their cal/mag source and wanted to reuse their media (coco), would a build up of carbonates occur? If so would this negatively effect ph or anything things else? I was reading a thread recently about high levels of bi-carbonates in the op's tap water effecting ph in coco. I'm unsure weather this applies to the carbonates in GH's cal/mag or not, but i'm curious. Anyone with more scientifc understanding on the subject?

 

[Mister_D]

 

[YosemiteSam]

Like all store bought nutes the answer is it depends. You would also need to know the alkalinity of the water you are using (if it is high then yes, carbonates in the nutes will contribute to buildup in general) and the amount of NH4 in your Nitrogen (the more NH4 you have the more carbonate you need to balance the pH drop from the nitrification process).

One of the most important aspects of dialing a grow is controlling root zone pH. Carbonates are just a cheap way for GH to reduce the N in their CalMag...it may or may not be for you.

 

[Mister_D]

I'm not having any PH issues, and I don't currently use the GH cal/mag. Just curious because it could be advantagous at certain times to have a source of cal/mag without the nitrogen. Are you saying that NH4 neutralizes the carbonates? Thanks for helping me piece this together sam.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I am not sure I was saying much of anything...but now I will just go ahead and say what I really think. 99% of weed growers have no clue what their root zone pH is or why it is important, how to measure it, what actually effects it. They think control the pH in the res and that is it. Not even close to what is actually important and an astonishing level of ignorance for people trying to grow.

http://www.greenhousegrower.com/article/22285

Better yet buy Bill Argo's book...something like pH and container growing or something like that and jump ahead of 99% of all growers...weed growers. Greenhouse guys know this stuff.

Carbonates or bi carbonates tie up free H+ cations which is what is known as pH buffering. pH is potential Hydrogen...tie up H and you effectively prevent pH from dropping.

If everything was balanced for you before and you chunk a bunch of carbonate into the equation don't be surprised if it ain't dialed no mo.

Sorry if that all sounded harsh...not aimed at you in particular. Aimed more at the actual lack of good info shared on these forums.

 

[wilbur]

seeing as yr curious about such stuff have a look at page 4 of the pdf linked below to see how some minerals assist one another and others 'militate' against each other.

http://www.nutri-tech.com.au/downloads/Hydroponic%20Program.pdf

cheers!

EDIT: that should read "...downloads/Hydroponics%20Program.pdf"

 

[Mister_D]

Thank you sam, this is exactly the type of information I was seeking. I think I have a better understanding/apprecation of water and media ph than most growers here on the site, but not nearly what I consider acceptable for me personally. I'll look into ordering bill's book. That article actually answered my question, but I would like to have a better grasp on the subject. Also I completely agree about the lack of solid scientific information being shared here. Your response was not taken as harsh at all, I appreciate the effort K+.

Wilbur - Thanks for the PDF. I'm familar with mulder's chart, but it looks to be an interesting read anyway.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I apologize for my tone...totally uncalled for. Glad you were able to look past that and read the info